Salvation - L.E.N. (great book club books .txt) 📗

Wind whipped wildly at my Auburn hair, giving it a very unkempt look. I sat in the passenger's seat of my dad's red convertible. He drove us down a long and bare road leading to the small coastal town of Salvation. Both of us were silent, but it was comfortable. I could smell the salt in the air, and felt a certain eagerness to see the ocean.
"So you're going to stay with me?" I tilted my head against the leather seat and stared at the man beside me. His eyes looked focused on the road, but when he looked at me, he gave me a sad smile.
"No... No I'm sorry Avery. I think it would be better if you stayed here for a while and just forget about what has happened this past year." He tried to smile comfortingly, but it twisted into a frown.
I sighed and looked forward at the road. I hated the thought of spending my sophomore year here in this new town alone.
"Oh..." I couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Okay! But I'll be home to see you during the holidays!" I tried to sound as positive as I could.
It worked. My dad smiled warmly at me and patted my head like I was a little girl.
"You're really holding up... You remind me of your mother."
Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. Depression settled over the small car. My mother had died a year earlier. The police called it suicide but... that was very unlikely. My mother was a very warm and happy person. She had her moments where she was very upset, but she would always be making others laugh and smile. She was an admirable woman. And plus, I had seen it all. I shuddered as the memories of that night pushes at my mind. I had worked hard to form a wall between me and the memories of that night and sometimes it would break and I would remember...
"Avery." My father's voice broke me away from my thoughts.
"Yes?" I tilted my head and looked at him absent minded.
"Remember that talk we had a couple months ago?" The question caught me by surprise.
"Yeah..." I thought back to the news gave a few weeks ago. I remembered sitting down with him at our favorite restaurant and talking about my heritage. He had admitted he wasn't my real father. That didn't really take me by surprise though. We looked nothing alike. Total opposites. He would still always be my daddy though.
"Never mind. Someday, I'll introduce you to your real father though."
"Do you know him?" That had never come up earlier.
"Yes, I do." His voice sounded dry, almost bitter. "He's a very... detached person."
Before I could say something else, our car took a sharp turn onto a dirt road. Within seconds, the sight of small buildings shown about a mile away. It was small compared to her old city, but still considered a decent size. Not far from the rest of the town lay a large expanse of multiple buildings, gardens, and fields all surrounded by a metal fence. I guessed that was my future school. Salvation Academy. I smiled bitterly. I couldn't wait to see what surprises awaited me in this new town...

Our car had entered the small town and to my surprise, it was wonderful. Small shops and beautiful Victorian houses lined the streets. The people walking down the streets stared at us curiously and I returned their gazes. It was odd to think about which ones of these people looking at me would enter my future. In a small town like Salvation, it seemed like I would know everyone within a couple months. We turned sharply down a road that gave a view of the beach. The beach was unlike anything I had ever seen. It's sand looked pale and easy to sink into. The water was more or less clear, crashing down upon the sand with a roar. My eyes widened at the sight. So this is why every girl at my old town loved the beach...

"Ah. There's your new school." I turned my attention to a place where all the small buildings of Salvation faded away and led to a cliff where large colorful buildings lay. I found it quite odd that they would place a school there. After long years, the rock would eventually erode away.
Looking more closely, it was the most amazing school I had ever seen. Salvation Academy was unlike any school I had ever seen or heard of. It's buildings were different shapes and sizes ranging from one story buildings to four story buildings. Their colors were faded colors of blue, red, orange, and yellow.
"Wow... How did you get me into this

school?"
My dad chuckled. "I have my ways."

