Elusive Thief posted 5/20/2008 10:37:53 PM | 22 kudos what's this?     report abuse

LaughTillYaPuke

It is 1 week later before I am given the news that I have hypoglycemia. In the grand scheme of things this is nothing until I am given the diet I must follow. No white bread (my main food source), and very limited sweets. And there went my peanut butter. I am handed a medic necklace to wear at all times. Oh yeah...there's a fair trade off for my gold earrings.

I am forced to contemplate going home. Not that things will be any better there, but the simple fact is, I can not afford to eat. But the more I think on it, the more I realize that I will do anything not to have to return there. I take out my lock picking kit and decide that I would rather go to jail than go back home. My life as a thief begins.

I steal a flashlight from the maintence crew. Food from the cafeteria, reeds from the band room, chalk from the gym and knees pads from the lost and found before volleyball season. And in the beginning, I take nothing that I don't need to provide me with the basics to make it from sun up to sun down. I have given up many things, I feel no sacrifice of my pride at doing this. But my long standing, gut wrenching relationship with guilt will finally outweigh my need to survive and I will "tell on myself" before I can shine too brightly. I cannot sleep with guilt.

I am the new girl on campus still. Elusive. Smart. Considered beautiful. Thought to have talent. The boys desire me and the girls want to be my friend and hate me at the same time. I am mysterious to them as I do not reveal myself. I have little to say except to ask themselves about their lives. My life started only 4 months ago, what would I tell them that would not bore them to tears? There is only this young woman that I have created. That was my right. To walk out that door with a clean slate and create my own identity. And baring a few gaps in my paperwork regarding age, I have done a damn good job. I have so far managed to live up to my test scores.

I wear my unique outfits with casual disregard and elegance. It is the only choice left to you when you are so very different. You can either try to hide your spots, or you can become as comfortable with them as if they are your very own skin. True aplomb can only be admired, never copied. I would remain the Gypsy Queen until I left the school. I wear my medic alert necklace around my waist. And effort to blend in. For some reason, it makes them want to see it all the more. One more spot to absorb into my skin.

I am invited to a dorm party. A toga party in fact. THIS I can do. And I will do it, even if it ruins the one sheet I own. Everyone is bringing a dish to pass or some sort of goodie. I show up carrying a 2 foot by 4 foot pan of brownies stolen from the cafeteria. For some reason this makes the mysterious girl cool, and I am the hit of the party. And I find that my new skin fits well. When you have nothing to hide, you can have a pretty good time.

The girls consider me their best friend. All of them. They do not realize that they like me because I listen to them, compliment them and never speak about myself. I understand this. I was young once too. They lay in wait for me when I get off of work, hanging around outside my dorm room. I am only one of 4 girls that has a private room. The “powers that be” feel that advanced curriculum kids need as few distractions as possible to be able to deal with the extra demands. I couldn’t agree more. From years of artful practice I stear them away from my door to go sit on the patio, the lounge or their own dorm rooms. No–one seems to have caught on to my hermit like behavior.

One girl thinks she is pregnant. And for some reason thinks I am the most worldly of all the girls on campus as I have been to public school. She wants my advice. I am probably the only virgin on campus and can think of nothing to say to her but…”Congratulations. Babies are always a blessing. No go call your dad and tell him.” My naivette should have been obvious to those around me, but my charade played on.

She was to leave school within the week. More than likely the staff got wind of her condition. And I, as the only girl who cared enough to talk with her in the dark of the night, found 5 boxes outside my dorm room with a note thanking me for my friendship. It was clothes. She would not fit into any of them anymore soon. Could I please find a good home for them? I certainly could. And I held up a real Jessica McClintock dress and slid it over my naked body. I stood all the way against the wall in order to see as much of my self in that little mirror mounted above the built in dresser as I could. And for the first time in my life, I felt pretty. And I sat on my bed and read all of the beautiful invitations that boys had written me two months ago. And I thrilled to know that it was all suddenly possible.

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Blogs by LaughTillYaPuke: Choose our own Destiny....The End We're All in this Alone...Part 5 But Will You Thrive?...Part 4 Castle on the Hill...Part 3 Fear and Foot Prints...Part 2 The Hunt Begins....Part 1 Better than Ice Cream Breathe Body in the Road Always the Hard Thing to Do Blood, Sweat and Tears Coming to an End Elusive Thief House of Cards Gypsy Queen The Gum Tree The Age of Reason Felonies and other Petty Crimes What are You Looking for Rattling the Bones Spit In the Eye of the Devil The Best Damn Wayside EVER Coming into My Own Daddy's Girl Enough Already