Second Chance Fate

by Ella J. Smyth

I was sure they’d tried to reach out to me, but the sheriff must have prevented it. And now I was stuck in this shithole of a place. Second Chance Academy, my ass. I hadn’t done anything. Not on purpose anyway.

  A small voice whispered in the back of my mind: you’re responsible for somebody’s death. I quashed it immediately. It wasn’t like I’d set out to hurt people. Turning on my heels, I flung the door open and bolted.

  Behind me, Beth said angrily, “You are such a bitch. You know nothing about her.”

  Then the door slammed shut on the rest of her words. Furiously wiping away my tears, I stalked along the narrow hallway to the exit, shaking with emotion.

  Outside, the sudden glare of sunshine blinded me so much, I couldn’t see a thing. When I collided with a hard body, it knocked the breath out of me. I bounced backward and would have fallen on my butt, had two hands not grabbed my arms. All my frustration and rage exploded towards the person I’d run into.

  “Let go of me!”

  The grip fell away immediately and a deep voice with a broad Irish accent said, “Sorry. I didn’t want you to fall down.”

  I stepped back to gain some distance from the blond boy in front of me. Now that my vision had adjusted, I looked into moss-green eyes. A large nose and generous mouth sat in a guileless face. There were shades of red in his blond hair, depending on how the light hit it. The guy wasn’t much taller than me but broader. My anger drained away as he smiled. It wasn’t his fault I was trapped here with a bitchy roommate.

  He stuck his hand out. “You’re new here, right? My name is Kiernan Hennessy.”

  Damn, that soft lilt was sexy. I only hesitated for a moment before grasping his hand. It was as large as his build, warm and steady. The moment our skin touched, my mood lifted. In fact, I felt better than I had since I’d gotten here. My fingers tingled pleasantly with a warmth that extended all the way up my arm.

  As he continued holding my hand, his face turned serious. Was he feeling the same as I did? I stared at the way his tongue moistened his lips before they parted as if he was going to say something.

  “There you are. You ran off so fast, I wasn’t sure I’d catch up.”

  Beth came up behind us, looking from Kiernan to me and back again. Kiernan dropped my hand as if it were on fire. Beth’s eyes narrowed, and she smirked at his discomfort. “Hi, Kiernan. I see you met Amber.”

  Kiernan’s ears turned red, but he still smiled at me. “Amber. Nice name. When did you get here, Amber?”

  I shifted to my other foot, not sure if I should tell him. But if the rumor mill worked as effectively as it did at my old high school, he’d find out soon enough anyway. Staring at the ground between us, I mumbled, “Late on Friday. I was in the infirmary until this morning.”

  When he didn’t reply, I looked up. There was no judgment in his eyes, only concern. Ignoring Beth who still hovered next to us, he took my hand again. “Are you okay now?”

  I nodded, suddenly choking up. This stranger’s empathy made me feel more alone than anything else that had happened to me so far. Kiernan stretched out his other hand and wiped a tear from my cheek. I hadn’t even realized I’d started crying. He stared at me with so much compassion and warmth, I knew I’d start bawling if I didn’t get away.

  So I did what I usually did when I felt overwhelmed. Pulling my hand away from his, I turned and ran towards the black firs behind the main building.

  “Amber!”

  Beth called after me, but I raised my hand to wave her off and ran faster, moisture blurring my sight.

  8

  I don’t know how long I walked through the dense forest. There might have been dangers lurking within the black shadows, but I was too upset to worry about it. Angry words ran through my mind, over and over again. Shunt. Freak.

  I still had no idea what a shunt was, but it didn’t sound very nice. As I walked under the cool canopy, a woodpecker’s beak clacked rapidly against tree bark, and birds warned loudly of the intruder.

  The minutes passed, and my heartbeat slowed until I was breathing easier. It might have been September, but the sun still burned hot enough from a cloudless sky that inhaling the cool air under the umbrella of giant firs came as sweet relief.

