1 Chapter 00

"May we come in?"

I turn my head around to find Mom and Dad standing together at the door of my room with unreadable expressions on their faces.

I have exams ahead and I am prepared with absolutely nothing. Books have never been kind to me, so my hate is justified. I feel like they have personal rivalry with me. The harder I try to learn them, the faster I forget. Now when I have days to go for my major exams, I have realised that even my assignments are undone too. So here I am, doing hours of labour to get it done on time.

"Sorry Mom. I'll be downstairs for dinner." I give an apologetic smile. "I am almost done." Or rather barely started.

"You don't need to do it. You aren't going to continue your classes anymore." Mom walks to me and sits on my bed, making it creak.

Her words sound alien to me. I know last time I performed poorly in my test, due to the 'major distraction' I was facing then. 'Major distraction' here stands for Karen, the boy next door who recently shifted to our neighborhood. Ever since I have laid my eyes on him, my heart has betrayed me. From the blue of his eyes to his blond hair, I have fallen for everything. I wish I could ask someone to fetch him as my sweet sixteen birthday gift but alas! My hopes are too high.

Luckily now, my crush-mode is under control. However I still sneak glances at him through my window. Our rooms have got windows facing each other. I think it can really be a great start to a love story.

"I know Mom. My grades made you upset but I promise I won't let you down this time." I try to sound promising because I don't want to drop out of school yet. Dad joins Mom by taking a seat beside her. This is when I know what he's about to say. God! I wish he doesn't say that but...

"We are moving away, Pumpkin." And there he goes.

"Again?" I revolt.

His expressions are drop dead serious and I know he's not going to think over his decision. Ever since I gained my consciousness, I remember my family moving away from places to places. Once they made up their mind about moving away, I was supposed to drop my works right there and get along to the new place. Even before I could settle in my environment I was dragged out and put into another dimension. Now, again I am expected to leave behind my friends and school and start afresh. I feel so tired of putting my time and emotion into relationships that are timed.

"Why we always keep moving, Mom?" I ask flatly, knowing the answer to this question already. Mentally giving up this conversation, I close my books and slide them on the table. Not once but a number of times I have asked for reasons and every single time I was replied with a long silence. This time I am not even going to ask anymore.

"Sorry Honey.." Mom reaches over and takes my hand into her lap, "This is the last time....Just this time."

I sigh in relief. Finally, I can imagine my family being settled. Maybe this time I can look forward for some everlasting friendships. With a glimmer of hope in my heart, I force a smile on my face.

"Hopefully...." I leave my chair to get my belongings packed.

***

I am sitting at the back seat of our new car, enjoying the ride. The smell of leather interior making me swoon. I look outside the window with excitement pumping in my veins.

It's not a just a city but a city in the valley! The dense forests are perfectly visible on the mountains. The mountain tops are covered by clouds with only few rays of sunlight making it to reach onto the ground. I am spell bound by the beauty of this place.

And there it is, the signboard which says,

Welcome to Arcanedale

"We are here!" Dad turns around to break the news at me. He's beaming with happiness.

"Andrew!" Mom calls for Dad, shouting at the top of her lung. My eyes trace the sight at which she's looking at and there it is! A man standing in the middle of the road. Dad turns the steering wheel in the other direction, when our car loses it's control.

I hear a loud noise and know that something terrible has happened as pain shots up my body. There's blurry images of Mom and Dad asking me something and then slowly my vision fades to black.....