Home / After My Four Childhood Friends Tricked Me, I Went North Alone / Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

All Chapters of After My Four Childhood Friends Tricked Me, I Went North Alone: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

1

Liam was the first to react."Catherine, when did you get here?"I took a quiet step back and looked at them."Is it true? What you just said?"Ethan looked away guiltily, Noah pushed up his glasses, and Owen stared at the floor."Catherine, since you heard everything, we'll stop pretending."Selena's always been delicate. She could never handle Alaska's freezing weather."But you're different. We've all known how independent you are since we were kids. You'll be fine on your own."Before Liam could finish defending her, Selena grabbed his sleeve, her eyes red.I looked at them coldly."So which one of you made those fake preview pages?"Liam stepped forward. "I did.""Fine. Then whose idea was this game?"Standing in the middle of the group, Selena lowered her head and avoided my eyes."That's enough!"Ethan stepped in front of Selena and frowned at me."We came up with the idea together. Don't pick on Selena."I turned to Liam."That night, when you said you'd be with me, was that pa

2

The day before I left for the institute, I decided to return everything that belonged to them, one thing at a time.The first stop was the school football field.When we were 12, Ethan won his first medal in a school game. He shoved it into my hands and asked me to keep it for him.He swore that someday he'd give me a gold one.When I reached the sidelines, clutching the bronze medal, Ethan was crouched on the grass, putting together a storage rack for Selena, surrounded by a pile of bins."This is too high. It's hard for me to reach things."Without a hint of impatience, Ethan took the nearly finished rack apart on the spot.When he saw me, he frowned, as if something had just occurred to him."What are you doing here?"I held it out to him."The medal you left with me. I'm giving it back."Ethan paused, then took the medal and tossed it into a box of junk beside him."Didn't we say you'd keep it? Why are you bringing it back all of a sudden?""No reason. I'm just getting rid of thing

3

The next day was senior check-out day.I'd just left the records office when two girls blocked my path.The one in front was Laura, Selena's little sidekick."You won't even let Selena borrow a crummy camera. So petty."Laura shot a look at the girl behind her, who reached out and yanked at the camera on my shoulder.I grabbed the girl's hand and shoved her back."Who said you could touch my stuff?"The girl clutched her wrist and gave Laura a wounded look.Laura glared at her, then raised her voice on purpose."Who touched your stuff? Her hand slipped, that's all."You only act so cocky at school because you have four childhood friends backing you up, right?"Now they're all focused on Selena. Let's see who still cares about a tagalong like you!"I looked up, my eyes landing on the group at the end of the hallway.Ethan was carrying Selena's backpack, Noah was helping her with the records paperwork, and Owen was holding her favorite hot chocolate.Liam stood in front of her like a kni

4

As evening fell, the institute's pickup vehicle was already waiting at the crossroads on the edge of town.When they saw me dragging my suitcase, my friends from the geology club came right over.My best friend, Lola, quickly took the heavy case off my hands.Megan, the club president, hugged me, her eyes red."Catherine, are you really joining the team now? I heard that once you're in, you can't contact anyone for a long time."I gently hugged Megan back."A chance like this doesn't come around often. I've already confirmed that I'm going."Judy, an underclassman, looked toward my house and hesitated."What about Liam and the others..."I gave her a small smile."It's all over."Then my advisor stepped out of the vehicle and loaded my luggage into the back."Catherine, I need to remind you of something."The confidentiality protocol starts as soon as you get in. Is there anyone you still want to contact?"At the same moment, a notification popped up on my phone.At some point, the gro

