“What do you think you’re doing?” Kaylee signed as she knelt with the group of girls. “She doesn’t want to be bothered. You’re hurting her. Just leave her alone.” Nivea was beyond shocked at this teenage human girl attempting to defend her. What was even more shocking was when Kaylee lowered her hand to the ground and looked at Nivea directly in her hazel-brown eyes.

Nivea felt instantly absorbed in Kaylee’s big, bright blue eyes. She had never experienced this before. It was like Kaylee could see directly into her mind – like she was being seen as a person, not a pet.

Instead of scooping her up into her hands or forcefully grabbing her, Kaylee’s hand was open and extended. It was an invitation for a rescue and nothing more.

Seizing the opportunity, Nivea scurried over and practically threw herself onto Kaylee’s palm, wrapping her arm around Kaylee’s thumb to stabilize herself. The girls instantly rose a chorus of complaints as Kaylee carefully brought Nivea back to her cage, setting her inside with the utmost care.

Nivea turned around to see Kaylee signing, “I’m sorry,” over and over again as she laid the lid down and stepped away. A momentary pang of sympathy swelled in Nivea and, in a spontaneous moment, simply signed back, “Thank you.”

Usually, the pet would see the rows of monstrous human teeth as a terrifying sight, but Kaylee’s smile was different. It was kind and sweet, filled with joy and sincerity. Nivea backed away to her hiding spot and listened as Ms. Robinson lightly “corrected” Kaylee’s behavior when she noticed something – something crucial.

The lid to Nivea’s cage wasn’t secured. Kaylee had left it ajar enough for Nivea to slip through but not be noticed by the other students.

This was her chance.

The moment the students left for lunch, Nivea poured her aching body into one purpose and one purpose only – escape.

Nivea heaved the food dish over to the side and stacked up as much bedding as she could so that she wouldn’t injure herself if and when she fell. The pet stared at the gathered mess in the corner before charging at the wall.

Heart pounding, palms sweating profusely, adrenaline surging, Nivea charged at the wall and leapt with all her might against the food dish.

*WHAM*

She slammed into the hard glass cage wall, grunting as she slid down and collided with the ground.

Again.

She hoisted herself back up and marched across the floor of her container before charging at the wall again. Quick step, jump, scrape, catch, miss!

*WHAM*

Nivea tried five more times before adjusting her tactic, stacking more cloth over the dish so she could get better height. Three more times of falling and failing, fingertips grazing the top of the cage each time. Nivea, angry and frustrated, leaned against the cold wall of her prison.

This world was too big. Why did it need to be so big?

Nivea closed her eyes and listened to the rhythmic and exaggerated ticking of the plastic geared clock that hung above the door to the classroom. Every second she waited was another second her captor or the students could return unannounced only to foil her plan.

She breathed deeply.

No.

Not today.

She let every humiliating memory fill her with a seething rage. Every bruise and break, twinge and turn that she endured was not going to happen again. Determined, she forced herself once more to her feet and inhaled deeply.

Nivea’s eyes flared as she charged the wall once more, using the last spurt of adrenaline and will in her body. Her feet pounded against the ground, digging into the coarse material filling the prison that kept her for so many years. She ran up the side and leapt.

Soaring through the air, she threw out her hand and clasped around the ledge. Her grip started slipping.

Not yet.

Nivea threw her leg up onto the ledge and used what little momentum in her shoulder to get a better grip. Almost there. Throwing her arm over the edge of the cage, she gripped with all her might. Her nails bent and cracked against the rim of the cage from clinging on for dear life.

Her muscles shook, but Nivea felt a sudden rush as she pulled herself over the lip of the cage, flipped over the edge, and fell to the ground. It was ungraceful, but Nivea fell to the ground landing on her side on top of the shelves.

She took several, stunned seconds to realize what just happened.

She was out of her cage.

She was free.

Her shoulders began shaking from sheer excitement and the thrill of using her own strength to get out. A nervous, breathy chuckle escaped her, but she was far from finishing her mission.

