Altadesnia Preparatory Academy

Chapter 3: Altadesnia Preparatory Academy

"Now, you're gonna tell me why I'm here, why you killed someone to get me here, and why that lady is so stupid." I said, pointing to Carla, but staring Mr. Stirling right in the face.

"She's not stupid, Erica. She quite smart actually. And I don't know what this nonsense about killing is. But anyway, I'll give you the brief on why you're here. You have been stuck in that bag for a long time." As he said this, he picked up the bag I was in and threw it behind him.

"I don't want the brief I want the full explanation!" I huffed, sitting back down in my box. Then I realized what I had been being carried in as I stared behind me.

They had put me in a coffin.

"AH!" I screamed, jumping out of the box. After rubbing all the dead spirits off of me, I glared at Mr. Stirling. He shrugged. I stomped my foot on the ground, but made my way over to a seat across from Carla.

"Alright," Mr. Stirling started. "If you're done with your tantrum, we can proceed with business." I gave him a death look, but he didn't seem to notice as he shared a look with Carla that asked, "Should we be telling our captive why we captured her? Or is that a bad move..." I rolled my eyes while Carla looked at him with a knowing smile and he just looked confused.

"Hell-o-o?!" I drawled. Mr. Stirling came out of his daze and stared me straight in the eye. Geez, what was up with him.

"Oh, uh, yes. Anyhow, basically, you were brought here because we needed you."

"For what?!"

"For Altadesnia Preparatory Academy. Only the most important teens in the country get in." I rolled my eyes for the millionth time today.

"Uh-huh. So how am I so important? Is my mother the princess of an exotic island off the coast of Africa or something?"

"Precisely! I'm surprised she told you! It was supposed to be a secret." I stared at him with my mouth gaping open. Carla bit her lip and turned to Mr. Stirling, breathing out a sigh.

"Um, Carlos, I don't believe she actually knew." He seemed surprised for a second, then made a face like he was trying to regain his composure.

"Yes, well, obviously." He murmured. I squinted my eyes. Did this confused, scatterbrained man really kill two people like it didn't even matter? Or was this all an act so that I wouldn't be afraid or something? This day just gets more and more confusing.

"So.. My mom, my pasty white, black haired mom, was an African princess?" Carla put her hands up as if she was weighing two options, squinting her face and and saying, "Eh."

"Not really African exactly. More like a mix of Latin and French. Though, her island was very near Africa so that no one would suspect of it's location. Just an extra precaution to her safety and all." Mr. Stirling, or Carlos as Carla now called him, continued. "Her people were called the Étoiles, that's "stars" in French, and their island was very important to all of mankind. Though you might think Philo T. Farnsworth," I gave him a look and he shook his head at my ignorance. "Though you might think Philo T. Farnsworth invented the television, he actually didn't. Your mother's best friend did in fact. He then sold it to the Londoner for a million dollars. Of course, he got cheated since Philo T. Farnsworth didn't have a million dollars. He, instead of being honest, took on a debt he could never repay."

I bit my thumbnail and rested my elbow on my thigh. I was the heir to an African, French, Latin princess? Who wasn't actually African?!

"Okay, so let me get this straight. I'm the heir to an Eli-whatever, and I had to be sent to this school for..."

"Protection." Carla but in. I nodded my head in her direction.

"Protection. So then when I refused to go, you decided, 'You know what? She'll probably never agree to come. Time to take drastic measures!' So then you came into my house when I was about to fall asleep, you put me in a sack, and now you're taking me to-"

"Altadesnia. The island is called Altadesnia." Carla but in again. I put my hands up in an annoyed fashion. She motioned her mouth into an "O", and gradually closed it.

"Thank you." I exasperated. "Now, as I was saying, after all the stuff about you kidnapping me shoving me in a car against my will, you," I continued, pointing to Mr. Stirling. "Killed two people in the process of getting me to Altadesnia Prep. What was that about? Why am I so important?" Mr. Stirling looked very confused again.

"Kill someone? Why would I ever do something horrendous as that?" I swung my hands outward into a, "duh" motion. With a very amazing "duh" face to go with it.

"I'm not exactly sure if you're suffering from short term memory loss or something, but I distinctly recall you going up to my driver and some companion with him named Ms. Benedetti, or something like that. Anyhoo, I also recollect you saying, 'I apologize you had to listen to that Ms. Erica. Blah, blah, blah, we better leave'. I mean, if it were me, I think I'd remember killing someone, even if it was a whole five hours after." I nodded slowly, in a sarcastically reassuring manner. Like when someone is saying they agree with you, that you're definitely correct, and then they come back around and correct you.

Carla exhaled. "Erica,"

"Rikki." I corrected her.

"Rikki, I really don't think this is Carlos we're talking about. He wouldn't hurt a fly! And, anyway, he didn't even drive you over here. Though I'm not exactly sure who it was that dropped you off, it wasn't Carlos. Don't worry. We're not flying with a killer in our midst."

"Oh." I said with a nervous breath. Mr. Stirling just smiled. I managed a slight one back.

"Alright then, now that that's clear and out of the way, we're almost to the island! Make sure to put in earplugs if the pressure in your ears increases when you're on airplanes." I rolled my eyes and slouched back, with my arms crossed, in my seat.

Staring out the window, I regretted not enjoying the ride. As we were landing, I could tell the island would've been gorgeous from far away, since it was beautiful up close. I sighed in awe as we went closer and closer to ramp we were landing on.

"Plug your ears!" Carla yelled, since she couldn't hear that well from the so called "pressure" in her head. I giggled slightly as I watched the island zoom nearer. When we were about two hundred feet off the ground, the plane leveled and slowed, and we came gradually down. I widened my eyes as I stared around the buildings ascending around us. They looked like those spiral towers in princess movies... Not that I watch those or anything...

The plane reached the ground, and I glanced over at Carla. She looked as if she was going to die. Was this what the pressure was doing to her? I stared closer, and her features relaxed back to normal. Well, guess it was her own dang fault she didn't bring ear plugs.

"We're here!" Carla squealed. She seized my hand and pulled me up from my comfortable position, causing me to groan. She bent her hand in a, "oh come on", fashion, and kept pulling me along the long pathway to the door. Huh. I didn't think the plane was this huge.

"Alright Miss Erica Salas,"

"Rikki." Carlas rolled her eyes, at my revisal.

"Alright Miss Rikki Salas," She said again, her tone sarcastic. "Welcome to Altadesnia Preparatory Academy for Nobles and Important Rich Kids."

"That's actually what it's called?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Carla shrugged.

"Maybe not the 'Important Rich Kids' part." She answered, smiling.