The Lies We Breathe

Chapter 1 - Monday, July 31: The Rich Will know my name

"Hope, are you absolutely sure about this?" my father asked me, for what felt like the thousandth time. "I know how you feel about this school." There was a worried look on his face that he reserved specifically for me.

"I'm sure," I replied firmly, not feeling sure at all inside, and avoiding his gaze. It's been almost two months since I got the fatal news, that changed my life. I had many sleepless nights behind me to think this through. If I wanted to get justice for Jackie, this was the only way. I had to do it. And even my father wasn't gonna stop me now.

It was still early in the morning, and it was already getting hot. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, not a cloud in sight. It would have been a great day to surf, I thought with a sigh. That's what Ocean Shore was most famous for - the great weather and endless beaches. We locals called it "Town Kissed by the Sun" because we had more sunshine here than anywhere else in the country. It could get crowded here over the summer, with lots of parties, alcohol, sex on the beach... You name it!

I wished I could just skip school and go surfing instead. But it wasn't the same anymore without Jackie, as I painfully realised throughout the summer.

I opened the door of my old VW and tossed my new school bag onto the seat. The car was blue and had only a few scratches here and there. I remember my dad being so proud when he first gave it to me as a gift for my seventeenth birthday. It wasn't a new fancy car like the kids at Highridge drove, but for me, it was love at first sight. My father and I - we both valued practicality and safety over looks. And in all this time, the car never failed me. There were more "vintage" cars driven by the kids at my old school, so I didn't mind it back then. But now, as I was about to head to my new fancy school, I had to admit I was a bit uneasy.

I am not going there to impress anyone, I reminded myself. I have given up my old life and friends, to go to a school that I already detested, to be around snobbish people that I had nothing in common with. With a little bit of luck, I'd find the culprit quickly, and be out of there before anyone at my old school noticed I was missing. So I was gonna proudly drive the car I loved to Highridge, to remind myself who I truly was. Screw anyone who looks at my baby the wrong way. The thought made me feel better.

My father had been trying to get me interested in Highridge for years, reminding me that it was the best school around. But only the rich could afford the exorbitant fees. He had told me many times over the years that enough of "the damn rich bastards" owned him, and he could easily get me into that school. I never really considered Highridge as a place I'd want to go.

Things were different now.

When I approached my dad about my change of heart a few weeks after Jackie's accident, he looked at me with suspicion.

"Does it have anything to do with Jackie?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. And he was right to be suspicious. I had never made my disdain for Highridge a secret.

"Of course not," I retorted, feigning innocence as I met my father's gaze.

"You better don't go opening that can of worms, Hope," he cautioned me.

"I won't," I replied, keeping my face calm. Opening that can of worms is exactly what I was planning on doing. But I was better off hiding this from my father. "With Jackie gone, there is nothing else keeping me at my old school. I don't think I could ever be happy there again. And I know it would mean a lot to you if I went to Highridge," I added.

And that was it.

A few days later, I received a congratulatory letter from Highridge along with a hefty, expensive envelope containing a 200-page guidebook. The only thing missing was the smell of some damn expensive perfume sprinkled all over its pages.