5

"Kids, let me give you one more friendly reminder."From now on, you'll be known by a project number."All your existing social media accounts and communication channels will be suspended, and you won't have access to them."Sitting among the others, I looked toward my advisor in the passenger seat and nodded."Understood."Meanwhile, over at Liam's house.Selena sat at the carefully decorated dinner table. Ethan smoothed her skirt, Noah adjusted the light beside her, and Owen handed her a plate of freshly washed raspberries.The clock hands crept toward nine.They waited and waited, but I never showed up.Ethan leaned impatiently against the doorframe."What is Catherine playing at?"Liam frowned too. Out of habit, he opened our chat and sent a message."Where are you?"But it didn't go through. The screen never showed Delivered.Liam's eyes widened."Catherine blocked me!""Blocked you?"Owen leaned over, looking unconcerned."She's doing what she always does. She gets mad, then give

6

Late that night, Liam called the registrar's office at the University of Alaska."May I ask what your relationship is to Catherine Miller?"Liam answered without thinking."I'm Liam. Her boyfriend."Papers rustled on the other end of the line before the staff member spoke."I'm sorry, but your name isn't on Ms. Miller's list of emergency contacts."Liam's breath caught."We just had a fight, that's all. Please, can you tell us where she is now?"Ethan grabbed the phone and jumped in."We grew up with Catherine! We've known her for more than ten years!""I'm sorry. Under the program's confidentiality rules, I'm not allowed to give out any information about participants."Noah leaned in and spoke slowly."Okay. We won't ask for her address. But could you please pass some things along to her?""No. Contact with the outside world may resume only after the isolation period ends, depending on the project's progress."After he hung up, Liam drove aimlessly around town.Just before dawn, the c

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On Monday, the local paper ran a story about me joining the Alaska geology research team.Suddenly, everyone at school was talking about me.Laura and her friends, who'd cornered me just days earlier, looked stunned."Liam, is what the paper says true?"He ignored Laura's question. Instead, he turned and stared at the girls."So you cornered Catherine that day? And scratched her camera?"Laura frowned and shot back."I told you, it was an accident. Besides, Catherine got my limited-edition sneakers wet..."Before Laura could finish, Liam tossed her backpack into the bucket in the corner."You're out of your mind! My phone and books are in there!"He'd gotten back at her for me, the same way I had.But somehow, it only made him feel worse.It wasn't until he looked at my empty seat that Liam understood.I'd never know about any of it, let alone get any satisfaction from it.Over at the football field, Ethan spent the whole afternoon digging through the junk box in the locker room.At la

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A year later, I picked up the base's shared satellite phone.Lola and Megan filled me in on their lives at college.When it was Judy's turn, she sounded hesitant."Catherine, are you doing okay in Alaska?"I smiled, shaking my head."Don't worry. My advisor and coworkers here take good care of me.""Oh, and Liam and the others have come looking for us several times."They asked us to pass a message along..."I cut Judy off."Don't bother."I let go of the past a long time ago."Time flew. Before I knew it, another three years had passed.I'd gone from an intern to the youngest lead researcher on one of the team's subprojects.The paleoclimate project I led, studying ancient ice layers, even won federal research funding.Back in our little town, the lives of all four of them had quietly drifted off course.Liam turned down an offer from an Ivy League business school and studied earth sciences instead.Everyone thought he'd lost his mind, throwing away a bright future to study something

9

A few days later, I went back to town.To celebrate my return, Lola, Megan, and Judy gathered all our old friends from the geology club.They threw parties for me all week.On my way home, I ran into Liam by the bridge.He was sitting alone on the steps, still holding that necklace.When he saw me, Liam jumped to his feet."Catherine! How have you been?"How long are you staying this time? If it's okay, could I...""Sorry," I said, cutting him off. "I'm going back to Alaska in a couple of days. I still have work to do on the project's second phase."Liam looked down and spoke quietly."I'm sorry about what happened back then."I answered softly."It's all in the past."Liam leaned against the railing and looked at the river."When we were kids, this river seemed so wide. Now it doesn't look so big."Catherine, can we ever go back to how things were?"I shook my head gently."Liam, we'd known each other for 12 years when I left. I used to think we'd be best friends forever."But some th

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