Fate (New Hope Academy Book 1) Page 3

  “I haven’t been here that long,” I answer. “But so far, there seem to be a few differences. Teenagers are much more defiant here. And you guys smile at strangers. You guys also say sorry a lot. It’s weird.”

  “You don’t apologize in Russia?” he asks.

  “I have apologized two times in my life. And one of those times I lit my friends cat on fire. It was an accident, and the cat was fine. Hairless, but fine,” I say.

  He laughs. “What about the other time?”

  That isn’t something I want to tell him. Or anybody, for that matter.

  “It’s personal,” I say. “I’d rather not tell you.”

  “I understand,” he says. “Savannah is lucky. Her mom and dad are… awesome. But most of the people here come from screwed up family. Money changes people.”

  My family is messed up, but not because of money. It’s because we lost a very important family member. I’m kind of wondering how my mum and dad are able to afford this school. We’re not poor, but we’re also not really wealthy. Sending me to a boarding school in America can’t be cheap.

  I stop walking and listen.

  “Is that… water?” I ask.

  “Come on,” he says, walking forward. “We’re almost there.” I follow him.

  The further we walk, the closer we get to the sound of rushing water.

  “Just through here,” Asher says.

  I follow him through some thick trees into a clearing. In the clearing, there is a crystal clear lake and a waterfall. It’s not a huge waterfall. It’s only about ten feet tall. I follow him to the top.

  “Where does the water come from?” I ask. The water looks like is coming right out of the rocks.

  “I’m not sure,” he answers. “Maybe an underground stream.”

  “How did you find it?” I ask.

  “By accident. Not many people know about it,” he says. “What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful,” I answer, looking at the beautiful, clear lake.

  “Can you swim?” he asks.

  “Of course. What does—.” My voice cuts off as I feel Asher’s hand on my back. Before I have time to even think about what he’s doing, I’m falling off the edge. I hit the strangely warm water and then swim to the top. About the time I reach the top, I hear a splash and Asher swims up beside me.

  “Are you mad?” I ask him. “Why did you do that?”

  “Your Russian accent makes me forget your half British,” he says. “What was it like? Living in Russia?”

  Nice subject change.

  I guess I can’t be too mad.

  “It was normal,” I answer. I find myself actually liking the warmth of the water. “To be honest, I can’t imagine being raised here is too different. I mean, we have different traditions, but that’s probably normal no matter where you live.”

  “But aren’t you guys not free?” he asks.

  “We are free,” I say. “Maybe in different ways than Americans. But we have freedom.”

  “Huh,” he says. “I always thought you guys were a communist country.”

  “Not for a while. Before I was born,” I say.

  “I guess now I understand why I failed my foreign politics class last year,” he says.

  “I don’t know much about politics either,” I admit. “Russian or American.”

  “I’ve got a pretty girl alone in the middle of a lake and I’m talking to her about politics. What’s wrong with me?”

  I don’t like him calling me pretty. It feels—weird.

  “I think we should get out. I need to dry off,” I say, and start swimming towards the edge. Asher follows me. We swim to the side and I pull myself up on a rock. I lay back and look up at the sky.

  “The sky is so beautiful here,” Asher says.

  “Yes it is.”

  We lay there is silence, looking up at the stars. It’s a completely cloudless night.

  I’m glad I came with Asher, even if he did push me in.

  I hear a rustling in the trees and sit up. I see a shadow, but it’s too dark to tell what it is.

  “What is that?” I ask Asher, who is still laying back.

  “Probably just a squirrel,” he answers, without looking.

  “What if it’s a bear? Or a tiger?”

  “This is America. There aren’t a lot of wild animals here,” he says. “Relax.”

  About that time, I hear something running through the woods. It’s moving away from us, but it’s way too big to be a squirrel.

  “There. It’s gone,” he says, sitting up. “Ready to head back?”

  I nod.

  I’m wet, tired, and desperately wanting a shower so I can wash off the day. At least Asher pushing me in the water gives me an excuse to head back to the dorm early.

  One day down, too many to go.

  TWO

  It’s a promise.

  I wake up to voices in my dorm room. I look out the window and see that it’s still dark, but there is no way that I can go back to sleep. I sit up and see Asher, Kaiden, Madox, and Savannah all sitting in the room.

  The clock says half past five.

  “You guys are bonkers,” I say, sitting up. I’m sure my hairs is a mess after sleeping on it all night. At least I took the time to blow-dry it after my shower last night. I hate going to bed with wet hair.

  None of them say anything. They just sit there with serious looks on their faces.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “They found a dead body on school grounds,” Asher answers me. “By the lake.”

  The lake.

  Where we were last night.

  Asher brings his index finger discreetly to his lips. I’m guessing that means he doesn’t want me to say anything about being at the lake last night.

  “The lake?” I ask, pretending like I have no idea where the lake is hidden.

  “There is a lake in the woods. The students aren’t supposed to know where it is, though we all do,” Kaiden says. “A couple freshman went out there last night and found the body.”

  “Was it a student?” I ask. “Who was found?”

