Path-to-Freedom (version 1)

(14)

When I woke up, it was to the sound of the door opening and Tony's yelling.

"Get up! I brought you dinner"

I sat up and looked at the plate in his hand, it was just bread and water.

I sighed and took the plate from him. I ate the two pieces of bread and then drank the water, giving the plate back to him.

"I'll take it easy on you this week, but if you failed the tests, then I'll give you hell." I clenched my fists and nodded.

He soon left and I did my nightly bathroom routine.

The rest of the week until the results, Tony kept to his word, his beatings weren't as bad but they were still there.

On Thursday during lunch I got an email from Mrs. Gooding and I opened it to see that I had passed everything and got a perfect score on my SATs.

I felt proud but it was very short lived when I thought of something that hadn't crossed my mind.

If I graduate, then that'll mean I'll be at Tony's house all the time unless he lets me go to college or university.

When we got home, there was a cupcake on the kitchen counter.

"That's for you, since you passed. Enjoy it since it'll be the only one."

I nodded and went towards it.

"Can I go to college or university?" I whispered.

I knew I was taking a risk speaking but I had to know if I was going to survive.

"Since you just made me look good, I'll excuse you from talking this once, but yes, I'll enroll you when we get your results on paper." I nodded.

"Thank you." I spoke softly.

My voice was scratchy and rough, seeing as I hadn't spoken in a few years.

He blew out an agitated breath and from the twitching in his hand, I could tell he was trying his hardest not to hit me.

I quickly ate my cupcake, cleaned up my mess and then left for the basement. I didn't have to go to school anymore since I passed all of my tests, Tony went to the school the next day and got my diploma.

I had learned that I got a lot of scholarships to many schools including many top colleges and universities.

I wanted to study law so I chose Harvard.

Tony had decided that we would move to Massachusetts by the end of the actual school year to get me enrolled into summer classes.

Tony had bought me a small suitcase for all my stuff since I didn't have much.

One of Tony's friends gave us a ride in their jet to Massachusetts and when we reached, we moved into a small house.

The house was small but it still had a basement which Tony didn't hesitate giving me.

Once we settled in, Tony made me clean everything while he went to Harvard University to enroll me.

When he came back, he had a bunch of textbooks with him.

I'm sure he didn't spend a penny on them since I had a lot of scholarship money but he kept going on about how expensive they were, to which I just sighed.

The rest of the remaining week, I read the books to be prepared and got ready for classes.

When they finally began, I had a hard time adjusting since I wasn't surrounded by children, but many adults.

I had a difficult time getting around since the university was so big and my tiny legs could only carry me so far, plus the many textbooks weighing me down in my backpack.

Once I finally adjusted, I got used to my schedule and started nailing everything down.

I was one of the top students in all of my classes and that made me very proud.

Some students had thought that I was getting special treatment because of my age but when the test grades would come out, they would always take it back but that didn't stop them from continuing to say it and me continuing to prove them wrong.

I guess that was a motivation for me to prove them wrong and show them that I deserved to be here just as much as them, if not more.