I sprinted through the forest, ignoring the low-hanging pine branches that whipp

ed at my face and arms without mercy. A small bag with only a change of clothes,
my iPod Touch, a Swiss army knife, and the $87 dollars I'd saved up I clutched
desperately in one hand. I could hear Louise, my father, screaming at me from th
e house as I ran.
"I'll get you, Ariana! You can't hide forever! I will find you!"
I ignored his threats and pumped my legs even faster. My cheek hurt from where h
e'd slapped me, as did my shoulder where he'd cut me with a kitchen knife. It on
ly bled a little, but the stain on my shirt and hoodie would be irremovable, not
to mention the rips in the fabric.
A short bark, more like a yip, made me pause and look behind me. Zip, my blond P
omeranian, came racing after me, unwilling to be left behind. I smiled and scoop
ed him up in both arms, planting a quick kiss on the top of his head before cont
inuing on with my mad dash to nowhere. Anywhere as better than where he was.
I stopped after some time, setting Zip down and falling to my knees, panting har
d. My legs slid out from under me and made an "M", my hands curled into fists on
my thighs. Zip put his front paws on my hands and licked my arm comfortingly.
Grinning, I swept him up into a hug. "We did it, boy. We finally got away," I br
eathed into the back of his neck. Zip tried to lick my shoulder wound, but I set
him down quickly. "No, boy. I'll take care of it."
After slipping my hoodie and shirt off (Hey, no one was around to see me), I too
k a look at the gash. It was maybe two inches long, thin, and bleeding a bit mor
e than I was comfortable with. Cursing Louise, I used my knife to cut a strip of
f the hem of my dark green T-shirt. Wrapping the makeshift bandage under my armp
it and over the cut, as well as tying it off with my teeth and one hand, proved
to not be too difficult.
When I was finished I put my clothing back on and stood, shaky from fatigue at f
irst. Zip came back from relieving himself and nudged my pack with his nose.
"Right, let's not forget this," I said, picking it up by one strap and slinging
it over my good shoulder. He followed me into town, where we got on a bus and ro
de to the next town over.
For the next three days that's what we did, going from town to city until I felt
like I could breathe freely. I knew Louise would make good on his threat, by th
ere was no way I'd make it easy for him. During those three days, I bought Ace b
andages, cut my long gold/red/brown hair into a short boy's cut, and practiced i
mitating a teenage boy's voice to complete the disguise. I didn't want to be eas
ily recognized if he came after me, right?
It was on day four of "My Great Adventure" (note the sarcasm) that I noticed the
looks I was receiving from people, like they were about to call child services
on me. Trying not to panic, I stopped a couple girls on a street corner who were
wearing matching school uniforms and asked them what school they were from.
"Why, do you want to enroll?" the busty one with short gray-blond hair and a hea
dband inquired.
"Yes," I answered. "That is, if they have a scholarship program, because I'm tig
ht on funds. Well, my family is, I mean."
"We go to Oxford High, and there is a program like that. It's two blocks that wa
y," she said, pointing me in the right direction.
"Thanks a lot!" I said gratefully before going that way.
Why would I want to enroll in some private school or whatever? So I could claim
to have a place to stay, for starters. Food, shelter, showers, other kids my age
, even education! I could enroll as a boy and keep my identity a secret while hi
ding from Louise. Maybe I could even find a part-time job and earn money for my
own place...
I was so lost in my thoughts that I nearly went right past the gates of what cou
ld only be Gakuen. It was big, ornate, and the buildings on the campus looked mo
re like a fancy college than a school for teenagers. Hesitantly, I went through
the gates and wandered in the direction I hoped the main office was in. After se
arching hopelessly with no results, I saw two boys about my age arguing with eac
h other and strolled over, my bag on my good shoulder and Zip sleeping inside. T
hey didn't notice I was there as I walked closer.
