The following morning passed pretty much like any other. Tara was up early as always to make breakfast for her father before he headed off to work. Donnie came in and finished off what was left, and then Tara fixed herself a scrambled egg sandwich on toast and later washed the dishes. Following that, they were both off to school, where Tara was largely ignored for the day. Which, in her opinion, was usually much better than the sort of "attention" her fellow students gave her, teasing her about her stutter, her clothes. It was better to go unnoticed most days. Her brother was, on many occasions, the ringleader for the bullies. Why anyone would follow someone going through their second senior year was beyond her.

On the way home, Donnie thought he would have some fun and "ditch" Tara to go to a friend's house, unaware that this was exactly what Tara had wanted. She took the opportunity to walk over to the bus station to get a one-way ticket to Sunnydale. It had ended up costing $57, which left her about forty bucks in the hole for her goal of $250 to spend when she got there. She hid the ticket inside her book bag, between the pages of her Economics textbook. Hopefully neither her father nor her brother would feel the need to brush up on Economics in the next week. They usually weren't overly nosey, but she wouldn't put it past Donnie after last night's little episode. She would just keep the book close. If they asked, she would have a mid-term coming up.

She arrived home to see it still blissfully empty. And it was Monday, so that meant she'd be expected to pick up a few things at the supermarket. Tara went to her room and emptied it of everything except her Economics book, then quickly pulled the jar out and put it into her bag. Filled with change, it was exceedingly heavy and jingled loudly as coins hit the glass sides of the jar. Nevertheless, she hoisted the bag onto her shoulders and picked up the cash and short list of necessary items kept on the kitchen counter before heading out the door again.

When she made it to the grocery store, she made a beeline for the CoinStar machine, separating the bills and dumping the change into the machine. After that she went about the grocery shopping as usual, picking up the items on the list and nothing else. She left the store with three bags and a good bit of cash, stashed back inside the now much lighter and quieter jar.

This time when Tara got home, her family was already there. The look from the elder Maclay clearly read "Where have you been?" His mouth formed a hard, solid line under his hawkish nose. In response, the girl held up the bags. "I l-left the list here this m-morning. I had to c-come back for it." Mr. Maclay nodded and gestured her toward the kitchen, where she put away the groceries and quickly went back to her room to drop her bag off. After that, it was back to the kitchen to make dinner. A few insults later, mealtime arrived. Always tedious, but never overly long - Tara bolted her meal and retreated into the kitchen as soon as she could to begin dinner dishes.

That night, Tara continued with her plans. She thought about doing some things in preparation tomorrow, maybe calling Sunnydale and trying to enroll herself in the local high school. She wasn't sure how far in advance these things needed to be done. Maybe she could just show up there and enroll herself when she arrived. She would just need to have the address and phone number of her school here, and they could send her records or whatever it was they did. She'd need to let her school know she was transferring, but would wait until the day before. She didn't want them to call her house until she was already gone. She might even leave her father a note, saying that she'd gone and wouldn't be coming back. That way he wouldn't be able to file a Missing Persons with the police, who would have an incredibly easy time tracking her from here to Sunnydale. At least she would have two good years, her own years, before … the change. After that she didn't know what would happen, but her mother had been normal enough, hadn't she? And she had to keep trying. If she gave up hope, Tara would have nothing.

Now, for packing. How could she pack and keep it hidden? She'd have to be really quiet and keep most of it for just beforehand. She'd skip school the day before, maybe; pretend she was sick in the morning, and later on call in to say she'd be transferring to another school. Her birthday would be on a Friday, and she would be on the bus at 1:10 am on the way to Sunnydale. She didn't even want to think about the number of transfers she would have, how many hours it would take to get there. But when the sun came up on her birthday, she would be in a new town, free, and that was all that mattered. From there she would figure things out, get a cheap room somewhere and find a job, enroll in high school. It wouldn't be easy, but it was better to make a life for herself than to stay here and let her father lord over her and beat her whenever he felt she'd stepped out of line.

Tara leaned back, satisfied for the moment. There was still a lot to be done, all of it in secret, but what she had so far was the best part – the actual bus ticket. It was as good as gold, a promise that she would have a future outside of the one she could expect if she remained here. A one-way ticket out of hell and into a new life, one where no one could make her feel inferior, where no one would order her around. One where she could be herself and where she wouldn't have to obey anyone if she didn't want to. Except the police, she thought with a chuckle. A young woman on her own would need to be strong and brave, and Tara thought those qualities could fit her. She would go out on her own and take control of her own life for once. She wouldn't have to hide her magic books in her own home, wouldn't have to worry about her privacy or dignity being routinely taken away. Yes, this was the best thing she could do.