Kidnapped

"Hey. I couldn't find you in your room, and I knew you'd be here. What are you doing?" Brian asked.

"That's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Alexis pointed at the thick textbooks on the table. "I'm revising."

"Exactly. What are you DOING? Why on earth are you revising? Come on, they're playing Twister outside...and why have you drawn the curtains? It's such a nice view outside," Brian reached for the string, but Alexis caught his hand in time.

"It's distracting. Look, there’s always the possibility that the police are going to show up and get us all home. I have my finals next week - I can't fail."

Brian pulled out a chair and sat next to her. “Can I ask you a question? Why do work so hard? I mean, it’s a virtue to be hardworking, but…in your case I think it might be a little too extreme. We’re being kidnapped, Alexis. Have you ever heard of people revising when they’re kidnapped?”

“No, but those political prisoners or whatever still read and write and learn a new language when they’re on house arrest, don’t they?”

“I’m just saying, Alexis – this isn’t normal. But you still haven’t answered me – why do you work so hard? Is your family struggling financially? Do you have siblings you need to support? Do you need to get a scholarship or something? Because I know where you can get help…”

“No, it isn’t any of those things. Thanks for your concern, though – really. It’s actually just – I don’t KNOW how to be not hardworking. I’ve been top of my class since primary school – and before I know it, it became this winning streak I need to uphold. Everyone expects me to do well – they’ve always got this idea in this head that I’m smarter than them. I’m not. I’m really not. I just put in a lot more hours. But they expect me to do every single piece of homework brilliantly and to ace every test. So I do – I don’t think I can stand them going behind my back, saying how I’m starting to lose it, that I’m not actually that smart, which was bound to happen if I didn’t stay top, if I couldn’t catch up. So I do everything to make sure that doesn’t happen. Even my parents – they’ve taken it for granted that I’m going to do well. If I get good grades, they don’t praise me or anything, but if I slip, just a little, they get onto my case. And my teachers. They’ve done so much for us, and they’re always saying what a bright future I’m going to have – I can’t let them down.”

“Wait, okay, hold on a second. You keep mentioning what other people might think, what they might say – but what about yourself? Aren’t there any personal reasons?”

“…I don’t know. I like winning, I guess. I used to enjoy going up on stage to receive academic prizes – it’s a form of recognition. The whole school knows you’re top. But after a while, I stopped getting excited about that too. I just worry that I won’t get it.”

“But what about your future? Isn’t that one of your considerations too?”

“To be honest, I’m really not that fussed about getting a really good job and earning lots of money and all that jazz. As long as I’m able to support myself, that’s good enough for me.”

Brian sighed. “And there I was, thinking you were the ambitious kind. If you were it would be at least more worth it. It’s not your mission to fulfill everyone’s expectations of you, Alexis. This heavy burden on your shoulder – you gave it to yourself. I know it’s very hard, but you really need to stop caring so much about what other people say. Live your life for yourself, and not anyone else.”

“You think I haven’t told myself that a thousand times already? I know. I just can’t bring myself to ignore what other people say. It gets to me more than it should.”

“But you’re here, Alexis. That gives you the perfect excuse, doesn’t it? I mean, you’re being kidnapped – no one can tell you off for falling behind.”

“I…I don’t know. But it doesn’t feel right not be studying. Those first two days here – I didn’t do anything constructive at all. I just sat by the pool, listening to music and tanning. I thought it would be great to finally be away from all the pressure, but instead I felt so empty. And so guilty. Like I was wasting my life away or something…Besides, like I said. Who knows, we could be rescued tomorrow…”

"But it's been a few days already, and not a single car has come even remotely anywhere near us."

"How do you know?"

"Adrianna and I have been keeping watch."

"What? Why didn't you tell us? We would have helped." Alexis felt both angry and guilty at the same time.

"I don't know. You guys always have something to do - and not one of you mentioned anything about escape or rescue. If we wanna get out of here, we figured, someone has to do something..." Brian stated matter-of-factly.

"From now onwards, we're taking turns, okay?"

"Thanks."

"But you are right. It's weird, I've been thinking of the possibility of an escape since we got here, but I never actually thought of doing something..." Alexis bemused.

“You’re not the only one. Haven’t you realized how none of them even mentioned the word ‘escape’? It’s practically the only thing I think about. Every now and then, I’d wonder if maybe I should just pack a bag full of food, climb over the gates, and just keep walking and walking and walking…”

“But – I mean, look out your bedroom window - there's absolutely nothing for miles but wasteland. Who knows how long it'll take to get to the nearest town on foot? You'll die trying.”

“I know. It was a thought. But the point is, sometimes I do wonder…”

“What?”

“If maybe you guys don’t really wanna get out of here after all.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” Brian stared straight into her eyes. “Do you remember what you said that first day we got here, in Luke’s room? You said you felt so relaxed, and that the pressure’s finally gone.”

“Yeah, well, it’s back.”

“Still. Being here – it beats being in your dorm, spending every waking moment studying, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, I guess…” Alexis admitted.

“It’s just so weird. All I can think about is how much I miss my friends, my job, my life, but I feel awkward saying anything about it, because no one else has. One moment you act like all this is perfectly natural, and the next you guys throw some kind of tandrum and completely freak out - and then pretend nothing happened. To be honest, it's kind of creeping me out.”

“I think…it hasn’t really hit me yet.”

“Can’t you think of a single thing you missed about your life?”

“…Not really, to tell you the truth.”

“Either your life really sucks, or you’re still in denial…” Brian’s eyes gleamed. “I think I know what to do. In the meantime, I'm your new bodyguard. No revising on my watch. You need to learn how to start living.”

Before Alexis could protest, Brian had taken all of her notes and threw them out of the window.