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“You’ve reached your best friend in the whole world,” I cheer as I press the green key on my car screen.
“Ugh, Peach is killing me. Where are you?”
I look down at the GPS and my brows furrow. “Uh, I just entered Silver Falls, but it says another twenty-five minutes? Maybe there’s traffic.”
“There’s some road work,” my friend explains. “Your GPS might fuck up, but there are some detour signs.”
“This is so long. I want to be there already,” I complain.
“So, the uniforms are worse than Stoneview Prep, but Peach is certain the skirts are shorter. Can you explain to her that’s just dumb thinking?”
A laugh escapes me, and I shake my head. Because SFU is affiliated with Stoneview Preparatory School, it’s the only university in the U.S. that has a strict dress code, aka a uniform. The college has such a respectable reputation that it doesn’t deter any of us from applying and dying to get in.
“It’s weird to see the postgrads walking around in day clothes while we have to wear the uniform,” Ella continues.
I drive onto a street I don’t know and look around. I’ve never been this way and my GPS keeps trying to send me back to the closed road.
“We bumped into some Xi Epsilon girls, by the way. If we don’t all get in, I’m burning their house down.”
I see a temporary sign that saysdiversionand indicate left to follow it.
“I’m so confused,” I murmur to myself.
“I mean, you’re going to get in anyway because of your dad. But my dad is currently bringing himself all sorts of unwanted attention.”
“Wait, Ella,” I say, peering around me. “I’m completely lost.”
There are no more detour signs, and I have no idea where to go. The road stretches out in front of me, and I don’t know if I should turn left or right at any point.
“Are you on the main road?”
“I think I’m on the road that leads to the Silver Snake River, though that’s not the way to SFU. The campus is much closer to the falls, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but all the roads leading to the falls are closed because of the flooding last week. They’re redoing them. Just keep going to the river and you’ll see the diversion sign again.”
Taking a deep breath, I keep driving. I just told my mom I was a big girl, and now I’m panicking because I can’t find my way around Silver Falls. I’m moving here, and I’m bound to get lost at some point.
By the end of the road, I finally notice the diversion and my heartbeat calms. I take a left, the opposite way to where I’d assume SFU is located.
“This is the worst diversion in the history of Silver Falls,” I groan. “I just want to get there.”
“Don’t sweat it. We’re excited to see you but keep driving safely.” The sound of her voice lowers as she seems to pull away from the phone. Then she talks to me again. “Peach says she just got an alert on her phone saying they closed another road so the way to campus might have changed from this morning.”
Traffic slows down and I notice the sign directing me right. I pull away from the line of cars, wondering why everyone is sticking to the left when there’s clearly a quicker way to the right. Someone beeps at me, and I look their way. A lady with her kids in the car shakes her head at me.
I’m confused; I didn’t do anything wrong.
“Everything okay?”
“I don’t know. People are being weird, I swear.”
“Idiots don’t deal well with changes.” She pauses, and I hear her talk to Peach. “She’s fine, don’t worry. Right, Alex? You’re feeling alright?” I love my friends; they know I’ve had issues being alone in the last few months. I believe Peach and Ella are starting to worry I’m going to have a panic attack, although I feel fine now. I’m not worried, just eager to get to them.
The men who held me hostage were never caught. They were from the North Shore, after all. Criminals there know their town inside out. They escaped, and I never saw their faces. Their leader had been sure to wash his cum off me with those buckets of water, and there was no DNA to find.
This is what scares me the most. The reason for the panic attacks. They could come back anytime. I wake up at night in sweats because I can swear I heard someone enter the house or a shadow walk past my bed.
College will change that. Being away from my house will help.