"... don't care how good of an idea you think it is! There is no such thing as a
n engine that can run on "pure awesomeness"! You've been hanging out with that G
ilbert bloke a bit too much lately," the shorter blond with green eyes like mine
and very bushy eyebrows shouted, clearly fed up, in a British-accented voice.
The taller on me wih sky-blue eyes, glasses, a cowlick that stood straight up wh
ere his light brown hair parted, and a muscular build crossed his arms over his
brown jacket. "How do you know? Have you ever even looked into it? Awesomeness c
ould save the world someday, and when it does you'll have to admit I was right a
nd you were wrong." He looked confident, and I suppressed a small laugh. Did he
really think that would work?
The British boy looked pissed, but gained control of his emotions. "Fine, but I'
ll only say that if this... "awesome engine"... actually saves the world."
"Works for me, bro."
"I've got a question?" I said to gain their attention, and they both turned towa
rds me. The blue-eyed boy stuffed his hands in his pants pockets while the green
-eyed boy balled his fists at his sides like he was resisting the urge to strang
le his friend.
"Oh hey, dude. What's your question?"
I resisted the urge to blush; they both were insanely good-looking. No, Ariana,
no blushing. You're Lysander now, and he doesn't blush when cute boys talk to hi
m. "Can you tell me where the main office is?"
"Sure thing, dude!" The boy with glasses launched into a series of directions th
at I just couldn't follow, and question marks floated above my head.
"You idiot, you completely lost him," the British boy said harshly before turnin
g to me with a kinder expression. "My name is Dennis, and this is Dave. How abou
t we just show you the way instead?"
I nodded. "Thanks, I really appreciate it. I'm Lysander, by the way."
We started talking together, just random stuff to get to know each other. I foun
d out that Dennis was a whiz at literature, a horrible cook, and believed that m
agical creatures exist. Dave loved hamburgers and was obsessed with being the he
ro (hence the "world-saving energy source").
"You know, dude, you kinds look like a girl," Dave commented tactlessly.
"You moron, be nice!" Dennis chastised, smacking him on the back of the head.
I laughed and shook my head. "No, it's fine. I get that a lot, no worries." 'Ple
ase buy it!'
My pack started to quiver, and I put a hand on it to calm Zip down. He wouldn't
settle, and Davey and Dennis gave me odd looks. Groaning and my misfortune, I fl
ipped the top down and Zip's head shot out. He was panting hard, gasping for air
.
I smacked my forehead in exasperation. "I forgot to leave the top down! Sorry, b
oy." I scratched him behind the ears, but froze when I remembered Davey and Denn
is.
"Um, this is Zip," I said, turning and showing them my dog.
Dave got a squee face and begged me to let him hold Zip. "Uh, sure," I replied,
and Zip was lifted out of the bag and held in Dave's arms while being petted lov
ingly.
"You do know pets are allowed here, right?" Dennis asked as he held a hand out f
or Zip to smell.
I blinked at him, and then sighed in relief. "That's good to know."
"You brought a dog here without knowing the rules?" he asked incredulously.
"Dude, that's so awesome! Screw rules!" Davey cheered, and we high-fived, both o
f us laughing.
"Yeah, sorry. Zip goes everywhere with me," I explained.
Dennis stopped walking, announcing "We're here." A set of double doors stood by
us, ornate and polished oak. Davey gave Zip one last squeeze and gave him back t
o me.
"Thanks a lot, guys. Maybe I'll see you around?" I said hopefully.
"Yeah, dude! Definitely!" Dave said as he flashed a thumbs-up and a grin to matc
h.
"I look forward to it," Dennis said, ever the gentleman.
They left me to go in, waving as they rounded the corner. I waved back and turne
d to the doors, rolling my shoulders. Putting a hand on the left door, I wondere
d if I actually knew what I was doing and hoped that whatever madness was drivin
g me to do this would stay until I couldn't back out. 'I must be out of my mind'
I thought before I pushed the door open.