Patel had always loved summer. Every year since she was seven, she would go to Brooklyn's Summer Camp of the Arts. She loved to act, sing, dance, and make pottery. She made new friends every year, but kept the same ones as the first year. Sarah and Patel had met when they were toddlers, and they spent every summer together. However, this summer was different. Sarah moved from Montana to New York in April. Patel was devastated because even though she had other friends, it just wouldn't be the same without Sarah. And to add to the devastation, Patel had just turned sixteen at the end of May, and Sarah wasn't there with her. Patel had gone to Sarah's Sweet Sixteen in March, so she didn't find it fair that Sarah didn't even wish her a happy birthday.
Patel tried to convince her mother to let her stay home this summer, but her mother wouldn't have it. "You have gone every year since you were seven, and that's not going to change just because Sarah moved to New York. Now go finish packing your bags," her mother said angrily. Patel trudged up the stairs, pulling two suitcases behind her. She had two suitcases, not because she was packing one outfit for every day, but because in one suitcase she had her belongings, such as clothes, makeup, and toiletries. And in the other suitcase, she put her costumes for acting, her karaoke dvds, her choreography book with special dance moves, and her pottery clay and wheel. She then decided that she would try to make the best out this month, and she only had one idea of how to do that. She pulled out her laptop, and punched into Google, How To Run Away, and up came hundreds of articles. She then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from her desk drawer. On the paper she wrote;
Dear Mum and Dad,
I am dearly sorry for this choice, but I will not be returning home after camp. I just do not feel like having to live here anymore. I am going to New York to stay with Sarah. Don't try to call me, for I will not answer the phone when you're calling. Have a nice life, and I might invite you to my wedding, but you have no control over me.
Your Daughter,
Patel
From there, Patel took an envelope and addressed it to her home. She put a stamp on the top right corner, and left the top left blank. She quietly stood up from her desk, and stuck the envelope in her jacket pocket. She was going to drop it off at the post office the next morning before the bus got there. Then she climbed into her bed, and pulled the blanket up to her nose. This was the last that she planned to lay in this bed. The next thing she knew her mother was calling from downstairs, "Patel!! The bus will be here in 5 minutes! Get your butt down here with your stuff and say goodbye!" Patel awoke with a jolt, realizing that she didn't have time to mail her letter. She hurried and threw on her blue jean mini skirt and her Panic at the Disco T-Shirt. She started running out of her room, when she realized that she had left her jacket hanging on the back of her chair. She grabbed it and ran down the stairs with her suitcases. "Bye Mum. Bye Dad. See you later. I'll mail you a letter as soon as I get there. I'll start writing it on the bus. Love you!" she said as she raced through the kitchen and out the front door. "Not," she added as she climbed onto the bus.
YOU ARE READING
Fighting For Freedom
Mystery / ThrillerPatel was an average girl, but one day, after a month at summer camp, her life became a lot less average. She arrives home on July 5th, to find her house empty except for a note taped to the wall. Where was her family? What did the note say?
