When I wake up, I find the cabby parking in front of a large gate. I sit up from the seat where I'd laid down at some point in my sleep, and rub my eyes.
"We're here?"
"Yep." He looks at it doubtfully. All we can see is the front gate an a lot of dark shrubbery. Glancing at the digital clock on the dashboard, I find that it's 1:23 in the morning.
"Thanks a lot," I say as I shoulder my bag an open the door. Before I slam it shut, the cabby seems to have a sudden ping of concern.
"Hey, you sure this is where you're supposed to be?"
I nod, smiling reassuringly, even though underneath my smile is the sick feeling of being totally in the dark about what to do next. "Yeah, this is the place. It's a school, and my older sister goes here. I'm visiting," I lie easily, no longer surprised at how good I've become at giving pat answers. "Good night."
"Good night missy," he says, giving me a shadow of a smile. I slam the door and he pulls away. Within minutes, I can't see the red glare of his tail-lights on the road anymore and I assume he's turn a corner.
Pulling off one of the many rubber bands I wear on my wrist, I tie my shoulder length hair out of my face and face the gate, my shoulders squared. I'm sure there's an easier way to do this, but at 1:30 in the morning, everyone is bound to be asleep, and I'd rather spend the night on the grounds, rather than out on the road.
The gate looks un-climbable to me, but the walls on either side don't look so hard. There are chinks in it I think I can use as handholds, and I attack the task with all my heart.
Half an hour later however, I'm forced to change my opinion. The wall doesn't look that high, but trying to scale it is like trying to scale the friggin' Great Wall of China. Those chinks I'd been looking at earlier… completely useless. About halfway up, they disappear entirely. I also notice what looked to be little lasers sweeping the very top of the wall, which discourages me even more. Standing back where I started, I think hard on what to do next. Obviously, I should've known the security of the school would be pretty tight. I mean, this place is kind of painting a bull's eye for all the mutant-fearing military buffs to aim at.
I sit down for a moment, gathering my wits and taking a little break. I'm hungry, I'm sweaty, and I'm extremely tired.
The lulling temptation to make a wish is always in the back of my mind, but I'm afraid. Whatever my mutation, I have the sneaking suspicion that it isn't normal, even for mutant standards. Either way, I don't think I can risk it. Not only is my wishing ability somewhat flakey, I also never know if it might be my last.
"Fuck,' I curse suddenly, realization dawning on me. Instead of wishing to turn the $40 into $60, I could've wished myself inside the gates. I could've wished myself here days ago.
Arghh! I'm angry at myself now, and it isn't helping me any. I calm myself down by reminding myself that a wish as big as that might've killed me, that it might have worked in a way I wouldn't have liked. Wishes are temperamental like that, and I can't really control them or the way they are fulfilled. The bigger the wish, the less I know what will happen.
Giving myself a mental kick, I get up and dust the seat of my jeans off. I'll head to the nearby town I saw on the drive here and rest there until morning. I'm sure there's a nice dark corner I can camp out in, someplace warm.
A sudden gust of wind, light but freezing cold, makes me aware that I really am cold. I start walking.