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Chapter One
Gabby
I set my suitcase down on the bed and grin to myself, looking around the hotel room. It’s not much. It’s just a small single room with a bed and a closet, a desk in the corner, and a tiny television set, with a bathroom just big enough to walk into. But it’s mine.
For the rest of this week, it’s totally mine.
I never thought my dad would let me come here alone. It’s a long trip – all the way from California to London. But I told him that it makes sense for me to do this on my own. I have to start being independent if I’m going to come all the way out here for college.
And, by some miracle, he agreed.
I start unpacking, still with a huge grin on my face. I set out the outfits that I picked out for college tours in the small closet, put my toiletry and makeup bag in the bathroom, and spread out all the brochures I brought with me on the desk. And that’s it – I’m set up.
I couldn’t exactly bring a lot with me, given that I’m only here for a short time and the baggage restrictions had to be followed. But I think I’ve chosen well. I’m going to look great for my tours, maybe impress the professors that I might meet. I’d like to make a good first impression that they’ll remember when it comes time for them to consider my application.
And I might even get a little time for some sightseeing, to get to know the city itself. This could be my home for the next few years, as scary as that sounds. It’s also equal parts exciting. I want to see what it would be like to live here, to walk down these streets all the time. To hear Big Ben chiming the hour, to skip down Oxford Street whenever I want to go shopping, to ride a red double-decker bus to class…
I already can’t wait, and the best part is I don’t have to. Tonight I’m going to get some food, catch up on my sleep after the long flight, and then it’s right into exploring in the morning. I have my first tour booked tomorrow, and from there I can hopefully get some free time in the afternoon to do whatever I want to do.
Which hopefully doesn’t involve getting lost, given that I’ve never been here before…
But I’m sure I’ll be fine.
I’m just thinking about where to go for some food – stay in and order room service, get takeout, ask the reception for a nearby recommendation, or search online – when the phone rings. Not my cell – the actual phone in the room. Which is totally weird, because it’s not like anyone knows I’m here other than my dad, and he could just call my cell.
It must be the reception, I figure, so I pick it up in case it’s something important.
“Hello?” I say like it’s a question because I have no idea what to expect.
“Hello, this is reception calling,” the woman who answers says smoothly, sounding as though she’s so used to making these kinds of calls it barely even registers for her anymore. “Would you be able to come down to us? You have a visitor waiting here for you.”
“A visitor?” I repeat, frowning to myself. “Um, sure. Okay.”
The line goes dead with a click, and I stare at the receiver in my hand for a moment. I should have asked who it is that’s waiting for me. It’s too late now – the receptionist has hung up. I was just so startled by the idea of someone being here for me that I agreed without thinking.
My dad hasn’t gone back on his word and followed me here, has he…?
There’s only one way to find out, I guess.
I grab my keycard from the table, look at myself in the mirror uncertainly, and head out the door in search of the elevator.
Chapter Two
Oz
I’m walking down the street, strolling casually because I figure I’m probably far too early anyway when I see a young woman appear as if by magic right in front of me. She comes out of a side street – right in the direction of the nearest Tube, which I assume means she came from there – and she’s wheeling a suitcase along the pavement behind her.
But it’s not the suitcase that catches my eye. No, it’s her. She’s dressed from head to toe in this stunning white outfit, just a simple dress but seemingly so exotic on this London street. It’s like she’s been planted here from somewhere else – with her long blonde hair, tanned skin, and that white tennis dress, it’s like she’s been plucked from California and set down here right in front of me.
