Read Online Wacko Academy by Faith Wilkins - Free Book Online Page B

all of her answers were wise and calm.  It was fascinating just to watch her at work.
    One day she approached me.  I was sitting on a bench, finishing up an English assignment.  Well, at least I was supposed to be.  I had begun to draw dresses and outfits of my own creation in the margins.  It was free period.  She quietly sat down next to me.  Up close, she looked surprisingly young.  About thirteen or fourteen.  Her eyes were a warm chocolate brown.  She wore her hair in a loose ponytail.
    “Hello,” she sang with a friendly smile.
    I put up my hand in a greeting.
    “You’re new here.  Correct?”
    I nodded slowly, wondering where she was going with this.
    “The word around here is you’re The Girl,” she told me, leaning in.
    I stared at her.  “What?”
    She sighed.  “The one that’s supposed to take over this whole place with Dustin.  You know, and eventually marry him.”
    I stared at her with my mouth hanging wide open.  My heart flew right up into my throat.  Gripping the chair, I stammered, “Did you say ‘m-marry’?”
    She cocked her head.  “I’m sorry.  I thought you knew.  He should have told you that.”
    “But that can’t be.  I’m only thirteen!  I never even wanted to come here!  This cannot be happening.  When I find Dustin, he is so dead.”
    She put her hands on my shoulders.  “Whoa.  Calm down there.” She studied me.  “What’s your name?”
    I told her my name, instantly relaxing.  Wow.  She really did have special calming powers.  
    “That’s a pretty name, and it’s probably partly why you were chosen,” she commented.
    I looked at her in utter confusion.  “What does my name have anything to do with it?”
    “Well, you and Dustin’s mother share the same name.  His dad never did get over her.  When he saw your name on your school’s roster, it probably caught his attention immediately.”
    I sat back, the wind knocked right out of me.  This just kept getting better and better.  “How do you know so much, anyway?  Oh, and what’s your name?”
    The strange girl took a second to collect her thoughts.  “First, my name’s Cameron.  Second, I know so much because I was supposed to be The Girl.  You see, he led me away from my home when I was about nine years old.  I was one of the first kids to come to this place.  Dustin told me all about himself and his father.  I met him about a year after I first arrived.”
    Whoa.  I did not see that one coming.  “But if you’re supposed to be The Girl, then what the heck am I doing here?”
    “Dustin and I weren’t really getting along.  He’s adventurous and reckless, while I’m more of a mellow person.  He liked me but not in the way he was supposed to.  Once his father saw this, he moved on in a flash.  I wasn’t mad in the least.  Dustin was really very nice to me, but he’s not my type.”
    This took a minute to fully register.  So I hadn’t been the first girl.  Dustin had lied to me again, and of course I had been stupid enough to believe him again.  After everything that had happened, you’d think I’d have wised up by now.  Apparently not.  
    Cameron tapped my shoulder.  “Lily?  Are you there?”
    I snapped out of it.  “Yeah, unfortunately I am here.  Anyway, thanks for telling me all this.”
    She grinned.  “No problem.”
    A sudden thought came to mind.  “Hey, have you ever considered breaking out of this place?”
    To my surprise, she didn’t stare at me like I was crazy or ask me why in the world she would want to do that.  Her face took on a distant look.  “Yes, more than once.  What I wouldn’t give to see my big brother Walter again.  He must be in college by now.” She came back to earth.  “But it’s not possible.”
    To prove her point, she glanced in the direction of the force field surrounding the place.  I shuddered, fingering my now-mended ribs.  There had to be a way to get out without running into it.  
    I shook