You Rock Like Escape The Fate

It had been two weeks since we went to the concert. Two weeks since we read up on that Jason guy. Two weeks since we learned of maybe the most amazing, unbelievable band that was ever to exist.

Hayley and I sometimes doubted that this guy had meant what he said, and we definitely hoped that he didn’t. But after reading his history and learning that he was the Escape The Fate’s record label producer’s son (what a mouthful), I find it difficult to believe that he wasn’t serious. He certainly knew how to sound serious, either way. It scared me to think that these musicians’ lives were suddenly in danger because of this guy.

But what could WE do about it? We were just two twenty-something-year-old girls. How could we stop the inevitable? Exactly.

The boys were returning to Vegas for tour break soon, as in like, in two days, and I was excited to know they’d be close to home, where all of their relatives could be around to keep them safe. Besides, they were a group of twenty-five, -four, and –three year old guys. What could happen?

Don’t answer that.

After cleaning up the classroom, another week as “Ms. James” was over with. Mr. Peterson knocked on my classroom door and poked his head in, sending me a polite smile.

“Ms. James, can I see you in my office?”

“Sure, Mr. P,” I replied, following him to the small room he referred to as his office. I sat in the chair facing his desk and waited for him to tell me this important information.

“Ms. James, you’ve been teaching at the center for how long now?”

“About two years,”

“Mhm. And you’ve been one of our best. Really, and we have loved having such a dedicated, knowledgeable young teacher that really connects with the students, especially the teenage groups. You have exceeded expectations,” he said, smiling at me, though it seemed to be somewhat of a sad smile. I grinned and nodded shyly, muttering a ‘thank you’ as he continued.

“I know you are destined for much greater things, Liesl. You have an intensely bright future, but not here. Not at the center. You have a dream to go out there and save lives, be someone, all of that, right?”

“Absolutely,” I said, my breath quickening.

“This is your chance. I already sent letters of recommendation to all the schools, and I applied for a few god scholarships for you. You can think Mrs. Peterson for most of it, though,” he chuckled weakly, “I want you to take this certificate, and finish your education, and your academy, and be the young little life saver you were always meant to be. You have been like a daughter to me, Liesl. Can you trust me on this?” he said, a tear crawling out of his eye as I nearly lost my mind. Does this count as being fired, or quitting, or resigning, or what?

“I have always trusted you, Mr. Peterson. You….Y-You were always a dad to me, too,” I said, starting to cry, too. My real dad is kind of busy watching over us from the clouds to hear me say that, right?

He got up and I followed suit, hugging him tightly and crying into his shoulder. Boy, was I gonna miss this old man. He had helped me out so much this past two years.

After our goodbyes were said, and I packed up my little box of stuffs from the classroom, I stepped out into the air for the last time as an Emergency Procedures Instructor and started something different, as the girl looking for her ‘intensely bright future’.

That night, I cried on the sofa, Hayley holding onto me and letting me waste my salty tears on her duck sweater.

“It’ll be okay, Lee, I promise it’ll be okay,”

“But Willy, I can’t live without that job. I haven’t been as happy as the last two years in so long…” I sobbed. Willy was my ridiculous nickname for her that I’d come up with when referring to her was Hayley Williams from Paramore. Williams, Willy. Get it?

“How about we go away for awhile? Just you and me. Best friends on a vacation together. My boss will let me go. He can’t live without me,” she suggested.

“Well…where would we go?”

“Doesn’t your uncle own some land up in Michigan?”

“Yeah, thirty-six acres of woodsy forest land. Oh and this adorable little cabin with four bedrooms, two floors, and a really old fashioned fireplace!” I answered, excited to talk about my Uncle Ben’s acreage that I always used to go to in the summer as a kid.

“Would he let us borrow it for like, a few weeks?”

“A few weeks? You sure your boss won’t get mad about that?”

“Positive,”

“Well, actually, Uncle Ben gave me the place a couple years ago. I mean not literally under my name but he said I could use it any time I wanted,”

“Great! How about I go give him a call right now, and you pick out a movie for us to watch for the night?” she said. I smiled at my best friend. Don’t you love it when your friends get all motherly over you? Hayley is just amazing that way.

“Mkay, mom,” I replied, wiping away a stray tear from my cheek and laughing with her as she got up to get our address book. I went to the movie cabinet and searched for something good to watch. I had so many ‘favorite movies’ you would think I got paid for it.

“Found one!” I squealed to no one in particular, as I pulled out National Treasure and popped it into the DVD drive. A few minutes and several annoying commercial previews later, Hayley walked in with a huge smile on her face.

“Boss said he just got a new employee the other day who is willing to take my place while I’m gone. I won’t be getting paid while we’re up there, but I think we have sufficient funds to survive in Michigan for a month, right??”

“Oh my goshness, Willy, a whole month!?”

“Yes, Jess. A whole month! Now what movie are we watching?” she asked, placing a large bowl of popcorn on the table in front of us. How did I not hear the microwave going while she talked on the phone?

“National Treasure. And yay! Butter!” I giggled, diving into the bowl of fattening, crunchy substances and enjoying my first handful.

“Your Uncle Ben is awesome. He was just like, ‘Sure thing, kids!’ and laughed like Santa Claus. He even offered to help us with expenses to get there!”

“Yes, yes he is. Now shush and let me watch my favorite movie,”

“I thought the Day After Tomorrow was your favorite movie…”

“Ahem! It’s a lot more than that! Now shhhh!!!”

She finally quieted down and we watched the movie in silence. Later in the movie, after a long while of not talking, Hayley jumped up in her seat, spilling popcorn all over the living room floor. I groaned.

“JESSI, THAT’S IT!” she squealed, right when he talks about stealing the Declaration before the evil man gets it. Then it clicked in my head, too.

Steal the treasure to protect the treasure.

Kidnap the boys to protect the boys.