Thinking outside the box by Becca (rooftoppers TXT) 📕

"Cherry, stop looking of into space and pay attion!" Mr.Hig demanded.
"I'm sorry" I replied, looking at my teacher. It was a nice day dream. It was about having a nice mommy who cooks good food, and a daddy who picked my up and hugged me. Mr.Hig huffed and turned back twords the board. He was talking about subtraction. Too easy for me, I thought to myself. "Since you are now paying attion Cherry, what is 14 - 12?" Mr.Hig asked. It didn't take me very long to figure it out.
"2" I replied. He nodded and went back to teaching.
Somone at my table kicked my chair and threw a peice of papper at her. She look at who it was, it was Mikey. I opend it and it had a picture of her being squished by a dinosour. I crumpled it up and threw it in the trash. Mikey snickered. Hes a meany, always picking on me. Then the bell rang, and I quickly grabbed my book and ran out the door. I was happy that I could go home and talk to Rick. He used to come to school with me, but I got in trouble for talking to him, and everyone said he wasnt real. But I knew he was there, becasue I could see him.
But then I rembereed my brother was going to be home. He is worse then mommy and daddy. I felt worried and sad again. I had to go home though, or else I would be in big trouble. So I kept thinking of Rick, and what games we could play. I walked onto the bus and sat in the first seat on the right. I was the first house, so it only took a little bit to get there. I Got off the bus and slowly walked to my small orange house. It remided my of a big pumpkin. It would be funny if for halloween, we painted a face on it. So it would look like a Jack-o-Lantern. But I couldn't go trick or treating, or go to any Halloween parties.
When I walked into the house, still thinking about pumpkins, I saw my brother was on the couch, smoking a cigeret. "Come here" he comanded me. I slowly walked over to him, I was shaking. He grabbed my arm and put his cigeret on it. I screamed, because it really hurt. I dont like being burned. "Shut up and do your homework" he grunted while he punched my in the belly. I fell to the floor, but managed to crawl to my room.
"Rick?" I whispered quitly. "Im right here" he said comming out from under my beg. I ran over and hugged him.
"Its ok" he said patting my back. He was 10 years old, I was 7.
"It hurts," I whimpered, showing him my arm. The skin was burned and red.
"Aw, it'll be fine. You should get a bandade, though" he said looking at it. I nodded and got a bandade from my dresser. I took some from school, because I need them alot. I dont think anyone cares. I put it on my arm and looked through my bag.
"I don't have home work" I whispered.
Rick knew why I wanted homework. Because when I do have homework, my brother will leave me alone.
"Its ok, just be a solider" he said, smiling saddly. I nodded, and stood up, with my head held high, just like a soldier.
"I don't have any homework" I say quitly behind the couch my brother is on. He stands up and walks twords me. I loose my soldier-like pose and shrink away from him. He smiles as I cower away. "Wanna play a game then?" He says evily. I shake my head no.
"Oh well, too bad. We are going to play a game" he says grabbing me. I scream for help, but Rick knows better, and I told him never to help me. So he wont get hurt. My brother's hand clamps over my mouth and he picks me up and puts me over his shoulder. I start kicking him, but he hits me back. He hits really hard, so I stop kicking. I don't know whats hes doing with me, but I really don't wanna find out. He starts to go to the basement (its also his room). I can still scream with his hand over my mouth, so I do. I don't know what else to do. Im scared.
He throws me onto the floor and I try to crawl away. It dosn't work, because he grabs my ancle and pulls me back.
"Ok, to play this game, you gatta shut your mouth" he hisses. I starts to rip my cloths off, and I keep screaming. Whats happening?? I think franticly. He smacks me in the head to keep me from screaming, and it works. When my cloths are off, he goes to a drawer and pulls type and handcuffs. He comes back, grabs my wrist and puts one end of the handcuff areound it, then the other to a pole. Then he grabs my hair and and pulls my head back. "shut up" he hisses and types my mouth shut.
I really wish Rick could help me. But he cant, and Im on my own. My brother goes over to the light switch and turns the light off. Im afraid of the dark. Bad things always happen in the dark. I hear a zip, and then russtling sounds. Im sitting with my knees up and my free arm wrapped around them, crying softly. I can't see anything, but I know my brother can, because he always has the light off down here. Im scared. Please god, help me. Then I fell hands on my legs, forcing them apart. I hear a snicker. I keep trying to close my legs, but my brothers knees are inbetween them. Then it

