The Wild Escape

Part 5- Fun For Once

It was eight-forty a.m. when we arrived at her house. She woke up just in time. So, we walked into her house and unpacked. Keeley offered me a bedroom upstairs and gave Sam another bedroom upstairs. Keeley's room was across the hall from my room and Sam's room. Her house is nice and clean, with four bedrooms (each about the size of my old bedroom at my old house), two bathrooms, a large living room, and an average-sized kitchen and dining room. Down in the basement was a huge open space with a short stage against the back wall. I'm looking forward to life here.
          We all spent the rest of the day on the college campus. Since Keeley had classes all day (until four p.m), Sam and I walked around the campus, self-guiding our own tour. At twelve-thirty was Keeley's lunch break, so Sam (who I can call my brother now) and I ate with her. At the end of the day, she picked us up and took us back to the house (our new real home). For an hour and a half after her classes, Keeley had some homework to do. So, Sam and I sat in the living room to take in our new life in my sister's house while we talked.
          "I like it a lot here," I said.
          "I do, too. It's much nicer and more caring," he agreed.
          "Exactly! These will probably be the best years of my life."
          "Mine too. I'm so thankful for Keeley and for you."
          "Thank you! And me too. We're glad to help any time."
          "Awesome! For once, I feel so loved, valid, and... happy."
          "Me too. This is why I love my sister so much."
          "Same! I want us to do something fun tonight or some night soon."
          "Me too. I'm sure she'll take us out tonight. She's got us covered."
          "Cool!"

At five-thirty p.m, Keeley came out of her room after finishing her homework and told us to get ready to go out to dinner. We did, and she drove us ten minutes to a local sports bar/restaurant (where she normally works and earns money during her college years). Its food is delicious; we all shared some chicken wings and each ate a different pasta dinner with a salad. As we were just finishing up dinner, Keeley told us something amazing: "I'm taking the three of us to a My Chemical Romance concert next month."
          "Oh my gosh!!! Really!?" Sam exclaimed, almost spitting out his drink.
          "Yes! I spent some of that time in my room earlier, after finishing my homework, ordering the tickets. They were kind of expensive, but I did it... for us. We'll be really close to the stage," Keeley answered, excited.
          "No way!!! You're the best sister ever," I gushed loudly, almost making the rest of the restaurant hear me and stare at me.
          "Oh, yes way. Because, Gerard and Mikey Way!" Keeley joked, making our table laugh and me remember how Sam and I joked about that yesterday.
          "Thank you so much, sis!" I said, getting up out of my seat to hug her. Sam did the same.
          "Aw, you're welcome. No problem. I love you guys, and I know you guys," she said, hugging us both quickly then letting go.
          We spent the rest of the evening having fun and looking forward to the concert. On the way home from the restaurant, we jammed out to some MCR. When we got home, we danced to some more pop punk music, sang it, and played it on our guitars. I played my electric, Sam played his acoustic, and Keeley played her bass. We could form a band... and tour across the world... I love this feeling. I can finally be myself with the best people in the world without getting judged or bullied for it by... I can't even say their names anymore.

In fact, I can even say that Keeley saved our lives. Sam and I saved each other's lives simply by meeting each other and agreeing to sit together at lunch yesterday. The inspiration for us to call the police on our former "parents" to get away from the abuse, the thought to call my sister to take us in, and the motivation for all of us to even stay alive and keep going strong would have never happened without My Chemical Romance's music on our side.
          Now we get to see MCR, the band that saved our lives, live in concert. Thank you, Keeley. Now all I have to do is wait for a long month. It'll be worth the wait, though. We all managed to make the wait fun. Sam and I both emailed our old principal and guidance counselor to tell them and confirm that we don't go to school there anymore. Keeley enrolled us in our second semester of junior year at the city's high school, which is half an hour away from our home. Good news: all our past high school credits from our old school transferred there!

At this new high school, Sam and I were in a few classes together, but not all. We did, however, make a few new friends. We would sit with them during lunch and hang out after school sometimes. I joined the school's literary arts club, where we all create an annual literary arts magazine. I became the main poetry editor of the club, and one of my new friends, Ivanna, became the main fiction/short story editor. Sam joined the school's concert band as an acoustic guitarist.
          We love life.

To prepare for the concert next month, I wrote a letter to MCR, telling them about how they saved my life time and time again, especially a couple nights ago, and how they were there for me when no one else was. I wrote to them about the years of mental abuse I received, as well as the physical abuse I suddenly got a couple nights ago. I'm keeping it in my leather jacket pocket, folded up neatly, and possibly giving it to them at the concert.