It's been 12 years since my parents were murdered. Since then, I've had countless identities and I've moved many different times. I've basically lived all over the country.
There have been several more attempts on my life, but they've been unsuccessful. Sadly, those attempts have made it very difficult to stay in one place for too long. Luckily, after the second time someone tried to get me, Witness Protection trained me in the martial arts to make sure that I could protect myself if need be.
Nowadays though, Carolina York doesn't even get mentioned anymore.
I am now Alana May Criston. My hair is long and wavy, just how I like it, but it's a light brown colour, and my eyes are green. Nothing too fancy, but different enough so that I can blend in. I don't look bad, but I'm certainly not the hottest girl in the world, or even at school.
Speaking of which, I'm a senior in high school. I'm not top of my class but I do well enough, and as far as the other students are concerned, I plan on becoming a lawyer after high school. I just know that I need to keep a low profile. My life, in general, is fine. I have a lot of secrets but I guess that comes with being who I am.
I don't mind if things remain the way they are. I like my life. Well... not necessarily like, but at least I've accepted it. Hopefully, I could just finish high school and go to college or university and hopefully, the people who hurt mum and papa will get caught. When that time comes, things will finally return to normal. Or, as normal as they can get. I might finally be able to go back home.
That, however, is only a dream at this point. After all, it's been 12 years.
Anyway, I shouldn't be thinking about this right now. I'm about to be late for first period with Mr. Rosenthal. The students call him Mr. Roe.
"Hey! Lana! Come on! We're about to be late for class! You know how Mr. Roe gets when we don't come on time." My friend Chloe tells me, practically voicing my thoughts.
I'd never call her my best friend because I've learned not to get too close to people. It'll be dangerous for them and sad for me when I'll have to leave. The longest I've ever stayed in one place is just under four years.
Plus, I've only ever had one best friend, and his name was Zachary Stevenson. No matter how much I hated him back then, looking back, I really thought of him as my best friend.
However, if I was being truthful to myself, she is the best friend I've had in the last 12 years.
"Coming!" I say as I run up to her.
I transferred to Eastview High late last year, and the first person to come up and talk to me was Chloe. Bouncy, hilarious, kind of awkward Chloe with her pin-straight dark brown hair and piercing ice-blue eyes. If she wasn't one of the nicest people I'd ever met, her eyes alone would flash-freeze my entire body. Basically, I've learned never to get on that girl's bad side.
On my first day, super-sweet Chloe came up to me, dragged me by the hand and forced me to join her group of friends for lunch. We've been together ever since. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciated the gesture seeing as I probably would've been a loner otherwise. But seriously, those girls sometimes have too much energy. I can't keep up.
We get to English right on time. Not even 30 seconds after we got in and sat down the bell rang and the teacher came in. This teacher doesn't mess around. Ever.
"Phew..." I sigh to myself.
"I know, right?" Chloe asks me from her seat beside me, giggling slightly.
"Miss Criston, Miss Lewis, anything you ladies want to share with the class?" Mr. Roe asks us and both of us whip up our heads up to look at him.
"Nothing sir!" We respond simultaneously and then proceed to open up our laptops for the beginning of class.
I've already taken this class, last year when I was still Molly Nichols. I take the same courses so that no one can trace me to my new identity. It makes it a lot more difficult and confusing for the people trying to get me if I retake some courses. I get that it helps me and keeps me safe but it really does make my life kind of boring and tedious.
And it often messes up my college plans to the point that whether or not I have a required credit depends solely on my current identity.
Over the course of the next 55 minutes, Mr. Roe drones on and on. 20 minutes before the end of class, he stops his explanations of Shakespearean plays and finally announces our final assignment for the year. Obviously, Millie Rains asks for clarification on things the teacher already mentioned multiple times. This is what happens when all you think about is boys, clothes, and makeup.
"Once again, Miss Rains, this assignment is worth 15 percent of your grade. Anything else you need me to repeat for the fifth time?" Mr. Roe asks, kind of annoyed at her.
The entire class laughs at her, while she sinks back down in her seat.
When the bell finally, finally, rings I am so ready to get out of there. Chloe and I get up, grab all of our things, and practically fly out of the classroom. I could practically still hear the teacher talking in the back of my head. Plus, it was lunch and I missed breakfast. You better believe my 'parents' weren't happy about that.
I thank the school every day that they gave me the first lunch of the day. Makes my missing breakfast not so bad.