  “No,” Savannah answers. “Nobody knows who it was. It wasn’t a student or facility.”

  “I thought this school was secure,” I say. It was one of the things my parents told me was so great about this school. That I’d be safe here.

  “It is,” Asher says. “There are a lot of politician kids here. And a lot of kids have famous parents.”

  My eyes widen in shock.

  Why am I here?

  How am I here?

  “The president’s son goes here. He hasn’t arrived yet, but I’m sure he will soon. And Asher’s dad is governor of Pennsylvania,” Savannah tells me. “He won’t be happy about this.”

  “He’ll insist the school add security,” Asher says. “Might have to be careful when we sneak out after curfew. Probably have to cut out soccer field parties for a while.”

  “So they’ll tell our parents?” I ask.

  “They’ll have to,” Madox says. “My mom will probably be calling me obsessively for a while.”

  “At least your mom will be sober enough to call you,” Kaiden says.

  My parents haven’t called me since I got here. I can’t believe they haven’t. I’ve never gone a whole day without seeing them. I assume Alik told them he talked to me, but still… this is weird. But then again, they did send me to another country.

  I’m here because they care about me. I know that. I still wish I was in Russia with my family. I miss them. A lot.

  “I guess there will be a lot of cops running around campus,” Savannah says.

  “Possibly feds,” Madox says.

  “They won’t send feds for one body,” Asher says. “We don’t even know if it was a murder.”

  “Hopefully we will find out more today,” Savannah says, then looks at me. “How does your hair look perfect when you wake it? It’s not fair.”

  I shrug. “I figured it was a mess.”
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  “It’s so long. Is that a Russian thing?” Kaiden asks.

  My hair is long—past my waist long.

  “No, it’s not a Russian thing,” I answer.

  “Then why?” Savannah asks. “I don’t get why you keep it so long. It’s too much work.”

  “Maybe you guys will think it’s silly, but somebody gave me a Bible once,” I say. “My family is not religious. My dad might even be an atheist, I’m not sure. We never ever talk about God. But I read the Bible. And when I did, I felt something. I believe in God. The fact that I’m here is proof to me. And the Bible—I think it’s the true word of God. And there is a verse that says a woman’s glory is her long hair. I figure I need all the glory I can get.”

  “My family goes to church sometimes,” Asher says. “I’ve read some in the Bible before, but never understood it. I’ve never heard that scripture preached in my church.”

  “The Bible is simple and complicated at the same time. It’s like a puzzle. But if you have faith, the pieces just go together,” I say. “I read the Bible out of curiosity. I’ve only been to church one. The priest took one scripture out of the Bible and preached about it, but he took it out of context. The Bible has to be interpreted as a whole, not just one verse that makes people feel good.”

  “Well said,” Kaiden says. “I’ve never enjoyed church much. It’s kind of boring. But maybe I should read the Bible for myself.”

  “How long did it take to read?” Savannah asks.

  “The first time it took me seven days,” I answer.

  “Wow,” she says. “That was fast.”

  “I was twelve at the time.”

  God’s word has gotten me through some rough times. I guess it gives me hope—hope that someday I will see my brother again.

  To me, it’s not just hope. It’s a promise.

  Guilty.

  I think about my brother, Eduard, often. If he were still alive, he would be seventeen. And I would be in Russia with him. My family would be whole again.

  The only time in my life that I’ve ever questioned God’s existence is the night he died. But then God spoke to me—not through dreams, visions, or some loud booming voice only I could hear. He spoke to me through scripture—through His word. Every time I would question God, he would answer me through a verse that I had read before. And that’s why it’s important to read the Bible to me—so I never lose faith. So it’s always one of the first things I do in the morning.

  After breakfast, I decide to try and talk to Asher alone. I end up finding him on the lacrosse fields.

  “We need to talk,” I tell him, as I walk up to him and his friends.

  “Yeah, I suppose we do,” he says.

  “Who’s your friend, Asher?” One of the guys asks.

  Asher ignores the other guy and throws down his helmet. “Be right back guys.”

  We walk to the other side of the field while the other guys take a break.

  “What’s the deal with the lake?” I ask Asher. “Why did you not want me to tell Savannah and the guys that we were there? They should know. So should the police for that matter.”

  “We were there, but we didn’t see anything,” he says. “If we admit we were there after curfew, we will get in trouble.”

  “But somebody died, Asher.”

  “And what could you tell them about her death?” Asher asks.

  “Her? It was a girl?”

  “Guy or girl, it doesn’t matter. What could you tell them about the death?” he asks.

  “Nothing,” I answer.

  “Exactly,” he says. “So just keep your mouth shut. I don’t want to talk about this again. Not with you. Not with anybody.”

  With that, he runs off, back to his friends. And I can’t help but wonder if he knows more than he’s letting on. Why wouldn’t he want to tell?

  Maybe he’s scared. I can’t blame him for that. I’m scared too.

  Still, not telling seems like it would be worse. What if they find out we were there later? Wouldn’t we look guilty if somebody did murder the person?

