40 Oakvale Road

Chapter 1

I leaned back in my seat and tilted my head towards the window, hoping for a cool breeze to pass through. It was only May, and already the city was reaching blistering hot temperatures. The heat wasn't so bad while you were lying on the beach, but being stuck in a classroom was like an oven. I thought of my mother, who had recently been hinting at Vancouver's cool and rainy climate as a leverage point to get me to come visit her. We hadn't seen each other in person since the Christmas break, when she had visited with her fiancé, but there was no way I would be able to visit until exams were over. Instead, I made an effort to call her on the phone a few times a week to stay in touch. When she had made the move across the country two summers ago, she had urged me to come with her. However, it had ultimately been my choice, and I decided to remain in Toronto with my father. At the time, I had been rather shaken up over some events that had taken place at what used to be my summer camp, Camp Malnary. Now, it was no longer a summer camp. No one wanted to buy the land after the murder that took place, so it was taken by the government and turned into a national park. I hadn't returned since. 

My mind wandered to my plans for the upcoming summer. I had made some great friends when I started high school, but many of them went to their own summer camps during the summer. Some of them had invited me along, but I knew it just wouldn't be the same as Camp Malnary. My dad had promised we would take a camping trip instead, and I knew I would also be spending some time with my mom. I made a mental note to make plans with Cory, Gabby and Courtney. We had all met through Camp Malnary, and stayed friends over the summer. On our final day at camp together, we had all vowed to stay in touch. Over the past two years, we had done a pretty good job of arranging sleepovers at our various houses, and I was happy it had worked out that way. 

The final bell rang, pulling me out of my daydream. I shoved my binder and pencils in my bag and rushed into the hall, weaving through the crowd in search of my friends. Finally, I found Melanie and Kat leaning against their lockers.

"Hey, guys," I greeted.

"Hey, Avery. We were just talking about Jack's bonfire next week. Are you coming?" Melanie said in reply.

"I think so," I told her.

"Awesome! My brother can give us all a ride if you come to my house at 8," she chattered happily.

We left the school together and started walking home. It was a short walk, only about 10 minutes. We came to my house first. Melanie and Kat said goodbye and continued walking, while I unlocked my house and let myself in. My dad didn't get home until later in the evening, so I dumped my stuff in the front hallway and made my way to the kitchen to get a snack. Just as I was putting some bread in the toaster oven, my front door flew open.

"Avery! You home?" called a voice. I smiled to myself.

"In the kitchen!" I called back. A few minutes later, my best friend revealed herself.

I met Leah Wilson last summer. Her family moved in the house next to mine, and after weeks of my dad nagging I finally decided to go meet the family and see if there was a girl my age. At first, Leah didn't strike me as anything special. Ironically, she had the blonde hair, blue-eyed classic girl next door looks. But I soon learned her innocent face was hiding the crazy personality she had. Her parents were very conservative, and sent her to a very strict Catholic school in hopes of taming her. However, this only resulted in Leah rebelling against them more and more. The first day I had met her, she had opened the door to me with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" she had whispered.

"I'm Avery. I live next door," I'd replied. 

"Mother! I'm going to go out with Avery! She lives next door!" she had immediately called upstairs. 

"That's lovely, dear! Be back at 6 for supper!" Her mother had called back.

"Let's go!" Leah had said, grasping my wrist and pulling me off her porch. She led me to her Mom's car, parked in the driveway, and unlocked it and jumped in the passenger seat.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just get in. I'm not kidnapping you, I promise," she replied, a grin on her face. Skeptically, I had slid into the passenger seat and allowed her to drive away.

"I'm Leah, by the way," she said.

"How old are you?" I asked, incredulous to see how she drove so easily though she seemed to be around my age. 

"I'm 16, but I've been driving my friends cars for years," she replied, revealing she was a year older than me.

That day, we ended up driving an hour all the way back to the city Leah had moved from. We spent the day with her friends in Leah's old house, since it was empty and hadn't yet been resold. She and her friends sipped beer from solo cups, and laughed and chatted away. On the way home, she explained to me that her family had moved to Toronto after her father received a very last minute promotion. She barely got to say goodbye to her friends, and her mother didn't approve of them anyway so she knew she wouldn't get a chance to see them for a while. When I knocked on her door, she saw the opportunity to escape for a few hours. Over the next few weeks, we spent more time together, and I stopped being just her excuse to get out of the house. We became close friends, and stayed that way ever since. 

Now, she greets me with a hug like she always does, even if I only saw her yesterday. Then, she unbuttons her dark green kilt, part of her school uniform, and lets it slide to the ground. She hops up on my counter, and sticks her finger in a jar of peanut butter I was going to put on my toast. 

"Hey!" I giggled, grabbing the jar from her. 

"Ugh, I am so ready for school to be over. Today one of the teachers sent me to the hall for laughing in class. Laughing!" she ranted.

"That would be one of your less criminal offenses," I agreed. "Now go put some pants on!"

"Fine!" she replied, jumping off the counter and running upstairs, probably to steal a pair of my shorts.  

I took my pieces of toast out of the toaster, put them on a plate, and started spreading peanut butter and jam on them. When I was done I carried the plate upstairs, where Leah was lying on my bed, and handed one to her. 

"Mmm, thanks Ave," she said, nibbling on it. She was now dressed in one of my outfits, her uniform shirt abandoned on the floor. She grabbed the remote and turned my TV on, as I climbed onto my bed to sit beside her. 

"How're things going with Kyle?" I asked. Leah had been dating him for a few month now, although she moved through boys so fast I wouldn't be surprised if she had already broken up with him. 

"He's been really boring lately. I think I'm going to hook up with Jason at a party this weekend," she replied. 

"Leah!" I laughed.

"What?" she said innocently.

"You can't just cheat on your boyfriend," I told her.

"Oh please. I'm pretty sure he's been seeing Naomi behind my back. What's the difference?" she said. I shook my head.

"Just break up with him then."

"He'll call me crazy. He already knows what happened with Will." Leah replied. Will was yet another one of Leah's ex-boyfriends, who she had dated for the majority of last year. They had broken up after Leah had accidentally gotten a little too tipsy at a party and made out with his older brother. 

"Maybe you should just take a break from boys for a while," I suggested. 

"Honey, I think you need to get with a boy. When was the last time? Was it Nate Rogerson?" Leah asked, sitting up.

"Yeah," I replied, looking down at my bed. Nate had been a sweet guy in my class last year. I didn't know him that well, but he always seemed nice to me, so when he asked me out I said yes. We dated for almost six months, before he decided I was too boring and broke up with me. I hadn't been heart broken, but it was a little embarrassing.

"I know so many guys who would love to be with a gorgeous girl like you," Leah told me. 

"Thanks, but all your friends are a little too out there for me," I said, laughing.

"Don't worry, Ave, you'll find someone soon," she said.