AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mom’s forehead creased, and she sighed. “Laney, you’ve got to lose the negative attitude! You’re allowed to be proud of yourself and your achievements.”
“Sorry, Mom. I’m just really surprised, that’s all,” I said. “I know my grades are good, but still… I wasn’t expecting anything like this.”
She finally sat down. “I understand. It really came out of nowhere, didn’t it?” Her brows suddenly shot up. “Oh, I almost forgot. This was in there too.”
She turned and grabbed a glossy catalog off the counter and passed it to me.
“That explains why the envelope was so big,” I said, flipping through the pages. It was basically one big advertisement for Royal Falls Academy, complete with pictures of smiling students in perfectly-pressed navy blue blazers with gold trim, extensive lists of amenities and clubs, and pages upon pages of beautifully-shot photos of the campus.
The school stood on an enormous piece of land seven miles away from Royal Falls, right next to a national park. The sight of it was awe-inspiring.
The main building had been constructed to look like a Gothic castle with its pale gray stonework, soaring towers, pointed arches and leaded glass windows. Intricate stone carvings lined the top of each level, and deep green ivy wound its way up the lower walls. The smaller buildings had been created in the same manner, regal and awe-inspiring despite their size.
There were gargoyles everywhere, too. Creatures with bat wings, pointy ears, and ugly squashed-looking faces. They crouched on the corners of every slanted roof and on the edges of outcroppings. An extra-large one sat over the main entrance, stone chest seemingly puffed up proudly as it watched over the students streaming into the building.
Most of the photos had been taken in the fall, New England’s most beautiful time of the year. A zoomed-out landscape image of the academy showed an amphitheater of mountains in the background with a light dusting of snow on the peaks and streaks of red, orange and gold throughout the thick foliage.
It was utterly breathtaking.
I never thought I’d have the opportunity to set foot in such a place. Not even in my wildest dreams. To me, a private academy like RFA felt as far away as a fairytale castle. Nice to dream about, but not possible in reality.
Now here I was, sitting at my kitchen table with this offer letter. I felt like I suddenly had the whole world within my grasp.
“The Connery kids go to RFA, don’t they?” I asked, glancing up at Mom.
“I think so,” she replied, scratching one cheek. “Hey, you could become friends with them! Wouldn’t that be nice?”
I let out a vague grunt. “I doubt they’d want to hang out with me.”
Mom’s brows knitted. “You know… you don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” she said slowly. “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t accept, because it’s such an incredible opportunity, but I can’t force you. If you want to stay at Silvercreek High, you can. I just don’t want you to regret it later.”
I knew she was right. This scholarship was an incredible opportunity, and I would kick myself forever if I turned it down just because I felt out of place amongst the elite.
I cleared my throat and squared my jaw. “I’ll go,” I said. “You’re right. I studied my ass off for this, even if I never knew it was an option. Plus, we could really use that ten grand, couldn’t we?”
She squealed and wrapped her arms around me. I leaned into the embrace, finally letting myself smile as excited warmth radiated throughout my body. I felt weightless, like I was floating up in the clouds, and the smile stretched into a grin so wide it felt like my lips might split right open.
After so many years of struggle, I finally had the chance to let it all go and make my dreams come true. Royal Falls Academy was going to be my new home come fall this year, and nothing—not even a rude, smug asshole like Hunter Connery—could take that away from me.
Going to RFA was going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.