  I walked along a well-worn path, past damp ferns and wild mushrooms peeking from underneath tree roots. At first, I didn’t notice there were fewer and fewer birds singing. But when the stillness pressed on my ears like an external weight, I stopped and looked up. Where before the treetops had been teeming with life, now there was nothing.

  Weird. Another five steps on, my progress came to a halt. Ahead of me, a ten-foot wall of chain-link fence looked out of place in the idyllic setting. I tried to take another step, but the air seemed to solidify around me. Not only was moving forward becoming much more difficult, but pulling air into my lungs felt like breathing through dense fabric.

  Stubbornly, I tried to push through. I was so close to the fence, I could see the forest on the other side. It didn’t look any different, but to me it symbolized freedom. If only I could cover the last few feet, I’d find a way over the barrier.

  My movement slowed to a snail’s pace, and no matter how hard I tried, my limbs got heavier and heavier. Sweat broke out on my forehead as I labored with all my strength. My lungs burned, and my vision darkened as I fought for oxygen.

  I gave up just before I was about to pass out. Taking one step back, two steps, and another, I gasped for breath. My pulse pounded in my head, and I needed to sit down to recover.

  There was a physical barrier stopping me from leaving. It was reinforced by an invisible magical field that surely would have killed me, had I continued.

  They really don’t want students to leave. They’d rather see us dead.

  The unbidden thought hit me like a solid force. I closed my eyes and fought down my rising panic. There really is no way out.

  Nobody would come and save me. All I could do was play their game until I got out. I wrapped my arms around my legs and shook like a leaf. I had no idea how long I sat there, but by the time I’d calmed down enough to walk back, the temperature had dropped and shadows were rising from the ground.

  By the time I made it back to the academy, the sun sat deep in the sky, and students ambled towards the main building. A gnawing ache in my midriff reminded me I hadn’t eaten since the morning.

  I allowed myself to drift along with everybody else. Many of the kids were my age, some even younger. If not for the setting deep in the forest, this could have been any American high school. Some kids wore band T-shirts, some were made up and dressed in expensive designer brands. Some students were overweight, others looked like buff jocks. It was all so normal.

  When I finally entered the main building, the smell of food made my mouth water. A corridor opened into a room large enough to seat two-hundred people easily. Long tables were parallel to each other, with plastic seats and metal legs. The noise was deafening—students talking loudly, dishes and silverware clanging, and chairs scraping along the floor.

  I grabbed a steel tray and lined up with the other kids. My stomach growled at the sight of salad and stew. I shuffled along, my nostrils flaring at the rich scent of tomatoes and garlic mixed with some herb I couldn’t identify. As I stepped forward, my tray bumped hard into the guy in front of me.

  “Hey, watch it.”

  A tall boy with pale skin, black hair, and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen, glared at me.

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “Can’t you watch where you’re going?” The irritation in his rumbling voice was palpable.

  I returned his glare, my eyes narrowing as I felt my temper rise. Like, what, did he think I did it on purpose? “I said sorry, okay? What’s your issue?”

  He didn’t respond. Looking me up and down, his mouth twisted as if he’d stepped into something nasty. His friend sneered and asked, “Do you know her?”

  “No. Never seen her before. Don’t want to, either. Look at her. She smells like she sl
ept under a bridge.”

  Now both boys had the same disgusted expression on their pretty faces.

  What the…? Did he just call me a tramp? I couldn’t help myself. “Fuck you.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, no. That’s not going to happen. Like, ever.”

  His friend laughed. What a dick.

  As we shuffled along, I quickly sniffed my armpits. Maybe I wasn’t as fresh as a daisy, but I didn’t stink. The tall guy continued talking to his friend, and by the way they kept looking over, I knew they were talking about me.

  I pulled my shoulders back and took some deep breaths, relaxing the hold on my tray. What I really wanted to do was whack them over the head with it. Sighing, I took another step until I stood in front of the cafeteria lady. She was about to scoop a ladle of stew onto my tray, when she paused.

  “Where is your token?”

  I was confused. “What token?”

  She grimaced. “Look, I can’t serve you food unless you have a token.”

