Time.
http://www.hotflick.net/flicks/2009_Jennifer_s_Body/009JNB_Amanda_Seyfried_001.jpg
She couldn't even begin to calculate just how many times the hands of the clock, in its wire-mesh cage, had completed their circles. Seconds clicked. Minutes drummed. Hours oozed in a sanguine haze. She had to be careful now, when she moved the bear. Carefully, so very carefully, she'd hidden the stuffing with a hole, picked into her pillow. They'd never even noticed. The pills rattled when he shifted, like a thousand muted cicadas. Full and heavy.
The shots were worse, and the shocks worse than that. Catatonic schizophrenia. She'd carried that label for nearly three years. By and large, she'd learned to hide herself behind a placid smile. The feather, for all that the one who'd given it to her had vanished quite abruptly, helped out in that regard remarkably well. Like innocence, in tangible form. Not that she'd ever again know innocence, oh no. She listened. She listened as she stared, listened as she walked, listened as she pretended to sleep. The guards, lax with complacency, were talkative. Through them, she'd learned much of life outside.
Just as she'd begun when first arriving, she cooperated. No fuss, no muss. She'd made wallets, wove baskets for about a week, all the lovely little pastimes institutions gave to the residents they didn't want to trust to the outside. In all this time, she'd never held more than a clipped coin to her name.
Until today. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews49/jennifers_body_blu-ray/01_jennifers_body_blu-ray.jpg
Today, the lock clicked open, and a guard stood there, wearing an expression she'd never learned to read. Pity.
They'd given her things then. Clothing. Not much, and certainly not the best quality, but warm, and not too ill-worn. Pants. Soft shoes. A thick jacket with nappy wool lining against the cold. Underthings, plain and serviceable. Shirts, of the same mindset. Simple, unadorned, a trifle thin, but manageable. A bag to put it all in. Then, a small bag that clinked when she caught it. Money. Not much, enough to eke out a pitiful living for a time, or to blow out in one night's worth of excess to leave her destitute.
Her choice.
She dressed, then layered another shirt on under the jacket, and packed the pajamas and robe she'd lived in for nearly three years. The guard didn't make any mention of that, even if it was technically stealing. A soft heart, perhaps. They'd just throw the things away after she left, in any case. The bear also wound up in the bag, she'd taken care to move it gently. No sense in giving that away.
The setting sun turned the sky crimson as her breath fogged in the chill. Behind her, the iron gates squalled like a scalded pig, then clanked shut. Time's up, girl. According to your documents, you're past the age we can keep you as a minor. The Watch will be keeping an eye on you, making sure you stay out of trouble.
Bullsh*t. She knew bullsh*t when she heard it. They weren't going to be "keeping her out of trouble", they were going to try and catch her at it. So they could bring her back, and keep her locked away, this time until she died.
That wasn't going to happen. Not if she could help it.
The guard at the gate, waiting for shift change, probably wouldn't notice that little bit of steel missing, not for some time. People just ignored her, if she stayed quiet.
Tucking it away, she pulled up the hood and walked, kept on walking on silent footsteps, toward the darkening west, and the smells of the city there.
Time. It was hers, now. http://art-burger.com/movies/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/amanda-seyfried-jennifers-body.jpg ((All images are of Amanda Seyfried, no copyright infringement intended, Cross-Posted in "Getting to Know You".))
She couldn't even begin to calculate just how many times the hands of the clock, in its wire-mesh cage, had completed their circles. Seconds clicked. Minutes drummed. Hours oozed in a sanguine haze. She had to be careful now, when she moved the bear. Carefully, so very carefully, she'd hidden the stuffing with a hole, picked into her pillow. They'd never even noticed. The pills rattled when he shifted, like a thousand muted cicadas. Full and heavy.
The shots were worse, and the shocks worse than that. Catatonic schizophrenia. She'd carried that label for nearly three years. By and large, she'd learned to hide herself behind a placid smile. The feather, for all that the one who'd given it to her had vanished quite abruptly, helped out in that regard remarkably well. Like innocence, in tangible form. Not that she'd ever again know innocence, oh no. She listened. She listened as she stared, listened as she walked, listened as she pretended to sleep. The guards, lax with complacency, were talkative. Through them, she'd learned much of life outside.
Just as she'd begun when first arriving, she cooperated. No fuss, no muss. She'd made wallets, wove baskets for about a week, all the lovely little pastimes institutions gave to the residents they didn't want to trust to the outside. In all this time, she'd never held more than a clipped coin to her name.
Until today. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews49/jennifers_body_blu-ray/01_jennifers_body_blu-ray.jpg
Today, the lock clicked open, and a guard stood there, wearing an expression she'd never learned to read. Pity.
They'd given her things then. Clothing. Not much, and certainly not the best quality, but warm, and not too ill-worn. Pants. Soft shoes. A thick jacket with nappy wool lining against the cold. Underthings, plain and serviceable. Shirts, of the same mindset. Simple, unadorned, a trifle thin, but manageable. A bag to put it all in. Then, a small bag that clinked when she caught it. Money. Not much, enough to eke out a pitiful living for a time, or to blow out in one night's worth of excess to leave her destitute.
Her choice.
She dressed, then layered another shirt on under the jacket, and packed the pajamas and robe she'd lived in for nearly three years. The guard didn't make any mention of that, even if it was technically stealing. A soft heart, perhaps. They'd just throw the things away after she left, in any case. The bear also wound up in the bag, she'd taken care to move it gently. No sense in giving that away.
The setting sun turned the sky crimson as her breath fogged in the chill. Behind her, the iron gates squalled like a scalded pig, then clanked shut. Time's up, girl. According to your documents, you're past the age we can keep you as a minor. The Watch will be keeping an eye on you, making sure you stay out of trouble.
Bullsh*t. She knew bullsh*t when she heard it. They weren't going to be "keeping her out of trouble", they were going to try and catch her at it. So they could bring her back, and keep her locked away, this time until she died.
That wasn't going to happen. Not if she could help it.
The guard at the gate, waiting for shift change, probably wouldn't notice that little bit of steel missing, not for some time. People just ignored her, if she stayed quiet.
Tucking it away, she pulled up the hood and walked, kept on walking on silent footsteps, toward the darkening west, and the smells of the city there.
Time. It was hers, now. http://art-burger.com/movies/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/amanda-seyfried-jennifers-body.jpg ((All images are of Amanda Seyfried, no copyright infringement intended, Cross-Posted in "Getting to Know You".))