poisoned or infected just as easily as the uneducated man. Colleges remained open as a way to drain money from those rich, bored, and self-important enough to feel the need to still attend. Yet, what kind of life did she have to look forward to should she decide to stay with her mother? Suddenly Jeller’s words from that morning rang in her ears.
“It’s a bit hard for a bird to learn to fly when its wings are clipped and it’s caged its whole life.”
That was it then. She needed to leave. And with her mother gone for the week, now was the perfect chance. Feeling a burst of excitement, she pressed the intercom before she could second guess herself.
“Grant, will you please drive me down the main stretch?”
“Of course, Miss Hilden, anything you wish. Where am I stopping?”
“Nowhere. I would just like you to drive up and down a few times. It helps me think. Thank you.” There was a confused silence, before the car pulled forward into traffic.
“Very well, Miss,” he replied morosely. Grant was an elderly gentleman, bored and with a keen ear for gossip. Not knowing what she was doing must be driving him crazy. Amiel smirked and turned her attention to the outside world.
As they drove up and down the main streets, her eyes meandered over the car dealerships they passed. She needed transportation if she were going to get out of here quickly. But her mother had her fingers dipped in just about every store and dealership in this town. Any purchase she made would be run through for her mother’s approval via phone, whether she used the family money or not. People recognized Amiel and knew of Malinda’s strict spending diet for her daughter. They were also always thirsting for a way to stay in Malinda’s good graces, even if it meant outing their neighbors or associates. Therefore each of them would ask her mother for approval first, alerting Malinda to her daughter’s intentions. Not acceptable.
At the very least, they knew how much money Amiel’s family had access to therefore the prices would be insanely high for anything she bought. While she had a ton of money now, it wasn’t worth as much as it used to be, and it certainly wouldn’t last forever out there if she was paying for everything herself. And she was determined to never touch her mother’s money again. She’d need a form of transportation, to find a place to live, food to eat, gas to travel, and who knew how long it would take her to find a job. So, outrageous sums of money for transportation were out of the question.
Besides, cars were meant for inner city travel and though it made Amiel’s stomach churn at the thought, the only freedom she would find lay on the other side of these city walls. The safest way to travel between cities of course was the train. Trains were heavily guarded and swift. It was uncommon for train travelers to come to harm, though nothing was entirely safe these days. Yet the train was also out of the question since her mother could easily track every move she made, know where she ended up. That would make it far too easy for Malinda to come take her home. Amiel needed to get far away, fast and under the radar; which only left her one option.
As they often did, her meandering eyes fell on a motorcycle shop across the street, a couple blocks down from the library. Amiel often found herself furtively glancing over the motorcycles any time she was in town. Her mother, of course, had been appalled at the thought of a motorcycle shop opening in the center of ‘her’ town. Though she could do nothing to legally stop the owner from building, she had made her disapproval clear to him on more than one occasion. Her dislike of him was made even stronger when she realized he couldn’t be bought off or pushed around. Malinda was not use to being told no.
As such, the bikes had naturally become something of a secret rebellious desire for Amiel. Her eyes tracked over the distant lettering on the sign above his shop- Mud
“It’s a bit hard for a bird to learn to fly when its wings are clipped and it’s caged its whole life.”
That was it then. She needed to leave. And with her mother gone for the week, now was the perfect chance. Feeling a burst of excitement, she pressed the intercom before she could second guess herself.
“Grant, will you please drive me down the main stretch?”
“Of course, Miss Hilden, anything you wish. Where am I stopping?”
“Nowhere. I would just like you to drive up and down a few times. It helps me think. Thank you.” There was a confused silence, before the car pulled forward into traffic.
“Very well, Miss,” he replied morosely. Grant was an elderly gentleman, bored and with a keen ear for gossip. Not knowing what she was doing must be driving him crazy. Amiel smirked and turned her attention to the outside world.
As they drove up and down the main streets, her eyes meandered over the car dealerships they passed. She needed transportation if she were going to get out of here quickly. But her mother had her fingers dipped in just about every store and dealership in this town. Any purchase she made would be run through for her mother’s approval via phone, whether she used the family money or not. People recognized Amiel and knew of Malinda’s strict spending diet for her daughter. They were also always thirsting for a way to stay in Malinda’s good graces, even if it meant outing their neighbors or associates. Therefore each of them would ask her mother for approval first, alerting Malinda to her daughter’s intentions. Not acceptable.
At the very least, they knew how much money Amiel’s family had access to therefore the prices would be insanely high for anything she bought. While she had a ton of money now, it wasn’t worth as much as it used to be, and it certainly wouldn’t last forever out there if she was paying for everything herself. And she was determined to never touch her mother’s money again. She’d need a form of transportation, to find a place to live, food to eat, gas to travel, and who knew how long it would take her to find a job. So, outrageous sums of money for transportation were out of the question.
Besides, cars were meant for inner city travel and though it made Amiel’s stomach churn at the thought, the only freedom she would find lay on the other side of these city walls. The safest way to travel between cities of course was the train. Trains were heavily guarded and swift. It was uncommon for train travelers to come to harm, though nothing was entirely safe these days. Yet the train was also out of the question since her mother could easily track every move she made, know where she ended up. That would make it far too easy for Malinda to come take her home. Amiel needed to get far away, fast and under the radar; which only left her one option.
As they often did, her meandering eyes fell on a motorcycle shop across the street, a couple blocks down from the library. Amiel often found herself furtively glancing over the motorcycles any time she was in town. Her mother, of course, had been appalled at the thought of a motorcycle shop opening in the center of ‘her’ town. Though she could do nothing to legally stop the owner from building, she had made her disapproval clear to him on more than one occasion. Her dislike of him was made even stronger when she realized he couldn’t be bought off or pushed around. Malinda was not use to being told no.
As such, the bikes had naturally become something of a secret rebellious desire for Amiel. Her eyes tracked over the distant lettering on the sign above his shop- Mud
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