"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...
"One foot in front of the other babe One breath leads to another yeah Just keep moving, oh Look within for the strength today Listen out for the voice to say Just keep moving, oh."
~ Flames by Sia
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Adalynn had barely been inside for two minutes when she was approached by Louis and asked to help out for a while in the cafeteria with Emma and Aspen.
Of course, the moment she heard Aspen's name, Adalynn wanted to crawl under a table and die, but she had no choice but to agree. Louis had always been very kind to her, he'd never once made her feel bad or uncomfortable. Unfortunately she couldn't say the same for his son, Jason.
"Hello, Adalynn," the snarky, high-pitched squiggle of a voice reached her as she entered the cafeteria.
She turned around and glanced towards Jason, who was sipping tea and eating an entire packet of doughnuts in a corner of the room. "Hi Jason."
"Sooo ... before you go, I have something I need to tell you," Jason hurriedly stood up and came over to her. Grasping her arm, he whispered menacingly into her ear, "Drop your conspiracy theories about that rocket explosion, is that clear?"
"Why Jason? Are you afraid I'm gonna uncover something about it that you want to keep hidden?" Adalynn retorted loudly.
"KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN!!" Jason growled. "If I find out that you're snooping around any further into this, I'll see to it that you're expelled, do you understand me?"
"Are you threatening me, Jason?" Adalynn queried as she pulled away from him. "That's low, especially for the Dean of the school."
Jason scowled at her. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" with a furious huff, he whirled around on his heel and stalked away.
Adalynn exhaled shakily and leaned against a nearby table for support. She may have put up a confident facade to his face, but to be honest, Jason scared her. In a horror movie, he would be the sort of person that would stand over her with a knife in the dead of night. Adalynn shuddered as her mind flew back to her parents. How would they feel if she was to be expelled? Would they be ashamed of her? Disgusted with her? Angry that she'd thrown away the chance of a lifetime? Probably.
"Hello, Adalynn! Could you come help us out over here ... today?" Aspen's shrill voice reached Adalynn's ears.
Adalynn snapped her head up and glared at Aspen as she walked over to the counter and snatched her apron off of the bench.
"Louis has put me in charge for this afternoon shift," Aspen continued haughtily. "So, without further ado, Emma, you can be in charge of the coffees and snacks, I'll take care of the till, and Adalynn, you can catch up on all the cleaning that needs to be done: washing dishes, emptying scraps, sweeping floors, you know the drill."
