Chapter One
It was because she had been branded a traitor that Hope had returned to her now sanctuary home of Green Valley Isle. What was left of her family had welcomed her back exultantly with open arms; Lillian had followed her to the islands' academy but returned each holiday back to the one place Hope herself for some time had thought of as home. Lillian never spoke of her time there or the people, she couldn't. Hope had journeyed to the mainland passing the school to meet Lillian and her friends; when she looked at Lillian she couldn't help but be reminded and miss the life at Hamilton's and the peoples there; even though they had turned their backs on her. It was a cruel twist which had brought her back to the island but she was glad to be with her family again, who had accepted her actions with kindness and understanding; as well putting up with her low moods.
It was the end of July; Hope was sat at the back of the coach with her closest companions and the other students returning to Green Valley Academy after only having two weeks of holiday at home. They were travelling back to GVA to greet and settle the prefects, heads of house and council members of students of Eagles Mount Military Institute, the school GVA were merging with to become coeducational. With her music playing through her headphones as she watched the passing golden scenery blur by tapping her fingernails on the book on her lap. Her thoughts were miles away; she had medium-long layered Auburn hair, she was wearing a cream school hat which pushed her fringe down, effectively hiding her bright Hazel eyes. It was a just over a year ago when the events began that led to her to being unjustly branded as a traitor – she had lost far more than those she had come to consider family.
Lillian was sat next to Hope and could see she was deep in thought so left her to listen to her in peace and carried on chatting with the others of their group. They still couldn't believe that they were going to spend the rest of the summer holidayat the Academy with theEagles Mount students. Hope was not as pleased as her friends; this ought to have been the time she spent with her younger brother and older siblings, most of whom she hadn't seen for six months and for numerous years before her return. Yet this journey was the beginning that huge change for everyone at Green Valley Academy.
Hope could not feel jubilant as her closest friends, Lillian and Catharine, who couldn't wait to get there and could barely stand still – they practically jumped for joy, whenever the topic was brought up. Hope glanced at her four friends – they were smiling with mischievous sparks in their eyes meaning they had most likely played a prank on someone, she returned to looking out of the window - knowing she would hear about it later. She sighed, attracting the attention of her friends momentarily, they knew she was bored – they all were. They had spent all day yesterday travelling to a youth hostel and had been travelling since 08:00 that morning, stopping for half an hour to have lunch and stretch their legs. It was no 13:26 according the coach clock and they were due to arrive at the school for 14:00 so they knew they were close
"Hope, we have arrived" Lillian announced stridently, less than fifteen minutes later, nudging her auburn friend excitedly and pointing at the carriages waiting in front of a large arch gateway before them. Hope took out her ear-plug looked out the window herself. "We're here" squealed a girl, who had long dark blond hair and blue eyes, who had been seated further down the bus with pink, blue and green specks in her hair, Hope also observed that the girls friends also had colorful specks in their hair - Hope looked at her friends and knew who the artisans were, she smirked her group were continuously in conflict with the other.
The driveway was beautiful as ever with its tall proud trees lining the drive and carpets of flowers on the ground. A bit further down the road there was a tram station to get to town, this was for students aged fourteen upwards. Mrs. Nolan informed the girls as they disembarked from their coach and divided into groups that the male students had already arrived and were waiting in the great hall. They were directed to the carriages - which held up to six people at a time – trunks and such were speedily and competently put on the roof covered by a leather hood as it had started to drizzle.
The three girls with specks in their hair took the first carriage, Naomi, who was 5 foot 1, had long honey-blond hair and clear blue eyes. Sylvia the one who had squealed we're here earlier and Sarah was a long haired dark girl with deep brown eyes. They were travelling with three other girls from their year Hannah Montague, Lucy Ambridge and Sally-Ann Roost. In the second carriage the "geek" of the school, Annemarie Locksmith, travelled with Hope, Lillian, Roseanna, Catharine and Lavender, none of whom minded her company – so long as she didn't start lecturing them. The next carriage were conveying the heads of houses and Head Prefects and the fourth and final carriage transported Green Valley's Head teacher, Deputy Headmistress, Suzanna Queens and Rosemarie Hall the schools top scholar students.
