Perfect Girl - Weebly

stuff like Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz
and the biggest blue diamond in the world.
Plus the one thing Perry has dreamed of seeing for years.
In those few minutes, I look around me. Will this ever
be my life? I wonder. Will I have the guts to leave Odessa?
Again, I ask myself, will I want to leave if everyone I love—
except Aunt Marty—lives in or near my hometown?
The Metro comes to a stop so softly I barely feel it. As
the doors slide open and we step off the train, I glance at my
watch again. Twenty minutes to showtime. No time to
waste. There may be a line.
Perry follows me up the escalator steps and we emerge
onto a huge rectangle of lawn. The bright sunlight has
turned it turquoise. The clear sky is the color of a sapphire.
Who needs to see a giant blue diamond when it’s such a
jewel of a day?
Stopping to check my downloaded map, I look right
and left. Pointing, I say, “Over there.”
“Wahoo!” Perry gallops across the grass. I bound after
him, laughing the entire way. Euphoria hits me like a blast
from a fire hose. I feel free. Unchained. The prison bars have
been opened and I’ve made my escape.
We take the museum steps two at a time. Then we stop
dead. There is a line. Outside. Security guards are checking
everyone’s bags before they even let them through the door.
“Oh, no,” I groan, looking at my watch again. My
pounding heart sinks. We’re running out of time.
152