Our car pulled up in front of large iron gates. They pulled open within a few seconds and the car lurched forward. There was a parking lot on one side filled with expensive looking trucks and cars that we parked in. I stepped out of the car and stretched my stiff limbs. "Ahhhhh." I yawned. My dad had opened the trunk and produced two large duffel bags, holding them up to me. I told them gratefully and grinned.
"Are you coming to the office with me?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Sorry Ava, you should check it out on your own. I can't baby you forever." My smile dimmed a little at that, but I still kept on smiling for him.
"Oh, okay... Well then, this is goodbye?" I looked up at him, taking in his features. It would be months before I saw him again.
"Sadly. But I'll text you everyday, okay sweetie?"
"Okay!" I hugged him goodbye and watched him drive off. Then I followed the concrete pathway up to the large red building which I guessed was the main office. I swallowed nervously. "I really don't know what I'm doing..." I mumbled to myself. Now that I wasn't going to be around my dad anymore, i could show how I really felt. I let the happy mask slip away and an everlasting depressed look came upon my face.
I pulled open the large metal doors and slid inside. The office was very nice. There was a large wooden desk in one corner where a frail looking woman sat. There were leather couches lining the walls and beautiful paintings of the ocean scattered here and there. In one of the corners was a wall covered with pictures of students. They were all so handsome and pretty looking that a wave of insecurity washed over me.
"Hello. You must be Avery Kate!" The frail looking woman was smiling kindly at me.
"yeah... That's me." The woman waved me over to her desk, smiled, and handed me a piece of paper.
"This is your schedule. Just a moment please." She picked up a phone resting on her desk and dialed a number quickly. There was a few seconds of silence before she spoke into the phone.
"Yes, hello. Avery Kate is here. Yes, that would be splendid!" The woman hung up the phone and held a hand out to me. "My name is Mrs. Daisy."
I took her hand a returned the shake. I thought it fit her. She wore all yellow and looked as cheery as a little kid. "Avery..." I said shyly.
"You can have a seat over there on one of the couches. Your guide will be here shortly!"
I slumped over to the couch and sunk into it's softness. A sigh of relaxation escaped my lips and I smiled faintly to myself. I closed my eyes and listened to the soft sound of Mrs. Daisy's typing. I just want to sit here forever...

I guess forever was sooner than i thought.

"Ah! So you're the new student?"

I cracked an eye open and stared at a sporty looking girl in front of me. She had deep brown curly hair, the same color as mine, and friendly brown eyes. She was dressed in black sweat pants and a T- shirt that said Japan on it and had a soccer ball in the bottom corner.

"Yeah, that's me." I said.

"Cool. My name is Sarah Okazaki." She smiled and beckoned me down a hall.

I climbed to my feet and followed her, dragging my huge duffel bags. The hallway seemed to never end but suddenly, there was a door at the end of the hall. When Sarah pushed it open, I was almost blinded. Then the light faded away and I walked out into a large open amphitheater. Students sat in small groups eating their lunch together on stone planters and wooden benches. The amphitheater was surrounded by the other colorful buildings and almost enclosed them. But far on the other side of campus was a gap. Behind it lay a stairway that led down to the beach below. I stared amazed at the campus. i had never seen anything like it before.

"Stick close to me." Sarah said as she winked at me. "They bite."

As we walked towards the blue building next to the passage leading to the beach, heads turned to look at the girl who had intruded on their territory. I moved close to Sarah as their intense gazes burned into me. The students were all oddly attractive. They had pretty faces like models would... but there was one group that stuck out majorly. A group of three students turned their heads to look at me. A feeling of dread settled in my stomach as I met gazes with a deeply tanned girl. She had long black hair that cascaded down her back and dark eyes that I guessed were brown. She wore a pair of denim shorts that looked almost like underwear and a red long sleeve shirt that had a black heart on the center. The girl beside her was a tall blond. She had a very beautiful face that was currently twisted in disgust as she stared at me. She had blond curly hair that fell a little past her shoulders. She wore a purple tube top that was pulled dangerously low. Her skirt fell barley past the base of her thighs and she wore black sparkly stilettos. The third member... was breath taking. He was quite tall and wore a black t-shirt that accented the hard muscles of his stomach and arms. His black hair fell sloppily in front of his pale gray eyes. Instead of giving me a hateful look, he smiled kindly and winked. I turned my head away and blushed, focusing on the blue building ahead.

"They're a group of troublemakers.