I hurriedly toss my duffel bag onto my bed and throw my closet door open. I only have half an hour to gather everything I need to live and get out of my dorm room. At seven-thirty, I am meeting five of my friends and we are running away from this boarding school. Even though I’ve hated it here since the day I arrived, I never thought I’d actually muster the courage to break out of this prison of a school. I can just barely remember being a nervous seven-year-old and staring up at the looming building with butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes. I never wanted to come here, but now that I’m finally leaving, it’s all so surreal.
It’s also making me more anxious than I’ve ever been before.
I snatch several sweaters and tee shirts off their hangers, my breathing growing even quicker. I can hear my heart pounding in my chest. Now that the day to run away has finally come, I'm terrified.
What if I get caught? What if I run out of food out there or can't find a place to sleep? What if they send out a search party for us? I glance at my digital clock. It’s 7:18. I have just twelve minutes before my life changes forever, and I know that I can’t take any longer than that to pack up. An image of my five friends waiting anxiously near the back doors of the school fills my mind. They could easily be caught if I make them wait for me too long. I sprint into my bathroom, holding my open duffel bag, and shove everything my drawers contain into it. I will not be the reason my friends and I get caught. I can worry about our new life later. I hesitate, then unplug the digital clock and shove that in my bag too.
Soon, I’m just about done packing. I pace the dormitory, double-checking my dresser drawers and under my bed for anything I could’ve forgotten, but I don’t find anything. All my clothes and toiletries fill up my two duffel bags, and the giant rolling suitcase of food that Eliana and I gathered from the school’s basement is standing by the door. My backpack is heavy with the weight of my laptop, an ample amount of snacks and drinks, and a large wallet with every last dollar I have. I withdrew all the money my parents put in my bank account, which totals almost twenty thousand dollars. It feels wrong to have that much money in my backpack, but I know that I need it to survive.
I can’t think of anything I could have possibly forgotten to pack. I pull my iPhone out of my hoodie pocket and click the lock screen button. The screen displays the time - 7:28. I have to get downstairs, and fast.
It’s been seven long years, and now that we finally consider ourselves old enough to make a break for it, I’m ready.
I grab the pillow and blanket off my bed and shove them into one of my bags, then zip it up. I can barely move under the weight of my backpack and two duffel bags. For a moment, I wonder if I should have packed lighter, but then I remember our plan to get a couple hotel rooms by compiling our money. There will definitely be enough space for all this in the room.
As quickly as I can, I move towards the door and grab the handle of the food suitcase. With one last turn before I exit my dorm, I spin around and stare at my bare bed and empty shelves. I’m almost sad to leave, but I quickly remember how much I despise this school.
I slam the door, taking any trace of myself along with me.
Jogging down the metal stairwell, I soon spot Eliana, Jason, Payton, and Alex.
“Where’s Robbie?” I ask impatiently as I place my rolling suitcase on the floor. “It's got to be 7:31 by now!”
He’s coming, relax!" Eliana snaps, then looks apologetically at me. I can tell she’s just as nervous as I am, and, being her best friend, I know that when she gets scared she becomes cranky.
Despite that, I still scowl at her. “You do realize that if we stay standing here for too long, someone could spot us, right? If we stay here for even a second too long, it’s all over for us!”
“I know,” Eliana moans. “Just don’t get mad.”
The Life I Know
By Laura C.