Blackthorn Academy

Julianne thought hard on the email she received and hoped somewhere that it was real. She tried to believe the chances. She had only just got suspended after brooding over it last night and now, after all her mother revealed earlier, the strange email appeared.

Speaking of her mother, ever since she returned, she hadn’t seen her in the sitting room or kitchen or in the places she was always actively present. Instead, she was in her room, the place she hardly stays except for some nights when she just decides to. Most of the time, she just gets drunk and lay carelessly on the couch or on the floor.

It soon dawned on her that her mom was avoiding her. And even though she wanted it to be that way, a part of her felt sorry for her. What if she was right about everything? What if her dad truly left because of her? That could only explain why he didn’t inform her beforehand that he was leaving. What if he did that so she would not locate him and give him more bad luck?

And speaking of bad luck, has she always been that way? Her mom spoke about it like she knew what has been going on with her. Those things she wished she could tell her was wrong, about her not being normal like the rest of the other kids in her school, about being destructive all of a sudden… had she always known?

The next morning, her mom already left the house early before she would walk out of her room. Julianne spent the day wondering where her mom could have gone to. She checked the fridge, hoping to at least see a sticky note telling where she had gone, just like she did in the past, but there was nothing. She stayed up and got bored, and then started to wonder if her mom had left her too without informing her, but she checked her room and saw her belongings still in place, even the items she cherished. Her mom would never leave those behind even if the house was on fire.

It soon started to get dark and Julianne started to fall asleep. She was about to slip fully into unconsciousness when the door to the house opened and her mom walked in, heading to her room in a hurry.

Julianne stood up and as her mom had her hand on the door, ready to go into her room, she said to her, “I’m leaving.” She had only said that to have a conversation with her and maybe apologize about what happened yesterday and wished they would go back to their normal lives, but her mom was already nodding. Too fast. Too eager. Like she couldn’t wait to get rid of her.

Her chest tightened and she couldn’t believe her mom was serious. She wouldn’t even meet her eyes. She saw her walk inside her room and shut the door, even locking it.

Julianne felt her eyes start to itch and she turned her feet, heading back to her room. Nothing changed. A part of her wanted to scream. Another part wanted to cry, but she was mostly tired. Tired of pretending she was okay or that everything was going to return to normal. Tired of everyone not caring. Tired of people abandoning her. Tired of not knowing who or what she was anymore.

So she packed. Jeans, hoodies… a single photo of her and her dad before everything broke apart. And at sunrise, she left.

No goodbye from her mom. Just silence distance.

She made her way to the bus stand and arrived exactly 7:50 am. She didn’t know if what she was doing was right, or if what she believed was true. Each minute that passed felt like she was just wasting her time there and no one would show up. No bus or anything. There was not even another person at the stand except her.

By 7:55, she began to tear up. She thought about everything, how her life had managed to turn upside down, how there was no one who would care if she went missing or didn’t come back for a year. She wondered if Brooklyn would eventually accept that she was in the wrong and call her or send a text, apologizing. But then, apologizing isn’t Brooklyn’s style. She would rather let everyone hate her than apologize for something she did wrong while acting the victim at the same time.

By 7:59, she already gave up all hopes and while sitting on the bench there, she wondered where she would go next. She couldn’t return home anymore and yet, she couldn’t wander around like a lost child.

In reality, she was lost.

She buried her head down and her eyes watered.

“Why?” she suddenly asked herself. She gripped the sides of the bench and couldn’t care about anyone who may be watching as she yelled out in tears, “Why?!”

Then there was a horn. Very audible. And close. Julianne raised her head immediately and saw a bus right in front of her, painted black. She didn’t know how it suddenly showed up in front of her. She never heard a bus coming, but that wasn’t what she needed to worry about at the moment.

The entrance of the front door slid open and the driver was looking at her, as if waiting.

“Blackthorn Academy,” he finally said.

Julianne raised her eyes, surprised, but at the same time, grateful. She glanced at the clock that displayed inside the bus and saw it was exactly 8 am. The email was not a prank after all. Finally, she could get away from all the mess and start anew in a place she is yet to know.

She wiped her eyes and grabbed her luggage and got inside the bus.

“Thank you,” she thanked the driver who didn’t respond and she stared straight down. No one. It was just her, and the driver. But really just her. She went to take a seat at the back, pulling her luggage along, and she settled down next to the window.

The bus soon started to move and Julianne stared at what she was leaving all behind. A life that was never hers. A life of lies and betrayal. Of abandonment and pains.

The ride was long. Quiet.

Julianne watched the city fade into forest, then mist-covered hills. The roads became narrowed, and the trees thickened. Then they passed a sign:

WELCOME TO RAVENHOLLOW

Population: 9,017. And falling.

Julianne wondered who had decided in their right mind to hoist up a sign like that. She moved her eyes away from the window and glanced at the girl who the driver had picked up earlier at another bus stand. She just stared out of the window, unbothered.

Julianne’s eyes moved to the jacket she wore and she saw a ‘B’ on the arm. She guessed it stands for Blackthorn. The girl must be one of the students, she thought. Maybe she would even be in the same class with her, or maybe they would eventually become friends.

But if at all there was anything she wanted, it was to lead a quiet life and live through every day without anything going wrong.