The volume of that statement reverberated back to me. Who was I, really?
“Young lady, that’s none of your business. I’ve heard enough of this nonsense.” The sinister note in her voice sent a shiver down my neck. “If you won’t do what I want, then I will come there and make you.”
“What?” I smacked my hand on the kitchen granite. “How can you make me join Nexis?”
“There are ways, Lucy girl. You won’t like them very much. Don’t make me fly out there.” So cold. She didn’t sound like my mom at all.
All the energy drained from my body, and so did the fight. I slid down from the stool, my eyes welling up.
“Whatever, it won’t change my mind.” I huffed into the phone.
“Then I think this conversation is over.” Her venom got cut off by dead air.
Did she seriously just hang up on me? Wow, I thought I had issues. She couldn’t be more clueless. How could she let me come to Montrose Paranormal Academy without telling me the truth? Did she think I wouldn’t find out? She could fly out here whenever she wanted. She wouldn’t change my mind.
After what I’d just learned, I needed to figure out the truth for myself. Tomorrow, when classes started, I’d begin the tedious process of unraveling this colossal mess my parents created for me.
~
A warm breeze feathered my hair. Yawning, I tucked the brown strands behind my ear over the scar, the only visible remnants of the accident. Sunlight slanted across the quad and tinted the grass lime green, the bricks orange. The bright colors ignited together, searing straight into my eyeballs. I lowered my head and focused on each step. One white canvas sneaker slapped the pavement, then the other. Mornings were the worst.
A jolt to my shoulder rocketed me off the sidewalk, right into the grass.
An angry guy whizzed past me. “Hey, watch it.”
Where’d he come from?
“It’s too early for rudeness.” A frog sound ripped from my throat, but he was long gone. Maybe I shouldn’t have stayed up till one a.m. fuming at my mother.
I straightened my purple backpack and elbowed my way into the crowd. I needed to focus and get the lay of the land at Montrose Paranormal Academy. The flow of foot traffic caught me and pushed me forward. With New Yorkers everything moved so fast, at least until I reached the log jam in front of the building for my first class, Trenton Hall.
I pushed my way through the swarm of people. High-pitched girly jitters blended together in a cacophony of chatter.
“Hey, Lucy.” My suitemate, Julia called from her group of posh girls dressed in perfectly ripped jeans. What group were they a part of?
I wiped my hands down my plain dark jeans and tugged on my aqua V-neck tee. Why hadn’t I let Paige foist her collection of prep-school outfits on me? Because it felt too much like reenacting Legally Blonde, which so didn’t work with my brown hair. My fashionista sister would fit in better at Montrose than I ever would.
“Morning, Julia.” I waved, but she turned back to her friends. Funny, she seemed much nicer yesterday when I introduced myself. She must not be a fan of Nexis. Just as well. As if I wanted to crawl back into the popular crowd. That’d only gotten me a cheating boyfriend and an ex-best friend.
I sidestepped the pockets of teenagers and trudged up a bazillion stairs to the landing of the three-story brick monstrosity. When I stepped into the marbled lobby, the babble reverberated straight into my eardrums. Mom would tell me to stop and say hi to people, but the buzz seeped into my brain. The lingering side effects of my late night, I guess. I punched through the mob of students and headed straight into my first classroom.
Silence consoled my ears. I could breathe again.
In the middle of the stadium-style desks, I found the perfect spot and planted my stuff. Perfect view of the lecture area below, yet plenty of distance to hide behind. I fished out my notebook and gel pen. Most of these kids had been at the academy for two years already. I had a lot of catching up to do, especially in my paranormal classes.
“Hey.” A bleach-blond guy in a muscle tee plopped himself down in the seat next to me. His arm dangled over the desktop, poised to brush my jeans. “You’re that girl from last night, right? Can’t hurt to make friends with a former Nexis president’s sister. I’m Kevin from L.A., remember?”
“Right.” My eyes narrowed at the spray-tanned hand he offered. I let it hang in the air. Wasn’t he hitting on Shanda that night?
Cringing, I shook Kevin’s orange hand. He gave me an enormous grin and leaned back in his seat. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
Students filed in behind me, bringing their chatter with them until it filled the entire classroom. A tall man in tweed clomped down to the desk in the middle of the room. He scribbled, “Mr. Harlixton” on the white board.
“Welcome to Origins of the Three Societies. In this class, we’ll be discussing where the history of the three secret societies. Just in time for you to figure out which secret societies you want to pledge. Choose wisely. Just because these groups promise Ivy League acceptance and high-powered jobs upon graduation, doesn’t mean you should take your decision lightly.” His stern tone circled around the room.
“Pass these out.” He strained the arms of his jacket, handing the front row a packet of papers. “You’ll find the syllabus here and the normal course equivalent that will appear on your transcripts. I’m sure the Ivy League schools will appreciate your interest in an advanced history class, as will your parents by extension.”
Students around
