Chapter 1

September 1st, 2019

"Dear Diary,

Starting high school is hard. Starting high school where everyone knows about your mother's affair with the English teacher is harder. Ever since June, everyone knows the Reynolds name, my name. I begged my mother to keep me homeschooled, but she has to work overtime now that Dad's gone. She doesn't think I should be home alone all day. I guess she's right."

Susan Reynolds closed her diary and tucked it back into her backpack just as her mother pulled up to the school gate. She opened the car door when she noticed that her mother wasn't getting out.

"Mum? Aren't you coming?"

Maria Reynolds shook her head. "We have teacher's parking around the side."

"Alright." Susan closed the door behind her and waved goodbye. As her mother drove away, she turned back towards the gate. Albany High was one of the biggest public schools in the city, and a big school means more people who know what happened last summer.

Though who was she kidding? They all know what happened last summer.

"Hey, Susan!"

Her best friend's voice startled her out of her thoughts. She turned slightly to see Theo running up to her with a big smile.

"Morning, Theo."

Theodosia Burr was Susan's best friend ever since the Reynolds family moved to Albany two years ago. Theo was a year older and lived across the street from Susan. The two were as close as sisters, and Theo was a big support for Susan after the affair became public.

Last June, Susan's mother had an affair with Alexander Hamilton, the English teacher at Albany High. After Hamilton was accused of fraud, he wrote a ninety-seven page blog about the affair in hopes of clearing his name. The plan worked, though it backfired on the Reynolds family. Her father left them, disappearing without so much as a word. Though no legal papers were signed, her mother said they were divorced. He did some illegal stuff on the side, so it's not like she missed him anyway.

The biggest impact was, of course, on Maria. Her reputation was ruined and no one wanted anything to do with her. Principal Washington let her keep her job as a librarian at Albany High, but from what Susan heard, she never left the library and preferred not to visit the staff room.

"Ready for your first day?" Theo asked her.

Susan shrugged. "As ready as I can be, I guess."

The Reynolds girl was overwhelmed the second she stepped inside the huge building. Her middle school back in her home state was much smaller, with a lot less people. And of course, no one knew about any affair back then.

"Theo? Do you know anybody who would be in my class?"

Theodosia thought for a moment. "One of Philip's brothers is starting high school today. Alexander Jr. He'll probably be in your class."

Susan cursed under her breath. Philip was Theo's boyfriend and was starting his junior year. Susan didn't know much about him, except for one thing. He was a Hamilton, and so was his little brother. The last thing she needed was a Hamilton in her class. Could she be homeschooled from the school library?

"Earth to Susan!" Theo waved a hand in front of her face. Susan looked around and found herself in a long hallway with multiple doors on each side. When did they have time to get there?

Theo laughed at Susan's surprised face. "Your Form class is on the left." She said, pointing to the door. "Mine's across the hallway. Come find me at lunch, okay?"

"Okay." Susan nodded, her heart slowly sinking. She forgot that Theo wouldn't be in her class. She watched Theo disappear into her class, and walked towards her own.

This was it. The first step was always the hardest, right? Maybe it won't be too bad. Maybe she will blend into the background until next year when everyone forgets about the affair. Susan shook her head to clear it, took a deep breath and stepped inside the classroom.

She froze in her tracks. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this. In her nightmares, she imagined high school to be a scene straight from Hell, complete with demons taunting her about her mother's affair and a boiling pot where she would be punished for one of the seven deadly sins. But in reality, it was a room. A completely normal room.

Her eyes trailed over the bright classroom, over the other kids chatting away at desks, and finally stopped on the woman sitting at the teacher's table.

She was wearing a yellow sundress with a white cardigan over it. Her brown hair was tied back into a ponytail. She looked up and gave Susan a bright smile, pulling out her register.

"And what's your name?"

Susan stepped closer to the teacher's table so she wouldn't have to shout her name over the entire classroom. "Susan. Susan Reynolds."

The woman frowned for a second, before checking Susan's name off on her register and looking back to her, a smile returning to her face.

"Nice to meet you, Susan. Take a seat anywhere you want."

Susan immediately headed for the very back of the classroom, trying to avoid eye contact. She pretended to not notice the odd look the teacher gave her.

Once everyone else arrived and was seated, the teacher stood up and called for their attention.

"Good morning, everyone. I'm your Form tutor, Margarita Van Rensselaer." She chuckled at the looks on the students' faces as they processed her name. "But you can call me Miss Peggy."

Susan blinked in confusion. Since when is Peggy short for Margarita? Part of her wanted to ask, but it seemed a little rude.

"I also teach art, music and drama. Today, I'm going to hand out your schedules and then you can head to your first class. Alright?"

After getting a few nods around the room, Miss Peggy passed out the schedules. Susan skimmed over it, memorizing the times for lunch breaks. As everyone got up and headed for the door to go to their first class, she went back to the top of the schedule and a pit formed in her stomach.

8:00-9:25 | History | Class U3 | Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton

Oh no