The plane jolted as the wheels scraped the runway. Elodie zipped her phone in her pocket and peered eagerly out the window. It had been just over two hours since they said goodbye to Brisbane and boarded the plane, and the midday sun was gleaming brightly. As the announcement came stating they could start disembarking the plane, Elodie stood up and nearly fell over; her legs were so numb that with every step felt as though she was stepping deeper and deeper into icy water, and her feet were tingling with the horrid sensation of pins and needles.
"Mum, wake up," whispered Elodie, gently shaking her mother.
Teresa Moreno stirred feebly. "Hello, darling." She cupped her daughter's cheek tenderly. "Are we here?"
"Yuh-huh. I really need a drink but my water bottle's empty."
"Okay, you can buy a bottle of water at the newsagents at the airport. We need to get moving." Teresa adjusted herself so the man next to her could get past. "Ryker, Abyan, could you please wake up your sister?" she added, speaking across the aisle. In response to this, Abyan and Ryker began poking Savannah-May and shaking her violently. Elodie rolled her eyes.
###
The Uber pulled up at a gorgeous modern house, with a perfectly manicured garden and wide clear windows. Savannah-May exploded out of the car, raced up to the front door and tugged at the door handle.
"Hang on Sav, you don't have a key!" laughed Abyan. "Mum, could we have the key please?"
"Of course, darling," replied Teresa, passing the key over to Abyan, who in turn bounded out of the Uber and handed Savannah-May the key. She turned it in the shiny silver keyhole and the huge white door clicked open.
"Woah look at this house," marvelled Elodie in complete awe. Glossy white walls surrounded her as she stood in the entrance hall and dark European oak floors were smooth under her feet. An archway showed her a glimpse of a wide open-plan kitchen and living room, while a staircase on the left matching the floors would surely take her to her new room and all the kids' rooms.
"Oh, my goodness," stated Teresa in awe. She had just hauled all the suitcases into the hall. "This is amazing." She peered into a door on the right and gasped at a huge master bedroom, complete with plush grey carpet and vast walk-in wardrobe.
"I dibs on the biggest room!" yelled Abyan, rushing up the stairs.
"No way, Abyan, I'm having it! As the eldest in the family, I lay claim to it!" shouted Elodie. She whipped around to her mother. "Please, Mum?"
Teresa let out a laugh like her daughter's. "Yes, you can sweetheart. As long as it's not my master bedroom!"
Elodie seized her suitcase and backpack and darted up the stairs, hot on the heels of her younger sibling.
Her new room was blanketed in the same lavish grey threads on the floor as her parent's room. It was accompanied by a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe on one whole side, and another wall was occupied by a huge modern window seat. Once the furniture arrived it would be magnificent. Slightly marring the look was the large mountains of cardboard boxes containing her possessions.
Elodie sat crossed-legged on the floor and took out her phone. She disabled aeroplane mode and flicked through her emails. To her surprise, there was a new one in her inbox. It read, 'Welcome to your new school! From your student ambassador.' Intrigued, Elodie clicked on the message. This is what it stated:
'Hi, Elodie! My name is Layla Jackson and I am going to be your student ambassador once you arrive at Central Valley. I'm excited about it and I hope you are too!
Basically, what I will do is help you get settled into your new school. I also invite you to hang out with my group of friends once you gain more confidence and comfort here.
See you soon! Layla Jackson.'
Elodie pursed her lips in a strange look of satisfaction. She placed her phone on top of one of the boxes and pulled her diary out of her backpack. She needed to find a hiding place, one that not even her mum would discover. While Elodie was wandering around the room, she tripped on something hidden. She bent down to investigate. The hidden something was a tiny wooden knob. Elodie tugged at it and it opened to reveal a square hole surrounded by a dusty pale pink blanket. The previous occupant of the room must have installed it here. Elodie smiled. This was the perfect place to hide her diary.