Outsider Art

[Jilly]

There was a girl. Very pretty little thing. She looked like she lit up the room anywhere she went with her bright eyes and toothy grin. Katelynne wanted to be her friend.

She’d seen this boy before. He did some sort of comedy channel on Youtube, though Katelynne only knew of him after the fact. He looked like he knew how to laugh at himself and make others laugh along; Katelynne sure did with his “subtle” senior quote.

This fella looked like a punk. But he looked like there was more stuff going on than he let on; there was a lotta hurt taken, but a lotta love to give. He scared Katelynne as much as he intrigued her.

There was a picture from some sort of Halloween shindig. Two guys looked like they were ribbing on another guy dressed up like one of the characters from that 5 Nights at Freddy’s game everyone obsessed over in freshman year. All 3 of them looked like goobers, but they knew how to have a blast. Katelynne wouldn’t’ve minded partying with them.

…

There was a girl, a member of some sort of rock band. She looked like what you saw was what you got. You knew where you stood with her; Katelynne could appreciate that.

…

She looked like Gretchen.

...

A tear fell on the glossy page. Her eyes welled up as she barely managed to shut the book and toss it on the rock beside her. Trying to wipe away the tears was feeble; the waterworks already started.

She couldn’t do this.

---

((G053 Katelynne Kirkpatrick - Game Start))


She stopped crying a couple minutes ago. She stayed on her back, closing her red puffy eyes and listening to the insects chirp and the rushing water. Just letting it all in. That’s why she came here, right?

They took her camera, the one Grandpa gave her before he passed. They took her Furbies, her pride and joy with the memories of the day at the Lincoln Memorial forever dead with them. They took her freedom. They took her life.

But there was something they couldn’t take; she couldn't let them. She couldn’t break. She wouldn’t. Breaking meant they won.

...

She sat back up and gazed onward at the falls farther along the river. She didn’t have her camera, but she didn’t need it either; she had the print in her mind’s eye. All she had to do was click the shutter.

Click.

...

It was time to get going. Katelynne pulled out the island map, and with the little rock she picked up earlier she etched an “X” by the waterfalls spot.

((So… where next?))