Is This Change For The Better?

Lily watched as the greenish-brown scenery rushed past her window as the train sped by. Things were changing, and Lily was frightened, but also happy, in a way.

Today, she had left her little town to go to a boarding school on the other side of the continent. She knew that this was the best option to take, but at the same time, she wondered if it was actually going to make a big difference. 

It’s the only way you’re going to escape this town, her parents had told her. It’s the only way that you’ll be prosperous in the future, they had said. She knew that her parents only wanted her best. She knew that what they said was true, but the thing is, no matter how true it was, it was still going to be very hard for her.

In her little town, everything had been the same her whole life. Her classmates, her neighbors, the people at church. The little store where they bought their food. The parks she used to go and play in as a child, and the mall she used to go with her friends to. Everything has always been the same, and now? Now, everything was different. Different people, different places, COMPLETELY different circumstances. 

Her parents never had much money, but they still wanted Lily to have a good education. They were able to find this boarding school, and were able get a discount. Lily knew that they had sacrificed a lot for her to be here, even with the discount. She was already missing her home, but she knew that this is what’s necessary, and this is how it’s going to be from now on. She would study hard, pass at the top of her class, and get a good job. Then, she’d repay her parents. But first things first. 

“Attention passengers: we will be arriving at Oaksville station shortly. Make sure that you have all of your personal belongings with you. Thank you.”

                                    ~*~

“Hello, are Miss Lily Turnry?” Asked a short, plump man, in round glasses. He seemed like a type of rich butler.

“Uh, yes, and you must be Mr. Robinson?” Lily asked.

“Yes, that is me. I’m here to pick you up and take you to the school. Will you need any help with your baggage?” He offered. Lily looked at her one bag and smiled ever so slightly.

“Thank you, but I actually only have this one. I don’t think I’ll be needing help,” she replies. Mr. Robinson nods his head. 

“Understandable. Well, let’s head on over to the car,” he motioned for her to follow, so that’s what she did. 

They got to the car, and after a few minutes, Mr. Robinson breaks the silence.

“How was the trip?” Mr. Robinson asked. 

“Oh, it was okay. Thank you for picking me up,” she said shyly.

“It was my pleasure. I hear it’s your first time outside of [name of place]. You’ve lived they’re your whole life, right?”

“Yeah, I have. I’ve been out of town a few times before, but it was always close to the town. This is the farthest I’ve been away from home,” Lily said, her voice full of nostalgia. Mr. Robinson nodded.

“Yeah, that seems-“ He froze, and his face twisted in panic.

“Oh no, I’ve forgotten him!”

“Forgotten who?” Lily inquired.

“Another student. He was on the same train as you,”

“On the same train?” Lily questioned. She hadn’t known that she was on the same train as another student. Wait, she was on the train with another student?! This meant that the person could already have an opinion on her, and she hadn’t prepared before hand! Oh no, this was bad. Very bad. What if she had been accidentally rude to this other student? What if said student made sure that everyone else knew about how rude she was, and then no one would want to be her friend anymore? She couldn’t go to this school if she couldn’t make any friends! And now there was nothing that she could do about it, because her first impression had already gone and went, and now it was too late.

She sat there in silent horror, as Mr. Robinson turned the car around to head back to the station.

By the time they got there, it couldn’t have passed 10 minutes, but Mr. Robinson still seemed panicked. He led Lily in, and that’s when she saw the only person waiting in the station. It was a tall boy, but probably not much taller than most boys his age. He had wispy light brown hair and light skin. He was wearing what seemed to be a school uniform: a white button down shirt with a tie and black pants. He was leaning against a wall, engrossed in a book. 

“Mr. Levesque! Is that you?” The little old man yelled considerably loud, even though the boy was 10 feet away. 

The boy looked up from his book and look in our direction. He waved and answered, “Yeah, that’s me!” He closed his book, got his bags and walked over in our direction.

“I’m so sorry I had to make you wait for such a long time!” Mr. Robinson said, voice full of worry.

“Oh, no, it’s okay, don’t worry,” the boy reassured. “You’re Mr. Robinson, right?” 

Mr. Robinson nodded. “Yes, that would be me. Now come along, we should’ve gotten back by now. Again, I’m so sorry for making you wait,” 

“Don’t worry, it’s fine,” The boy laughed, and then looked at me, “but, who are you? Are you another student?” 

Green. He had beautiful green eyes. Lily had never seen such beautiful eyes before. It took Lily a second before she realized that he had asked her a question.

“Oh, me? Yeah, I’m another student,” Lily replied, doing her absolute hardest to seem cool and not weird.

