Chapter 3: Evelynn

~ People always want the perfect life. Nobody mentions what the cost of perfection is though. ~

I always hated speeches; I don't know why I had to give it. In fact, I don't understand why I was chosen for half of the things that I did, yet here I am. I pulled my necklace in close, letting it calm me down, took a deep breath, and stepped forward onto the stage.

"And now, let's hear a word from your senior class president, Evelynn!"

Applause rang through the auditorium, and it did not make me feel any better.

"Thank you. I just wanted to come up, remind you all of a few things before the break begins, and a few other things before you all enjoy the rest of your day. First as a general reminder, don't forget quarterly finals are occurring shortly after returning from break, so it would be a smart idea to make sure to do a little bit of studying during your break, but make sure to take time to yourself to relax as well. Our track teams have an away game Friday. So, anybody on those teams, make sure that your teachers are aware and that any time sensitive work is turned in ahead of time. Prepare for the fundraising event that will be happening next month. After a poll, you all decided on a silent auction, so bring anything that you want to be included to the front office for them to itemize and organize. Finally, as always, have a great day, have some water, and go Wolves!"

As the crowd of students cheered, I held my smile until getting off the stage, trying to take even breaths as my chest tightened. I looked over to one of the teachers, excused myself to use the restroom and went outside. Once outside and off the school grounds, I reached into her purse and pulled out a little stick. I always had to be the perfect daughter, getting the best grades, being the one in charge of any student organizations, always having to go above and beyond. This was one of my only vices, but I made sure to keep it as close to me as possible. Sitting on the curb, I inhaled deeply and exhaled, instantly relaxed. My parents would kill her if they found out I had begun smoking and using e-cigarettes, but they were cheap, easy to get, and even easier to hide. They also always helped calm me down. I took a few more drags, put it back in my purse and started walking back to the school grounds.

I wished that I could just get rid of it all. I didn't want to be president, I didn't want to always be in the spotlight, but it was something my parents always demanded of me, and I decided it was going to be easier to go with it than to try and fight it. As I walked into her free period I sat down and looked at my notebook to see what I needed to do for the day.

"Hey Evelynn, how're you doing?"

"Hey Beatriz! It's going alright, how are you?"

Beatriz was one of the few people I enjoyed seeing, simply because Beatriz always seemed to care about Evelynn, and not just all the things connected with me. If anything, Beatriz tried to stay away from it all.

"It's going alright, a bit busy, but nothing out of the ordinary. I'll talk to you later though, just wanted to say hi. I have to get to work."

"Alright, make sure to take some time for yourself!"

Beatriz gave a tired smile. "Only if you do the same, Evelynn."

The rest of the period was a blur as I got ahead of work that I could do, looking at schedules from different organizations, seeing when the best times for different events would be. Next thing I knew, the bell rang. I gathered all my stuff up into my bag and started making my way home. Thankfully this time I was able to get out of school without a bunch of students coming up to me with questions. Once I got off the grounds and checked to make sure I was alone, I pulled out my vape pen again, took a few drags and just let my body relax, wishing that maybe if I relaxed enough, all the weight from what was demanded of me would just melt away.

As I stood up, I heard a voice, making me jump.

"Hello Evelynn."

"H-hi. Sorry I didn't see you."

"It's alright, do you mind if we have a chat?"

"Sorry, I have to go. I have music practice I have to get to soon."

"Unfortunately, I really need to have a chat."

The way he said that; I felt like I was suddenly trapped.

"I really have to go, sorry."

He sighed.

"I really wish you kids would just listen, but it makes sense, we're always told to not talk to strangers."

I turned to leave and suddenly felt a prick in my shoulder and became extremely lightheaded. I looked back and noticed something sticking out of my shoulder. As I tried to step forward, my knees buckled beneath me. The man caught me as I was falling.

"You'll be happy about this, trust me. You look like you've been wanting a change for awhile now. You are probably gonna have some questions when you wake up. Just be patient and you'll get your answers."

I tried to squirm and potentially get out of his grasp, but my body refused to listen. As the world around me began to fade into blackness all that crossed my mind was the fear of what was going to happen, what was going to happen to my parents, if anyone was going to miss me, or if anyone would find me. But also, deep down, I was excited to escape from the prison that I had put myself in.