The Wild Escape

Prologue

I remember my first day of school, Pre-Kindergarten. I was four years old, both nervous and excited to go to school. My sister, Keeley Mars, was in third grade already. Stupid four-year-old me thought that school would be fun. Walking into my Pre-K class was nerve-wracking. I hugged my parents "goodbye" for the day (because I actually liked them back then), and I walked into the classroom, slightly smiling but also shaking.
          I noticed a bunch of other kids in the class, sitting down on the floor and playing with toys, reading books, and drawing pictures. After putting my backpack and lunchbox away into its cubby, I tried to join a group of girls playing with dolls. "Hi. I'm Katrina Mars. Can I play with you?" I asked the girls.
          The girls just glared at me. "No. We're playing with the dolls! It's not your turn! Go play with something else," one of them, who I would soon know as Julia Clark, said.
          I walked away, slowly and sadly. "Okay," I said.
          No matter how many times I tried to join any group of kids playing or reading, they all turned me down. I didn't know why. "What's wrong with me?" I thought to myself. In disappointment, I found the desk with my name on it and sat there. When it was time for the class to sit down and watch the school's morning news, I stayed in my seat, quiet and talking to no one-- because no one would talk to me.

The time came around for all the students to introduce themselves after the morning news. When it was my turn, I hesitantly said what I like. I was so scared: "I'm Katrina Mars, and I'm four. I have a sister named Keeley, and I like music," I said.
          "Great. Can you tell us anything else? What kind of music do you like? We know your name and age already. Anything else you like?" my teacher, Mrs. Tailors, asked me.
          "I like music that I can dance to. I wanna make my own music one day! Poems are cool, too," I added, still scared of Mrs. Tailors and the kids around me who turned down my requests to play with them.
          "...Alright. I don't know if that's gonna happen, though. It's very rare that many bands or singers are actually successful. Who's next?" Mrs. Tailors replied, giving me a quick dirty stare.

The rest of the day at school, I felt crushed. Mrs. Tailors had crushed my dreams of making music for life. I was only four years old, so I wasn't into "emo" bands yet. I liked NSYNC, Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Madonna, The Beatles, and Michael Jackson during my young years. Recess was the worst time because everyone else wanted to play with each other and exclude me. They all played basketball and kickball and played games on the playground together. All I wanted to do was sing, dance, and play air-guitar in the yard next to the playground. I felt so alone that day.
          I didn't know at the time what it actually all meant or why they didn't like me.

After Keeley and I arrived home from school (we rode the bus), I was on the verge of tears. To make sure Mom and Dad wouldn't notice me, I rushed upstairs to my room, feeling sad because of being alone. Keeley did notice, however, and came into my room to comfort me.
          "What's wrong, Kat?" she said, sitting next to me on my bed.
          "No one in my class would play with me or talk to me," I said, crying.
          "Oh no! I'm so sorry. What did you do during recess, then?" she asked, hugging me.
          "I tried to dance, sing, and play air-guitar. They laughed at me, though. Mrs. Tailors told me I would never be able to be in a band because she thought that most people who wanna be musicians end up unsuccessful. My dreams were crushed."
          "That's horrible! It's okay if you want to do those things. I see nothing wrong with wanting to dance, sing, and play the air-guitar during recess, if that's what you like to do. I feel like you'd be a rock star if you get that real guitar, sing your own words, and practice lots. I believe in you," Keeley said, immediately helping me feel better.
          "Thank you, sissy. You're the best! I wish we were in the same class together," I exclaimed, hugging Keeley again.
          "You're welcome. I wish that, too. But we can play together after school every day. We'll do whatever we want," she said.
          "Yay!" I exclaimed, wiping away the tears that were slowly ceasing to fall.
          "Yeah. Do you wanna go down and dance with me?" she asked.
          "Yeah!" I exclaimed.