The carriages pulled off up a long stylish drive that was bordered by thickets of trees and bushes which allowed the passengers glimpses of the grounds. The leaf and flower carpeted floor was gilded in patches by the sunshine which was bursting through the breaks in the tree tops. "Look!" Annemarie cried out suddenly, the other five girls looked to where she was pointing. They had come out of the wood and were on in open parkland where dozens of horse and riders were exercising. Within five minute they passed through another Stone archway that twined the one at the beginning of the drive, the carriages travelled along the gravel drive way and pulled up to a grand building and everyone stepped out and lined up in front of their carriage waiting for their teachers' instructions; the drivers were unloading the carriages.
The girls all had on their school uniforms. On the splendid flight of steps stood a tall gentleman with short sandy blond hair and clear blue eyes, who was waiting to greet them. He was the headmaster of the school they were merging with and he personally conducted the group into the hallway where a large warm fire was burning. Hope and Lillian guessed this headmaster to be mid-thirties, Hope looked up at the ceiling and marveled at the architecture which never failed to lift enchant her.
The head master was promptly joined by another tall young man; he had to be about 30 years old. He had light blond hair and deep ocean blue eyes. His stare alone made many of the young females' hearts swoon. There were four groups of boys lined up at the edge of the hall one of which hosted five dead gorgeous guys. Lillian squeezed Hope's hand staring at the five intriguingly, handsome young man in their navy blue school uniforms, the sight of this group practically stopped Hope's heart. Not because of their looks but because they were the SPARKS pilots. "Put your tongue away Cat – you're drooling" Hope teased her voice unsteady; she looked at Lillian who was looking at her worried. Hope had to assume she didn't know of this.
"Good morning Gentlemen" The girls' head mistress greeted her voice was clear and welcoming, "I would like to welcome you from Eagles Mount to Green Valley," she smiled. Another woman joined the ranks of the girls and Hope used this distraction to move out of the eye-line of the five males.
"My name is Natalia Tulsan and I am headmistress of this establishment and this is my Deputy Miss Lucinda Nolan" she continued, the girls deputy stepped forwards and made a slight bow of greeting to the new student body. Miss Nolan and Mrs. Tulsan joined the girls as the boys head master strode gracefully out and faced the young ladies and greeted them, his voice resonated, it was a strong, rich and gravelly tone, "we are very pleased to join you here at Green Valley" He smiled at each of girl individually. "My name is Stephen Kingston – I am now the headmaster of this Establishment and will be working closely with your Headmistress. I hope that our Academies merging will be very valuable and educational for us all." He continued his eyes settling on Mrs. Tulsan for the last sentence, who blushed slightly – which did not go unnoticed by Hope and friends.
A polite cough seemed to bring the head master out of his thoughts. "Ah yes, of course - before I forget this is the vice-headmaster, Zack Venison." He said while motioning the younger man to step forward and Mr. Kingston went and stood by the gorgeous boys.
"Good morning, ladies," Zack smiled bowing his head, he turned slightly and with a simple had gesture indicated groups of males behind him "these young men have been split into groups for the tours and study groups which I believe are already in place" he looked at Miss Tulsan who nodded "so group one of Green Valley Academy please step forward" Naomi' group stood forward and were introduced to the group of guys they were taking on the tour. To Naomi' disappointment and Lillian's amusement the group stood with the headmaster were not to be their group. Once introductions were done, the group left to star the tour.
Stephen said while looking at the group of handsome young guys who were standing behind him – who came forward. "These gentlemen are group two" he announce, the were several disappointed mumblings,
"oh, fan-freaking-tastic!" Hope muttered bitingly to herself, Mrs. Tulsan looked at Hope, who could see a smile tugging on her head mistresses mouth. "Sorry miss – sort of slipped out" she apologized as she joined her group keeping close to Lillian. The guys stepped forward and introduced themselves one by one.