When Chloe and I finally get to the cafeteria I feel like I am finally in heaven. We sit at our usual table with the rest of our friends. Miraculously, all of us got lunch together.
"Hey losers!"
Oh great! It's Ryan, Chloe's twin. He's what you would call a jock and is without a doubt the most popular guy in school. He also happens to be dating Sasha Mills.
The blond-haired, emerald green eyed, self-declared Queen of Eastview High School, was a bitch by all accounts. There was absolutely no way to see her in any other way. Her naturally wavy hair was always curled to perfection, she wore probably ten pounds of makeup and dressed in what I've always thought a stripper dressed as.
There was also no denying that she was pretty, probably one of the most stunning girls I've ever met. That, however, does not excuse her terrible personality.
Think of her this way: her father basically owns half the city and she thinks she's the queen of the world. I've never talked to her but I don't exactly want to. I mentioned before that Chloe and the girls are a bit much sometimes, but if that's the case then Sasha's approximately 200 times worse. Who wears 5-inch heels to high school? Apparently Alexandra 'Sasha' Mills.
"Clo, you should come hang out with us. Leave those losers." Ryan said, looking directly at Chloe. Even though they are twins they are completely different people. Chloe has a sense of morality and Ryan is just plain rude.
"Babe, leave her alone. If she doesn't want to come with us then it's up to her." Sasha tells him, coming up close to him and latching onto his arm. Turning to Chloe she says, "Clo, darling, when you come to your senses you're always welcome to join us."
"Thanks but no thanks, Sasha," Chloe responds.
"Just know the option is available." With that, she turns on her heel, untangles herself from Ryan's embrace, grabs his hand and walks away. I can hear Ryan mutter "social suicide" under his breath. I inwardly roll my eyes.
"Ugh! He pisses me off so much!" Chloe says loudly, although not loud enough for Ryan to hear in the noisy cafeteria.
From the "popular" table I can hear Melissa 'Millie' Rains' obnoxiously loud laugh. She's laughing at something Ryan said. Everyone in the school knows she has a crush on him. She'll never act on it as he's dating her best friend, girl code and all. I've always thought that while she breaks basically every other rule in the world, she will never date her best friend's ex.
Probably because Millie's afraid of Sasha, who can destroy your reputation with just one word or text.
I turn back to Chloe and the girls.
"Do you guys want to go shopping after school? It's one of our last days before we really have to start studying for exams." One of the girls in our group, Talia Thompson, asks.
All the others immediately agree. I don't.
"I'm really sorry, my parents are expecting me back right after school," I say, I know that the only way I can do something after school is if I give them a few days notice so that they could set up security. It's a whole process. "But we're still up for the movies on Saturday?"
"Yep!" Nava Mitchell, another girl, responds.
The rest of lunch basically consists of us talking about anything and everything, but I can't help but think how easy these girls' lives seem.
After school, as soon as I walk into my house, my 'mom' calls out to me.
"Hi, sweetheart! How was school?" she asks me.
"It was alright," I say as I climb the stairs to my room.
Margaret and Albert Summers, now Criston, have been married for 20 years. Considering they both work for the government, it's impressive. To my friends, they seem like my mom and dad. To me, they're just the seventh set of parents I had. Seven identities, seven parents. Don't get me wrong, they're great, but sometimes I can't help but think of my biological parents and what they would have thought of me now.
Maggie's this supergenius who hasn't done any fieldwork for the government in over a decade. She just looks over my school work when she thinks I'm not looking and laughs at how easy it is.
Albert is crazy about martial arts. He built a whole secret training room in the basement of this house. He tells me it puts him and Maggie at ease if they know that I can defend myself if I need to. I'll do what I can to ease their worry and stress, I mean, they've already done so much for me.
Suddenly, my cell phone rings. My encrypted, unhackable, and untraceable cell phone. So I know it isn't one of the girls.
"Hello, Miss. Criston, we've already let Margaret and Albert know, but there seems to be moving in the York case. Some facts and potential suspects are resurfacing. They may be a threat to you. We are sending extra security, it is non-negotiable Alana May." The agent on the phone immediately hangs up.
I groan inwardly, of course, it wasn't negotiable. And the "Alana May" at the end! He's reminding me of my place. As if I've forgotten. I start thinking about the new security they'll be adding. This is going to suck, more people to run my schedule by. Probably an old man that will be trailing me.
I mean, there isn't any good security that can come, right?
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First Published July 14th, 2019
Updated July 13th, 2020
Updated September 9th, 2020