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Chapter One

Rachel Wood sat in the back of her faht sat her annoying younger brother, Mark, and to her left was her older sister Sarah, who sat there loudly huh her iPod headphones As Rachel’s dad put on the turn signal and hway, Rachel took a deep breath, held it, and let out a loud sigh She couldn’t believe her farade

Rachel couldn’t help but let her mind drift to places that scared her What if she didn’t make any friends? What if people teased her? What if she didn’t fit in, or her clothes eird? She worried her sister would make fun of her in the halls and her brother would e, overzealous parents would mortify her

Her dad turned left onto a long winding road

Is this it? Rachel wondered to herself

The car continued, h the center of town Out the , Rachel saw a pizzeria, a movie rental store, a nail salon and a Hallmark store with balloons and cards in theShe also noticed a coffee shop and a clothing store with “ in the

As the car rolled slowly through town, Rachel saw a few people: a lady walking on the sidewalk, pushing a stroller, aAYSO blue and black soccer jerseys and soccer cleats Rachel also saw a group of kids, one wearing a sweatshirt with a tiger on it that read “AHS”

Rachel recognized the letters from the welco her to Apache High School She sighed and wondered if these could be her new friends

Rachel looked the kids up and down and got a pit in her sto these kids made her feel even more nervous for her first day of school tomorrow

She was eh town Doesn’t he kno laht She buried her head between her legs until she felt the car pick up speed

The family drove for another five minutes down a suburban street She noticed each house as they drove by, and was surprised by what she saw These houses were e and opulent, had long circular driveways, and soh to enter their driveways

Where are we?

As they neared the end of the road, Rachel’s dad put on the breaks Sarah took her ear buds out and looked up from her lap

Mark pointed and asked, “Is this it?”

The pit in Rachel’s sto her new house for the first time She wondered what it would look like, she wondered if she would have to share a rooain, and wondered about her bedroom

“42 Pine Road!” Rachel’s dad announced eagerly

Rachel’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted as they pulled into their new driveway

Home

Rachel examines the house as they pulled in This house was different than the others on her street: a white house with black shudders, it was a more modest house, with no entry pillars and no circular driveway The house had a red front door, with a large brass knocker in the shape of a lion

As Rachel got out of the car, she took another deep breath and grabbed her suitcase She raced inside, along with Sarah and Mark, to see the bedrooh the front door