My reality is dark. And to taunt somebody by introducing them to my world? That seems like it would just be cruel.
Liam grabs onto my hand. It’s then that I notice he’s parked the car.
“Don’t worry, Coco. This is going to be a good thing. We’re going to get through this together.” He grins at me.
I nod, attempting to smile back.
West Raven Academy is going to be a good thing—I think.
The Wicked Witch of West Raven.
My dorm room is bigger than I expected it to be. I even have my own bathroom.
This really is a posh boarding school.
What are Karen and William paying to send me here? And why are they paying it, even though they hate spending money on me? If they would’ve figured out a way to send me to boarding school for free, I’m sure I’d have been shipped off years ago. They always just sent me to public school.
My dorm is bare. No pictures, no decorations—just the basic furniture that the school provides. It reminds me of my room back home.
Karen doesn’t want me to be happy. In fact, she goes out of her way to make sure that I’m miserable. Despite the fact that we live in a large penthouse with massive bedrooms, my mother put me in the smallest room. The real estate agent called it the servant’s quarters. It’s just off the kitchen and there is barely room for a full-sized bed, a dresser, and a desk. I’m not allowed to hang posters or have pictures.
But here…
Maybe I could put things up and make this space mine.
Not wanting to be in my dorm any longer than necessary, I unpack my clothes, putting them away into the drawers and into the closet. I brought everything that I own. It could all fit in two suitcases, which is only a reminder of how pathetic and sad my life is. My clothes don’t even fill up the walk-in closet in my dorm.
I sigh, shutting the door to the closet.
West Raven Academy is going to be good for me. I know it is.
I head out my door, locking it behind me. Some people wouldn’t lock their dorm rooms, but I know better than most people that rich people like to steal too—maybe even more than the poor.
Once my door is locked, I turn to head toward the front lounge, not noticing a girl walking down the hallway. We bump into each other and she stumbles back in her five inch stilettos.
“Sorry,” I mumble, looking up at the girl. In her heels, she towers over me by nearly a foot.
She narrows her brown eyes at me, wrinkling her tiny nose. “Watch where you’re going.”
“Sorry,” I repeat, just in case she didn’t hear me before.
She puts her hands on her hips, her face unchanging. “Who are you?”
I clear my throat. “Uh, Cove. Cove Lawson.”
She takes a step closer to me. “I’m Arabella Middleton.” She emphasizes her last name. “So, you don’t want to mess with me, Candy Lawson.”
“It’s Cove,” I correct.
But she doesn’t hear me. She’s stomping off down the hallway. I notice she walks like a runway model—maybe she is a runway model. Arabella, despite her bad attitude, is gorgeous.
“Life isn’t fair.”
A voice startles me, making me jump. I put a hand to my racing heart.
The girl who spoke to me has her shoulder leaned against the doorframe of the room right across the hall from mine. She has her arms crossed over her chest.
“What do you mean?” I raise an eyebrow.
She nods her head to where Arabella is strutting down the hall. “Some people get it all—looks and money.”
I shake my head. “She didn’t get a good attitude, so she didn’t get it all.”
The girls laughs. “I’m Laura Holcomb. I guess I’m your neighbor.”
“Cove Lawson,” I tell her.
Her eyes light up. “I’m new here—a senior.”
“Me too.”
How lucky is it that I ran into another new girl on my first day here? Especially a girl who is my own age.
Laura is a short girl. I’m not tall myself, but she stands a few inches shorter than my 5’5” frame. She has blonde hair that’s cut into a bob and hot pink framed glasses. Her clothes are simple—a concert t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I can tell by looking at the girl that she and I will be friends.
“Have you seen any of the boys here yet?” Laura fans her face. “There are some hotties here.”
I shake my head, smirking at her. “Dating is kind of the last thing on my mind at the moment.”
“Who said anything about dating?” She raises an eyebrow. “I’m just looking. It’s called eye candy.”
I snort. “Now you sound like my brother.”
Because I am certain that Liam is already scoping out the girls at our new school. He is the definition of a ladies’ man.
“Is he hot?” she asks.
“Ew.” I shake my head. “A lot of girls at our old school seemed to think so.”
She grins, pushing herself off the doorframe. “Then you’ll have to introduce me.” She nods her head down the hallway. “Want to walk to orientation with me?”
I nod, checking the time on my phone.
It is already time for orientation—so much for walking around the school. I guess that will have to wait until later.
“What did you do to get shipped off here?” Laura asks, as we make our way through the girls’ dormitory.
I shrug. “I exist. Isn’t that reason enough.”
She laughs. “Ain’t that the truth.”
I glance over at her. “What did you do to get sent here?”
“I got offered a scholarship.” She lowers her head, her cheeks turning red.
“So you’re super smart or something?” I ask.
She shrugs, which is an answer in itself.
I already like Laura. She seems sweet.
“I think it’s cool that you’re smart. I don’t do badly in school myself. Except maybe in calculus.” I cringe. “Thankfully I am done with math. I only need a few more credits to graduate.”
Her eyes light up. “At least you can count the classes for college credit.”
We walk out the front doors of the dorm together and toward the building where orientation is. Laura seems to know where she’s going. She must’ve studied the map or already explored.
Once we get to the courtyard, I see a lot of kids hanging out. There is a boy sitting by the fountain, playing guitar. A couple of younger kids are kicking around a soccer ball. People are all laughing, joking, and having fun with their friends.
Boarding school won’t be so bad. Maybe I can make friends here. Plus, it’s nice to get away from Karen and William. Here, I can pretend to be a normal girl.
A football whizzes past my head, nearly hitting me, following by a guy running after it. He doesn’t even glance my way as he’s running.
Laura scoffs. “Buddy, watch where you’re going! You almost ran over my friend!”
But the guy doesn’t even turn to look at us.
She rolls her eyes. “These boys sure are hot, but they’re jerks.”
I look at the guy who still hasn’t taken notice of us—she’s right. He is hot. But I know better than anyone that having a pretty face doesn’t mean you’re a good person. Take my father for instance. The world was in love with him, but he never wanted anything to do with me.