When Alex Briner ran away

Here's the latest from Zach Brokenrope, one of our terrific young writers:

-- Journal --
When Alex Briner ran away
By Zach Brokenrope

Nothing ever happens in Aurora, Nebraska. So when Alex Briner ran away, it was big news.
“I heard he ran away in the middle of the night, stole his old man’s car.”
“No way dude, he hitchhiked to GI and took a bus.”
“I hear he’s one of those Wal-Mart kids; you know, the ones with their pictures in the entrance.”
Gossip flew, and by the end of the first week the agreed upon story was that Alex had stolen an airplane and flown to some South American county where it’s legal to smoke pot.
But somehow, as things often do, the true story of Alex Briner was lost in the fantasy. Those of us who knew him knew that he had hated Aurora; and those of us who knew him well had known he had always planned to leave. He just finally got the guts to do it.

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