Page 6 of Serenity Falls

‘You okay?’ her dad asks as they scour the lines of cars for their Honda SUV.

‘Great,’ she replies, dragging her case bumpily over the tarmac. One wheel is broken, and the hard body keeps grating along the hot ground. She can feel the heat of the road radiating up through her Converse, probably melting the soles. She clutches Zelda’s box tightly to her chest.

‘Do I detect a hint of sarcasm?’ her dad asks.

‘Those Spidey senses really are something, Dad.’

He grins, although it looks a little laboured. Sweat stands out on his brow, and the humidity has plastered his dark hair, only lightly sprinkled with grey, to his forehead. He turns and squints through his sunglasses.

‘The hire-car lady definitely said row E, column 13, right?’ He frowns. ‘Or was it 30?’

Sadie rolls her eyes. ‘You don’t know?’

‘No. I mean, yes. I got this.’ He holds up the key fob. ‘Registration: XAG 731. You wait here with the cases. I’ll go and look.’

‘Fine.’

She sits on her case as Dad wanders off down the rows of cars. Great start. The plane had been delayed. Typically. Although she supposes the flight had been smooth. Long, but smooth, not really any turbulence. Dad had even splashed out for premium economy, which was a luxury but kind of essential for Dad, seeing as he was six foot three. She guesses she’s just looking for bad omens.

She hadn’t wanted to come. I mean, it wasn’t like moving to another house, or even another city. Sadie could have coped with that. She had no great attachment to their home in Manchester. They’d moved a couple of times after Mum, so there were no blurred, fuzzy memories of her there. She didn’t even mind the idea of changing schools again.

Sadie didn’t especially like school. Okay, strike that. She enjoyed learning. Most of the lessons and about half of the teachers were bearable. Shame the same couldn’t be said for the other students. They just weren’t ‘her people’. She didn’t really fit with the sporty set, the non-academic set, the geeky set or the high achievers.

The other problem was her dad. He taught at the school. That was why they moved from their old house – so he could take the job. Having a parent teach at the same school as you was pure social suicide. Either no one wanted to be your friend in case they looked like a suck-up, or they were embarrassed to be your friend because your dad was a loser. Or both. One girl had threatened to cut Sadie if her dad didn’t give her a better grade.

So, moving, yeah, not a bad thing. Moving to fucking Florida – and the ‘fucking’ was definitely not silent – was quite another.

Dad had explained the reasons. Talked about how this could be a big, exciting adventure, a fresh new start. He had showed her the house brochure about a million times and pointed out the pool with almost unnerving enthusiasm for a man who didn’t even enjoy getting his toes wet at the seaside. And yes, it did look amazing. For a holiday. Not to live. Not for five years.

‘It’s not really so long,’ her dad had said. ‘Think of it as an extended gap year. Living in a different country, in a beautiful house, with permanent sunshine and a pool. Did I mention the pool? It’s a luxury gated community, so it’s really safe. We don’t have to worry about violence or guns. You know, I looked it up – there’s never been a serious crime in Serenity Falls. And no murders. Not ever. And the high school is one of the best in the country. I think you’ll love it there. And if you don’t, in five years we can sell up, and the world is our lobster.’

He had grinned, and she had fought back an eye roll because Dad always got that phrase wrong on purpose.

When Dad was trying to please, trying to do the right thing, he was like a big puppy you didn’t want to kick. Even though, she could tell, beneath it all he wasn’t trying to sell it to her, he was trying to sell it to himself.

A sudden honk of a horn almost sends her scooting out of her skin. She stands up and stares as a bright yellow SUV glides up beside her. The window lowers and her dad gives her a sheepish grin from behind the wheel. ‘Found our ride.’

‘Yellow. Fucking yellow?’

‘Well, we are in the sunshine state.’

‘I thought your Hawaiian shirt was bad, but this … this—’

‘Has really good aircon.’

‘—is awesome.’

His grin widens. ‘Let’s load the cases and get trucking.’

It’s a forty-minute drive from the airport to Serenity Falls. Despite not wanting to be impressed, Sadie finds herself staring around wide-eyed. This country is so alien to her. She’s seen it in movies and on TV, but actually being here is kind of unreal. The massive, wide freeways, the huge cars, the roadside motels with their neon signs, the sprawling shopping malls. She can’t help but feel a tiny bit entranced by it all. Sucked right in. But, she reminds herself again – and it’s a big but – that’s all fine when it’s a novelty. How will she feel after six months or a year or five fucking years? She slumps back in her seat and closes her eyes.

Dad glances at her. ‘Tired?’

‘Kinda.’

‘Well, maybe have a nap when we get there before we go for dinner.’

She opens her eyes. ‘Dinner? Can’t we just order something in? I mean, this is the US. The country that invented fast food, right?’