  Looking around, I noticed every kid had a shining metal round attached to their clothes. They changed color as food was served. The students in the line behind me wore tokens that shimmered metallic-green. In front of me, after they’d received their food, the tokens turned a dull purple color.

  “I don’t have one.”

  Would she really refuse me food? It sure looked like it. I was so hungry, I felt faint. Now what? I wanted to eat so badly, I was ready to anything—beg, steal, anything—to get food between my teeth.

  The woman looked beyond me and nodded. I turned to see who she was gesturing at, but there was only the arrogant ass from earlier. Ignoring me, he took his seat at a long table. His friends greeted him warmly, and as I watched, a smile transformed his face.

  With his floppy hair falling over his eyes and grinning at something the girl across from him said, he was gorgeous. My stomach clenched at the thought that apparently I wasn’t good enough to join his group. Just like high school all over again.

  I swallowed hard and grabbed my tray to step out of the line.

  “Come on, I haven’t got all day.”

  The server’s gruff voice stopped me in my tracks. She held up the ladle of food expectantly.

  “What about the token?”

  She grimaced as she plopped the stew on my tray. “It’s been taken care of today. But you need to get one issued right away. Admin is open until nine tonight.”

  What? Before I could ask, the student behind me gently pushed me forward to take my place. What had just happened? What did she mean, it was taken care of? Who’d paid for my dinner? In total confusion, I moved along the line, picking up a salad, water, and a piece of fruit for dessert.

  As I moved past asshole and his friends, his blue gaze followed me. I tried very hard to ignore him while looking for a seat at an empty table. If he hated me so much, why did he keep staring?

  A thought hit me so hard, I nearly dropped my tray. Could it be? Had he paid for my dinner? I turned around with wide eyes. The guy quickly dropped his gaze to his meal, but I could have sworn he’d checked me out.

  How weird was that? My stomach chose that moment to growl again, reminding me to stop thinking about asshole boys with attitude problems. I sat at an empty table near the exit and forced myself not to wolf down the food. That would only result in stomach cramps. When I’d demolished every bite of the rich stew, I leaned back and sighed with satisfaction, rubbing my belly.

  According to the large clock above the serving station, I had another thirty minutes before the admin office closed. Groaning, I pulled myself to my feet and dragged my tired butt out of the cafeteria and followed the signs up the stairs to the admin floor.

  All the lights were off. I fumbled for a light switch, but couldn’t find it in the dark. If I’d had my cell phone, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But without it, I had no choice but to feel my way along the walls until I rounded a corner.

  There, halfway down the corridor, was a thin strip of light from underneath a closed door. Hopefully, that was the admin office. Clearing my throat, I knocked on the door.

  “Enter.”

  I pushed the door open carefully, not sure what to expect. Ms. Farkas stood in front of a large shelf full of ancient-looking books. Some were bound in fabric, some in leather, but each one was huge. Bigger than the Lord of the Rings edition Dad had given me for my last birthday.

  “Yes? Can I help you?”

  I had prepared myself to talk to a secretary or assistant. Seeing the head witch wiped my prepared speech from my memory. As I stood there silently, Ms. Farkas’s expression grew darker and darker.

  Say something. Anything. Come on, she must think you’re an idiot. But I couldn’t collect my thoughts enough to speak. Her dark eyes bore into me, and and an irrational fear pushed the words back down into my throat before they reached my mouth.

  The seconds dragged on. Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore. Slowly, I backed away towards the exit, my eyes trained on her stern face. “So sorry, I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

  She held her hand up imperiously. “Stop.”

  I froze in position like a rabbit about to face its doom.

  9

  “Why are you upset?”

  The question broke through the anxiety that had prevented me from gathering my thoughts. She listened attentively to my complaints about my lack of money and clothes.

  “So now people say I smell, and I only had dinner today because, I don’t know, somebody felt sorry for me.”

  Even to my own ears I sounded like a whiny kid, but I couldn’t help myself. I lowered my head, tears burning in my eyes. Dammit, I wasn’t going to lose it in front of this woman. Squeezing my eyes as tightly as I could, I waited to be told to suck it up. I wanted to go home so badly, I could barely breathe.

