Historical Holograms From A Runaway Punk

When I was in a group home for girls, I worked in the kitchen and scrubbed pots and pans. I didn’t mind it that much. I liked having something to do; it kept my mind off my mother. Sometimes I would sing to myself or dance around with a broom. But most often, I was made to shut up by the older girls; they didn’t like my purple punk hair.

Sometimes, instead of going to the kitchen, I would hide in a room full of books. I liked it there and wanted to know the stories written in each but couldn’t read. Mayor Sye banned reading and writing for children in Tech City until we reached “adulthood.” Whatever that means. One of the bigger girls found me and snatched the book I was holding, “Mayor Sye has banned reading! You need to go back to the kitchen, NOW!” She threw the book at my back and made me cry. “Look at the baby cry. Cry baby, cry, baby!” I got up, ran out of the room, and into a nearby bathroom. I just sat down on the toilet, huddling my knees. I was scared that she would follow me, but she didn’t.

I hated the city even more; I wanted to find my mother. Tiger was right; I; Id no family in the city. But why did she get exiled? Why didn’t they exile me with her? Why was the city turning into a horrible place to live? Why don’t I understand what’s going on? I didn’t trust anybody there.

So back in the kitchen, I started looking at all the windows to see which one I could escape from. In the food pantry was a small window high above the shelves and big enough for me to fit through. I decided that the only way for me to make a clean getaway would be in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping.

That night I made my way to the kitchen and was extremely careful not to make a sound. I went to the pantry, climbed the shelves, opened the window, tore the screen, and saw that the ground was further down than I had imagined. I got scared; I thought I was going to break my leg. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, so I just sat there for a moment, thinking that maybe things would get better if I stayed. Perhaps I could live without my mother?

I heard whispers coming through the main kitchen door; the big girls were sneaking around too. I did not want to be around those mean girls any longer. Being around them made me feel worse. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and carefully climbed out the window, dangling for a bit, still hanging onto the ledge and getting ready to fall to the ground. With a lump in my throat and a tickle in my belly, I let go and dropped to the ground with a thud. Thankfully I didn’t break any bones, so I quickly got up and ran as fast as lightning towards the city’s walls. I had to watch out for Tiger and his Skypoe force since they always watch the streets at night.

I noticed a yellow beacon of light through a dark alley and the sounds of construction workers drilling into concrete. I peeked around the corner and saw two construction men repairing a massive break in the city wall around a gated sewage pipe. Something went wrong with one of their drills, and I saw one guy move to his truck’s toolbox. As he rummaged through his hovering heap of gadgets trying to remember where he put his tools, he forgot what he was doing and started yelling at his partner, trying to remember where his tools went. While they were entranced in a yelling match, I carefully snuck by them and escaped into the open sewer, climbing through the dark gross mulch and awful stench I wish I could forget. But as soon as I made my way through that sewer pipe and out the other side of the wall, I ran as fast as possible.