  I decide to talk to Asher again.

  I look at him, and he glares at me.

  Maybe I should give him time to cool off first.

  Interrogating questions.

  As expected, Savannah is with Kaiden and Madox, playing video games. I’m not quite bored enough for that, so instead I take a walk around the campus. I don’t go too far, partly because I’m scared to wander off alone, partly because police are patrolling the campus. I get the feeling that something is up with the body they found. If somebody just… died, they wouldn’t be making such a big deal about it. Somebody must have been murdered.

  My phone starts to vibrate, so I pull it out of my pocket and see that my dad is calling.

  “Hello,” I answer, speaking Russian. I miss my native tongue and want to speak to him not in English.

  “Katerina, are you okay?” he asks, speaking Russian back.

  “I’m fine, Dad,” I answer.

  “We heard somebody was killed at your school,” he says.

  “There was a body found in the woods, but I don’t know if they were killed here. Maybe somebody dragged the body here,” I say. “I’m not worried about it though. There are a ton of cops on campus today. If I wasn’t safe before, I definitely am now.”

  “Yes, definitely,” Dad says. “They told us they’re beefing up security.”

  I sigh.

  That’s great.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he says.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for calling, Dad. I love you,” I say.

  “Love you too, Katerina,” he says, then the line goes dead.

  This year is going to be way too long.

  I wipe a few tears from under my eyes, forcing them to stop. I am not a weak girl, and I don’t want anybody here to see me crying.

  “Katerina,” a voice says.

  I turn around and see Tristan, the weird boy, walking towards me.

  “Hey,” I say.

  “Hey. How are you?” he asks.

  I shrug. “Okay, I guess. Just got a call from my dad. I miss him.”

  “I bet,” he says. “You probably miss your three brothers too.”

  Three?

  Did he just say three?

  “I only have two brothers,” I say, even though it’s not entirely true. “I had three, but one of them died.”

  “I’m sorry,” he says. “That must be hard.”

  “It is,” I say. “But that’s life I suppose.”

  “Yeah.” He doesn’t sound convinced, making me believe that maybe his life hasn’t be all sunshine and rainbows either. Though, from what I understand, most people around here have had it rough.

  Yes, having rich parents must be tough, I think to myself, a bit bitterly.

  “So, I was wondering, why did you parents send you to boarding school in America? I mean, you said your mom is British. So it would make sense that she would send you to England. I mean, their schools are better than ours, no offense to American education,” he says.

  “I’ve asked myself that exact question,” I answer. “It doesn’t make sense at all. But I guess they want me here for a reason. I wish I was in London, though. At least then I would be close to my grandma and grandpa.”

  “You don’t have any family in America?” he asks.

  “Not that I’m aware of,” I answer. “What’s with the interrogating questions?”

  “Sorry,” he says, frowning. “I was just curious.”

  “It’s all right,” I say. “I’d probably be curious if an American showed up at my school in Russia. Of course, we don’t have a lot of students studying abroad there. I suppose there must be nicer places to get an education.”

  “Russia has a nice schooling system, from what I understand,” he says.

  “Oh, we do. But it’s cold there. If I were to study abroad, I’d want to be somewhere warm,” I say, thinking about the time my family went on Christmas vac
ation in Bora Bora. It was in the eighties that week, and it was amazing. I didn’t want to go back home. When we did finally get back, there was a foot of snow on the ground. What I would have given to have sand instead of snow.

  “I hate to break it to you, but Pennsylvania gets cold in the winter.”

  “I know,” I say. “I don’t mind the cold, I just prefer the warm. I guess I’m ready for some snow this year.”

  “It’s only August,” he says.

  “Winter will be here before you know it,” I say. “By the way, did you figure out everything with your brother last night?”

  “My brother…” his voice trails off. “Oh, yeah. Sorry I had to get out of there so quickly.”

  “No problem,” I say. “So, what is there to do for fun around here? Savannah and her friends only like to play video games.”

  “You don’t?” he asks.

  I shake my head. “It seems like a waste of time. Plus, I can’t sit still for that long. It seems boring.”

  “Agree,” he says. “Do you like hiking?”

  “Yeah.”

  “There is a hiking trail here at the school. Do you want to go hike it with me?” he asks.

  I nod. “Can we? Without getting in trouble I mean.”

  “Yeah, that won’t be a problem,” Tristan says, smiling at me.

  He has a nice smile.

  I stand by my original statement. He’s cute. Really cute. But also, a little bit odd. There is something different about him than the other students, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I would say maybe it’s because he’s done a lot of traveling abroad, but I bet a lot of kids here have traveled abroad.

  But odd behavior aside, I think I like him. He’s pretty cool.

  I think I’m going to like going hiking with Tristan. Maybe it will be my turn to interrogate him.

  Be careful.

  I go up to my room and change into more comfortable shoes for hiking and then meet Tristan in the student lounge. The lounge is full of people—all of them whispering things to each other. They’re probably talking about the body they found at the school. I wonder what they’re saying, but then again, it doesn’t matter. They’re probably all lies.