All Bets Are Off

Chapter Five - Ella Fordman: The Girl of Heartbreak

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Dedicated to Until_The_End24. Merry Christmas, kid. x

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~Chapter Five - Ella Fordman: The Girl of Heartbreak

When I arrived home that afternoon, feeling happy and confident despite Phoenix’s little note designed to creep me out, I was on an all-time high, excited at the prospect that in a few hours I’d be on a date with Hayden Lewis.

            Most girls at school would kill to be in my position, and I knew that for a fact. Though extremely popular, he didn’t date a whole lot of girls, and I felt special and privileged to be one of the few lucky enough to score a date with him. The day continued to get better, once I got an A on my Spanish test and I got out of a Biology dissection on a frog.

            When I arrived home, I saw my mother had somehow beaten me home, despite the fact that we had come from the same place. As one of the two music teachers there, she was coveted at my school, and all of the students loved her.

            My mother, Grace Fordman, looked up from where she was clicking around on her laptop, probably doing the online banking, or something, as she had a bill in her hand. Her wavy blonde hair was falling out of its’ perfectly pinned chignon, and her eyes were bright and happy. Nothing ever seemed to get Grace Fordman down.

            I quickly hugged her and then walked over to the fruit bowl, grabbing an apple and washing it under cold water out of the faucet. I rubbed it with a towel and then crunched into it.

            “Did I miss anything?” I asked, leaning against the counter and looking at my mother. It was times like these, looking at how beautiful my mother was even as a middle-aged lady, that I was glad I shared her blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. I hoped that one day I’d keep my age as well as her.

            She looked up with an excited twinkle in her eyes. “Well, there’s a letter for you.”

            And just like that, my hunger and the crisp apple in my hand were forgotten. My mouth opened and closed a couple of times as I struggled to comprehend her words.

            I never got mail. I was as unpopular in the mail world as I was in the real world, so the fact that I got mail was surprising and exciting.

            Except I knew who it would be from.

            One month ago I sent in an application to the Alessandro Performing Arts Academy as an expression of interest for their college scholarships. If my application were accepted, I would have to perform at a competition in one month. The top three winners would get scholarships to Alessandro. It was my dream college, and I’d wanted to get in since I was, like, ten. Now the day had arrived, the D-Day, and I was so nervous I thought I’d throw up.

            “Is it…?” I asked, knowing my mother would catch onto what I was talking about pretty quickly and understand. I cast her a meaningful glance, just in case.

            She nodded. “Yes. It’s from them.”

            “Oh, my God,” I screamed, running to the stack of mail and sifting through it until I came across the one that belonged to me. On the front was, Miss Ella D. Fordman along with my address.

            On the back, sealing the envelope closed was an embossed gold sticker with the Alessandro Academy insignia on it, blinking at me from the sunlight coming through the kitchen window.