"It's not just a social life, I could get a scholarship for college," Reese replied angrily.
"It's only a few weeks off, I'm sure we can work something out with the school. Think about it guys; you'll be a part of history in the making." Mom gave us pleading looks but there was no way I was going to agree.
"No. I'm seventeen, you can't make me. If you don't want us staying in the house alone then that's fine - I'm sure Lacey's mom will have me to stay." I finished my breakfast and wondered if storming out was the best way to play this.
"I could stay with Jason," Reese added. These two weeks were sounding better and better - two weeks almost Reese free. If I could swerve him during school then I could actually be free of him for a while.
"It's not that simple. It's not like we're just going away on holiday. We will be locked away. If anything were to happen, we wouldn't even find out until we came out. It's not just a closed door. They're cutting themselves off technologically as well. We won't be able to call you or even email - nothing," Dad said.
"Nothing's going to happen to us! I'll be at Lacey's with her mom and dad not some unknown place-"
"It's not up for discussion," Dad snapped.
"It is," I replied angrily. "You can't force me to go. You can't drag me there and tie me up in one of the cable cars - if I don't come home the day you have to go what are you going to do? Ask the whole city to keep the doors open while you come looking for me?"
"You listen to me-" Dad began angrily.
"No! You listen to us!" Reese interrupted before I could. "We aren't going. C'mon Kaitlyn." He stood and headed for the door and I scrambled after him. I kicked my shoes on as Dad got to his feet behind us.
"Don't walk out that door!" Dad shouted after us.
I looked up at Reese and saw the same determination in his gaze as I felt. We ducked out of the house together and ran to the end of the drive. It had just started to rain and I glanced up at the grey sky in frustration as I realised the only thing I had on me was my cellphone. I really needed a coat.
"Look at us on the same side for once," Reese said as he flipped up the hood on his sweatshirt.
"Yeah. I'm not convinced they'll change their minds though. And now we've stormed out of the house with nowhere to go."
"Speak for yourself, I'm off to Jason's. We should probably avoid the house for a while anyway."
"Agreed."
Reese nodded and turned away from me, jogging down the street towards Jason's house.
I turned the other way and pulled my cellphone from my pocket to call Lacey. It rang out and I dialled again. The third time it went to voicemail, I gave up and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I upped the pace and jogged the four blocks between my house and Lacey's.
The rain turned from a drizzle into downpour and I was drenched in my thin black shirt. My hair was plastered to my face and my feet squelched in my shoes.
I sprinted up Lacey's drive and hammered on her front door. I waited for over a minute before knocking again.
My heart sank as I realised no one was in. I couldn't bear the idea of skulking home soaking wet and shame faced but I wasn't sure what else to do either. It was a long walk to most of my other friends' houses and I wasn't even sure who to call on first.
Ella's was probably the closest but she wouldn't be able to hold back from telling everyone that I'd turned up on her doorstep, half drowned and in the middle of a row with my parents. And if Demi found out that they were trying to force me to miss two weeks of practice I wouldn't hear the end of it. She might even decide to go round and tell my mom and dad what she thought of that and I couldn't see how that would make the situation any better.
Tara was my next best bet but she lived nine blocks away.
Thunder crashed overhead and I flinched as I started running again. It was just my luck to get caught out in weather like this. It was the start of the summer but the unseasonable storm seemed to be picking up intensity by the minute.
I wanted to call Tara to check she was at home but the rain was so heavy that I was afraid of damaging my cellphone if I used it. I just hoped she was there and ran faster.
"Where you running to Girly?" a male voice called as I sprinted past an alleyway. I didn't slow to respond to him but footsteps started up behind me. "I'm talking to you!" A hand landed on my arm and I spun to glare at the man.
He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat which kept the rain off of his face but his eyes darted around manically.
"Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run," he started singing then cackled at me.
"I need to go," I said as I backed away from him, wondering if he was drunk or crazy or a bit of both.
"Here comes the farmer with his gun, gun, gun." He reached into his jacket and my heart skipped a beat as I backed up further, wondering if he actually had a gun on him.