The sins of her father could ruin her entire life...
Sang Sorenson is an 18 year old high school senior at Ashley Waters school. Her mother is dead, her sister has gone no-contact, leaving her with an absent father.
She's determined to get through s...
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Over the next few months, I fell into a regular pattern. Thursday, Friday, and Sunday I work at the diner. On Wednesdays I volunteer at the hospital. My other evenings are filled with making sure I stay on top of schoolwork and working on projects. It's been a great change of pace, and I've been happy. Really happy—even with my dad barely being home.
I've met Mrs Rose a few times now, and she is genuinely one of the funniest women I've ever known—not a great achievement since I don't know many women, but still. We've attended a few different events together, and whilst most of the conversation goes over my head, I've done a great job at helping. Gabe had to bring me a dress once, before a gala, and he was really sad about it. I don't know why, and even though I tried to overcompensate by being extra grateful, that only made it worse.
School's going really well, and thanks to Mr Anderson, I got my applications all submitted, and my essay perfected. Despite not spending a single night at home, my dad has been really pleased about my efforts. He's not asked what I want to do—something I'm sure has just slipped his mind—instead, only reiterating that he's pleased I've not bothered wasting my time applying to the community college.
It's a few days before we break up from school for Christmas and Mr Anderson has organised a meeting with me. I'm not really sure why, considering application letters won't be coming until after the break, but after all his help, I won't let him down now by skipping the appointment.
I make my way to his office after homeroom, a pink slip in hand, and unsurprisingly he's waiting for me.
"Sang, hi," Mr Anderson says. "Take a seat."
"Hi," I say, smiling. I'm a lot more comfortable with Mr Anderson now and I don't worry about our meetings as much as I used to. Even when the subject of these meetings is unknown to me.
"So, I have something I want to discuss with you," he tells me. I don't say anything, but he smiles. This is usually how our sessions go. "This might sound a little weird, but I want you to listen, before asking questions."
"Okay," I say, my curiosity piquing. He sighs and sits forward, showing me he's serious about the conversation.
"I work for an organisation called 'The Academy'," he tells me. "We specialise in helping people. I'm currently stationed at the school to help identify teens who have bad home lives or are struggling, and we help them. One of our teams went undercover here a few years ago to assist in the problems the school was having, and they were extremely instrumental in the building of the new school."
What? I... what on earth? I don't understand what is going on. I wasn't expecting this. His pause is worrying, and I know he's waiting for me to disregard his instructions, but I don't. I sit silently, my mind reeling from the shock, and wait for him to finish.
"Despite not being the primary motivation, I'm also constantly on the lookout for people who could help our organisation. I arranged for us to meet, after hearing about you. I was right, and when I met with you to help your application, I discovered you really did have a lot of potential," he tells me. "I had a meeting with Dr Roberts, Mrs Rose and Mr Taylor so that they could also assess you and determine whether my thoughts were correct."
