For The Different Monster - Chapter 5

The next two years in the girls group home went by uneventful. Aside from the occasional sideways glare, Jada let Brooke be and moved on to her next victim. Brooke didn't mind, she just enjoyed the peace that she had been longing for. She filled her days focusing on her studies and had an after school job answering phones and filling out paperwork at a nurses station that specialized in getting the children the physicals they needed to participate in sports programs.

She worked for two years, saved almost every penny and when the time was right she bought herself and old, beat up, blue ‘86 mustang… the sense of pride she felt was immeasurable. She graduated high school with honors and received a work-study scholarship for one of the smaller universities in the area. She was unsure if attending college was what she wanted but decided to give it a chance. This whole unguided decision making was new and all Brooke could do was hope she would make the right ones.

Brooke continued to work at the nurses station for the summer and stayed at the girls home until she moved into a dormitory on campus in the fall. This dormitory consisted of suites and each suite was made of four rooms with two girls to a room. Luckily, Brooke's roommate was just as quiet as her and after a few ‘getting to know you’ conversations both of them stayed to themselves.

Brooke’s scholarship required her to work so she found a job at a computer lab on campus. She had classes only three days a week and worked four, and her schedule gave her a three day weekend as she was free every Friday. Free. That word held new meaning for Brooke those days, she was free from fear, free from the horrors that took her adolescence. Free to make her own decisions and live her life the way she chose.

Brooke fell into a routine of class, work, going to the store on Friday to pick up food and necessities and then hiding in her room the rest of the weekend. She continued this behavior for weeks and on the sixth Friday, while writing in her notebook, she began to ask herself why she felt it necessary to live this mundane existence. The world was her oyster, why sit in this room, like a coward… she was free, but not really. She was afraid, fear of the unknown was debilitating for her. She finally realized this and convinced herself that she needed to get out of that room, go see something new, let go of the fear. She fought with every fiber of her being to be exactly where she was, and it was time to live, to explore, to find out who she is and who she wants to be.

Reluctantly, she packed a light weekend bag; couple sets of clothes and toiletries, the normal items one would need for a road trip. She locked the room, threw her bag in the trunk and headed to a place not far away, but still very different from where she was… New Orleans. She was consumed with excitement but also present was that underlying sense of fear that she fought to suppress. She was bored and tired of the routine her life was becoming and she was ready to at least try to change that.

Brooke got into the city, found a place to park and started heading toward the French Market; a place known for its fresh locally grown produce, local cuisine, jewelry, clothing and trinkets. She walked around, savoring all the sights and smells. Her eyes were huge with wonderment as she watched the hustle and bustle of people selling and buying, eating and drinking. She strolled around relishing her newfound freedom and independence.

The time seemed to accelerate during her excursion and before she knew it the sun started to set. She walked further into the heart of the city to find a hotel room. Her car wasn’t far and secured in a monitored parking lot, she decided to leave it where it was, get a room, and head to Bourbon Street. Brooke had never done anything like this before and she was giddy with the thoughts of letting her hair down for a night. A drink and some dancing was just what the doctor ordered. She put some notes in her phone to remind her of where the car was parked and the hotel she was staying in along with the room number.

She could see the lights and hear the buzzing of the crowd from a couple of blocks away as she approached the area of the city that never sleeps. The lights flashing, the people drinking and letting loose, dancing in the streets, women on the balconies pulling their shirts up and exposing themselves in the hopes of getting a plastic set of beads to hang around their necks. She’s always heard and read of this place, and now here she stood right in the middle of it. She was amazed that people could be so carefree.