"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...
"And I won't let you get me down I'll keep gettin' up when I hit the ground Oh, never give up, no, never give up no, no, oh."
~ Never Give Up by Sia
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"Adalynn, we need to talk."
Adalynn glanced up at the sound of her bedroom door opening. She frowned as she looked into Jackie's solemn face. "O-okay?"
"At the HQ," Jackie persisted. "I'll meet you there in ten."
The door closed and Jackie disappeared.
Adalynn bit her lip as she slowly scrambled off her bed and shut the lid of her laptop. She was in for it now. Tucking her device into a computer bag, Adalynn slipped the strap over her shoulder and ventured out into the hallway.
It was nearing dusk by the time Adalynn arrived at the abandoned hut in the woods. She knocked the secret knock, she entered on silent feet, she clambered up into the attic, she looked into the stern faces of Ethan, Max and Jackie.
"Hi," she said as she shut the trap-door behind her and settled herself on the floor. "What's up?"
"You've missed our last two ROP meetings, Adalynn," Jackie began. "You're acting suspiciously. You, out of everyone in this Academy, was conveniently chosen to go to the launch today. What's going on? Seriously, Adalynn, you need to tell us."
Adalynn hesitated. "I - I wasn't chosen by Louis."
Ethan's brow crinkled into a confused frown. "If not Louis, then who?"
"Judy."
Everyone inhaled sharply at about the same time.
"I - I can't keep sneaking off from the Academy. I'm being watched. Judy is suspicious of me and my actions and is making sure that I don't cross the line."
"How do you know this?" Max piped up.
Adalynn pulled her laptop from her bag and set it up on the floor in front of her. "This is why," she returned as she scrolled through a bunch of recordings. After selecting one, she pressed PLAY.
The entire conversation between Judy, Jason and Marcus played through the speakers. Jackie, Ethan and Max crowded around the screen, staring at it in shock.
After the recording was finished, Adalynn shut off her computer and turned around to face the others. "I'm in trouble. But you guys aren't. You can still carry on with your mission, but for me, it's too risky. From now on, I need to keep investigating this on my own."
