Everything had to change. And well Ashley normally avoided trying to talk to her mother because it never went anywhere productive, she full out begged for scarlet to send her to a girls academy in a different city. Ashley didn't even care what they taught. She thought it was art. The girl just had to start over. She had to try to make something of herself, make some friends, lose weight, or do anything to get some control over the blackness. And to her complete surprise, Scarlett said yes. So Ashley moved there and started over.
It was a completely new life in Klinetown. Ashley made several friends without having to initiate on her own. A particularly bouncy friend introduced herself, and then Ashley seem to inherit all of that girl's friends. It helped that they were all from other cities and came here to go to school together. She was getting happier, losing weight, and feeling great. Ashley finally had her own life and she couldn't believe it. It was joyous. She even tried some dating, and some of it was really nice. But there was definitely still static in the back of her mind that threatened the depression and anxiety returning if things stopped going as well. But she ignored that and plowed forward. Things got tough after a while. She was having trouble feeling close to her friends, not finding any good boyfriends, and feeling homesick for a home that never felt like one. And she didn't like art. She stopped going to classes and doing her projects, but she was still managing to hang on.
The school vacation popped up at just the right time for Ashley. And her friends created a trip and invited her, so that all she had to do was say yes. And she did! It was so fun. It was like nothing she had ever experienced. They played games, shared, talked, took a trip, and even went on outings dressed in disguises pretending to be people they weren't. It renewed Ashley's hope in the school and she recommitted herself to doing better from now on. But then they got to one of the cities of her friends, and spent time at her home. They reconnected with a couple of her childhood friends, both boys. The boys were very young and immature, and that was most the most distinctive thing about them really. For some reason, this excited Ashley. This whole trip seemed so full of promise and abandon. She thought that maybe one of these young men could be part of her path too. So, with a bravado that she did not possess, and new found confidence from her weight loss, Ashley started showing off, trying to impress the boys. She did not entirely succeed, but she also did not entirely fail. The boys we're not very popular with girls, and so they were open to almost any female attention. And just like that, it was not true love, but rather desperation and lust that brought together Ashley and Christian. They had very little in common, and didn't even stop to think and ask themselves if they liked one another. But it was exciting, and Christian promised that he would come to the academy and see her the next week, and Ashley couldn't wait.
