MoonNight

  
MoonNight

          By: Renee Thacker

 
Chapter 1

My name is Leslie Woods and what started out perfect
,
a smart senior graduating a year early didn’t turn out so perfect.
 
Instead of that it turned out more like dangerous men and seductive vamps.
 
Choosing a destiny isn’t that easy after all.
 
This is how it all started.

 
 
 
8:56 P.M. Los Angeles airport

 
 
 
“Okay mom I’m fine I’m boarding the plane and I’ll text you once I get in the air.
 
We parted ten minutes ago.”

 
 
 
“Les-”

 
 
 
“Bye mom, love you,” I snapped my phone shut, squeezing through people, lugging my carry-on on to the plane.
 
 

 
 
 
As soon as I got to my seat I literally crashed dropping my stuff.

 
 
 
“Dude
watch where you’re putting your stuff.
 
That just hit my toe man.”
 
I glance over to see a hippie guy rubbing his foot but no sooner I’m snoring against the window.

 
 
 
I wake up to the plane’s intercom telling us to put our seatbelts on, electronics turned off etcetera, get ready for the planes landing.
 
Shoot
, I thought,
I didn’t text my mom.
 
And by this time my dad was probably home from night shift at the hospital fretting over me too.
 
It was about a six hour flight from L.A. California to Anchorage Alaska.
 
Great a summer in Alaska home of the mosquitos, stench of fish, wil
d animals, and creepy crawlers.

 
 
 
I gather up all my carry on and head off the plane trying to find my luggage.
 
Which was easy.
 
My neon pink duffel bag and Cody Simpson suitcase were easy to spot among the dull blacks and browns.
 
I plopped down on the bench with them took out my phone.
 
I checked the single text from my dad first.
Hey baby you are welcome back any time hope you’re not lost yet.

I replied.

 
Not your baby anymore seventeen now
‘
member?

 
 
 
Then I read the five million from my mom.
 
Okay minus four million nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-six.

Please don’t forget to text me

Miss you already

Are you on the plane yet?

Text me right now I’m so worried.
 
Are you okay? What’s going on?

 
 
 
Again I replied.
Fine mom just fell asleep please stop worrying sorry please stop worrying.
 
I’m just going to get a quick something to eat then head to the car rental.

 
 
 
I hit the
SEND
button, picked up my luggage and headed to the car rental.
 
Okay I wasn’t going to eat I just didn’t want my mom to freak.

 
 
 
I headed out into the cold (compared to California) air of an Alaskan summer.
 
The car rental was two blocks down and had really bad service.
 
I had to wait in the waiting room for what felt like forever until a man gestured me to the counter.

 
 
 
“Need help?” the man asked leaning over the counter.

 
 
 
“Yeah, uh, car rental?” I gave a questioning look.

 
 
 
“Sure how long?”

 
 
 
“Three months.’

 
 
 
“Yes
,
yes it’s two hundred a month. License Please.”

 
 
 
I pulled out my license and he started typing some info into the computer.

 
 
 
“Okay minors don’t get the best of the best but it’ll be something.
 
I just need to know where you’re going in just-”

 
 
 
“I’m heading to Cordova just north east of here to the summer graduation program.
 
The car should be at Cordova high the whole time.”
 
 
 
As soon as I got the car from the over talkative man I sat in the blue ’04 Volkswagen just staring at the map.
 
It was highway most of the time.
 
Got it Glenn highway take a couple of turns out in the middle of nowhere which was totally not me.

 
 
 
Halfway
there I realized how unbearably
desolate it was getting.
 
I groaned and when I pulled into the parking lot an
h
our later I groaned even louder.
 
The nearest stores or really any normal housing civilization were half an hour away.
 
Until the
n
there were a couple of hamburger stops and a gas station connected to a Starbucks.
 
On the bright side there was coffee.

 
 
 
I pulled up next a red convertible corvette that had a sticker with a guy making the west coast sign.
 
Weird
.
 
I sat in my car a moment longer adjusting my normal style of a plain tee and jeans.
 
I got out of the car heading to the main building.
 
It looked like a huge three story lodge on either side two smaller buildings stood, which would be the dorms.
 
When I stepped into the lodge it was modernized (that was my style).
 
There was a decent size lobby with sofas and a flat screen T.V. on one side and a front desk on the other.

 
 
 
“Just going to stand there?” I dropped all my bags and squeaked at the sound of the secretaries’ voice.
 
A jeering laugh came at me from all sides, especially where a group of-well-strange people sat watching the flat screen.

 
 
 
“Uh no um no mam,” I stuttered picking my stuff and heading over to the desk.

 
 
 
“Name?” she asked.
 
 
 

   
“Leslie Woods.” Silence. Stares.
 
My knees buckling.

 
 
 
Then after a moment everything went back on again.

 
 
 
“Welcome,” she said. “I am Ms. Lawson.
 
If you have questions come to me.
 
Class changes come to me.” She looked around particularly to the strange group in the corner.
 
“Social
problems
come to me.”

 
 
 
She flipped through some files pulling out an envelope that had my name on it.

 
 
 
“There are four classes
every day
.
 
You’re here to learn and graduate early so they'll only be the basics math, english, science, and social studies.
 
First period is ten to eleven, second eleven to twelve, lunch twelve to one, and then your other two classes after lunch.
 
Here wait-
“
She
pulled out keys.
 
“Here are your dorm keys Girls west boys east.
 
See you tomorrow.”

 
 
 
I walked through the first set of doors only to be blocked at the second by the strange group who was moments before sitting on the sofas.
 
I kept trying to walk past them but one of the guys pushed me up against the wall causing me to drop all my stuff.

 
 
 
“Can’t go
without
introducing yourself.”
 
His face loomed near.
 
He had brilliant bright green eyes and his hair was
perfectly
styled.
 
He wore a black tee and dark jeans.
 
I looked straight at his gorgeous beautiful face straight in to those eyes and said:
 
 
 
“Let go,” and pushed past him and the rest of his attractive group.

 
 
 
“Hey we weren’t done having fun!” he called after me.
 
“My name
’
s Carson by the way, Carson Lund.
 
And you must be Leslie
Woods’s
right?
 
If you need anything just give me a holler.”

 
 
 
I looked back and gave Carson a cold glare before shouting, “Yeah don’t ever talk to me again!”
 
I just didn’t do boys.

 
 
 
I opened my dorm and much to my surprise pink covered everything.
 
Shag carpets, bedspread, T.V. stand, everything.
 
A girl in a jean skirt about five inches to short and a Bob Marley T-shirt was
jamming
to some retro seventies music.
 
When she finally realized I was there she flipped off the music then plopped on to the bottom bunk.