The first inline "Tyler Storm," was 5 foot 1 with short chocolate brown hair, piercing blue eyes and looked more attractive than Hope remembered, he regarded the group coolly. Tyler glanced momentarily at her; the color of his eyes took her breath away from her as they always had. No doubt half the girls of Green Valley Academy would probably see this male as theirs and she didn't blame them.
'At least with all the others after him I will not have to see him too much' Hope rallied herself but caused herself more pain than comfort.
The next one "Damien Mallows", looked a bit more outrageous. He was 5 foot 2 had a longer hair pulled back into a loose ponytail his hair was hazelnut-brown, lean athletic build, gorgeous violet-blue eyes and a smile that could sweep you off your feet which he was greeting them with, would make him the desire of many. Hope smiled a small polite smile back hiding her rising pain from the memories she couldn't shut out. She wanted to run, get away from everyone especially the five boys in front of her. Lillian' hand slipped into her and squeezed; Hope didn't react, she was afraid if she did she would breakdown.
The third one "Trevor Mason" was 5 foot 3 and the tallest of the group. He seemed more mature than the others and had an elegant posture. Yet he was definitely the silent type. He had an unusual sort of sweeping fringe obscuring his eyes he looked silently at the girls without showing any signs of. The fourth one had to be the youngest one "Christen Winters." He had the cutest angel face; with his bright blond short hair and aquamarine blue eyes made him a favorite among the girls. He had a sweet little shy smile on his face. Lillian and Lavender looked at Hope who smirked knowing what they were thinking. "As your little brother would say Hope (Hope's name shortened) - 'Cutesy'" Lillian whispered jovially – Hope shook her head wondering if her friends would ever get over that expression. Her brother was five and going through a stage of calling anything sweet, cute or fluffy cutesy.
Then there was the last one "Charlie, Quinton." He was definitely Chinese and 5 foot 1. He looked seriously at the girls, his azure black eyes staring blankly at them. His raven black hair was shorter than the others. He was definitely very handsome and there was a strong aura stemming from him which was busy captivating many hearts. "What do you make of that one?" Lavender smiled at Roxanne
"Scary" she replied and the two girls giggled.
"Behave!" Hope warned noticing Miss Tulsan's cocked head and trying not to smile herself, she and Lillian had thought the same when they were first getting to know him.
They introduced themselves to the five tour guides. Lavender, Lillian, Catharine and Roxanne were giggling and blushing like twelve year old school-girls. Hope just rolled her eyes and sighed. "You guys are mental" She whispered to Roxanne who nodded grinning. Lillian waved at the guy with the unusual long hair, who grinned and nodded acknowledgement.
"How do you know that one?" Lillian whispered while thumping Lillian in the side, instantly receiving an admonishing "Roxanne" from Hope and a glare from Lillian.
"He's my cousin, he sort of adopted me." Lillian whispered back rubbing her side.
On first impressions it was a simple fact that Tyler and Charlie both seemed scary in their own way, both had hostile feelings towards their guests (more Charlie than Tyler). On the other-hand Damien and Christen were very friendly and enthusiastic making it easy to ignore the other two. Trevor on the other hand the girls couldn't determine (not even his cousin could make him out), but he seemed pleasant enough, well he didn't glare at them and answered questions when asked. Although the group had the three different spectrums of personality they seemed to actually be good friends.
'Much like our group' Hope thought to herself. She was quiet and reserved these days, unless it was just the five of them. Lavender was outgoing, loved meeting new people. Roxanne was the Prankster of the group, aiming most of her efforts at "The Trilogy". Catharine was sociable and confident, enjoys a good joke. Finally Lillian was a trendy girl hair and makeup always looked just right, clothes were in fashion but she had a quirkiness that fitted in with their A-typical group.
After the tour of the grounds where they took the boys outdoor swimming pool surrounded on all sides a botanic maze but there was a corridor of sorts leading straight to the swimming-pool area (and three archways from the poolside directly into the maze). A large complex of stables, the sports field, the various gardens and lawns were visited, and farmlands in the distance pointed out. There were three main buildings – one held all the classrooms and study halls.
"This is where most of the lessons take place" Lillian smiled, as they walked down a broad hallway, "including the summer school sessions which we will all be taking".
