When Lightning Strikes [COMPLETED]

Chapter 12: New Start (Part 1)

Even though it was finals week, it was a typical Tuesday morning as far as her mom was concerned. Julie had to pick up her laundry for the weekly washing frenzy before they left the house.

She still needed to eat breakfast. She threw on a pair of blue stretch pants and a pink button down shirt. It didn't matter. Maran, Tilik, and Arron didn't seem to care what Kara or she wore as long as they were at school.

When she sat down on her bed to put her socks on, she noticed the edge of a dirty sock under the bed. She crouched down and fished it and its mate out. As she stood up, a spot of red popped out between the bedside table and bedcover.

Julie pulled out the red book and remembered that she meant to look at it the morning after her birthday but forgot. She glanced at the time. It was 7:10, so she had a few minutes to look at it now. She leaned against the back of the bed, her legs propping it up, and flipped to the note her mom had written.

On the Way to the Academy.

Her brows scrunched together in confusion. It was her handwriting.

She read the passage. Her stomach rolled over as she read the words. Julie knew she wrote this, but she didn't remember doing it. It was on her birthday, only a couple weeks ago. Why would she write this if it wasn't true?

She read the words again, thinking back to that night. She remembered sitting on the couch. Her dad holding her hands. Her face wet and her eyes sore from cutting onions. Her mother dropping pans and acting even weirder than normal, which was saying something these days. The bit of the conversation she heard with her brother later that night.

Onions? But there were none at dinner.Why didn't she notice that at the time? Or was this some kind of joke? She couldn't imagine anyone in her family doing that to her. What was going on?

Why was she not curious about a lot of things? Strange things poured into her mind. There never seemed to be tourists on the island. Everything looked perfect all the time. Everyone always wearing nice clothes, even the children. The conversations people had around her that made it feel like she was missing some vital piece of information. The two schools. Why did they need two schools? And what was in the unmarked building in town?

Andromeda never left the house anymore. People she didn't know were rude to her for no reason. She cried a lot.

Jamie avoided her. She didn't question her family about anything they did. Why wouldn't she ask them? Did she and then forget, like writing this passage in the book?

Julie rubbed the side of her head. She didn't think she was crazy. Something was being hidden from her by her family and everyone on the island. That sounded crazy.

Her face flushed red, her heart sped up, and her stomach churned. She was so confused that her head spun. It felt like she was going to throw up. Something on her bedspread caught her attention. It was one of the shapes blended with another, making a beautiful shade of teal.

Julie blinked.

Why was she sitting on the floor in her room? She needed to get ready for school.