Forever And Always by Christina Young (best books for 20 year olds TXT) 📖

I asked that question, I expected job transfer, severe money problems, you know? Problems real people might have. I thought my life was bad enough, and now I’m caught in the middle of some crazy otherworldly war?”

                “Look, Nessa-”

                “You know what? I don’t want to deal with this right now. I’m going to bed.”

                “No, Vanessa wait.”

                “What, Mom?”

                “I know that this is hard for you. There’s so many changes going on all at once, but we’ll get through it. I’m not asking you to completely and totally accept this; I just don’t want you to run away. I know it’s scary but it’s you. This is who you are. You can’t just ignore it.”

                “Mom, Dad, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. My entire life I’ve dreamed of something more in the universe; anything to get my mind off reality. But I never imagined that any of it was true. And now I’m just, I’m overwhelmed. I’m not sure if I’m excited or scared. I need time to think this through.”

                With that I ran straight up to my room without looking back.

                In my room, I began to slow down. I didn’t know what to do. My life was a mess before, and I didn’t know if this was better or worse. I figured it was best to worry about it later. It was late, and I had my first day of school in the morning.

                I left for school early the next morning because I wanted to make sure I knew where the bus stop was, and I didn’t want to make the other students wait. I also needed to pick up a map from the main office before I went to class, and I figured that I wouldn’t have time if I had to run to school. I was relieved to find out that it was exactly where I thought it was; on the corner of 5th and Vine St. I was also glad to find that I had plenty of time to make it to the corner before the bus got there.

                Silverton High was a smaller school. It only had about six hundred students. But that didn’t really matter to me; I was passed making friends. The way things were going, I wouldn’t have time to make any real friends anyway.

                By the time the first bell rang, I had my class schedule, a map of the school, and a form for the free lunch program. My classes all seemed pretty standard; Algebra with Mr. Bradley, History with Ms. Lee, Biology with Mrs. Romero, English with Mr. Green, P.E. with Mr. Richards, and French with Ms. Dufour. The school was pretty easy to navigate through. I found all of my classes without having to look at the map more than once.

                The day passed by slowly. Each passing class felt longer than the last one. The subjects seemed tired and boring, like each and every one had been taught a million times before I got here.

                I wasn’t sure if I was looking forward to lunch or not. In my mind, I weighed the pros and cons of having to start over. Friends were low on the list of pros, and I decided that I would let them become friends with me. If they didn’t want to, well, I was okay with that.

                After English, we were all excused to lunch hour. I fallowed the rush of students to the cafeteria and got in line to buy food. There wasn’t much variety; salad, sandwiches, fruit, milk, and lemonade. I picked up a salad and some lemonade, then preceded to hand the lunch lady my paperwork for the free lunch program.

                I decided to sit alone at first; at least until I could make a few good friends- if that would ever happen. So, I walked to an empty table in the corner, where I began to eat my lunch silently. Surprisingly, no one seemed to care that this was my first day at Silverton High. I started to wonder why, I mean, in a town like this, where nothing ever happens, it was strange that everyone ignored me.

                I was actually sort of glad that everyone left me alone. I had never been a people person, and I honestly didn’t know what I would do if everyone was staring at me. And anyways, it was kind of interesting just watching everyone else. I could easily tell who was on the football team, who the cheerleaders were, who hung out with whom and where they all preferred to sit. It was the best way to find out where I belonged in this school.

                There was one boy, though, who seemed just about as out of the loop as I felt. He sat just three tables away from me, staring at the blank tabletop. It looked like he was trying to remember something, or he was concentrating on something that wasn’t there.

                When he looked up, I realized that I knew him. Well, I didn’t know him, but I had seen him before. This was the same person that had been staring at me yesterday when I moved in. I knew that I should have felt frightened, but I didn’t. Yes, I thought it was weird that I saw him on the day that I found out that I am a witch. The day my parents told me that our enemy had found us, and was watching us. But somehow, I believed that even if that were true, he wouldn’t hurt me.

                The last two periods of the day were okay, I guess. I am not very athletic at all, so P.E. wasn’t something I liked. We were playing softball this unit, and anyone who knows me, can tell you that I have no hand-eye coordination. I never even got close to hitting the ball.

                French class was alright. I had been taking it at my old school, so I wasn’t completely lost. Ms. Dufour had given me a test to see how much I knew, and if I was at the same level as the rest of the class. It turns out, my old French class was ahead of this one, so I am one of her best students.

                After class, I packed up my things and headed straight home. School was alright, but to me, it just felt like another cage. I knew that I told myself to try not to make friends, but, would it really be that bad if I had someone to talk to? I felt sort of conflicted because I didn’t want to tie myself to a place that I would probably end up leaving, but I didn’t want to be all alone.

                At home, I chose to let my mind wander. Thinking was getting harder every time I tried. Working on homework didn’t help at all. (The one school where teachers took it easy on me.) Soon, I was left with nothing to do; my homework was done and my room was clean. There was nothing to get my mind off of my messed up life, off of magic, whatever it was, off of school, but most of all off of that boy.

                I didn’t know what it was about him; his dark hair, pale skin, or his kind eyes, but everything I thought of brought me back to him. I don’t know if it was just the mystery that surrounded him, or if I was just trying to find new ways to escape my world for a little while, but I couldn’t help but wonder about him.

                No, this was stupid. Whoever he is, it didn’t matter.  He’s not right for me. I shouldn’t care who he is, I mean, to be honest, he scared me a little. The way he was staring at me the other day, I didn’t understand it, but I decided that it wasn’t right.

                I didn’t want to question this anymore. My life was one big question mark now. There were few things I wondered about before, and I was actually looking forward to getting the answers I wanted. But, I only found that each new discovery would raise more and more questions to be answered. And the way things were turning out, I was starting to fear those explanations.

                Magic and this war I only just found out about, they made me think. The more I thought the more confused I would get. Yes, I was sick of these questions, and I was sick the insane answers that want along with them. But, I did need to know the truth, and, I was beginning to get curious. A part of me wanted this to be real, let’s face it, so far my life has been anything but. I wanted a life that I could keep, and that I fit into.

                Silverton was okay, I guess. Small towns weren’t so bad, and I will find some friends, eventually. Who knows? Maybe my mom was right, and we could stay here longer. No matter what I thought on the subject, I couldn’t help the apprehension from seeping in. I didn’t know if I was ready to tie myself to this place in any way. I wasn’t going to be let down, to be cheated out of a home again if this didn’t work out.

Imprint

Text: Christina Young
Publication Date: 03-21-2013

All Rights Reserved