Chapter 1

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It's been 12 years since my parents were murdered. Since then, I've had countless identities and I've moved many different times. I've basically lived all over the country.

There have been several more attempts on my life, but they've been unsuccessful. Sadly, those attempts have made it very difficult to stay in one place for too long. Luckily, after the second time someone tried to get me, Witness Protection trained me in the martial arts to make sure that I could protect myself if need be.

Nowadays though, Carolina York doesn't even get mentioned anymore.

I am now Alana May Criston. My hair is long and wavy, just how I like it, but it's a light brown colour, and my eyes are green. Nothing too fancy, but different enough so that I can blend in. I don't look bad, but I'm certainly not the hottest girl in the world, or even at school.

Speaking of which, I'm a senior in high school. I'm not top of my class but I do well enough, and as far as the other students are concerned, I plan on becoming a lawyer after high school. I just know that I need to keep a low profile. My life, in general, is fine. I have a lot of secrets but I guess that comes with being who I am.

I don't mind if things remain the way they are. I like my life. Well... not necessarily like, but at least I've accepted it. Hopefully, I could just finish high school and go to college or university and hopefully, the people who hurt mum and papa will get caught. When that time comes, things will finally return to normal. Or, as normal as they can get. I might finally be able to go back home.

That, however, is only a dream at this point. After all, it's been 12 years.

Anyway, I shouldn't be thinking about this right now. I'm about to be late for first period with Mr. Rosenthal. The students call him Mr. Roe.

"Hey! Lana! Come on! We're about to be late for class! You know how Mr. Roe gets when we don't come on time." My friend Chloe tells me, practically voicing my thoughts.

I'd never call her my best friend because I've learned not to get too close to people. It'll be dangerous for them and sad for me when I'll have to leave. The longest I've ever stayed in one place is just under four years.

Plus, I've only ever had one best friend, and his name was Zachary Stevenson. No matter how much I hated him back then, looking back, I really thought of him as my best friend.

However, if I was being truthful to myself, she is the best friend I've had in the last 12 years.

"Coming!" I say as I run up to her.

I transferred to Eastview High late last year, and the first person to come up and talk to me was Chloe. Bouncy, hilarious, kind of awkward Chloe with her pin-straight dark brown hair and piercing ice-blue eyes. If she wasn't one of the nicest people I'd ever met, her eyes alone would flash-freeze my entire body. Basically, I've learned never to get on that girl's bad side.

On my first day, super-sweet Chloe came up to me, dragged me by the hand and forced me to join her group of friends for lunch. We've been together ever since. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciated the gesture seeing as I probably would've been a loner otherwise. But seriously, those girls sometimes have too much energy. I can't keep up.

We get to English right on time. Not even 30 seconds after we got in and sat down the bell rang and the teacher came in. This teacher doesn't mess around. Ever.

"Phew..." I sigh to myself.

"I know, right?" Chloe asks me from her seat beside me, giggling slightly.

"Miss Criston, Miss Lewis, anything you ladies want to share with the class?" Mr. Roe asks us and both of us whip up our heads up to look at him.

"Nothing sir!" We respond simultaneously and then proceed to open up our laptops for the beginning of class.

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