𝗳𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻~𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗶 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗲

Chapter 1 - Day One

Alexa stared at the letter in her hands. This was it. This decided her future. Her whole life since the age she was six has been working hard in school, doing her best to get good grades. Now she was going to find out if that paid off, and if she was going to be a success story or a quiet failure. Her parents stood nearby, and she honestly didn't know who was more nervous, them or her. The bright red Harvard emblem stood off the blank letter. The slight trembling in her hands  increased as they neared the seal. Slowly she ripped it open. Alexa opened the letter and stared at the beginning words.

"Dear Alexandria Piral, it is our pleasure to inform you of your early admission to study a PhD in Buisness at Harvard University where you are sure to thrive and..." Alexa read out the words in shock. Her mother's doe eyes grew glassy eyed while her father had a big and proud smile on his face. "I did it. I got into Harvard!" Alexa ran forward to her parents and hugged them with all her might.

Alexa couldn't stop smiling, even when her cheek muscles began to get sore. This was everything she had ever worked for. She had gotten into a school with a less than five percent acceptance rate. Only one in forty people even got viewed as a possible candidate, yet alone got in. Not only that, but she was not even a senior in high school yet. She had just finished her junior year and was about to start her summer before senior year. She got in on early admission.

"Wow... you have no idea how proud I am of you." Her mother whispered. "Not only did you just get into one of the best schools in the country, and maybe even the world, but you are doing much better than a few months ago." No, Alexa thought. This was her moment. It would not be tainted by her... disease. Her Fantasy Prone Personality disorder (FPP) was diagnosed by her doctor when she was nine and started daydreaming severely. She would blank out in the middle of school, eating, even talking. Suddenly she would appear in her book lands, or places that only exist in the movies. Like Hogwarts from Harry Potter, the Lone-lands from the Hobbit, anywhere that was not reality. The doctor said that although it could be possible that it is from outside influence from her childhood (such as her parents encouraging her to have animals that could "talk" and were alive), or her mind's subconscious way of escaping this bland reality. These daydreams she had would seem real, like she could actually feel the dragon's fire breath near her face, or the wetness of the imaginary grounds she walked on. This didn't only happen in her daydreams. It also happened when she slept, and when she would read books. Her mind would get so wrapped in whatever she was doing, or imagining, that the only way she could wake up would be physical contact. You could scream in her ear, shout in her face, but she would not wake up or notice that you were there. For a person to wake her up, they would have to shake her.

"Mom, I appreciate that but I really don't want to talk about that right now." She told the woman. "Maybe we can discuss that later. Or after I get back from the retreat!" Alexa couldn't believe she had almost forgotten. Tomorrow she was leaving for a weekend getaway in Hawaii, a nice time away from the hustle and bustle of Southern California. Her parents thought it might be a nice congratulatory gift for getting into Harvard. Or a make-up present for not getting in. Either way Alexa really appreciated the kind thought. Even though retreats weren't really her thing, she guessed it might be kind of fun.

_____

    Alexa boarded the plane tiredly. Last night she was hardly able to sleep. With the excitement from her acceptance, and the fact that she had video chatted with her best friend Luna long into the hours of the morning. Probably not smart considering that she had an early morning flight to Colorado, where she would meet the other girls going on the retreat and then board the private plan all the way back to Hawaii. A part of her wondered why they couldn't just pick her up along the way, but beggars can't be choosers. As she entered the terminal for private planes, Alexa spotted a decently sized one with the logo for the Dawn of Eve organazation, the company who funded the retreat. The large area was loud, the sounds of many different people and workers blending together. She put her bag through the x-ray and walked through the metal detectors without difficulty. Before she knew it, she was walking down the aisle of the plane.