is in me, I scream as loud as I can, all I feel is pain, i think Im going to die. But I dont, I just black out.
When I wake up, Im in my bed, but I dont have cloths on.
"Rh-R-Rick?" I say, pulling the sheets up and over me, its cold in here.
"Im right here" he whispers from the side of the room. I see him. I start crying.
"What happend?" I ask between sobs. I can see him bighting his lip.
"I dont know" He says. I start shivering, and say.
"I need to get dressed" Rick turns around. I shuffle over to my dresser, and pull out an old night gown. I put that on then some underwere. I almost fall onto the floor when Im done, because I really hurt.
"I wanna run away" I say after crawling into bed. I fall asleep, thinking of how to escape.

I wake up groggily, and look at the clock. Its 8:00 am. The bus comes at 8:30. I jump out of bed and dress in my blue jeans, and green monkey tee. "Rick?" I whisper, not wanting to wakeup my family. I stuff some extra clothes inot my my bookbag. "Im right here" He whispers from behind my door. I run down stairs and grab crackers, peanutbutter, bread, and the whole container of orange juice. I stuff them in my bookbag. I let out small sigh and run up to my room, and start pulling Rick down the hall, but run back to close my door "Im ganna do some thinking today" I say closing my door. I quitley run down the stairs and out the door "No school today" i whisper, as I run twords the train station.
I hear people talking by the train, I think they're saying the tain is comming or somthing like that. "Cherry, where are we going?" Rick whispers catching up to me. "Dreamland" I whisper grabbing his hand and running tworads the people. Rick dosn't say anything, because he knows what my dreamland is. I look around and look for a family, I see a little girl holding her mothers hand so I walk up to them and take the girl's hand. She looks at me confussed. "Im running away to my dreamland" I whisper to her. She nodds and says, "My names Nesa". "im Cherry" i whisper. Nesa's mother stars to move, and I still hold Nesa's hand. We move onto the train. Lots of people crowd onto the train, and i almost loose my grip on Rick's hand. But I dont, and when Nesa sits down next to her mother, i let go of her hand and Sit in the seat behind her. "Your free Cher" Rick whispers to me. "I guess I am" i whisper back. I am free, and I will never to back to that horrile family.
The train ride was exiting, because i never was on a train before. First houses pass by, then all there was was trees. The trees were pretty, all green and blossuming. Rick didn't say much, just looked out the window with me. Everyone on the train was talking, but me, Rick, and Nesa. Adventualy looking out the window got boring, so I started to dream of my dreamland. My eyes and mind unfocused, and I was in my head. I could see my dreamland, in the woods, it was bright and had pretty flowers everywhere. A small tree fort was up in a tree, and I was in it. I could see everywhere. I could see the rainbow and my family. My dream family. A nice sister, no brother, a mother, and father you loved me. They were all laying down on the grass in front of our house, pointing up twords the sky. My house was big, and baby blue. Then, all of a sudden, My mother got up and sreamed. It was a painful shreeking, and I was out of my dreamland, back in the tain. I looked around, everyone was yelling and babies were screeming. Rick was saying my name frantically. I looked around again, the train was on fire. I could hear Nesa screaming for her mother, who was now on the floor, bleeding. I didn't see her breathing. I opened the window next to me, and painted to it, looking at Rick. "Jump" I ordered. "but-" he started to say. "No, just jump! Ill be there in a second!" I screeched at him. He didnt move for a second, but then jumpped out of the slowing train. I