Censure

Chapter 2: Piggybacks & Old Memories

May's P.O.V.

I watch the woman in front. No, more like blankly stare. I can see words coming out of her mouth, but I don't hear them. I'm more focused on the fact that we no longer have curfew. There's no one to tell us to go to bed at a certain time. The only thing I do hear is the sound of bells ringing and a voice in my head proclaiming, "FREEEEEDOM!" And more access she said? Access to what? I need to pay attention. I want to know.

She's using big words and I only catch parts of what she's saying. Large vocabulary is more Keira's strong suit than mine. What was that? We can actually go outside when we want to? Holy... Wow. Okay keep the conversation rolling lady. Blah, blah, blah. I don't need to hear this. I already know that we have exactly a year, already know we are responsible for ourselves, and yes; already know what I need to do if I want to be a teacher or a guide here and stay behind.

Yeah, I know. That's kind of stupid to want to stay behind. In reality though, it is the safest way to live. If you stay here, you avoid the risk of getting caught, being changed. You won't go hungry, you can stay clean and take showers, and you are permitted to things that we weren't as Censures. For example, jobs. Yes we need actual jobs here in the Well. Plumbers, cooks, etc. It's actually pretty nice in the Well if you're not a teenager. You can buy your clothes and you don't need to make them. I guess if you want to make your clothes you can, it's dumb to want to though. In my opinion at least.

Us teenagers have to learn to do everything ourselves so we can last our fifteen year old life here. The outside world is dangerous, so we need to know how to survive. I haven't told anyone this, but I'm ready to leave. I'm actually excited. Yes of course there's always that gut wrenching feeling of the unknown. Plus, you know, the chance of death. But i think of myself as strong. I will last the four years above. And I will last them by being a badass.

I look over after hearing Keira groan. "I. Am. Bored." she complains.

"That. Makes. Two. Of. Us." I tell her. She smiles and closes her eyes. I look over at Nathan who has pulled the hood of his black sweatshirt (I made him) over his face. Why is he so cranky? He's kind of putting a damper on a really special day for me. I mean, I don't want to leave either of them, but I don't want to stay either. I love my independence.

The woman in front has dismissed us and the crowd is getting up now. Jesus there's a lot of fifteen year olds. I'm bound to meet some new people eventually. As before, I'm excited.Nathan and Keira stand up and I pull the hood off her head so I have something to hold on to. I'll need it. I grab Nathan's hand, which he immediately pulls away. Gosh he's being a jerk.

Keira starts to plow through the mob and I hold on to her for my life. She's barely taller than I am, which still makes her pretty short. Yet she's still able to push people aside like she's a football player. I look back and see Nathan still standing where he yanked his hand from me. I tried to help, it's his problem he's being so weird. I look forward and all I can see is Keira's bright red sweatshirt, and the backs of everyone in front of us.

Literally everyone tries to pile through the doors at once. At last the two of us manage to get through the glass doors and I let go of her as we join the group of people running and cheering. As we run with the crowd I see Keira lifted onto the shoulders of the guy who was flirting with her earlier. Suddenly the ground leaves my own feet and I'm on the shoulders of his friend.

Keira struggles and protests but I just go with it and laugh. I swear, we look like a bunch of first graders attacking the playground at recess. I look to the left and watch Keira give in as she throws her arms in the air and cheers. I join in and the next thing I know all the guys are lifting girls onto their shoulders. This is the most fun I think I have ever had in my entire life. And I'm loving it.

I look down at the guy who is carrying me. He has brown hair and blue eyes. Just like me. I can't completely say I think he's attractive though. I mean, don't get me wrong he's decent, but I don't like him.

He looks up me and asks, "What's your name?" I almost don't catch it over the sound of the group.

"May!" I yell in response. He smiles and nods, but says nothing more. I'm fine with that. Not talkative.

The guy carrying Keira turns and asks his friend, "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know." he says shrugging.

"How about the pond?"

"Fine with me." then we're off.

Not once did they stop sprinting and I'm getting kind of irritated from being off the ground for so long. This is kind of a piggy back ride I guess, just higher up. And less stable. I try to push the annoyance down and focus on the surroundings. After everyone stormed from the building the stampede split into various directions. Some in the same unknown direction as ours, some in other directions I've never been, and some going to the heart of the Well. Keira, myself, and the guys veered off to the right down a path leading toward an area with... trees?

And grass. In all my time here I had never seen trees, or grass, or flowers, or anything I'm seeing right now. I've been here since I was nine. This is the actual best day of my life.

I can't say that for sure. My life before I came here was probably good. I don't remember though. As soon as my parents came out to see the wreckage I was gone. They got rid of me.

The image is flashing before my eyes now. I'm in the driver's seat. I can't see over the wheel. I don't know how it works and I take a guess. Push. There it goes, down the driveway. Guess I did move the stick thing into the right spot. We're rolling, and rolling, and rolling. I'm rolling. To this day I'm glad that I had worn a seat belt, because I may not be alive if I hadn't. The car crashed into a tree on the opposite side of the street.

You could also say I'm lucky for the lack of cars driving down the road when I collided. I'm lucky for that. I'm lucky for a lot of things. Mostly, I'm lucky to be living. My head is pounding and my vision is blurry. The wheel was pretty hard I learned. I hear sirens, I assume it's the ambulance coming for me. It's not. I see flashes of red and blue through the dizziness and suddenly the car door opens.

Someone undoes my seat belt and lifts me out of the car. The ground sways beneath me, but not for long. I'm thrown into the seat of another car. The door closes and I start to panic. Not before long the car is moving. The sirens are still going off and I'm crying. Screaming, an agonizing, blood-curdling scream, for my mom. I turn to look out the window, and what I see through the fading dizziness of what I assume is an unacknowledged concussion, is the backs of my parents walking into what used to be my home.

Tears are pouring in streams as the car turns down the road. The man driving the car tells me there's no point in crying. It was a hopeless sob, my parents were sending me called the Well and I was never going back.

Who'd have thought that day watching my house as it shrunk to nothing, out of view, would be the last glimpse of my old life?