chapter 1-A sudden change

The engine of the car hummed softly, but it did nothing to quiet the storm inside it.

Christiana sat by the window, her arms folded tightly across her chest, eyes fixed on the passing streetlights. Beside her, her mother gripped the steering wheel as though it were the only thing keeping her together.

“This is the third school, Christiana,” her mother said, her voice trembling between anger and disappointment. “The third. Do you even understand what that means?”

Christiana didn’t answer.

Her reflection in the glass stared back at her—calm, unreadable, almost bored.

“You were suspended again. Fighting, skipping classes, disrespecting teachers. What exactly are you trying to prove?” her mother continued. “I have prayed for you. I have fasted for you. But you refuse to change.”

Christiana finally sighed, slow and dramatic.

“It’s not that serious,” she muttered, still not looking at her.

“Not that serious?” Her mother’s voice rose slightly. “Your future is not that serious?”

The car fell into a heavy silence after that. The only sound left was the tires rolling against the road.

When they arrived home, Christiana didn’t wait for another lecture. The moment the car stopped, she pushed the door open and stepped out without looking back.

“Christiana! I am still talking to you!” her mother called after her.

But Christiana was already walking up the driveway.

Inside the house, she moved straight to her room. No pause. No apology. No explanation.

She shut the door behind her with force.

A second later, music blasted through her headphones as she plugged them in, drowning out the faint sound of her mother’s voice outside.

Her world was louder than her mother’s prayers.

And she preferred it that way.

The house felt unusually heavy that night.

In the living room, Christiana’s mother sat alone on the edge of the couch, her Bible resting unopened beside her. The anger that had filled the car was gone now, replaced by something far more painful — fear.

Three schools.

Three suspensions.

Three chances wasted.

She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. Discipline had not worked. Warnings had not worked. Prayer alone, it seemed, had not worked either.

Her gaze drifted to the framed family photograph on the wall — one taken years ago, before Christiana’s father disappeared from their lives. Back when Christiana still smiled without defiance in her eyes.

“She needs structure,” her mother whispered to herself. “She needs somewhere strict… somewhere holy.”

The thought came quietly at first, then settled firmly in her heart.

St. Mary’s Convent School.

A place known for discipline, silence, and spiritual guidance. A place where girls were reshaped through routine and prayer. A place where rebellion had no room to breathe.

If the world could not correct her daughter, perhaps the church could.

Her decision was made before the clock struck ten.

Upstairs, unaware of the plan forming below her, Christiana lay sprawled across her bed. Music flooded her ears, loud enough to shake away the echo of her mother’s disappointment.

But even through the noise, her thoughts were restless.

They always act like I’m the problem.

She stared at the ceiling, her jaw tightening.

School was boring. Rules were suffocating. Teachers were dramatic. Everyone expected her to fit into a mold she never asked for.

And her mother — always preaching, always praying, always comparing her to “good girls.”

She rolled onto her side, staring at the closed door.

They don’t get it.

No one asked her how it felt to grow up without a father. No one noticed the way whispers followed her in school. No one understood that anger was easier than explaining hurt.

It was easier to act out. Easier to be the villain. Easier not to care.

Or at least pretend not to.

She turned the music up even louder.

Downstairs, her mother knelt to pray.

Upstairs, Christiana built walls.

And by morning, both of them would wake up to a decision that would change everything.

The house was silent by midnight.

The lights were off. The hallway clock ticked steadily. From her mother’s room came the soft rhythm of sleep.

Christiana lay still on her bed, staring into the darkness.

She waited.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Fifteen.

When she was certain the house had surrendered to the night, she slowly sat up. The music in her headphones had long stopped playing, but the restlessness inside her hadn’t.

Carefully, she crossed the room and opened her wardrobe. From the back, hidden beneath folded clothes, she pulled out a different outfit — nothing like what she wore in the daytime. This version of her belonged to the night.

She changed quickly, then slipped her window open just enough to climb through. She had done this before. Too many times.

The cool night air wrapped around her as her feet touched the ground outside. She shut the window gently and walked toward the street without looking back.

Minutes later, she was swallowed by city lights.

Music pulsed from a crowded building at the end of the block. Laughter spilled onto the sidewalk. Cars lined the street. The night was alive — loud, chaotic, intoxicating.

Here, no one called her a disappointment.

Here, no one compared her to anyone else.

Under flashing lights and thundering music, Christiana moved like she belonged. Like this world made sense in a way classrooms never did. She laughed. She danced. She let the noise drown every thought she didn’t want to face.

For a few hours, she wasn’t the suspended student. She wasn’t the pastor’s stubborn daughter. She wasn’t the girl without a father.

She was just free.

But freedom had a clock.

By three in the morning, the thrill began to thin. The laughter faded into tired voices. The night started closing in on itself.

Christiana checked her phone.

Too late.

Her stomach tightened.

She slipped away quietly, walking faster this time. The same streets that had looked exciting earlier now felt watchful. Shadows stretched longer. Every passing car made her heart skip.

When she reached home, the house looked exactly as she had left it — still, dark, unaware.

She climbed back through her window, landing softly inside her room. Her heart pounded as she listened.

Nothing.

No footsteps. No light switching on. No voice calling her name.

She closed the window, changed quickly, and slid back under her covers just as the first hint of dawn brushed the sky.

Down the hall, her mother slept peacefully.

Upstairs, Christiana stared at the ceiling again.

She had gotten away with it.

For now.

But secrets, like smoke, never stay hidden forever