Shadow School Ch. 01

In the end Cameron had called her father to come get her and she had waited outside, sitting on the bench, her shoes beside her, her hair unpinned and cascading in a fall of weak curls down her back. She didn't really care how she looked anymore. Not one tear had left her and that was all that mattered.

Brandy had come to see her but Cameron waved her friend away, saying she was fine, she just needed to go home and get some sleep. She'd call her tomorrow. Thankfully her friend simply sat beside her, saying nothing, waiting with her. If she had sat one inch closer and offered her shoulder Cameron knew she'd be a mess. Instead, Brandy gave her space, and even smiled and waved to her when her dad picked her up. She'd thank her for that later.

Cameron wanted to avoid Monday all together. She'd cried herself to sleep after she got home from the prom, refusing to talk to her parents about what happened until the next day and even then just giving them a light version they could take however they wished. School was another matter though and she refused to cry there or miss even one class to make her peers think she was defeated in some way.

Melanie, as it turned out, didn't bother coming to school Monday. A year of perfect attendance ruined by Trenton Avery. Cameron didn't seem to care much. She didn't hate the girl. She couldn't. She was about to get what she asked for. Melanie was about to go through high school hell. Trenton though...

She hated the male ego. Trust a jock to turn an awkward situation into a chance for congratulations. It wasn't the scandal of the prom – the Ricky/Jenna fiasco beat them to it – so he was able to bask in his lesser scandal as an accomplishment. Nailing the unnailable. A few people asked Cameron about it, but mainly she just heard people go quiet when she neared them, as if they were discussing everything ten times over.

In the end, Cameron got through the day, surrounded by her supporting friends, Brandy always at her side to sneer at those who even looked like they were about to say something about prom. She loved Brandy. Even her attempt at stealing the attention away from Cameron by throwing a huge party in Trenton's room later that evening, leaving him with a huge hotel bill before going off to sleep in Kyle's suite down the hall.

She was thinking of what it would be like to be a fly on the wall at that party when she got the mail from the mailbox. A large black envelope addressed to her was among the bills and magazines, the gold lettering telling her it was from a college.

Shacrow VanMeter College

Shacrow? Strange name... Cameron had never heard of the school either. She figured it was junk mail but decided to open it anyway. The brochure inside looked... well... unusual. Dark... yet intriguing. Settling down in her favorite chair, she flipped open the cover and began to read.

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This is the first in a series. Thanks for reading my first submission!