"You have a lot of students here still" Christen observed as they passed another large group of males, "I assume your school has broken up for the holidays.
Roxanne nodded. "Yeah but not all of us have much to go home to except boredom so we stay here for most of the holidays – where we will at least have company our own age" she explained as they got to the end of the corridor.
"In here is our study room – we hope it's ok and suits you well enough" Lavender smiled charmingly, Hope chuckled silently to herself, this group of males were definitely going to be hunted by the girls of her school, her companions couldn't help themselves. She just kept herself away from them.
The boys walked into the room with the girls, "this is the five of our study hall" Lillian informed them, "each of the groups you saw today have been assigned study rooms which we are to share with the group we have been paired up with, in this case your group and ours". Hope walked over to one of the three bay windows, the view of the gardens and beyond that the open parkland they had driven through which was edged by a lush green forest; it was truly beautiful; the room in which they were stood was extraordinary, no wonder why they called them Study Halls not Study Rooms.
The end in which they were all stood there were thirteen tall book cases, a beautiful and graceful Grande piano, accompanied by five circular work tables. At the other end of the room there was the bay window which was flanked by two large dark oak units filled with various musical instruments. Set inside the bay were two comfy pale blue armchairs at the foot of which a huge luxurious Persian Rug lay with two pale blue sofas edged either side and another two armchairs mirroring the two in the bay window, there was a massive oak table that matched the music units perfectly. There were another set of five work tables and six more book cases opposite this comfortable seating area. Finally there were four sofa arranged around a grand fire place opposite the middle window. It was spacious and accommodating, everyone could see themselves spending a lot of time in this room.
The next block housed the indoor luxury swimming pool, a well facilitated gym, computer suites and Library. "The pool is heated all year round and the is a sauna, steam room, shower, plunge pool and Jacuzzi" Roxanne stated as they stood in the games room over-looking the pool, not that you could see much from all the steam drifting off from everything. "It was built to resemble the Roman baths and for us all to have somewhere decent to relax in" the Cat continued.
"Sounds great," Damien smiled, the others nodded in agreement. Hope turned round and practically walked in to Tyler; She quickly side stepped him with a scowl; it took a lot longer of her senses to calm down, she couldn't help but wonder how he had moved so close behind her so quietly that she had no notion of his being there.
The final building held the Dormitories' (the females were to be housed in the South and West Wings and the males in the North and East Wings). The guys had a quick look round their apartment and saw their luggage had arrived and been put in their rooms. It was much like the girls suite there were three bedrooms and a shared bathroom, living area with a kitchenette. The living area opened up on to a balcony with a beautiful view of the school grounds, including the forest maze and the swimming pool. Tyler had a room of his own while Trevor and Charlie shared a room; and Christen and Damien the third room.
The groups were all to meet in the great hall for 17:00 to receive a few more notices and tips from the heads before being dismissed when they could return to their dorms and unpack.
"What do you think so far?" Roxanne asked; she was lazing on Catharine' bed her head hanging upside down over the side as she watched her friends finish un-packing. Lavender was sat on her own bed watching the two of them and wondering how Roxanne could watch everything upside down with-out any trouble or difficulty.
Catharine paused and looked at her friend thoughtfully. "I think it will certainly be – interesting"
Lavender nodded in agreement, "It will make things more interesting this year" she commented simply but cautiously - the message to the other two was known to be serious, Lillian had explain that she and Hope had met the guys the year before. There was silence for a minute.
"So what Intel did you guys gather?" Lavender enquired changing the topic and the mood dramatically.
Roxanne shrugged, "pretty darn hot, they like music, sports and stuff," she replied, "not sure if you saw because of his fringe but that Trevor his eyes are an amazing emerald green", she saw that Catharine and Lavender were paying quite a bit of attention to her when she mentioned Trevor, and mischief sparked in her eyes "Why do you two have a crush on him already?" she enquired with a simper. Catharine blushed and Lavender laughed; the other two girls teased her mercilessly. She laughed and bore it knowing that defending herself would make them worse.