  Mrs. Farkas didn’t say anything until I couldn’t stand it any longer. But when I opened my eyes, she didn’t look angry anymore. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft with concern.

  “Amber, I didn’t know you were left in such a predicament. We have a protocol when students like you arrive. Their families receive a list of necessities, and deliveries arrive at the academy within a few hours. I don’t know why that didn’t happen in your case. Obviously I should have ensured you were looked after better. Have you spoken to your parents yet?”

  I shook my head. Her eyebrow rose in surprise.

  “May I ask why not?”

  “I don’t have a cell phone. The sheriff took it off me, and I never got it back.”

  The thunderous expression returned to Ms. Farkas’s face. “As a newcomer, even one in your position, you are allowed a weekly call for the first few weeks until you’re settled in. You should have been made aware of this. Would you like to call them now?”

  I jumped up. “Really? Can I?”

  She pointed at the phone sitting on her desk. Before I dialed the number, I hesitated. “We’re still in America, right?”

  She seemed puzzled by the question. “Why would you ask?”

  “I was unconscious when I got here. I have no idea where I am.”

  Ms. Farkas’s expression turned from surprise back to irritation. She got up and paced the length of her room and back.

  “I am so sorry. I sent Mr. Strickland to brief you. I wasn’t aware you’ve been left wondering about clean clothes, food, and even where you are. Please call your parents, and tomorrow I’ll make sure you have everything you need delivered to your dorm.”

  She stopped in front of me and finally smiled. “And yes, you’re still in the USA. Oregon, in fact. I’ll give you a few minutes alone, but I’m afraid I’ll have to finish some work tonight.”

  I waited until she’d closed the office door from the outside before dialing the familiar number. It rang and rang. Eventually, the answering machine kicked in.

  “Hi, it’s Amber. Just wanted to let you know I’m okay. Could you please send me some of my clothes and some money? The sheriff should have th
e address. I’ll try to call you again soon. Love you.”

  When I hung up, a wave of sadness rolled over me. I pushed my fists into my eye sockets and took a deep breath.

  I’m not a kid anymore. I can do this.

  By the time Ms. Farkas returned, my eyes were dry, and I even managed a smile. Walking back to the dorms, I thought about the encounter. The head witch had been angry on my behalf. It felt nice to have somebody in my corner, even though she ran a government-financed facility.

  When I got to my room, I made sure to open the door quietly in case Beth or Sharon had gone to bed early. Finding their beds empty, I undressed except for my T-shirt and slipped under my cover. Sleep pulled me under within moments.

  A loud knock woke me in the morning. Beth jumped out of bed and opened the door. Somebody handed her a giant blue bag, adding, “I’ll be back in a few minutes. There’s something else I was asked to deliver. I left it outside because it’s pretty big.”

  Beth thanked the girl and brought the bag inside the room. “I think this is for you, Amber.”

  I groaned as I swung my legs to the floor. While I struggled to a standing position, Beth pulled out a familiar T-shirt. My dad had bought it for me when we’d gone to see Hamilton in New York a few years ago. My tiredness evaporated and was replaced with a rush of excitement. These were my things. How had Ms. Farkas brought them here so quickly?

  There were jeans, shorts, T-shirts, and lots of underwear. In fact, it looked like my entire wardrobe. On the bottom was a leather wallet I hadn’t seen before.

  Inside, I found one of the enchanted tokens. When I held it against my chest, it acted similar to a magnet and clamped against the T-shirt I was wearing. No matter how hard I pulled, it wouldn’t come off.

  “How does this work?” I finally asked in exasperation.

  Beth grinned. “It’s easy. Just push, don’t pull. When you feel a slight pressure in your mind, relax and let go.”

  I frowned. Pretty weird, but hey, she obviously knew what she was talking about. Carefully, I pushed the metal round against my chest. I gasped when I felt pressure, like when you have a sinus infection, inside my skull. Inhaling deeply, I focused on the feeling and then released. The token fell into my hand easily.