“Ah, I see. Well, my name is Daniel Levesque. This will be my first year at this school. What about you?”

“Oh, well, um- I’m Lily Turnry. And this is going to be my first year here too…” she managed to get out almost without stuttering. Mr. Robinson facepalmed.

“I can’t believe I forgot to introduce you to each other! Well, we’d better get going. We can talk more in the car.” 

They all walked together to the car, and once they were in, they started talking.

“So, how was the trip?” Mr. Robinson asked. 

“It was good, I guess. I rode for 6 hours, so I’m pretty tired now,” Daniel answered. He was still holding his book, but Lily couldn’t tell what the name of it was. 

“Hey, uh, what book is that?” She asked, pointing to the book.

“Oh this?” He picked up the book, “This is Black in the series The Circle by Ted Dekker. It’s the first book,” Lily’s eyes shone.

“The Circle? You’ve read that too? I love that series!” Lily beamed. 

“Oh my goodness! This is my first time reading it, actually, but I’ve heard a lot about it,” he said excitedly, “Apparently the fourth book, Green is really bad?” 

“Oh, yeah, it’s the worst. But I can’t believe there’s actually someone else that’s read it! It’s not very well known…” Lily was very excited, but she tried not to show it. This was amazing! This human was a complete stranger, and yet somehow they were going to the same school, they had been on the same train, the both liked to read, but even more than that, they both read the Circle. How was this possible? 

                                    ~*~

Daniel sat in the train, reading his book. 3 hours had already passed, and Daniel’s rear was already hurting. He looked up from his book to observe the scenery rushing by the train. All he could see were brownish-green valleys, absent of trees. Every once in a while they’d pass by some cattle. Daniel sighed and looked back at his book. 

Life for Daniel had been difficult recently. He’d been constantly moving from state to state, city to city, house to house. His parents never seemed satisfied. Maybe that was why his parents were going through a divorce… they were never satisfied in the different places, but he guessed that the place was never the problem.

His mom was the type of person who always wanted everything to be perfect. The house always had to be spotless, his grades always had to be high, he always had to be the perfect son. His dad… his dad was more of a care-free spirit. He lived life as life took him. And that meant when the family moved the last time, he made friends. Those friends got him introduced to drinking. Daniel’s mother hated seeing her husband constantly getting drunk. He would get home at 3 am, and if she said anything about it, he’s get mad. After a few times, he started yelling louder. After a few more times, he would hit her, and after a few more, he would beat her until she wasn’t able to speak anymore.

Daniel’s mom took this treatment, saying, “he’s a good man, he was only drunk,” and “he’ll get better, I know he loves me”. Daniel hated seeing this happen and wanted to call the police, but his mother forbade it. 

One night, his father came home late, drunk as usually, but this time he didn’t come alone. He stumbled on the driveway, laughing, with a woman by his side. When Daniel’s mother saw this, she was shocked, but she didn’t say anything about it until the next morning. When she finally confronted her husband, they had a fight. It turned out that he had had an affair with that woman for a month, and not only when he was drunk. Daniel’s mother ended up kicking her husband out of the house.

That was 2 years ago. Since then, things had been tough. His mom ended up getting 3 part time jobs, and even Daniel had to help. Daniel had 3 siblings that he had to help his mom take care of. After his dad left, his mom was never the same. She was always sad, and Daniel worried that she might get depression. He talked to her about it, but she wasn’t ready to admit that she needed help. 

After his dad left, Daniel’s grades dropped, since he had to constantly help his mom with the kids and with his own job. Finally, his mom found this school, and she insisted that Daniel go there. He was worried that she would get overworked, but she assured him that his younger sister, Brooklyn, was old enough to help her. But Daniel needed his education.

So yeah. The last month was full of preparations. And now, he was finally on the train, half way there. His life had scarcely ever stayed the same, and this time, he hoped that it would change to the better. 

The train slowed to a stop. People flooded into the train, some staying in the front, some going further into the train. Daniel looked up, and saw about 20 people coming in. A girl made her way over and sat on the opposite side of the isle from him. She had curly jet-black hair, and she was dressed as if she was going to school, in a white shirt and black skirt, and with a black tie. She was cute. Too bad Daniel would probably never see her again. Should he talk to her? No, that would seem creepy. Plus, he was going to school to study and do well in life, he didn’t need distractions. What had he been thinking?

                                    ~*~

3 hours later, the train stopped, and people started getting off. He sighed as he gathered his things. He walked out of the train and leaned against a wall. He was told that a Mr. Robinson would be coming to pick him up. He got out his book and started reading.