“Alright, let’s get down to dinner, shall we? I’m starving,” he added, sitting down. Like clockwork, a second or two later a couple of waiters came out with plates of salad as an entrée. I looked down at the four forks set next to the plates and remembered my mom telling me to start on the outside and work my way in.
“So Tina, your mom and I were talking about your education. She tells me you’re quite the good student.”
I nodded, my mouth full. Swallowing quickly, I replied, “well my grades are alright, I guess.”
“While modesty is a virtue my dear, honesty is important as well. You were the top student at your school last year.”
“I was, yeah,” I replied, and I could feel a blush crawling up my face. I wasn’t used to being the centre of attention. Usually I tried to blend into the background and not draw attention to myself.
“Well, we’ve been discussing it,” Elton continued. “Since it’s the beginning of the school year, we think it would be good if you could join the Moreton Academy this year. I’ve spoken to the admissions people, and while you would have to work hard to make up for the two weeks you’ve missed already, I’m sure you’d be able to catch up with the work no problem.”
The Moreton Academy? As in, the most prestigious private school in Boston? It was rumoured that ninety percent of graduates from there went on to the Ivy League.
“Wait, that Moreton Academy?” I asked. Of course it was that academy. After all, this was a family that was used to the best of the best. My mom shot daggers at me with her eyes, but Elton just laughed.
“Yes, that one. The Hunt family has been attending for over two hundred years.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say,” I almost whispered.
“Thank you. You want to say thank you,” my mom said, and I nodded.
“Yes, of course. Thank you, Elton.” Again I could feel embarrassment crawling through me. Why couldn’t I have been born with my mom’s perfect social grace, instead of being completely awkward.
“Not a problem. You’re a part of this family now, Tina. The Moreton Academy will be honoured to have you.”
It all felt so completely unreal. Dinner passed by in a blur. I remembered the food being amazing, Elton Hunt being way nicer than I expected, and being thrilled at the end of the night when we were piling back into the car to head back to Boston that I hadn’t made any major screw ups that I knew of.
It felt strange, but I was actually excited about this new change in my life. I was going to go to a great school, one of the best in the country. I was going to have a dad, for the first time in my life, and he was actually really nice. I was going to live in a huge house. It was all going to be amazing. Little did I know how wrong I was.
Chapter Three
As I found out really quickly, the Hunt family moved fast. With everything they did. They were not time wasters, and literally the weekend after the dinner at the estate my mom told me that everything had been sorted and I was starting at the Moreton Academy on Monday.
“Wait, already?”
“Yes, absolutely. The school year has already started and Elton doesn’t want you getting further behind than you have to.”
“Oh, ok.”
“I went out today and bought you your new uniform, you’ll have to wear it at school from now on.”
My mom placed a shopping bag on the bed. “I know this is going to take some getting used to, but believe me honey, it’s going to be for the best.”
“I know mom. Thanks,” I replied. She left me alone and I dug through the bag. I had never owned clothes that nice before in my life. My mom had bought me four black and red blazers, five white blouses to go underneath it and three pairs of black and red skirts. A few pairs of matching socks and some black shoes sealed the deal. I didn’t have to try any of them on, I knew my mom had a great eye for sizing people up and I knew it was all going to fit.
As Monday arrived and the car came to pick me up to take me to school, I realized just how nervous I was. This was totally new to me. Was I going to fit in? Of course I wasn’t. This school was for the rich and famous, for the intellectual elite, for the people who had houses bigger than my old school. For people like the Hunt family. Not for people like me, who never really went hungry but also didn’t go out to eat for dinner very often because it was too expensive. It wasn’t a place for people who shopped at the thrift store.
We drove in silence. I looked out the window at the leaves, withering on the branches before falling to the ground. I kind of felt like the same thing was happening to me: I was curling up and falling away from the tree that had held me my whole life, down to the new ground, to new experiences.
Drawing my blazer closer to me, I threw those thoughts out of my head. Everything was going to be fine.
Pulling up to the Moreton Academy, it looked exactly the way I thought it would. A giant red brick building with a clocktower on the top and ivy climbing the walls dominated the landscape, surrounded by perfectly manicured lawns interspersed with paths on which small groups of students wandered, giggling and laughing like they didn’t have anything in the world to worry about.