Free Falling

The Flight

To: Lila Carter

From: The California Academy of Fine Arts

Congratulations! You have been accepted into The California Academy of Fine Arts! Based on your application essay, we have selected you as a student in the upcoming school year. Your school list will be sent to you soon. See you on August 1st!

Allison Hewett, Dean of Admissions

Clutching the letter, I stare at it, the words swimming before my eyes. I've been accepted.

"MOM!!! MOM, I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED!"

My mother rushes into the room.

"What? Are you serious? YOU'VE BEEN ACCEPTED!"

We jump around and celebrate for a few minutes. Then she stops.

"I've got to call Andrea!"

A few months ago, I was contacted by CAFA. They asked me to apply, so I filled out the forms, wrote the essay and mailed it to them. The only snag in the plan was that the school is in L.A., and I live in New York. My mom finally decided that I could live with my Aunt Andrea, whose daughter Shay also got accepted.

A few minutes later, she comes back in the room.

"Your flight leaves on July 15! Honey, this is so exciting!"

What little time I had left in the Big Apple, flew by. Before I knew it, I was at the airport checking in. It took half an hour to say bye to my mother, who cried the entire time.

"Mom! I've gotta go, I'll call you when I land, okay?"

I hurried onto my flight. I tiptoed down the isle, looking for my seat. Once I found it, I stowed my carry-on into the overhead bin, and sat down.

"Excuse me. Is this seat D-4?" A sexy British accent asked.

I looked up into a pair of beautiful brown eyes.

"Y-yeah." I stammered.

"Then I guess this is me then, right love?"

"I guess so."

Woah. This dude was blindingly gorgeous.

He had soft black hair, super tan skin, and I could just make out a tattoo sleeve through his long-sleeved shirt.

"I'm Zayn." He said.

"Lila."

"So, are you from LA? Or visiting, or what?"

"I'm from New York, but I just got accepted into the California Academy of Fine Arts, so I'm going to live with my aunt." I said.

"Really? I'm going there too! What's your major? I'm a singer, but I think I'm going to do a bit of modeling too. I mean, I'm not super attractive or anything, but everyone seems to think I'm a model. So I figured I'd try it out." Zayn replied.

"I'm going for modeling too! I wish I could go for singing, but I couldn't hold a tune if I tried. At least I'm going to know somebody! Like, my cousin got accepted too, but we're not super close or anything." I felt like I was babbling.

"It's my second year. I'll show you around if you want."

He's just so perfect! I smiled and nodded.

"I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting year." He said with that amazing accent.

Oh yes. This will be VERY interesting.