Expiration Date 2076

Chapter I

      A thin teenager was sitting on her bed. The atmosphere of her room was absent of any life, energy, movement, or feeling. The sun had just dipped into the horizon enough to end the colorful dance of  pink and orange on the windowsill, yet it was not enough gone to be completely dark. That little bit of the world's light was all that was left in the room, cesious. The girl was sitting in silence, shadow, and stillness, or rather the absence of life. 

     She felt such ennui that day. During the morning and afternoon at school, her despondency was opposite of her surroundings. All around her were people, yet she felt alone. It was an ideal warm day in late spring, yet she was cold inside. No matter how much the sun shone, she was under an umbra. Since she felt alone and cold and dark, that's what she became. She stepped off the bus and went straight to her room. In there, she let herself have only those emotions. That was the first mistake.

     This day was the most alien day of her life thus far. From her earliest memories, one could tell that FreyFrey was an optimistic,  loving, energetic girl, utterly and absolutely in love with life itself and everyone in it. She would go to school, hug her friends, and go outside at breaks. She would hop off the bus and run until she had bear-hugged her father. This day was wrong.

     But she was alone in her room, alone in her thoughts. FreyFrey knew that it wasn't good to avoid her father, especially when she felt this way. One long hug, two mugs of steaming cocoa, and she would feel better. But instead, she got up and locked her door. Just then, she wasn't thinking of what she should do, but instead what she could do, what she would do. Suddenly a rebellious, adventurous, dangerous feeling over came her. Her step was firm. Her fingers were numb and clutched the window. First she pressed her arms against the sill, lifting herself up. No second thoughts entered her mind. Then she pulled her legs up. No regrets came from her lips. The window opened. No fear was in her heart. Her father's concerned footfalls climbed the stairs, and she was gone.

     And now it was real. It was truly real and every moment fled by. Quickly, she ran to the shed outside her home. Her hands clumsily opened the door and grabbed a bag as her panicked eyes looked over her shoulder. She slung the bag over her shoulder as she ran. She might have stumbled, she might have cried, but she could not remember afterwards. Longing for freedom from everything, all she could do was go faster.