A Dumb Idea (#1)
It was a simple plan: we'd run away.
Matt, the crazy Griffin brother, and I had it all planned out. (The Griffin brothers were unidentical twins--my childhood best friends. Mark was more laid back and Matt was hyper and would do anything. Even run away, just for the adventure.)
It was a Sunday night and we had stockpiled food for awhile, taking a can of ravioli from our houses here and a can of soup there. Nobody would miss it; our parents wouldn't suspect a thing.
I was in charge of packing all the food and gear we'd need for our flight away from home. By the time Matt arrived at my bedroom window (he was never punctual, but that night he arrived early), everything we needed was ready to go.
I met Matt on the back porch. It was a particularly dark night out and we could barely see a thing. My mother and stepfather were in bed for the night, so it was easy slipping out and taking one last look over my shoulder at the house.
I was convinced I'd never see the house again.
We planned to walk most of the night to get as far away as we could. We'd sleep during the day in secluded areas and move under the cover of darkness. I don't even remember where we were planning to go; I just wanted to get away from my stepfather and Matt, growing up with six brothers and one sister, just wanted a change of scenery.
It was amazing how quickly we were able to move with all our gear. We had enough food to last a couple weeks if we rationed things wisely.
Several miles from home, Matt wanted to stop and get a bite to eat (he had the matabolism of a mongoose on crack--it was finally stopped when somebody put a crossbow bolt through his chest when we were nineteen). We went for the doughnuts, figuring they were the most perishable thing we were packing.
"Ouch!" Matt grabbed his mouth. "The damn doughnuts are frozen! It's gotta be 20 below!" He rummaged through the food we had packed on a toboggan. "It's all frozen."
"Hmmm..." I said. "I guess we should go back, huh?"
"Yeah, when you live near Chicago, running away in January isn't the brightest idea," Matt said.
Matt, the crazy Griffin brother, and I had it all planned out. (The Griffin brothers were unidentical twins--my childhood best friends. Mark was more laid back and Matt was hyper and would do anything. Even run away, just for the adventure.)
It was a Sunday night and we had stockpiled food for awhile, taking a can of ravioli from our houses here and a can of soup there. Nobody would miss it; our parents wouldn't suspect a thing.
I was in charge of packing all the food and gear we'd need for our flight away from home. By the time Matt arrived at my bedroom window (he was never punctual, but that night he arrived early), everything we needed was ready to go.
I met Matt on the back porch. It was a particularly dark night out and we could barely see a thing. My mother and stepfather were in bed for the night, so it was easy slipping out and taking one last look over my shoulder at the house.
I was convinced I'd never see the house again.
We planned to walk most of the night to get as far away as we could. We'd sleep during the day in secluded areas and move under the cover of darkness. I don't even remember where we were planning to go; I just wanted to get away from my stepfather and Matt, growing up with six brothers and one sister, just wanted a change of scenery.
It was amazing how quickly we were able to move with all our gear. We had enough food to last a couple weeks if we rationed things wisely.
Several miles from home, Matt wanted to stop and get a bite to eat (he had the matabolism of a mongoose on crack--it was finally stopped when somebody put a crossbow bolt through his chest when we were nineteen). We went for the doughnuts, figuring they were the most perishable thing we were packing.
"Ouch!" Matt grabbed his mouth. "The damn doughnuts are frozen! It's gotta be 20 below!" He rummaged through the food we had packed on a toboggan. "It's all frozen."
"Hmmm..." I said. "I guess we should go back, huh?"
"Yeah, when you live near Chicago, running away in January isn't the brightest idea," Matt said.