Freedom was on the horizon, and she intended to take it. The shoes on her feet made a soft tapping sound as she made her way to the ledge, suddenly presenting the next challenge that Nivea hadn’t thought of – how to get down from the cabinet that was her Rapunzel’s tower for so long.

There were no obvious ways down. Next to the cabinet were a few shelves maybe a foot away and a foot tall. Not good. There was a gap between the cabinet and the side wall, but that would have Nivea trying to hold herself aloft all the way down, pressing her feet against one wall and pressing her back into the cabinet in an attempt to walk down the wall.

Nivea did find a gap just behind the cabinet as well as a forgotten broom which had fallen, propped up by the cabinet and the wall. It took a couple of minutes, but Nivea finally convinced herself that dropping down the six inches and sliding down the broom handle was probably her best bet.

She sat on the ledge and dangled her legs, staring at the abyss and darkness below, barely able to see the broom handle just below her.

No going back.

One… Two… Three…

She slipped off of the ledge and landed harshly on the broom handle, almost losing her grip as she slid down at an alarming speed like a fireman on a fireman’s pole.

*WHAM*

She collided with the ground and undoubtedly gave herself yet another bruise.

Nivea, up until this point, had been confident in all of her actions; but now that she was on the ground, a sickening thought settled over her.

She didn’t know how to survive on her own.

All her life, she had been a pet – a biological construction made for entertainment and cages. She had never been outside except for one other time in her life, and she was in the cage the whole time.

Nivea was smart and knew there were massive creatures in the world. She also knew the common house pet could take her out in every bit of two seconds.

How would she find food? How did you find water? Not all water was good to drink. How could she tell which was which? How do you make a proper shelter? Was there even anything she could use as a weapon? Could she even make it out of the school without being noticed? The world was immense, a simple children’s desk looking like a skyscraper from where she was on the ground.

She ran her fingers through her short auburn hair and clenched her fists by the roots, tugging at her scalp. Freedom suddenly had an incredibly bitter taste, but she wasn’t about to go back and be found only to be locked back behind the glass, exposed for the world to see.

No.

She had to do something – anything.

Taking a chance, she walked out into the open and made her way to the cubbies and backpacks of the students. Maybe there was something in their bags that could be used as a weapon. Nivea was almost there, looking at the enormity of the human world around her, when she heard the sounds of approaching children.

Time was out.

Her exhausted body gifted her with one last burst of adrenaline. She turned her hazel-brown eyes to the cubbies and sprinted for the first slightly opened backpack, which was a bright bubblegum pink, and slid inside, shimmying all the way to the bottom. It took a second, but she managed to stifle her breathing by covering her mouth with her hands.

She couldn’t hear what was going on because of the roaring blood in her ears, but she felt the tremors in the ground as the students approached and the backpack she was in suddenly jolted. Nivea was thrown forward and tossed from side to side in the rhythm of someone walking.

No.

Helpless, Nivea could only brace herself with each step and make plans to run the moment the bag hit the ground. Nivea wasn’t sure how long passed, maybe an hour or so, before she felt the bag finally come to a resting position.

Good. She could slip out and get under a piece of furniture. There was no way the kid would start on their homework immed…

*ZIP*

Nivea barely choked back a shriek as the zipper above her was quickly pealed away and the bag was opened, exposing her hiding place. Nivea crouched by a small bag and hoped she wouldn’t be noticed as she hunkered down and kept her head down. Heart racing, she hoped she was fast enough.

This dream was immediately shattered by the softest inhalation of surprise.

No.

She’d been found.

Nivea felt tears of frustration prick at the corners of her eyes as she shuddered and waited for something to happen. Maybe she would be grabbed. Maybe she would be let go outside, which was a death sentence with no supplies or weapon. Maybe the kid would turn the backpack inside out and send her flying only to crash into the ground.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

She knew a finger was nearby tapping on one of the books a few inches from her head but didn’t want to look just yet. The pet had to savor the moment of almost making it all the way to freedom.

