The Escape

The Escape

“Will Marco Owens please come to the office? Marco Owens you’re wanted in the office.”

I look up from my desk when I hear the secretary announce my name over the intercom. I’m sitting in biology class and trying to take notes on the different parts of animal cells. Why do I need to go to the office? Did something happen to my dad? Am I in trouble? I look up at my biology teacher, Mr. Perry.

“You’re excused Marco. Take your things with you. I don’t think you’ll be back today.”

Shit! That is never a good sign. Class only started ten minutes ago. Why would the office need me for almost an hour? I gather my things and leave the room as quickly as possible. On my way through the halls of the loathsome high school I think of all the reasons I might be needed in the office. What the hell do they need me for?

I approach the counter at the office window and the secretary tells me that I can see Mr. Shafer now. Mr. Shafer is the principal. This can’t be a good thing. I slowly walk to his office and knock on the door.

“Come in,” says the voice within.

I enter the office and take a look around. My dad is sitting in one of the chairs facing the principal. He looks upset; I wonder what’s going on.

“Sit down Marco. We need to talk,” Mr. Shafer interrupts my thoughts.

I sit down next to my dad but I’m afraid to look at either of them. Instead, I run my fingers over the words “R.I.P.” that some other dismal student had carved into the arm of my chair. I wonder what that kid was in here for.

“Marco, I’ve called you and your father in today because I’ve heard some rumors about you. I was worried, so I asked around and found out that the rumors are true. This is hard for me to say, but I’m afraid that I’m going to have to suspend you Marco.”

My stomach drops. How can they suspend me? I’m not a bad kid. Well, I didn’t turn in my last algebra assignment, but it was only worth five points. That isn’t enough to be suspended. Oh man, my dad is going to be mad at me for being suspended. I risk a glance at him.

“What has my son done? Why is he being suspended?”

“As you know, this school is an all-boys high school. There is a reason for that. We frown upon the chance of the boys mixing with girls. Mr. Owens, of course you know it is illegal in this country for people of the opposite sexes to sexually interact, except of course for mating reasons. Mating is not allowed until a same sex partnership is established. Marco was seen kissing a girl. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. I talked to a few of his friends and they say that to the best of their knowledge he has never had a relationship with another boy.”

Oh shit. Were there people watching? I didn’t think anyone had seen me stealing that kiss. If I really had been seen that afternoon, I’m lucky to not be in jail right now.

“Marco, what do you have to say for yourself?” My dad asks. “Is this true?”

I take a deep breath and begin my story. “I met this person, well this girl named Jessica about a year ago. I was at the arcade playing some video games when she bumped into me. We were both trying to play Severe Skirmish III when we knocked each other down. After that we realized we liked a lot of the same stuff and became friends. Well recently I started to discover that I liked her as more than a friend. I knew it was illegal, but I couldn’t help how I felt. But due to the law, I was afraid to tell her. It turns out that she liked me as more than a friend too. One night when we were at the movies she reached across the arm rest and grabbed my hand. We held hands through the whole movie. It was late when the movie ended and we both had to get home, so we arranged to meet in the park between our schools the next day. At the park we walked to the wooded area that is kind of isolated and talked about what had happened the night before. Before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing her. I couldn’t help myself, I just did it. I didn’t know anyone saw us. I thought we were alone.”

As I told the story I had kept my head down, still looking at the R.I.P. carving on the chair’s arm, but now I looked up. Mr. Shafer looked shocked. My dad looked heartbroken.

“I’m sorry dad. I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just did. I tried to like boys. I really did. Remember my friend Luke? We kind of tried to date last year for a while. But he liked someone else in our class and I didn’t really like him as a boyfriend. I just liked him as a friend. I… I…”

“Get your things Marco. It’s time to go. We’re wasting Mr. Shafer’s time.”

I follow my dad through the main office. He tells me that he will meet me in the car once I’ve gotten everything out of my locker. As I walk toward the stairway that will take me to my third-floor locker, I turn around briefly and see my dad watching me. This sucks. I didn’t mean to make him sad.

I run up the stairs as quickly as I can. Right now I wish that my locker was closer to the stairs. I have to pass ten classrooms to get to my locker. Unfortunately for me, most the doors are open. I run to my locker and empty it quickly hoping that no one will see me before I leave. I almost make it. I’m halfway back toward the stairs when my best friend Ryan pokes his head out of his classroom and asks what I’m doing. I tell him I have to go home right now and that I don’t want to go into details at the moment. Hopefully he will just think I’m going home sick or something. Ryan says ok and that he’ll call me later. I say bye to him as fast as I can and run the rest of the way down the hall.

By the time I get to the parking lot where my dad is waiting for me, three other guys have stopped me and asked where I was off to. I manage to get out of the building without telling anyone the real reason I’m leaving. I climb into the passenger seat of my dad’s brand new SUV. He is so proud of the damn thing. He bought it so that I can have his old truck when I get my license next month. He’s been letting me drive a lot lately, but I know better than to ask if I can drive home today.

