Goodwill Academy

Chapter 6 : The Farewell

The next few days go by in a blur. I get really busy with packing everything into suitcases and cardboard boxes, and doing last minute shopping along with spending quality time with my family and friends. I finally went and got my uniform on Thursday. It consists of a white shirt, a black pleated skirt, a striped tie indicating house colors, a pair of black socks indicating the house with colored stripes around the ankles and a black blazer. The shoes are supposed to be black and the design can be of our choice. The athletic uniform consists of black jogging pants with a T-shirt indicating house colors and white sneakers. They have also given us a badge with our name and a bar code on it.

There are four houses namely Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Turns out, I am in the Fire House and my house colors are red and orange. The Air House colors are white and pale blue, Earth House colors are ochre and brown and the Water House colors are navy blue and sea green.

I even got my dorm room number. Turns out they have separate dorms for girls and boys. I am going to have to share my room with another girl. I just hope I get a good person as a roommate. I don't deal well with bitches and bullshit. They simply manage to bring out the worst side of me. I have a feeling that I would have to get used to it with all the brats that would be attending the school with me. Like Matt. Stop it Athena! Don't think about him...

It's almost time for dinner. I go downstairs to have dinner with my parents. We had dinner silently and dad and I volunteered to do the dishes. Since mom is done with her chores, she goes upstairs to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for bed.

"There are some things you need to listen carefully and you have to promise me that you will follow them." dad said while scrubbing a dish.

" Okay. What exactly am I promising you?" I ask. I am curious as to where this is going.

"First and foremost, you are not to reveal your complete identity to anyone. Just your name and where you are from. Absolutely nothing more than that."

What. The . Hell.

"Don't tell them you are my daughter or who I am or where I work. If someone asks, just say your mom used to be a lawyer and dad is a scientist. Nothing more and if need be, just make up a story to get out of the situation." he says.

"Okay."

"Secondly, Don't tell anyone about your connection to Gina and her father. Stay away from all sorts of social media. Even Instagram. They are traceable which makes them unsafe."

"No online profiles. Got it." I assured.

"Third, Don't get into fights with either student or teachers. Try not to be too noticeable and blend in. Attracting too much attention puts a target on your back."

" Be average. Okay." I said.

"Fourth, Don't tell about your scholarship to anyone. People shouldn't know how much money you have. Leave them to their assumptions."

" Fifth and most important, Don't trust anyone and watch your back. There is no such thing as best friend. Anyone can screw you over for the right price. There are only allies. Don't fall in love. It is the oldest trick in the book to seduce someone to gain their trust, only to betray them later. You should only trust your mother and I."

"Trust nobody." I said nodding.

"Promise me you will follow these five things. I am only asking this to keep you safe."

Safe from what dad? I wanted to ask but I didn't. "I promise, dad. You said I could trust you so you need to tell me the reasons for these rules. Please." I pleaded.