After a few days in the orphanage, the staff was ready to give Eva her schedule. There were meals to attend to at a certain time, a private academy that was held in the orphanage, chores to help out with and plenty of optional activities that she could participate in. The first activity of the day was breakfast. Eva showed up, 8am sharp. She didn't have much on her plate; and what she did have she just picked at.
Suddenly a girl sat next to her, in an irritable sort of way. She was very goth looking: with long black hair, black lipstick and black clothing. "Hi." Eva said emotionlessly. "Hey. How are you? I'm Alice. You know, the girl that doesn't exist in your room?" Eva just looked down at her plate as if she couldn't care less. "Heh. You must have had it rough to have not said so much as a 'hello' these past few days. What's your story?" "I don't wanna talk about it." Eva said as she got up and left. "Oooh, a rebel." Alice said. Eva just attended her classes and then went straight to her room. She was laying on her bed; staring at the ceiling. After a few hours, Alice walked in to change clothes to play some tennis. "You know." Eva began to say. "You're not an average goth." "Oh, it speaks! Yeah, that's because I wasn't always like this. I started wearing black, cutting myself, doing drugs; all that fun stuff, when my parents died last year. "I'm sorry to hear that." Eva said. "Heh. Don't be. Everyone's parents are dead here; or dead to others. Either way, everyone's got a story." Alice said as she tied her shoe laces. "How did they die?" Eva asked. "A double suicide. They couldn't afford the rent anymore, so they got depressed 'cause they couldn't imagine living on the streets and surrendering me." "How sad." Eva said. "What about you?" Alice asked. "Everyone, my entire family that is, died in a car wreck." "That sucks. Yeah, life's not fair is it?" "No." "Hey, I'm gonna play tennis. Wanna come?" Alice asked. "I-uh…I'll just watch." Eva said as she followed her out.
It was sunset as Eva leaned against the building; watching Alice play tennis with another girl. "At least I don't hear those voices all that much anymore…" Eva thought to herself. After dinner, Alice and Eva headed to their room together. "Ha! I didn't know you wanted to play in a band!" Alice said as she plopped down on her bed. "Yeah, it's been my dream for the longest time! I was gonna pursue it after I graduated." Eva said as she sat on her bed as well. "That'll take forever. You're only 16! What a bummer…" Alice said as she lit a cigarette. "Are…you aloud to smoke in here?" Eva asked. "Heh, only if I don't get ratted out." Alice said as she started smoking. "You know, I want to be in a rock band too. Maybe we can start one together." Alice mentioned. "Heh, yeah. Let's bust out this joint and just do it." Eva said jokingly. Alice's eyes grew large. "You, know? Not a bad idea…" Alice said as she began to ponder. "Oh, it was just a joke." "No, now listen. You're 16 and I'm 17. If we both got a job, we could rent a place and leave this stupid orphanage behind!" Eva was intrigued by the notion, but still didn't know if it would be a good idea. "You in?" Alice asked. "How will we get a place? We're too young to rent an apartment." "I got my connections. You see, there's this guy…he's my boyfriend…and we could totally crash at his place! But don't expect a freebie, he would expect us to pull our own weight." Alice said, tapping her cigarette. "I don't get it. Why didn't you just do this before?" Eva asked curiously. Alice laughed. "Ha, besides it being illegal, getting out of here is practically impossible. This place is super strict." Alice said. There was a gleam in Eva's eye. "I say we give it a try!" Eva said. "Really?" Alice was amused. "What's your plan? You know, in light of the fact that security is pretty tight?"
Before Alice knew it, she found herself crawling in a vent with Eva. "You know, we're lucky we didn't get caught!" Alice said a bit nervously. "Well, I noticed this vent in the girl's locker room and figured there would be the least amount of people there at this hour." Eva said. "Why do we have to set off the fire alarm anyways? Why not just run out?" Alice asked. "We can't just up and leave. And if we tried, it's not as if we could outrun security." "So what's the alarm gonna do?" "Create a diversion." They finally made it to one of the fire alarms. "Quick, give me your cigarette!" Eva whispered. Eva lit it, and held it next to the alarm. "No one will notice us doing this in a vent!" Eva smiled. "Yeah, the ceilings are pretty high and it would've taken a while for enough smoke to reach the alarm." Alice added. "Exactly." Eva said. Within seconds, the alarm went off and water was spraying everywhere. The staff evacuated the children in the courtyard and began to check the rooms to make sure everyone made it out. "Hurry! Before they check our room!" Eva said.
Having chosen to set off the alarm at the main entrance, they were already at the door. "Do you see anyone?" Alice asked. "No." Eva said. "Then now!" They kicked the vent open and jumped out of the ceiling. They landed on the slick floor and fell. They got back up and ran for it. They avoided being caught just in the nick of time as one of the staff ran over to see what the sound was. They ran down the street as if they just robbed a bank and found a crowd to mingle in. "I cannot believe we just did that." Alice said as she caught her breath. "Now what?" Eva asked. Alice smiled. "Now we get my chauffeur!" She said as she pulled out her phone. Alice and her boyfriend were having a good old time chatting away after she asked him to pick them up. She went on and on about her and Eva's escape and how exciting it was. Eva just sat quietly on a lit fountain as she watched the people pass her by. She then looked up at the stars. Eva began to remember Leo and all their "imaginary" adventures together. "I know he was just my imagination, but he seemed so real. And you would think that he existed the way Kiersten, Lisa and my family talked to him. It was only after I left the hospital that everything went backwards. That daze…What if…this is what's imaginary?" Eva wondered.
Come on, he's here! Alice said. As they hopped in the car, the man looked back at Eva. "Yo, what's up? I'm Chris." "I'm Eva. Nice to meet you." She said. As they drove off in the night, Chris and Alice continued where they left off on the phone. "Hey, thanks for helping my girl out. I owe you one. You'll crash at my place as long as you need to." Chris said. "Thanks!" Eva said, not really having much to say. "I do expect you to get a job. But, Alice was telling me how much you like the rock star lifestyle. And I know of a band who's looking, so if you guys wanna check it out." Eva's heart skipped a beat. "Really? You know of a gig?!" Eva asked. "Oh babe, you really are the best." Alice said as they locked lips. "This is my chance!" Eva thought excitedly.
To much of Eva's dismay however, they parked in a shady neighborhood. "This is where we'll live?" Eva asked. "Why? Is there a problem?" Alice asked, with an annoyed expression. "Oh…no. Of course not." Eva said as she looked down. "Relax! It's not so bad when it's not dark." Alice said as she wrapped her arm around Eva to lead her upstairs to the door. "Welcome to paradise!" Chris said as he opened it. It was a studio apartment. There were some clothes and beer bottles on the floor along with a stench. "Sorry Eva, you get the couch!" Chris said as he threw his keys on the kitchen table. "Have a nice night!" Alice said as she and Chris went to his bedroom and locked the door. "Maybe I should've stayed at the orphanage!" Eva thought, a little creeped out. She sat on the couch that had it's fair share of stains. "But, if living here is gonna make me a rock star, then it's worth it!"