Stone Creek Academy: Deception (#2) *slow updates*

Chapter One

"Regina! There's someone on the phone for you!" My mother yelled from the kitchen. I almost couldn't hear her over the ruckus which suddenly erupted from my father, two uncles, grandfather, and sixteen year old cousin Brian when one of the teams they were watching scored a touchdown. My eight year old cousin Melanie tugged on my sleeve to get my attention.

"I'll be right back Melanie," I promised her, standing up and heading into the kitchen. Melanie had somehow roped me into playing Breyer Horses and Barbie Dolls with her, a game I hadn't enjoyed for a couple of years. To be honest, it was nice to pull out my collection again. Of Breyers, I mean.

Inside the kitchen, my mother, grandmother, and aunt Jessica were busy preparing a Thanksgiving feast for us all. I inhaled and took my I-Phone from my mom, the decadent aromas of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and many more making my mouth water.

"Hello?" I said into the phone, quickly walking up the stairs to get to my bedroom. It was the best place to get away from all the noise.

"Regina! How's your break?" A familiar voice answered. I sat down in my furry white beanbag.

"Brandon! It's been great, how about you?" I replied, a grin breaking out across my face as memories of my last night on campus played through my head.

"Fantastic. I just had to call, I missed hearing your voice." Brandon said. I could practically hear him smiling. Gazing at the light bamboo floor of my room, I twirled a piece of hair around my index finger.

"That's sweet of you. Are you doing anything special today?" I asked.

"Nothing really other than having a huge neighborhood football game. It'll be interesting since the local weather channels are predicting snow for later this afternoon," Brandon responded. Noise came simultaneously from the phone and downstairs.

"Touchdown!" Brandon and I cheered in unison.

"That sounds like fun! The only football I've ever played is a few simple games of flag football in elementary school, but I can imagine it would be tricky in snow," I remarked. One of my family's two kittens, who were both really one year old at this point, Cisco, jumped onto my beanbag with me and began to purr as he walked back and forth across my lap. I patted his brown tiger-striped coat with a smile.

"Yeah. Are you excited to go back to the Academy?" Brandon asked. A thousand answers whirled through my mind. Going back was seeing Brandon again. Going back was riding Beau again. Going back was also back to dealing with Sofia and Bella's posse again.

"For the most part, yes. There's a few people I'm not exactly itching to be reunited with," I replied with a slight grimace. Cisco meowed insistently, butting his head against my arm to remind me to keep petting him.

"I can understand why. I've been talking to some of the guys and thinking we should get the group together and go to Pizza Studio or something on Sunday night. What do you think?" Brandon said. The "group" meant Lily, Halle, Beth, Valerie, Tyler (Halle's boyfriend), Ethan (Lily's boyfriend), Keith (Brandon's roommate), Brandon, and I. All of us had met each other at some point, and as everyone communicated over break we had sort of become a group.

"Sure, that would be awesome! I'll check in with everyone else and let them know what's going on." I offered, rubbing Cisco's cheek. My I-Pad dinged from on my desk, alerting me of a text message from Halle.

"Great. I'd better get going, my football game will be starting in not too long. It was great chatting with you and I'll see you Sunday night," Brandon said.

"Okay, good luck! I'll see you then. Bye," I smiled. Pulling my phone away from my ear, I tapped the hang up button, and plugged my phone in to charge. Grabbing my I-Pad, I replied to Halle's text, then opened my GoogleDocs. I needed to get going on a Christmas wishlist.

Sitting back down in my beanbag, I flicked on my stereo, letting Taylor Swift's 1989 album play. Melanie would be fine playing on her own for a little bit. Relaxing into the beanbag, I leaned my head back and stroked Cisco's soft fur. His greenish-amber eyes blinked at me.

"Life is good," I told him, leaning my head back as I started to type.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hey guys, welcome to book 2! These chapters will be a little longer than in the last book, so it'll take me longer to update, but it'll be better! Thanks for reading and enjoy! :) <3 Ari