Stranger

Nora

           

I'd been gone for half an hour when my cell phone rang.  It was my dad, but I ignored it.  I know they were trying to help me, but I had to get out of there.  They don't know me.  They think they'll just be able to stick me in some preppy school and I'll be fine.  They think I'll turn my life around now that they think they've cracked me.  Just challenge her, and her life will fall into place.  Voila.

I hopped on the subway and headed to Queens.  I still had my house key, so I discreetly slipped in through the back door.  The electricity must have been shut off because it was pitch black, besides the street lights.  The house was a mess, as usual.  Dirty dishes in the sink, trash sitting waiting to be taken out.  It was oddly comforting, coming back.  This is what I knew.  At the Mirandas' house, I didn't fit in.  I wasn't used to nice furniture and a nice bed and a refrigerator full of food.

I opened the fridge and found just a few items in there, mostly condiments.  Everything was rotten by this point.  Sighing, I went to my room and opened the window to let in some air.  I heard the comforting sounds of my neighborhood – dogs barking, kids yelling, traffic passing.  My bed creaked as I settled in.  It was probably older than me.

Text messages from Lin and Vanessa kept pouring in, asking me to tell them where I was.  Fat chance.  I wasn't going to fit into their cookie cutter life.  I wasn't perfect and I wasn't smart, and I never would be.  I must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing I knew there was a loud knock at the door.

"Nora?!" A voice called.  It was Lin.  How had he found me?

"Nora, open up!  I know you're in there," he told me.  Somehow, I knew he wasn't just going to go away, so I reluctantly got up and walked to the door.  I unlocked the door, but left the chain attached.

"What?" I asked him, seeing his concerned eyes through the small opening.

"Open the door, Nora," he asked me, his voice calm.

"Why should I?  I don't want to go back with you."

"Nora..." he began again.  "I know this is hard, but this is no place for you right now.  You can't just stay here by yourself."

"Yes I can," I countered.  "This is my house."

"Kids aren't allowed to live by themselves," he pointed out.  "It's time to go home."

"I am home," I told him and slammed the door.  I turned around and rested my back against the door, letting myself sink to the floor.  I saw a cockroach scurry across the room.  It was silent for several minutes.  I chanced a peek out the window and saw Lin in the front yard on his cell phone.  When he walked back, I quickly ducked away, out of view as he knocked again.

"Nora, you need to open up," he told me.  "Or I'm gonna have to call the police."

"And what?  Take me back to juvie?"

"No," he said, his voice still calm.  "I'll have to get them to break the lock."

"Why don't you just leave me alone?!" I told him, getting annoyed.  I was used to adults just giving me my space, not wanting to bother with me.

"I can't," he told me.

"Yes you can," I countered.  "Just go home.  Be with your perfect wife and your perfect sons."

"Nora," he said, his voice sounding repentant.  He should have known I wouldn't be this easy.  "You're my daughter, and I'd like you to come home with me.  I know it's weird right now, but you've gotta give it a chance."

"I don't want to," I told him.  "I just want to stay here."

Lin gave up for the time being, until I became aware of blue and red lights in the driveway.  He'd called the damn police.  I heard voices outside the door as Lin talked to the police officer.  A louder knock came.