*tap* *tap* *tap*

Face the music… no use prolonging this.

Nivea opened her eyes and craned her neck to look up, her body suddenly releasing the tension and relief swelling in her chest. She recognized those big, bright blue eyes in an instant.

Kaylee.

Nivea laughed in disbelief, absolutely baffled at this sudden turn of luck. Of all the bags she could’ve slipped into, she managed to go home with the one person who seemed to care.

Kaylee pulled her hand away cautiously and gave a timid wave, which was accompanied by a sweet and curious smile. She then started signing, making sure her movements were slow.

“You got out, good job,” signed Kaylee. Nivea snapped out of her trance and went through the signs she knew before responding in the simplest way she knew.

“Yes, thank you,” signed Nivea back, saying the words out loud simply out of habit. Kaylee’s eyes were fixed onto Nivea’s mouth and hands, absorbing everything. The intensity and thoughtful insight of the teen’s gaze was intimidating and, in an odd way at the same time, reassuring.

Kaylee was listening, which was the important part. The human teen started signing again, looking slightly confused as she did.

“So, why are you here? You’re free. Do you need help? Or did you come with me by accident?” asked Kaylee, slowing her signing so Nivea could keep up, which the pet was immensely grateful for.

Nivea suddenly felt the same, crushing sensation from earlier when she realized how little she knew about the world. Nivea had always been a house pet. Outside may as well be another planet. Surviving may as well be like learning Ancient Greek.

She hated to admit it, but she needed help. Slowly, Nivea began signing and saying the words out loud, making a lump in her throat. “Both, and… I don’t know how to live. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go.” Nivea slumped slightly and leaned against the coarse fabric of the pink backpack behind her.

There were several seconds of silence between them before Kaylee began signing again, this time cautiously. It took a second for Nivea to recognize what the blue-eyed teen was saying, and when she did, she felt cautiously optimistic.

“Do you want to stay here? With me?” Nivea felt herself bristle when Kaylee continued signing. “Not as a pet. As a friend. You could stay here in my room and hide. We could be friends… if you want.”

Nivea was about to sign a relatively hostile comment, but something about what the girl was saying sounded… nice. Kaylee had listened and helped at least a dozen times.

Maybe… just maybe… this could work. At the very least, this would give Nivea a good launch point to gather supplies. She began signing and saying the words out loud. Besides, she did have a question for the curly haired teen.

“Not as a pet? No cages? As a friend? Why? Don’t you have friends?” signed Nivea. The look in Kaylee’s eyes practically said it all, but the girl responded anyway.

“None of them can talk to me the way you can. They don’t want to learn,” signed Kaylee. Nivea exhaled and ran her fingers through her tousled auburn hair.

“Well, that’s not nice,” she said out loud without signing. Kaylee, however, smiled and nodded, making the sign for “morons.” Nivea couldn’t help but chuckle and nod, this time signing as she spoke. “Yeah, morons.”

Nivea looked around at the bag and books surrounding her before looking back up at Kaylee. “Could you help me out?” Nivea said and signed, making sure to be careful with how she phrased her words.

Kaylee smiled and nodded before carefully reaching into her backpack and offering her hand for Nivea to climb onto. It wasn’t a grab. It wasn’t a snatch. It was an offer, which Nivea gladly took. She stepped onto the girl’s hand and braced as Kaylee lifted her out of the backpack and onto the desk.

“Do you want a snack? I was going to get one,” signed Kaylee, using only one hand to keep from jostling Nivea. Nivea gave a sigh of relief.

“Yes, please; and… maybe… a washcloth to sleep on?” asked Nivea, making generic symbols for things she didn’t know how to sign for. Kaylee smiled and nodded, setting Nivea down on the desk before leaving the room for a few minutes and returning with a plate of goodies and some soft crafting material to make a bed.

The two of them ate in relative silence before spending the rest of the evening constructing a living space under Kaylee’s bed for Nivea to make her own space. Nivea once thought she wanted freedom, but she realized only now that what she really wanted was space to call her own and a friend to share it with.