Searching for Love

Chapter 4

The last thing I remember is dropping that horrid little note of doom into Cindy's hands and flopping on the couch. When I finally stop crying, Cindy comes over and puts her arm around me like the mother I never had.

      "You don't have to do this, Sydney. No one is forcing you." "N-no," I say slowly between shaky breaths, "I need to. I mean think about it, Cindy. My dad. My REAL dad wants to meet me and actually get to know me? I have been waiting for this moment for my entire life. I can't possibly pass it up."

  

       I can tell that Cindy does not think that this is a good idea just by the way her eyes bore into mine. But she would never say no. "Well," she says, "if you really need to... I support your decision. Just be careful, understand?" "I will, Cindy. Don't worry."

And with that we hug and I know that that is the end of that conversation. I wouldn't admit this until later, but that was also the beginning of a very uneasy foreboding feeling.

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(Flashback Sequence)

      "Well, well well... What do we have here?" Said a voice I would come to despise. "I-I'm Sydney Dawson. And I'm new here. I'm ten years old and I'm lost." As I looked up into the stranger's eyes it was almost as if looking into the devils. "Great, I thought. I've only been here 6 days and I'm already making enemies."

 

      "Sydney, eh?" Said the person. This particular person was about 16 years old, hefty, and about 6' tall. His voice was gruff, almost like he was chewing on gravel. His eyes were a steely grey and his hands were the size of footballs.

 

     "Well, Sydney, I'm Luke, and I'm the official "initiator" of Westburry. Some call me the devil himself. But you can call me His Highness."

 

"You mean His Stupidness," I said under my breath.

 

 "I see we got a bold one here," Luke said. "Guess we'll have to begin initiation a little sooner, then. Follow me."

 

      With that, he grabbed my shirt and half-dragged, half-forced me into a little janitors closet across the hall. As he shoved me inside and closed the door behind us, I began to hyperventilate and beg for forgiveness, but it's kind of hard to beg with two footballs wrapped around your throat.