Compulsion - The Greenhouse Academy

2: "Y o u L i k e C a r s?"

"We are fire, we are fire
And our love will burn
The flame will never die
We are brighter, we are brighter
Let's show 'em how we light up tonight
And we will glow."

~ Glow by Ella Henderson.

"Adi, honey, it's time to wake up," the sound of Mrs Stanton's soft voice echoed throughout the cosy little bedroom.

Adalynn groaned in annoyance. She opened one eye and then the other. "Mum?"

"Yes sweetie?"

"What day is it?"

"It's the big day, hun. It's the day you've been waiting for!" even though Mrs Stanton sounded excited at the prospect, a hint of sadness laced her words.

Adalynn sat straight up, instantly wide awake. "W-what? It is?" she stared at her mother. "I - I've been looking forward to this day for so long, but - but now that it's here ..." her voice trailed off.

Mrs Stanton tried to brush her off with a laugh. "Oh hun, you'll be fine! Now come along, I've made you some special breakfast to eat before you go."

Adalynn kicked off her covers and stood up to give her mother a tight hug. "Thanks Mum. I'm going to miss you."

Tears trembled in Mrs Stanton's eyes as she returned the embrace. "Me too, Adi, me too."

____

Things happened way too quickly after that. Adalynn's things were packed into the family's Land Cruiser, breakfast was hastily eaten, tearful goodbyes were said and then she was off. With Mr Stanton in the front seat, the windows rolled all the way down and the radio on full blast, Adalynn felt like she should've been the happiest girl in the world; but she wasn't.

Am I having second thoughts about this? Adalynn asked herself, amazed. I can't be. This is the best school there is! My chance at a better future depends on this! I can't let a little homesickness get in the way. Oh geez, I'm even going to miss Ben ... this is bad.

"You alright, Ad?" Mr Stanton inquired, concerned, as he cast a sideways glance at her. "You're looking a little pale."

Adalynn glanced down towards the admission letter scrunched up tightly in her hands and nodded. "How long until I can come home again?"

Mr Stanton laughed. "Oh dear, you haven't even gotten there yet."

"I know ... but seriously, when?"

Mr Stanton shrugged. "I'm assuming maybe ten weeks or so until the holidays, but we'll come up to visit every so often, don't you worry about that."

Adalynn sighed. "Ten weeks? Great."

____

The three and a half hour drive went by remarkably fast, or so it seemed to Adalynn. Before she knew it, they were pulling up at the Academy's big iron gates. A buzzer went off and the gates swung open, admitting them into the car lot.

After Mr Stanton had found somewhere to park, Adalynn hopped out of the vehicle and took a better look at her surroundings. Huge pine trees had been implanted around the entire perimeter of the school yard, which looked to be acres long on every side. A wide gravel drive led the way to the open doors of the Academy, which was a giant brown-bricked building that looked like it could house the whole of the United States! Hundreds of students milled around the campus, talking and laughing confidently.

The more Adalynn saw, the more she felt intimidated. Most of these students had started at the beginning of the year. They all knew each other. They all knew what to expect ... unlike her, who didn't know what was happening at all.

As Mr Stanton started rummaging around in the back of the Land Cruiser for Adalynn's things, the sound of an approaching car engine caused her to look up. A mini convertible pulled up next to them, a teen boy and a man sitting in the front seats. As the man cut the engine and pulled off his shades, he caught sight of Adalynn gaping at the car.

"You like cars?" he asked in a warm and friendly tone.

Adalynn nodded. "It's beautiful. May I?" she gestured to the shining red coat of paint covering the spec vehicle.

"Go ahead," the man laughed, sticking out his hand for Adalynn to shake. "I'm Don Miller."

"Hey Don, nice to meet you, I'm Adalynn Stanton," she shook his hand before turning her attention back to the car. Slowly, she traced her fingers across the brightly sparking metal.

"Hey, did you know that the first convertible modifications on cars were made in 1922, although the first closed vehicle was manufactured in 1910. The retractable hardtop system was invented by Ben Ellerbeck ..."

"Whoa, slow down Max!" Don chortled in amusement.

Adalynn glanced up into the blushing face of the boy beside her. His dark brown hair hung low over his forehead. His crinkled-up nose carried a pair of thick reading glasses. His hands were stacked high with chemistry books. A heavy book-bag was slung over one shoulder.

Adalynn couldn't help but smile. "Hi. I'm Adalynn. Let me guess, you're a Raven, right?"

The boy nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, definitely. I don't really get into sports that much; mostly because of the fact that I have some asthma issues and it's hard for me to breathe properly if I do too much exercise. Did you know that ..."

"Max!" Don's frown deepened.

"Oh sorry. I - I'm Max. Max Miller. Are - are you a Raven?"

Adalynn chuckled as she unzipped her hoodie, revealing a shirt striped with dark purple and pink. "Yep. See? I'm all into this logo thing."

"Ooohhh, same! I have a shirt just like that. I would show you, but my hands are - you know - sort've ..."

"Yeah I get it."

"Ad, don't forget your skateboard!" Mr Stanton called out to her as he shouldered her bags and handed her the board.

"I - I thought you didn't do sporty activities ... if you're part of the Ravens, that is," Max stared at her quizzically.

"Oh. I don't take it seriously. I just do it for fun ... and to keep fit," Adalynn shrugged as she took the skateboard from her dad. "Thanks."

Mr Stanton nodded to indicate that he'd heard her before starting up the path towards the school.

Adalynn stepped out onto the pavement and heaved a deep breath as she gazed up towards the huge building towering over them.

"High school, here we come."

____

Gif: Max Miller.