Ex Nihilo Academy Read Online Free Page B

and supportive parents send me to a place like this? I sigh again and he hoists the shovel he’s holding over his shoulder and turns toward me.
    “I’ve heard about your school before. They say that it’s a pretty exclusive place.” “That’s not the word I’d choose.” I say as his eyes skirt over mine. His gaze is unwavering and up close I can see that his eyes
     are a deep shade of navy. His messy, dark curls fall across his forehead and shine a rich auburn color in the sun.
    “I’ve tried to visit before. I’ve paddled out all over the loch but it’s impossible to find. It must be a real fortress.” He says. I can
     read the suspicion in his eyes and I think that maybe I’m right about it being an institution after all.
    “No, it’s definitely not a fortress. It seems like a regular, boring old boarding school to me.” I laugh nervously and try to side
     step him.
    “You’ll have to show it to me sometime.” He steps in front of me to block my passage. His persistence is starting to get on my nerves.
    “What about you? Why aren't you in school today?” I say.
    “I graduated last year.”
    “No college?”
    “I needed to help Niall. There’s too much to keep an eye on here.” I listen for a trace of bitterness in his voice as we stand there
     staring at each other.
    “I have a girlfriend. She goes to school in Edinburgh.” He says matter-of-factly and I can’t help but laugh. It’s like he’s afraid if he doesn’t get it out in the open that I might jump his bones right there. I hate
     it when guys think so highly of themselves that they feel they have to fend off every girl they come in contact with.
    “Maybe you should just wear an ‘off-limits’ sign around your neck to keep all of the lovesick girls at bay.” I roll my eyes.
    “What?” He seems genuinely confused by my comment.
    “Never mind.”
    “Whatever. See you later.” I say and he is quiet for a moment before he turns back to the garden. He is instantly cold and withdrawn
     leaving me feeling even more tired and more than a little broken. I walk around him and find my way upstairs in a haze where I collapse on the canopied bed. I don’t even bother taking my shoes off. I just lay there, staring at the
     ceiling, trying to slow my pulse as I process the crazy morning I’ve just had. Maybe this is all a dream and I’ll wake up tomorrow and everything will be back the way it was. I’ll wake up and go to the mall and then spend the afternoon on
     my surfboard. Mom will make me my favorite lentil burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner and I’ll fall asleep on the couch watching an old movie with dad. Eventually my breathing evens out and my eyelids get heavy.
    * *
    I am in my room. But not my room in California, this room, here in the manor house with the light blue walls and canopied bed. I am wearing a white dress with a light green sash that matches my eyes. My hair is in pigtails and I am clutching a stuffed whale. Mom is sitting on the bed and
     dad is half-standing, half-kneeling and pushing on the big wooden headboard. I walk over to the window and look out at the loch which is as smooth as glass. “Get away from the window, Lily!” Mom yells at me and I cower. She never yells.
     I sit down on the floor and cross my legs while my dad keeps pushing on the headboard. “How is this going to help, Ayfred? She’s six years old. She’ll never remember this.” Mom makes a face and rubs her hand across her forehead.
     He ignores her and calls me over. I walk toward him and he takes my hand in his. “When the time comes you need to remember that this is here. If something should happen to us just look inside the headboard and you will find what you need.” A tear slides down my cheek before he has a chance to catch it. “Why
     would something happen to you, Daddy?” He bends over and wraps his arms around me, rocking me gently back and forth. “Don’t cry sweetheart. This is for your own protection. You are