Fault Line

I paced hastily around my room, the earlier conversation running rapidly through my mind.

"Honey, it's just a phase..." Yeah, and how did she know when it was my body, my thoughts? Maybe she just didn't want to believe. Too scared that her once perfect daughter was turning into a straight, diseased thing.

As I continuously walking around making sure my breathing wasn't getting out of hand, I noticed my brown leather jacket hanging off my door knob. I scooped it up and threw it on as I head outside into the chilly fall. My blue bike was leaning up against the house, left untouched since my recent bike ride just a few nights ago. I hopped on, standing up on the pedals as I zoomed down the street.

I pedaled hard, seeing the houses beginning to blur as I rode by. I turned onto a street, one that was forbidden for me to trespass since I was a girl. In this society, girls were never allowed with boys. Boys had their own separate schools, same with the girls. I've never even had a male teacher.

This street was of course full of men, their husbands, and their adopted sons. I braked, kicking out my bike stand and walking up to the fence. I linked my fingers into the chain wire, peeking around cautiously. It looked like a normal neighborhood, with different colored houses dotting the street. I heard the distant sound of a basketball dribbling against the ground, shoes rapidly stepping on the concrete. A nearby door opened, and with my heart pounding, sprinted to hide behind a bush.

"Hey!" A boy called, his eyes directly on me. Shit.

"I saw you," he pointed out, walking over to the fence. "You can come out. I won't hurt you."

I got up shyly, my cheeks burning with embarrassment. I've never talked to a boy before. It wasn't particularly illegal to talk to one, just very frowned upon. Very, very frowned upon.

This boy had light blue eyes and short, dark brown hair. A few freckles dotted his cheeks, and he smelled like fresh cologne. It smelt so good. I've only smelt cologne in stores before, and it was much better on a person. He smiled politely, and two dimples came along with his smile. His teeth were perfectly straight and white. I've always been taught that boys are gross and hardly brushed their teeth or combed their hair. But, this one seemed the exact opposite.

"Hi." I whispered, my eyes darting around at all the houses, but time seemed still. The basketball game in the distance had stopped. No birds sang. It's like the world was waiting for my confession: that I had snuck out to see the men's side of town.

"Why are you here? Go back home." he ordered.

"No, I just... do you play basketball? Is it hard?" I demanded, inching closer to the fence. This made him back away, confusion setting on his face.

"It's... It's fun. I've been playing it all my life." he answered politely, a new smile tugging at his lips. I smiled back, grabbing the chain wire and tugging it gently toward me as I swung on the heels of my feet.

"Oh, maybe I should tryout for a girls-" I began, then heard a door slam open with a furious push.

"Riley!" a man shrieked. "Get in here! Wait, is that a-?"

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I whispered, putting my hands up in surrender. I threw up my hood to conceal my face, hopped onto my bike, and sped off.

It could have been wind, or it could have been the sound of a different conversation. But I swear, I heard the words "meet me here tomorrow, 7 PM." rush off his lips.