The Truth About Us

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

It was the last day of summer. 

And by the last day of summer, I mean the very last day where teenagers like myself can party one last time before having to worry about waking up at 7:00 every morning. To celebrate this last day of summer, my best friend Carey was hosting a huge party tonight. This party was going to be the party of all parties. I already knew beforehand that his party would kick ass and just like any other teenager my age, I wanted to go. 

But despite my wants and desires, I was spending the last day of summer in my room shoving articles of clothing in a suitcase. I must have sputtered a thousand profanities before my younger brother, Jordan, entered the room. He propped his leg up on the wall nearest the door and sighed, “You need help?” 

“No,” I spat, “But you want to know what I need?” 

“What?” 

“I need to stay here!” I yelled, rising to my feet. “I was raised here! Now that I’ll be starting my senior year, I’m being sent to boarding school? Tell me how the hell does that make sense?” 

Jordan sighed once more, and pushed off of the wall with his leg. “Listen Joanna. I get that you don’t want to go or anything but your grades kind of suck and Mom says that--” 

“I don’t give a damn about what mom says,” I sat back down on the floor and piled a bunch of clothing on top of my suitcase. He looked a bit taken aback by my attitude but he didn’t open his mouth to speak. He knew better than that. I wasn’t your happy-go-lucky kind of girl. I spoke my mind, all the time, no matter what the circumstances. 

“Dinner is ready,” he said softly, shifting his gaze from my face down to my unpacked suitcases. “This will be the last time you eat with us. You might want to join.” 

“Piss off,” I snapped at him, not bothering to look in his direction. I sighed deeply and sprawled out on the carpeted floor, my eyes fixed on the ceiling fan above me. This had to be a joke. Why would my parents want to send me off to boarding school? Yeah, my grades were shit and I got into trouble a lot due to my short tempered attitude but that’s just who I was. I’m not into school. Never was, never will be. People at my school know just how to push my buttons and I was sure as hell not going to let them get away with it. 

So yeah, I wasn’t the perfect daughter that my parents wished they had. But shouldn’t that be enough? I loved my parents like a daughter should and how do they repay me? By sending me to boarding school. 

My eyes landed on the brochure that my dad had given to me a few days ago. It was peaking out from underneath my bed, giving me a clear view at the bold letters printed across the top of the booklet. Stone Valley Academy. Curiosity inched its way into my mind as I crawled towards the brochure, snatching it with my hands. 

I flattened it out against the floor before opening it up, allowing my eyes to examine the page. It seemed like a very boring school considering how none of the students in the pictures had smiles on their faces. There were a few that had, though. But it was obvious that they were trying too hard to look happy when we all knew they weren’t. I crumpled the brochure in my hands and tossed it to the other side of my room, letting out an exasperated sigh. 

My cell phone vibrated in my back pocket, causing my left cheek to tingle. I laughed momentarily at the thought and reached for the new iPhone I had received for my birthday. I slid my hand across the bottom of the screen and pressed the phone to my ear. “Talk to me,” 

“Oh my goodness, Jo!” Carey yelled directly into my ear. “Why are you still at home and not at my house? I told you to be here over an hour ago!”