A Caged Bird - Chasing Normal, Arc 5

Scene 25: Locked Up

Travis sat on her bed, dragged across her room in a fit of rage, and leaned her forehead against the window. From her parents' apartment, the streets of New Glory looked like thick lines. People were little more than brightly colored specks moving along the lines. She tried to spin a story about the dots, but her thoughts always fizzled out before she got far.

Being cooped up in the apartment wasn't as bad as Travis was expecting. Her mother almost never came into the public areas of the apartment. Lydia hadn't pressured Travis into eating with her family again. In fact, she offered to let Travis eat in her room. The teen was grateful for the buffer.

Having her social life ripped away from her wasn't as painful as expected, either. After years of having no one her own age to hang out with, she'd quickly become used to having people that felt like they could become friends. But those were the same people who were responsible for her now being trapped in the family apartment. She didn't hate them, but she didn't talk to them at work if she could help it. She had nothing to say to them.

Will, on the other hand, she missed. Even at lunch, he still wouldn't talk to her. He would look at her, sympathy all over his face, but that was it. Travis would give up her sketchbook to spend an evening underground again.

Most of the animation apprentices were eating together, sunk in their chairs as they tried to avoid the looks from other crew members, and talking so quietly the table might as well have been silent. Travis continued to eat with Nigel and Noel.

"I should have taken you with me when I left. I knew those parties get busted regularly."

"You said it yourself, Nigel. I was the golden girl. There was no way Melinda was going to let me leave." Travis had been thinking all weekend that she shouldn't have given Melinda a second chance, but nothing would change that now. "And if those parties end like that a lot, why do they still risk it?"

"Because a lot of them are rich little brats who never had to deal with consequences," Noel chomped on his burger. Travis and Nigel both just stared at him. "What? You know I'm right, Nige."

"That's not the point," Nigel growled. "I should have been a better date."

"You really can't blame yourself for what happened. It just means Mom's parties would eventually have caught up with me." Travis shook her head as she stood and pushed in her chair. "Sorry, Noel, but we have to get back. Brice pretty much has us all on lockdown."

Nigel didn't look too confident as he bumped fists with his brother and followed Travis out of the cafeteria. "I have to make a stop, but I'll catch up with you."

"Sure," Travis nodded.

The moment Nigel was out of sight, Melinda appeared at Travis' shoulder. That girl's ninja skills need to be surgically removed. Travis ground her teeth. "What do you want?"

Melinda pulled back from Travis, just enough to leave a sliver of light. "What do you mean? I thought you'd be sitting with us. You know, solidarity and all that." Her voice sounded more shrill, and to Travis it was like a train braking on thin rails.

"Solidarity?"

"Against the rest of the studio. Everyone wants us gone now, when we were just doing what they all do." Melinda wrapped her hands lightly around Travis' arm.

Travis wrenched her arm free. "No, we weren't. We were breaking the rules. Those people you think are judging you? Those are the people old enough to go to my mom's parties."

Melinda looked like she'd just been slapped. "So...you won't stand with us? How is that going to look?" And then she fell in step beside Travis, shoulders back and chin up. "Or maybe you're hoping that if you aren't seen with us, everyone will forget you were part of it. They're not going to forget that any more than they would forget you're Shiri Ando's daughter."

Travis rolled her eyes. "I'm not hanging out with you guys because I prefer hanging out with Nigel and Noel. It's not like you need me to have a good time."

Melinda shrugged her shoulders, "Suit yourself. But see how long you last in the team-oriented environment of the animator workspace without the support of the other apprentices."

"Are you saying you're going to turn everyone against me, just because I won't follow you around and do whatever you say?"

Melinda stopped in front of her and just grinned. "No. I'm saying if you don't stand with us, we won't work with you."

"Good luck with that," Travis spat out. "You'll only get into more trouble for not doing your job." Nigel's opinion of Melinda's work ran through her head. Maybe her threat is a good thing. If she's gone, she won't slow down the work.

"We'll see." Melinda spun around on her heel and called back over her shoulder, "See you around, superstar."

Travis took a deep breath. She can't do anything to me. Then, she headed to her workstation and started working on a new batch of assets.