I didn’t want to go to the museum. I had never been a fan of staring at dead animals dressed in a layer of preservatives or paintings where the little blue blotches secretly hinted at the disintegration of modern society. Museums were never my forte, and I couldn’t imagine anything more than having to spend an entire day at one with 24 of my classmates with whom I had nothing in common, so I left.

It was an hour and fifteen minute drive from my small school to the city, so this trip was an all day, big deal type of thing. I never got the chance to explore the city because of the distance, so I took this as my perfect opportunity. After the monotonous tour instructor finished his introduction, the group turned a corner and I peeled off and away. I stepped outside into the fresh spring air, and was on my way.
It was sunny with a few clouds and a slight breeze. The ground was still wet with the residual melting snow, but the air was warm; warm enough for me to carry my sweatshirt over my arm. I turned left and started to head down the cracked city sidewalk. On my way I did nothing but marvel at the heights of the buildings that seemed to overpower me. The city as a whole seemed to be welcoming me warmly, only encouraging my adventure for the day.

An hour or so passed, and I began to feel hungry. Luckily, I had brought substantial funds for lunch and dinner, as I would have had to eat with my classmates during our trip. I stopped at a small diner on the corner of a quitter street to have a sit down meal by myself. After my food came, I noticed a couple of older teenage boys at the other end of the counter alternating looking at me, and whispering to each other. I ignored them and proceeded to finish my food in silence. Before I paid, the waitress brought back my receipt, paid and full.

“Um, excuse me, I haven’t paid yet it says I have,” I told her honestly. I had already snuck away from a school sanctioned trip, I didn’t need to be causing more problems.

“It’s alright, the young men at the end of the counter paid for you. Have a nice day!”

I didn’t know whether to feel scared or flattered, but I whispered a “thank you” as I passed them on my way out.

“Wait!” I heard as the door shut. Beginning to feel frightened, I picked up my pace as the two boys walked out after me.
“Wait!” the tall, dark haired one repeated, “We just want to talk to you!”

Feeling as if running away would be fruitless, I decided to stop and let them catch up to me. Heart ponding in my chest, I mustered up the breath to give a shy “yes?”

“What’s your name?” the other, blonde boy asked.

“Sarah, I’m from Aurora. Look you can have the rest of my money, whatever you want, just please don’t hurt me,” I responded.

“Oh don’t worry sweetie, we’re not looking to hurt you.”

Sweetie. Sweetie? What were these boys getting at? I just met them and we had already started on pet names.

“Then what do you want?” I retorted.

“We want to get to know you,” the dark haired one said. “I’m Nick, this is Allan,” he said, gesturing to his blonde friend. “Now, a girl your age should be in school at this time of day, right?”

“Yes- well my class had a field trip to the Chicago Field Museum today, and, well, I didn’t really want to stick around.”

“Oh, we’ve got the makings of a rebel here,” Allan said playfully.

“Since you’ve already got a clear schedule, how about you let us show you the city?” Nick suggested.

They had a point. I had a free day ahead of me; why not spend it with people who actually knew where to enjoy what Chicago had to offer?

“Ok. Let’s go,” I said.

“Perfect,” replied Nick with a smile.

We left the corner near the diner we met at, and started our adventure. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still shining on us. After some time walking, we arrived at a beautiful, grandiose fountain, which I quickly recognized as the famous Buckingham fountain. The two boys gave each other a quick glance, broke into a full sprint to the fountain, and jumped in.

“Come on Sarah! The water is fine!”

After some slight hesitation, I threw my belongings to the ground, and jumped in with them. It was one of the best experiences of my life. The three of us spent a good 5 minutes splashing around in the fountain, until a loud voice interrupted our childish play. One of the park police officers was running towards us at a sprint, so the boys and I exchanged another glance and ran as fast as we could; only stopping to grab my things. The police officer was still chasing us as we entered back into the city streets. Suddenly, Nick grabbed my hand and pulled me into a dark side street, Allan trailing shortly behind.

In an instant, Nick slowed his pace back to his usual strut, as well as Allan.

“What are you doing?!” I asked frantically, “he’s probably still after us!”

“Relax,” Nick replied, “We’re safe now.”

As he said that, we entered a large, brick front building where we were greeted by a small, red haired girl who looked to be about 14 years old.

“Christ guys took you long enough. Is this the one?” she asked.

“The one?” In this instant my mood changed from carefree and content to terrified and panic stricken. Had these boys been watching me? If so, for how long? All these questions ran through my mind as we entered a large room in the building. Inside were dozens of teenagers, talking amongst themselves. Pillows and beds lined the walls, as well as stashes of food and other necessities. Some kids glanced up to look at Nick, Allan and I as we walked by, but most were otherwise indifferent.

“What’s going on?” I asked demandingly.

“We’re offering you the chance to be a part of this. We knew from the second we saw you that you would be perfect. Come on Sarah, you left your school to come explore the city. We all did something similar; we just never left. Please, stay with us, we all take care of each other here” Nick pleaded.

I thought long and hard about his proposition. Give it all up to live as a rebel in downtown Chicago? What about my parents? School? How would I make a living? Clearly, these kids seemed to have it all figured out. After secluding myself for a good half hour to think, I returned to speak with Nick and Allan.

“Ok,” I said.

With a giant grin breaking across his face, Nick replied, “Ok then. It’s time for your… initiation.”

We left the building and began to walk to the other side of the city, to Navy Pier. Night had fallen, and I began to see the city in an entirely different way; it had gone from a warm and welcoming playground to a whole new world full of magic and adventure. We arrived at the bedazzling boardwalk and slowly walked to the end of the pier. In front of me was only water. Behind me was the city I was to now call my home.

“I’m assuming you have a cell phone?” Nick asked.

“Yes,” I said as I took out the year old hand me down phone. I looked at the scratched front; eleven missed calls. They knew I was gone. And they were worried.

“Throw it,” said Allan.

“What?” I responded, confused. “But, my parents? My frie-“

“Just do it,” interrupted Nick. “You’re one of us now, no turning back. You’ll contact your parents again someday. We are your friends now.”

And then I threw it. I threw it so far that I didn’t even see where the “splash” noise had come from when it hit the water. I was officially disconnected. I officially belonged to the city. The three of us turned around, and began to walk back to the solid ground at the other end of the pier.

“You doing okay?” asked Nick?

“I- I think so,” I responded, clearly shaken.

In that instant no more words were exchanged, but Nick had swept me up in a warm embrace, soon after, Allan joined. But it wasn’t just my new comrades embracing me; it was the city. I had known somewhere, from the moment I stepped out into the spring air outside of the museum that the city had claimed me; but I was okay. And I was ready.