the
academy.”
Daphne’s
attention perked as if she’d been bitten by the words themselves. “Belle?” At
that moment, an owl hooted through the tree limbs behind her. “How
appropriate,” she silently thought.
“Belle’s
the headmaster’s niece. Don’t worry; she’s nothing like him. Hates him almost
as much as I do. She’s one of us—the outcasts, that is. The only girl
member of our gang. Actually, she’s the one who gave me your address. She can
be a little nippy at times, though. Not sure why. I guess it’s just a girl
thing.”
“So,
are you two . . . you know . . . ?”
“Are
we what?” Finn turned back questioningly, with a naïveté well suited for a boy
much younger than he.
“You
know,” Daphne said again. “Are you and Belle . . . together?”
“You
mean is she my girlfriend?”
“Well,
yeah?”
Finn
exploded with laughter, so loud that Daphne crouched and hid under some bushes.
They’d passed a farmhouse not too far back and she worried that some redneck
hillbilly might come out with his shotgun. In her head she could hear the
haunting banjo from Deliverance . It was
no use trying to quiet him. If he’d been laughing any harder he’d collapse from
exhaustion.
“Me
and Belle?” Finn said when his laughter began to wind down. “No. Belle’s a good
friend, but she’s not like that. She’s like one of the guys. None of us have
girlfriends. Well, I did once—Lily, the cook’s daughter. But we’re just
friends now. What do we need girlfriends for anyway? That just leads to
romance, which leads to marriage, which leads to children, which leads to
adulthood.” Finn made a face as if he’d just smelled a pile of fresh steaming
dog poop.
“But
you’re practically an adult already, aren’t you? How old are you?”
“I’m
seventeen for three more months. And it doesn’t matter how old I am anyway.
Being an adult means being responsible, paying bills, working.” Finn’s voice
took on an intonation that sounded like he was about to vomit.
“But
you can’t just stop aging. You’re going to be an adult eventually, whether you
like it or not. It’s nature.”
“In
the physical sense, yes. But I’ll never be an adult as society sees it. Not as
long as I stay at the academy.”
“I
don’t understand. What does the academy have anything to do with it?”
“At
Neverland Academy, we do what we want, when we want. It means never having to
follow rules or do what you’re told. Never doing homework or stupid book
reports. Never being punished for having fun. Never falling in love and having
your heart broken. Never having any responsibility. Never growing up.”
“But
you can’t stay there forever, can you?”
“Why
not? They’ve got everything we need. As long as we stay hidden and out of
sight, we can keep partying like it’s 1999 until we’re old and gray.”
Daphne’s
ears perked. Though her rational side kept trying to tell her that this was
wrong, she was too tempted by the seductive nature of Neverland Academy. She
didn’t want to have her heart broken again, like Rocks had done to her. She
didn’t want to get a job or be responsible. She wanted to have fun and live
life her own way, by her own rules, where nobody would tell her what to do or
how to do it. She wanted to be free.
“Okay,
let’s keep going.”
Chapter
Seven
Slave
Tunnels
It was a full moon , the sky was
sprinkled with stars, and the former plantation glowed with a light blue fog.
Belle had been staring out her window overlooking the garden for over an hour,
waiting for Finn to return. Tonight would be the night. The night that she
would reveal her true feelings for him. This would be her final chance. He had
to know before it was too late.
Belle didn’t know why she had never told
him before. She’d just assumed that he’d get the hint and fall madly in
academy.”
Daphne’s
attention perked as if she’d been bitten by the words themselves. “Belle?” At
that moment, an owl hooted through the tree limbs behind her. “How
appropriate,” she silently thought.
“Belle’s
the headmaster’s niece. Don’t worry; she’s nothing like him. Hates him almost
as much as I do. She’s one of us—the outcasts, that is. The only girl
member of our gang. Actually, she’s the one who gave me your address. She can
be a little nippy at times, though. Not sure why. I guess it’s just a girl
thing.”
“So,
are you two . . . you know . . . ?”
“Are
we what?” Finn turned back questioningly, with a naïveté well suited for a boy
much younger than he.
“You
know,” Daphne said again. “Are you and Belle . . . together?”
“You
mean is she my girlfriend?”
“Well,
yeah?”
Finn
exploded with laughter, so loud that Daphne crouched and hid under some bushes.
They’d passed a farmhouse not too far back and she worried that some redneck
hillbilly might come out with his shotgun. In her head she could hear the
haunting banjo from Deliverance . It was
no use trying to quiet him. If he’d been laughing any harder he’d collapse from
exhaustion.
“Me
and Belle?” Finn said when his laughter began to wind down. “No. Belle’s a good
friend, but she’s not like that. She’s like one of the guys. None of us have
girlfriends. Well, I did once—Lily, the cook’s daughter. But we’re just
friends now. What do we need girlfriends for anyway? That just leads to
romance, which leads to marriage, which leads to children, which leads to
adulthood.” Finn made a face as if he’d just smelled a pile of fresh steaming
dog poop.
“But
you’re practically an adult already, aren’t you? How old are you?”
“I’m
seventeen for three more months. And it doesn’t matter how old I am anyway.
Being an adult means being responsible, paying bills, working.” Finn’s voice
took on an intonation that sounded like he was about to vomit.
“But
you can’t just stop aging. You’re going to be an adult eventually, whether you
like it or not. It’s nature.”
“In
the physical sense, yes. But I’ll never be an adult as society sees it. Not as
long as I stay at the academy.”
“I
don’t understand. What does the academy have anything to do with it?”
“At
Neverland Academy, we do what we want, when we want. It means never having to
follow rules or do what you’re told. Never doing homework or stupid book
reports. Never being punished for having fun. Never falling in love and having
your heart broken. Never having any responsibility. Never growing up.”
“But
you can’t stay there forever, can you?”
“Why
not? They’ve got everything we need. As long as we stay hidden and out of
sight, we can keep partying like it’s 1999 until we’re old and gray.”
Daphne’s
ears perked. Though her rational side kept trying to tell her that this was
wrong, she was too tempted by the seductive nature of Neverland Academy. She
didn’t want to have her heart broken again, like Rocks had done to her. She
didn’t want to get a job or be responsible. She wanted to have fun and live
life her own way, by her own rules, where nobody would tell her what to do or
how to do it. She wanted to be free.
“Okay,
let’s keep going.”
Chapter
Seven
Slave
Tunnels
It was a full moon , the sky was
sprinkled with stars, and the former plantation glowed with a light blue fog.
Belle had been staring out her window overlooking the garden for over an hour,
waiting for Finn to return. Tonight would be the night. The night that she
would reveal her true feelings for him. This would be her final chance. He had
to know before it was too late.
Belle didn’t know why she had never told
him before. She’d just assumed that he’d get the hint and fall madly in
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