We drive home in silence. I stare out the window at the passing houses and he keeps his eyes straight ahead of him. He doesn’t look at me once. He pulls into the parking lot of our apartment complex and parks in our covered carport. He still says nothing to me as he gets out of the SUV and goes up to our apartment. I wait a few minutes before following him in. I wonder what he is going to say about all this.

The minute I get in the apartment he says, “We’ve got something big to work out here.”

I sigh and nod. I wonder what we are going to do. Mr. Shafer said that my suspension was for two weeks, but that he reserves the right to make it longer. My dad has to work most days so he can’t home school me. I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t notice him going to the bookshelf and pulling down an old ratty book. He sits on the couch and motions me over to him.

“Marco, I need to tell you something. I’m not originally from this country. Actually to be completely honest with you, I’m not from this world.”

“What do you mean you aren’t from this world? Are you from Mars or something?”

“No. I don’t mean another world in a planetary sense. I mean another world in a dimensional sense. You see, hundreds of realities actually lay on top of each other. Each is slightly different and most people never know about the existence of the other planes that are all around them. However, there are a few gaps that allow people to move from one plane to the next. I was shown one of these gaps when something happened to me when I was around your age.”

“Whoa! Dad, I’m not crazy or anything. I just think I might be straight. Sure it’s not normal, but it doesn’t mean I’m insane.”

“Look at this,” my dad tells me while opening the book on his lap. “It’s my high school yearbook from California.”

“California? That’s a funny name. Oh wow,” I marvel at the pictures.

I am looking through the yearbook and I notice that while a lot of things seem similar to my school, there is one big difference: girls. The boys in this book are going to school with girls. There are even a few pictures of boys and girls kissing.

“In California, where I came from, being gay was weird. Straight was normal. I wasn’t straight. The laws there aren’t as strict as here, but gay people don’t have many rights. After I was caught kissing a boy from my Spanish class, I was in a lot of trouble. The next few days for me were torture for me. I wasn’t suspended, but I wish I was. Instead the kids around me called me names, pushed me around, and one even tried to kill me. My parents wouldn’t help me. They said that I deserved everything that happened to me. I knew that I wasn’t safe in that school or even my home anymore.”

“Luckily for me, there was a teacher at my school who knew someplace I could go that was safe. That teacher, took me to the gap between that world and this one. I asked how I could ever thank him for helping me, and he told me to help anyone in this world that needed the same help I got. I have helped about twenty kids escape the system into my old world. They are safe there, even if I wasn’t. Now I have to send you there. I never imagined that my son would have to leave.”

“Dad! What am I supposed to do there? Where am I supposed to go? Maybe I’ll be normal there, but I don’t want to leave you. I don’t want to be alone,” I cry as my voice rises.

“It’s the only place you’ll be safe Marco. If your principal reports you to the government, you’ll be sent to prison. You have to go. I’ll tell everyone you ran away. Under the circumstances, everyone will believe it. Go pack a bag.”

I start to protest, but the look on his face tells me that I have no choice in the matter. I’m leaving. I get up and go to my room. I wonder what I should pack. What is this California place like? What kind of clothes do they wear? As I aimlessly search through my clothes, my dad enters my room.

“I forgot to tell you what you need,” he tells me. “You will want to pack some shorts. The weather is much warmer there. Also make sure to pack some short-sleeved shirts, T-shirts as they are called in California.”

I do what he says. I have to trust him on this. I look around my room and wonder what else to pack. My dad sees me looking and advises me not to take anything but some clothes. His teacher friend can help me get everything I need.

We wait until it gets dark enough to hide before leaving. We have to walk. Everyone knows my dad’s SUV by now. He shows it off to people every chance he gets. We walk and walk and walk. After what seems like hours, he pulls me off the road and into the woods. He leads the way. I don’t know how he knows where he is going. There’s no trail. We walk about a mile before he stops. I look around. My dad points into a cave. I peek in and see what looks kind of like a vortex. I want to wet myself.

“There is no way I’m going in there!” My voice sounds like a little girl.

“You have to. There’s no other way. Maybe I can come and visit you sometime, but promise me that you will never try to come back here. It’s too dangerous for you now.”

We say our goodbyes. He starts crying but pushes me into the cave anyway. He tells me that I need to find a man named T.J. who will help me get to his old teacher. I take a deep breath and jump into the vortex.

I fall flat on my face. I didn’t go anywhere. I stand up to try again. Wait a minute. It’s not dark anymore. I look around and see sand everywhere. I see water in the distance too. There are hardly any trees here. The forest is gone. The sun is very bright and I can feel it warming my skin. This isn’t like home at all.

I pick up my sand-covered bag and start walking towards the water. The air here is thick. It is hard to breathe, but it is exhilarating at the same time. I can smell salt in the air. In the distance I see people in the water. They are riding on top of the water on bright boards. I walk curiously in their direction. A few of the boys are coming back to dry land. They see me and wave. I wave back.

“Hey there! Did you come by to learn to surf?” a boy in bright green shorts asks me. I don’t even know what surfing is, but this is my chance at a new life. I tell the boy sure.

“I’m Marco. Marco Owens,” I tell the boy.

“Awesome! I’m T.J.”