Happy
18th Birthday:
It
was 11:45 on Madison’s 18th Birthday. Her bags were all hidden in
her closet. Her purse was already filled with her electronics (cellphone,
computer, IPod), her favorite notebook and pencil, and finally, her map. She had
highlighted the fastest route to New York City on her map, from her house.
She
was already dressed in a sweatshirt, her skinny jeans, and her tennis shoes. She
wore her hair up in a beanie, and she had on her glasses. She gripped her car
keys tightly in her hand.
It
was now 11:50, and now she was laying out letters in her parent’s bedroom. The letters
would make sure her parents knew she wasn’t in danger and that she was running
away to New York City.
Now
it was 11:55 and Madison’s heart was pounding in her chest as she draped all of
her bags on her shoulders and headed downstairs. Once she was outside, Madison
locked the door behind her and headed out to her car. A single tear escaped
from her eyes, and then she was turning the key in the ignition.
Madison
had been planning this since she was 14 years old. She was running away to New
York City to start off her career as a writer. She would try every publishing
place in the state if she had to. Besides, once she had one book of hers
published, she would have all the money she would need to buy an apartment and
start her life in the big city.
Along
the way, she would stop at coffee shops and pull out her computer. Her goal was
to finish the book she was working on before she got to New York. But it didn’t
really matter if she did or not because she already had 10 of her book she had
written in one of her bags.
She
would stop at hotels along the way when she got tired as well. She had her
credit card neatly tucked in her pocket. She had been saving up money for this
trip since she had first planned it. Now she had enough money to get to New
York and then some.
Madison
snapped herself out of her thoughts. She thought way too much. Maybe that was
why she was such a creative writer. That’s what she had gone to high school
for. She was thinking too much again. She was just now pulling out of her
neighborhood.
She
looked at her dashboard. The fuel was full because of her trip to the gas
station earlier that day after her birthday party. All of her friends were
there. However, only one of them new of her plans to escape that night. Her name
was Adeline, but Madison had called her Addy since the 7th grade.
Addy
had plans to run away to New York City that night too. She was going to become
a cop when she got there. Madison doubted the chances of that ever happening,
but she never voiced these thoughts to Addy. Madison’s dream was a bit farfetched
too.
Madison
was a mile away from her house now, and she knew this was the point of no
return. She decided to turn on the radio and get lost in her thoughts again. It
was so easy to get lost that she didn’t try to fight it any more.
In
her favorite notebook, Madison had written down the names and addresses of 5 of
the publishers in New York. She hadn’t thought about which ones to try first. She
would think about it now. She decided to just try them in the order they were
written in her notebook.
Madison
realized there was something else she hadn’t thought about. How long would she
drive tonight. She figured just until she was too tired to drive. She knew that
wouldn’t be any time soon since her nerves and thoughts would keep her up for
hours after this.
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