Emmy wrinkled her pounding forehead. Schools weren’t like families. It’s not like she would be living at school…unless…her mom wasn’t actually sending her to…
“A boarding school?” Clint finished Emmy’s thought.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
“An all-inclusive immersion school,” her mom said. “Emmy will be living with people her own age in a rich learning environment.”
Emmy had no idea what an “all-inclusive immersion” school was, but it sure sounded like boarding school to her.
“Which school is it?” Clint asked. “Is it close by?”
Her mother looked down and smoothed the front of her dress, picking at a wrinkle no one else could see. Finally, she looked up again, her face smooth and serene. “Actually, it’s in England.”
It was like someone had dropped a sandbag on Emmy’s chest. She couldn’t breathe. Boarding school. England. Boarding school. England.
THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump, THUMP-thump.
Clint turned to Emmy. “And how do you feel about all this? It must have been a bit of a shock when you first found out.”
Emmy’s mom swallowed hard and stared at Emmy like she was begging her to say the right thing.
The room started to spin, like Emmy was on an out-of-control merry-go-round. She managed a wobbly smile. “I’m just happy to support my mother.”
Her mom put a steadying hand around Emmy’s elbow. “You’re just too good to me. Darling, I need to freshen up. Come with me?” She pulled on Emmy’s elbow and guided her to the bathroom.
“Okay.” Her mom closed the door behind them. “You look faint. You’re not going to pass out, are you?”
Emmy fell into a rickety chair in the corner. She didn’t know what passing out felt like, but if the room kept spinning, she’d probably end up on the floor. She leaned her head against the wall, and the spinning started to slow down.
“Take a deep breath, and we can talk about this.”
Emmy wrapped her arms around her stomach and tried to breathe in, but there didn’t seem to be enough air in the room. She wanted to ask questions—and to say how unfair this was—but it felt like someone had stuck a piece of gum inside the part of her brain that formed complete sentences.
Boarding school. England. Boarding school. England.
The words kept running through her head.
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way,” her mom said. “I only finalized things with the headmaster this morning, and I didn’t want to tell you until I knew I had your schooling settled. I was going to tell you this afternoon, but that whole stitches debacle took all day.”
“Why can’t I stay here?” Emmy finally managed to say.
“There’s no one to look after you.”
“But—”
“Emmy, I am a child psychologist, and I am your mother. I know what’s best for you.”
Emmy sighed. She’d heard that phrase for almost twelve years, and she still hadn’t found a way to argue with it. “When would I have to leave?”
Her mom looked away. “It’s a bit of an unusual circumstance. They don’t usually allow new students once term has started, so we’re really lucky they let you in at all. But I had to agree to send you as soon as possible so you don’t miss any more class time.”
Emmy’s eyes welled up with tears. She was moving to another continent, she was doing it by herself, and she was doing it soon.
“Darling, I know this is difficult, but you’re going to need to be strong. There’s press out there, and I don’t want them to think there might be something wrong. Gretchen is promoting me as a mentor for the moms and dads of America. Think of all the people I’ll be able to help. But if you don’t seem supportive, that’ll be the story, and I won’t be nearly as effective. Besides, this is a chance for you to get a top-notch education.”
“That’s what you said about Bartholomew Prep and Glenmore Heights.”
“I know, but both of them really took a tumble in school rankings, and I couldn’t leave you there if they weren’t going to help you get ahead. This school is going to be different.”
That’s what her mom always said. Every time a school dropped a few ranks, she got nervous about Emmy not getting a good enough education, as if being at the fourth-best school in New England was worse than being at the second-best. But boarding school? Emmy couldn’t even imagine it.
Her mom grabbed her hand and held it steady. “Em, I didn’t mean to keep this from you,” she said. “I promise we’ll talk more later, and then we’ll have no more secrets between us.”
Emmy thought about her nightstand and the strange letter shut up inside it. The one she’d never tell her mom about, not in a million years. “Right. No more secrets.”
CHAPTER 2
The School
“Wellsworth is a fabulous school, darling. You’re going to love it,” her mom said. It was after midnight, and they were driving back home. The last thing Emmy wanted to do was talk. She pressed her head against the car window and pretended to sleep. Her mom didn’t take the hint.
“England is amazing. I spent a few years there with my cousin Lucy, and it was one of the best experiences of my life.”
Emmy’s eyes flew open. England. Her mother had gone to England. That’s where she had met…
She pursed her lips. The letter with his name had arrived only a few days before. That was way too much of a coincidence. She glanced at her mother. Could she ask about him without raising suspicion?
“Oh right,” Emmy said casually. “You met Dad in England, didn’t you?”
Her mom cleared her throat. She always did that when Emmy brought up her father. “Yes, I did.”
So far, so good.
“You haven’t heard anything about him lately, have you?”
“Of course not! He’s been gone nine years. Why would anyone hear from him now?”
Images flickered in Emmy’s mind like an old home movie: A pair of strong hands lifting her high in the air. A scratchy beard nuzzling her face. The smell of peppermint chewing gum. It had been nine years. Ever since her third birthday when her cake sat uneaten in the fridge. Nobody felt like celebrating.
“Does he still have family in England?”
Her mom stared at the road. Her face, which had been so full of energy and excitement while she was talking about the school, now looked like it had been carved in stone. “Your father didn’t have any family.”