Chapter Fourteen
Ella is in the woman's apartment. She sits down on a couch while the women leaves the room. Ella is aghast at the cluttered and dark room.
A TV IS MENTIONED. FINALLY. Sheesh!!
The woman comes back and tells her that the way things had been done were all wrong and they're not prepared.
Side note, Rhonda was idling in her car when Ella ran away from Collins. Why was she doing that? What was the purpose of it? It makes no sense. Was she stalking the Kimballs? I wouldn't put it past her.
The woman's husband appears and asks Ella how much money she was sent with. The answer is none.
LOL OMG IS EVERYONE IN THIS BOOK TRASH?
"We're not one of those activists that do this for free. This is a business. We're taking a risk here."
Oh I absolutely believe there are opportunists in the world that do this. But what the actual fuck. Every single adult in this book has been a horrible human being.
Ella asks to be taken back to the Kimballs and the man brushes her off.
The woman goes on to explain that things would be much worse if Ella was taken back, because "rich people do not like it when they're pets run away."
I mean, I didn't like it when my cat was missing for over two weeks but I didn't kill him when he came back. But a cat is a cat and a human being is a human being.
I dont' know what point I was trying to make.
The woman offers to buy her dress for $50 and to give her the address of someone who might help her. How very generous and helpful of you.
Anyway, the woman gives her some normal clothes. Ella asks to go somewhere private to change.
Here's a thought... if they were supposed to be raised as "showpieces" and "something to look at", why is she so modest? I dunno, it feels weird. Also, did Ella have any friends at the kennels? You'd think the girls would have been made friends with each other, even if just to practice conversation. Of course that would require people to actually think about what they're writing but we can't have that.
Why couldn't these people just use the numbers etched into the back [of the ID tag]?
Probably because, as they told you a million times, they're trying to get you to a place where human pets are illegal? How fucking stupid are you.
Nevermind.
But then I imagined the look on their faces when they found out I'd been taken, the way the congressman's eyes would narrow and Penn's jaw would clench.
Wow you have a really boring imagination.
The woman gives her a sandwich after she changes. Ella asks if she can stay.
"You've got to understand, we're just barely making it. We aren't like those rich people. We don't have a couple thousand to throw away on you."
What the hell kind of crap do you need that would cost $2,000 if she stays with you a week or two?!
I'd have believed it if the lady straight up told Ella that she was afraid of the cops before the idea that it would cost that much money for Ella to stay a couple extra days.
"Listen, we're the good guys. . ."
So Ella gets kicked out of the woman's apartment and Ella is sitting in a park. This bitch doesn't even know how to use a telephone number, for the love of peanuts.
She finally goes to a nearby restaurant and tries to get some of her approved food items and the girl behind the counter is like WTF. Ella can't read the menu so she leaves and nearly gets hit by a car. Ella freaks out and hides under the kid's slide in the park.
Chapter Fifteen
This book is so boring in between the offensive bits. So let's see what's in Ella's mind?
I didn't care about freedom. That's not what I wanted. I just wanted Penn to look at me again under the silver moon while we danced, to take my hand in his and walk me through his magical garden once again.
I can't believe I read this with my own eyes in the year of our lord two thousand and eighteen
Folks, take notes. This is NOT HOW YOU MAKE A COMPELLING PROTAGONIST.
I dont' want freedom! I just want a pretty boy to pay attention to mee! Teehee!
I mean. I get it, she was raised to stay in her place, but we are halfway through this book and Ella has literally no personality. None. Not even playing the piano is interesting because it's just... so empty. This entire book is as empty as the wheel of fish box up there. It's nothing and it's stupid, and Ella is so damn BORING and I literally do not care what happens to her since this book's worldbuilding is so incredibly poor that nothing makes any logical sense and I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THE PROTAGONIST IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL, COMING AFTER THE HUNGER GAMES, MANAGES TO HAVE A PROTAGONIST LITERALLY SAY SHE DOES NOT WANT TO BE FREE.
This is why I hate YA bandwagoning. It takes the concepts of super popular books, without the substance. I had a lot of issues with the Hunger Games series, but at least I could believe and understand Katniss's desires both broad and small. This is just. So. Freaking. Stupid. I bet the author tries to shoehorn some crap later on with her discovering what it means to have freedom, or whatever, but you've totally lost me. Not that I wasn't lost before, but this. This moment. This is trash.
Ella finally crawls out from under the slide. She sees a couple on a bench.
The thought of never feeling the heat of Penn's body near mine made my heart ache.
....You're alone in the dark in a strange place, you can't read, dial a phone, have not had any food or water in hours, and this is what you're thinking.
She sees a police car, gets scared, and hides under the slide again. She wants to go home and I guess.... she doesn't think the police will help her. God, how is she so dumb.
"There's nobody here, Phil," the man holding the flashlight said. "They've probably got us running around for nothing. Those microchips aren't the best technology. We could be off by a hundred yards."
HOLY SHIT I WAS KIDDING ABOUT THE MICROCHIPS. WHAT THE HELL.
Also, apparently they're connected to GPS or something? WTF this book. She has a trackable microchip but Penn doesn't have a cell phone. Kay.
Anyway, the cops find her.
I literally just sat here for five minutes staring at either that gif I posted of Draco or of Facebook while listening to a song on Pandora. My brain is not all here.
The cops take her to the station, and Ella likes them because they're nice to her.
"You don't think it's weird?" Officer Roberts said to his partner. "It feels wrong giving her back, you know? Like, I'm supposed to be protecting her."
YES, OFFICER ROBERTS, GO WITH THAT FEELING. PLEASE. I need someone to not be a dumpster heap of a person. He goes on saying she's the first one he's seen, and that he reminds her of his niece, and he doesn't like the whole idea. Please, don't ruin him for me, book. Please.
Congressman DoucheChill shows up. I still have no concept of where Ella actually ended up, though she fell asleep in the car with Rhonda, so I assumed hours. So did Douchechill hop a private jet? I wouldn't put it past him.
Officer Roberts refuses to call Ella a pet and uses her name.
don't ruin him plz, he is keeping me sane
DoucheChill is like "IT'S A FIVE HOUR DRIVE FROM WHERE I LIVE" (New Canaan) and wonders how she got there. The officer explains that it was probably a fanatic who tried to set her free and mentions her microchip.
Ella, unsurprisingly, doesn't know what it is and is confused because the lady at the apartment didn't give her anything the police could track.
Oh, so DoucheChill drove five hours from New Canaan to pick up Ella (no private jets). Now he's turning around and driving another five. Yikes. I mean, I've done a 10 hour drive and I was DEAD at the end of it.
DoucheChill doesn't speak to her until they get home, and he asks if it's someone from the catering company (okay?). Ella breaks down in tears and tells him that she didn't want to run away.
"Shh, it's all right. It's all right. You don't need to cry," the congressman said, stroking my hair. I leaned my head against his shoulder until my tears stopped falling. His hand was warm and heavy on my back.
No.
She says it was Rhonda Harper, and they go into the house, and Ella remembers Ruby exists! Just that she expected Ruby to come running, but no one's up. Ella goes into her room and changes into PJs. She finds the phone number the one lady gave her, and she hides it behind the mirror so Rosa won't find it and get upset. This is important.
Ella goes to lay on the bed. And Douchechill becomes even creepier.
The congressman sat down next to me, resting his heavy hand on my shoulder. It felt as if it were holding me down, keeping me from floating away.
He stays with her until she falls asleep.... well, probably after too, but. I'm not thinking about that because I want some joy in my life.
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