Greenhouse Academy: One Last Chance

Chapter 3: Temptations and the Text Message

I couldn't tell if they were just turning up the music to be able to hear it better or if they were turning up the music to annoy the Eagles, but either way I didn't mind. There is nothing better than jamming to music while taking a nice warm shower.

It was the first warm shower I had had in months and it felt completely amazing. People might say that cold showers are refreshing, but those people aren't right in the head. If there were showers in hell they would be freezing cold.

I grabbed some of the towels and quickly wrapped them around myself after my shower. I continued to hum and dance to the song that they were playing because why not. It helped distract me from the message I got earlier.

Not only did the anonymous person know my phone number, they also knew I went to school in California. I sighed as I held my old phone in my hand. If I really wanted a fresh start I knew what I had to do.

I turned on the sink and took a deep breath. My phone was the last thing connect me to my old life, my old friends and my father.

It was also the only way I could communicate with my mom. I felt my eyes get heavy as I let a single tear slowly escape.

"It has to be done," I said as I dropped my phone into the puddle of water that had formed in the sink.

I couldn't help but sit down on the bathroom floor for a couple of seconds and attempt to calm myself down.

I quickly got changed and decided to go on a walk in order to clear my mind. It was a beautiful day outside and a walk by myself is exactly what is needed.

To say this campus was beautiful is an understatement. The cold, dreary busy town of Des Moines has nothing has nothing on this place. I headed towards the beach and found a soft spot in the sand to relax in.

I couldn't help but think about the message that she sent me. No matter how much I tried to focus on the waves or the birds flying around, so couldn't distract myself.

She only knew I was in California, I muttered to myself. I tried to relax, but I couldn't. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I am safe here. I was promised protection from the government, and I needed to trust that they would take care of me. I let one tear fall and the rest quickly followed.

"So I take it you don't like pizza," I turned up to see Leo taking a seat next to me. He must have followed me over here.

"So I take it that you are a stalker," I jokingly replied while attempting to discreetly wipe the tears away from my face.

He awkwardly laughed at my horrible joke. It was a putty laugh.

"So what's your story Bird ?" he asked as he laid back in the sand.

"Why do you want to know it ?" I quickly replied.

"Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, Bird," he responded as he sat down next to me.

"Well first things first my name is Olivia, not Bird. Second, I'm from a small town in Main. I love there with my Mom and our newest addition to the family Kanto, a white and black husky. I swear he has a mind of his own, and between you and me she's kinda a diva," I joked back.

They were all lies, except for what I said about Kanto. It was all apart of a web of lies spun by the government in order to protect me and my mother. Kanto was a gift from the government in order to keep my mother from getting lonely. We got him at the beginning of the summer when we moved to Missouri. He was a nice addition to our little family, and I couldn't imagine the summer without Kanto.

I grabbed a big handful of sand and threw it in his face in order to wipe the sympathetic look off his face.

"Bird !" he yelled as he ran after me.

"You'll regret that !" he added as he chased me across the beach. Even though he was apart of the Ravens, he could run. Fast. I attempted to outrun the brown haired Ranger captain, but I barely ran to the nearest palm tree before he tackled me down. 

"And now I know why you're a Raven and not an Eagle," he joked as he stood up and offered he a hand.

"Well then thank God for that," I jokingly replied.

After a few seconds of silence I quickly thanked him.

"No problem," He smiled back as we continued to walk back to campus.

By now we had made it back to the campus building, "You really didn't have to help." I said as we stopped.

"I did, I did.......did you," Leo began to say before he was immediately interrupted by another student passing by.

"You got lucky Leo," another student said as he walked right by us. I recognized him from earlier, he was an Eagle. Not just any Eagle, but if I had to ask he was their captain.

"Keep telling yourself that Dan," Leo quickly responded.

"I won't need to after the Eagles win the second challenge. Celebrate now if you want. Play your music super loud, enjoy it while it lasts because you don't want to forget what it feels like," Dan responded.

After a few seconds Dan walked away and to say that his intimidation technique was an understatement. There was a reason he was apart of the Eagle house. He was practically twice my size and could crush me like a grape.

I looked back at Leo and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What ?" he asked back. The confusion was stricken right across his face.

"Don't make that face you look like a turtle," I replied and walked away. I earned a little laughter from Dan who must have heard me down the hall.