Meanwhile in Hope's room, Lillian was helping put Hope's clothes into the walk-in wardrobe. They had been chatting about friends and family back at home; the each envied the others family situation. Hope because Lillian may be an only child but her family were all still there; whereas Lillian envied Hope her place in her family, her siblings all looked to her for help, advice and love. Although Lillian did not envy the families recent history – it had been a dark hard time for those left. Hope stretched, "finally finished!" she exhorted, as she kicked her trunk holding her empty bags and flopped onto her bed.
Everything was in place. Lillian looked over her shoulder – "what you Changing into then?" she queried, flicking through Hope's wardrobe. Hope came and stood beside her. She didn't get Lillian's obsession for outfits and accessories but she did appreciate the girls' advice.
"The dark blue skinny jeans and leather jacket over a blue racer t-shirt" Hope replied after some thought, "perhaps with the walking-boots?" she was always half expecting Lillian to laugh at her.
On this occasion Lillian smiled at her, "just swap the walking boots for your black ankle sandal boots and I think it will look great" she announced; Hope made the shoe Change. Although she found walking boot and trainers more comfortable, 'I want to give a good impression at the school, not only to the teacher but Tyler too' she thought to herself, 'Wait! Why did she think Tyler?' She meant all the students not anyone in particular, she blushed faintly, 'it's just those damn eyes', when they had collided she was confronted by those incredible blue eyes, "-They are just distracting" she muttered to herself blushing at her lapse, attracting Lillian's attention.
Lillian looked confused, "huh?" she replied confused, and frowned when Hope replied it was nothing, just thinking aloud. 'But thinking aloud about what?' the blonde speculated but decided not to question her friend.
"Did you know" Hope finally asked, Lillian knew she meant about the five boys coming to the school and answered no she hadn't been told. She watched as Hope's features shifted from a frown to her mask; the mask Hope had been using since her argument with Tyler last year, Lillian couldn't get used to or like.
"Shall we go see if the others are finished?" she suggested changing the topic, knowing that Hope would share her thoughts if and when she wanted to.
"Sounds like a plan!" Hope responded enthusiastically as she pulled her Jacket on and slipped her feet into her shoes. "The cafeteria will close before we get down there at this rate" she smiled relieved Lillian allowed this sort of topic to just drop.
'Looks pretty good – even with that flat cap hat' Lillian thought admiring Hope's outfit. Hope's hair was loose and was wear a hat hiding her luminous eyes, she always hid them not liking to be noticed or potentially mocked – as peaceful and calm Hope came across the girls temper could quickly flare out of control these days. Lillian led the way out of the door and went to knock on Lavender and Catharine' door. She popped her head in, "hey you guys almost ready?" she enquired, "it's getting late and the cafeteria may close soon." The packing had been finished but the two girls had to wait for their friends to change out of their school uniform.
Roxanne came out in a red girlie circle-skirt, white blouse and heeled shoes; her long dark hair completely free. Catharine was wearing mint green shorts and cream of the shoulder top with trainers and her hair in a high pony tail making her look quite athletic. Lillian was wearing black boot-cut jeans and an indigo shirt; her hair was in a French braid and she was wearing black heeled boots. Finally Lavender appeared wearing a well-fitting pair of stone-washed jeans which had specks of paint over them and a navy blue polo-shirt and white trainers. They looked an odd assortment of people but they didn't care – they were with their friends who were happy so long as they were themselves around other people.
"Anyone remember the way to the cafeteria?" Lavender yawned jokingly as they got out of the lift and walked to the exit of the dorm block. The other four burst out laughing it was like the first day of school last year, they shook their heads; Lavender was brilliant but could forget things so quickly – usually when she was tired or in a middle of some project.
"We better get a map for you" Roxanne teased carrying on the jest.
Lillian smiled and links her arm through Lavenders', "not even day one and you've asked if we know the way!" she smiled. Lavender smiled sheepishly, she hadn't meant to forget she had listened and taken notice but she just couldn't remember it at that moment. The five girls walked along chatting and laughing, they intended on enjoying their time back at the school it was still their holiday and they were looking at it as a free holiday with friends in a place they all loved!