“Hey,
Dana, wake up! We just passed the town line!”
I
groaned as Kara shook me by the shoulder. I hadn’t really been asleep; just
dozing and running through the fifty-five reasons I had tallied so far about
why this year was going to be the worst year of my life. Not that repeating any
of them out loud would convince Kara or my dad of the fact. They’d both been
ridiculously optimistic about my attending WCH instead of going to Salem where
they had to know I really belonged. I got into all of my other safety schools,
of course, and usually with a full scholarship as a boon for my excellent
grades and extracurricular activities. I guess it didn’t hurt that I’d already
mastered a few of the Thirteen Powers under my mom’s tutelage. My name attached
to hers probably didn’t hurt either. Everywhere except her school.
I
shook my head. Before we left home, I had determined to put the endless cycle
of wondering why I had been rejected from Salem behind me. What was done was
done, after all, and I couldn’t do anything about it until spring semester at
the earliest.
“Look!
Oh, isn’t it cute?” Kara squealed.
I
finally looked out the window and saw the town where I’d be spending the next
couple months. Holyoak was much smaller than my own home town. I’d done my research;
the entire population was only five times bigger than that of my public high
school. I was used to living in a place where I could disappear into a crowd. But
this two lane main street lined with elms and mom and pop businesses didn’t
look like it could generate its own government, let alone a crowd.
Not
that the school would be much better. There would only be 30 girls in my entire
graduating class! I’d always liked small classes, but that was kind of insane.
Before
Kara could breathe more than a few oohs and aahs, we’d reached the end of the
shops and turned onto another street, this one lined with trees and houses.
“Guess
there probably won’t be much of a nightlife here, huh?” Kara said. My dad
chuckled from the front seat.
“Holyoak
might be small, but you’ve never been much for distractions from your academics
anyway, right, Dana?” he said.
There
was that stupid optimism again. I forced myself to smile and nod.
Right.
My life was over.
