"The tragedy of life is not death ... but what we let die inside of us while we still live."
Adalynn Stanton is accepted into one of the highest competitive schools in her state, the Greenhouse Academy. At first, all she thinks she will have to do...
"They don't know how special you are They don't know what you've done to my heart They can say anything they want 'cause they don't know about us." ~ They don't know about usby One Direction
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As she followed Jackie up to a row of seats in the back of the assembly room, Adalynn kept a constant look-out for Max. She couldn't see him amidst the buzzing swarm of students, however, so she had to content herself with the thought that she'd search for him later.
"Alright students, please take your seats!" a man, who looked to be in his late-twenties and sported a sleek-combed hair style, entered the room. He raised his hands and motioned for everyone to sit down.
"Who's that?" Adalynn whispered as she scooted into a chair next to Jackie.
"His name's Jason," Jackie responded with a huff and a roll of her eyes. "He's the principal's son and the dean of the school."
Adalynn glanced quizzically at her. "Don't you like him?"
Jackie guffawed. "Jason in three words - moron, idiot, stupid. Of course I don't like him!"
Adalynn's eyes widened. "Oh."
"Hey, is this spot taken?"
Adalynn glanced up towards the speaker. A tall brunette, book-bag over one shoulder and jacket over the other, hovered above her.
"May I?" the girl asked, pointing to the empty chair next to Adalynn.
She nodded. "Sure, go for it. Hi, by the way, my name's Adalynn Stanton."
The girl smiled in return as she sat down. "Nice to meet you. I'm Hayley - Hayley Woods."
"Wait ..." Jackie poked her head around Adalynn's shoulder and gaped at the newcomer. "Hayley ... as in Ryan Woods' daughter?"
Hayley raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Yeah, that's right."
"Oh wow. That's cool," Jackie nodded in approval before sitting back in her seat.
"Ryan?" Adalynn looked from Hayley to Jackie, confused.
"She's an astronaut," Jackie replied.
"An astronaut?" Adalynn gasped. "Oh my gosh, wow! That's big. How do you know her though?"
"I don't," Jackie shrugged nonchalantly. "I've seen her on the news a couple of times though."
"Oh. Why's that?"
"She discovered a magnetic meteorite when she was - like - sixteen! The TV crew interview her at every opportunity they get. Her discovery was huge! The Academy has plaques and portraits and everything else you could think of dedicated to her. Haven't you seen them?" Jackie ranted.
Adalynn shook her head. "I - I don't recall seeing any of those."
"That's probably a good thing," Hayley grinned. "Mum hates getting too much attention."
"Geez. Sixteen? I really need to catch up," Adalynn groaned. "I can barely multiply two times two."
Hayley started laughing. "Trust me, I'm exactly the same. You'd expect for me to have the same genes as Mum, right? Not so."
"Can I have your attention, please?" Jason spoke up, his high, squeaky voice breaking through the students' chattering and laughter.
As the noise began to die down, he cleared his throat, "Thank you. Now, as most of you know, I'm the Dean of the school and will be conducting the school tours for our new Semester 2 students, so if you have any questions, come see me afterwards. This is a very competitive and prestigious school, so for those of you who managed to get in last minute: good on you and good luck. You have a lot of catching up to do. And now, may I present my father, Principal Louis Osmond!"
Jason stepped back and allowed his father to take the floor. A polite round of clapping resounded as Louis came forward.
"I am very pleased to announce that we have quite a few new students in for this semester," Louis began, smiling around at everyone. "May I introduce them to the rest of the class - Max Miller, Emma Geller, Aspen Fairchild and Adalynn Stanton, please stand."
Adalynn stiffened and a soft flush beginning to crawl up her face and neck.
"C'mon, you'll be fine!" Jackie whispered encouragingly as she shoved her in the shoulder. "We all had to do it."
"I was afraid of this," Adalynn murmured as she slowly got to her feet. Her hands were shaking so badly, she had to cross her arms and tuck them away and out of sight. Don't get jelly legs, don't get jelly legs, she inwardly pleaded with herself.
Now that she was in a position to do so, Adalynn quickly scanned the room. She caught sight of Max who was a few aisles across from her. He grinned and sent her a small wave. She nodded and smiled in return.
"Let's congratulate our new Greenhouse Academy students!" Louis said as he began to clap.
As soon as the round of applause died down, Adalynn quickly sank back down in her seat and heaved a deep breath. "Phew. I'm glad that's over."
Jackie shook her head and smirked. Hayley placed a hand on Adalynn's knee as she chuckled softly. "You did great," she whispered.
"Thanks, but I'm afraid I looked like a scared little chicken being carried to the slaughter-house," Adalynn huffed.
At this, Jackie had to clap both hands over her mouth to bottle her laughter.
"Shhhh," Hayley frowned mockingly at them. "You're gonna get us in trouble."
"Okay, okay," Adalynn raised her hands defensively. "I'll shut-up."
Hayley rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to Louis.
"For over two decades, our school has nurtured this nation's leaders: politicians, hi-tech entrepreneurs, athletes, astronauts," he was saying. "It's our job to nourish the next nations' great pioneers, leaders, visionaries and world changers. I believe real leaders come in all kinds of different packages. Some are a nation's scholars, sure, but some are diamonds in the rough, students with fresh perspectives whose intellect cannot be measured solely by numbers. So, please, give a warm welcome to our incoming class. And welcome everyone, to the second semester at the Greenhouse Academy, 2026."
Everyone applauded loudly as Louis finished his speech and then dismissed them.
As they were filing out of the room, each of the four new students were pulled aside by Jason in preparation for the school tour.
"See ya later," Hayley gave Adalynn a mock salute as she sauntered out of the doorway, Jackie by her side.
Adalynn shook her head and smiled as she went to stand next to Max.
Maybe her Dad had been right after all; maybe she'd actually enjoy being here.
