“We are in the free and clear. I hope we can escape before he gets back,” Riley whispered as we both listened for Jerald to come back. His heavy tread on the wood floor was the only way we knew whether or not he was home. For being such a shy and docile man, I had never been more afraid of someone who was several inches shorter than me.
“I haven’t heard any noises in a while so this might be our chance.” As if planned, we started tiptoeing to the window in the room. The two of us had been working for weeks on an escape plan and at this point, it was now or never.
The seconds of trying to pry the window open seemed to quickly turn into minutes and I could feel my eyes start to burn with tears. It was now or never. Now or we would never breathe fresh air again. We became so focused on escape, Riley and I didn’t hear the door creak open. As soon as we heard the cough, we knew we were caught. Caught and would never be able to see the outside world again. It was the last time either of us got caught cheating on a test. A test that essentially meant nothing to the real world, but everything to us. The test of whether we were trustworthy or not. The test of whether we could go outside or not. And we had failed miserably.
Standing Room Only 