"Hey Ivory!" my best friend Rissa says enthusiastically as she races across the front lawn. We’ve just finished our last Friday of school before the winter holidays begin and we part our separate ways for the next two weeks. Rissa and I are each one of the only fifty-three students in Price Academy for girls. It was supposed to be a “privilege” to be accepted to this elite boarding school, but being here with these strict rules, I’ll say it was a “privilege” to even get a teacher approving my proposal to leave campus for two hours.

"Are you ready for tonight?" Rissa continues, filled to the brim with happiness. It will be a shame to upset her, but she’ll get over it, eventually.

"Hi!" I reply gently, but she can already catch the vibe that I'm sending her. So I take a deep breath and continue.

"I'm kinda in a rush to meet Chase," I begin while watching Rissa roll her eyes. "I'm sorry about bailing on you tonight, but I'll call you as soon as I get home, I promise." I add sweetly.

Rissa reluctantly nods her head, but before I can run off she calls my name. Confused, I turn towards her as she mumbles my most dreaded sentence softy into my ear.

"Have fun with your boyfriend, Ivory", she whispers, clearly enjoying herself.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I reply hastily. Even though I know that Rissa was just giving me a hard time, I'm a little annoyed because of two reasons; a) I hope that Chase never, ever becomes my boyfriend and b) I know that I'm going to be late meeting him. He gave me explicit directions to the mysterious place I'm supposed to meet him at, but I'm still a little curious about where he is taking me.

Something in my stomach flurries at the thought of Chase maybe taking me somewhere special and romantic to admit his undenying love for me. But this particular one isn't a happy thought. Since then that would leave room for him to ask me out and then I would have to say yes, under the circumstances of what he knows. Every time I think of this horrid thought, I just remind myself of how going out with him scratches one of my worries on my never ending list. I have not yet concocted a plan as to what happens next, but it goes somewhere along the lines of having everything work out perfectly and go back to normal, if there even is a real such thing as normal. This is a perfect thought, before I finally remember that fairy tales aren't real, and I best get on with my imperfect life as it is.

Thoughts about Chase keep flying through my head as I absent mindedly hail a cab and tell the driver to take me to 103 Needham Drive. I vaguely hear the cab driver ask me if I’m okay. I mumble a quick "I'm fine" as the cab started to drive into unfamiliar scenery. If only I wasn’t too busy in my own world to take a quick look at the cab driver to see that he was about my age, extremely hot and the fact that he couldn't keep his eyes off of me. Or to be specific, he couldn’t take his eyes off of my eyes.

The taxi drives through the endless windy streets as I think about everything that has happened to me since I’ve first joined this school. I guess it all started with my mother and father’s “heart attack” deaths, to me discovering a dark truth about my family’s past, and ending somewhere along the lines of wondering when my most important family ‘gene’ will begin to affect me. It’s supposed to come during the first few hours of my 16th birthday, but I’m already 17 years of age and yet I’m still the same person I was several years ago, with the exception of my troubled family.

I addition to these thoughts, I come up with several possible solutions as to how my life could be different if I’d just accepted the truth instead of denying it in the first place. I continue with these absurd ideas until reality finally sets in; I can’t move backwards, only accept what has happened and move forward with my life. In my best effort to do this, I stare out the window, blocking out any unnecessary thoughts, as I slowly nod my head and drift off into sleep.

- - - - -

Abruptly, the taxi comes to a halt and the driver opens my passenger side door. Somehow, this event awakens me from my sleep, although nothing else along the way did. Moving in a haze, I pull some bills out from my pocketbook. The rest of the scene is mostly a burr as I walk away, hearing a faint call of "Miss?" coming from the direction of the car. I manage to turn around and come almost face to face with the young cab driver, who is accompanied with a delicate yellow Juicy arm bag, just like the one I received from my grandmother last Christmas. I immediately check my arm before realizing what I just did.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much." I respond, feebly, to the cab driver as he hands me my bag. I’m slightly embarrassed that I just forgot my purse in the cab. But above all, I’m relieved that even through my drowsy attitude, I only forgot a bag, not something more important; such as my useless brain or either one of my half closed eyes.

"No problem, miss." he begins in a hot European accent, which I just realized that he has "It was the only action that I've had all day." he continues with a bemused expression.

I laugh politely along with him. I feel as though I owed him for finding my bag, so I tell him my name and ask for his.

"Riley Johnson. It was very nice to meet you, Ivory." Riley purrs in his rich, soft voice. I blush as he says my name. He tells me that my name is exotic, while quickly continuing with another, what I think is, a compliment.

"Your eyes" he says. "I've never seen anyone's so... so blue." Many people recognize the beauty in my rich, blue eyes. On one of my very first dates, I've even been told how someone could get 'lost in the waves that are my eyes'. So, this type of statement is commonly spoken. However, the way he’s looking at me, frightens me to know end. It’s as though knows my every secrets, and the true reason behind my blue eyes.

Shaking that thought out of my head, I remember the reason why I am here in the first place; Chase. He has such a horrid temper, and I know how much it would upset him if I was late. And when he was upset, he told secrets, especially ones that need to stay undisclosed.

"I'm sorry Riley, I need to go. I'm sort of in a rush to meet someone. But it was very nice meeting you!" I said.

"You too, Ivory, you too." he replies while I walk, gracefully, away from the scene. As I continue towards where Chase said he was going to meet me, I turn around for just a brief second. When I peek in Riley’s direction, I swear that I see him still glancing in my direction, with the same riveting expression he had used while gazing into my eyes.