Brave New Girl (Behind Closed Doors Book 1) Read online

  Behind Closed Doors Book 1

  Brave New Girl

  Grace Herbst

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  About The Author

  Acknowledgements

  Brave New Girl

  © Copyright 2019 Grace Herbst

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any matter whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The following work is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places, events and incidents are product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design by Stone Ridge Books

  ISBN: 978-1-7340319-0-4 (paperback)

  www.gherbst1989.wixsite.com/graceherbstauthor

  Chapter 1

  Click. Clack. Click. Clack. The secretary furiously typing away on the computer was the only sound Ashley Meyer heard as she waited to be called in the principal’s office. The phones were quiet. Nobody else was behind the desk working. Nobody else was sitting on the cold hard chairs, waiting to meet the principal. Ashley was truly alone. It was ironic because that was how she felt. All alone. Nobody besides her. Was this how it was going to be the whole year?

  Ashley let out a heavy sigh as she thought of the tall tales that would await her from her new classmates. Rumors. Gossip. It was all the same to her. People talked behind her back. It was to be expected. It wasn’t because she was the new girl. Everyone already knew she was new. Emerald, Illinois was a small town and news spread around quickly around the community. That was the disadvantage of living in a small town.

  Her stepmother Michelle wanted her to focus on the good things. They were there to start over after a rough year. They could forget everything that had happened. At least, that was what her father and her stepmother Michelle kept telling her. It was easy for them though. They weren’t the ones who struggled in her sophomore year. In fact, they had a great year. Meeting each other, falling in love and getting married: it doesn’t get any better than that.

  Of course, they were the reasons she was the talk of the school. It wasn’t every day when a big-time city lawyer married a small-town teacher like Michelle Jordan. Ashley could just imagine what people had thought about the marriage. ‘What was Michelle thinking?’ ‘She was around teenagers all day. Why would she want to come home to another teenager?

  Ashley had to admit she had questioned that herself. Back when she was against her dad dating Michelle. Back when she was manipulated into believing that Michelle was the enemy. She didn’t really love her dad. She was a gold digger and she was only going after her dad to get hands on his money. And she would ship Ashley off to a boarding school. Ashley eventually realized how much Michelle truly cared for her dad and she accepted her.

  Of course, she probably deserved to go to boarding school. Or military school where her dad had threatened to send her. She had been a brat. Not to just Michelle or her dad. But to her friends. All friends she had lost once she went into her rebellious phase and never returned. And teachers. Teachers who she used to admire. Ashley now felt bad for being so cruel to everyone and she wished she could make it up to them. Or at least apologize for her atrocious behavior.

  Instead of being sent off to military school, Ashley had a change of heart. And she cleaned up her act. The improvement made Kyle Meyer reconsider and she moved with them from Sapphire City to the small town of Emerald. And she was now going to attend Emerald High School. At least, that was the plan.

  First, Ashley had to meet with the principal Mrs. Campbell. According to Michelle, Mrs. Campbell wanted to talk to her to hear Ashley’s side. Although, Michelle assured her that she shouldn’t be worried. Mrs. Campbell wasn’t one who judged her student’s past but whether the student was willing to change their ways.

  Having Michelle tell her about her new principal should have made her feel better because her chances were high, but it only made her feel worse. She shouldn’t have to prove she has changed or try to earn people’s trust back. She should just be able to enroll and begin attending her classes. Besides, she wasn’t exactly thrilled with meeting Mrs. Campbell.

  Perhaps Mrs. Campbell was better than her former principal Mr. Underwood. Their meetings were never pleasant. He was strict on following school rules. He never smiled at her. Even before her rebellious phase, he was serious. He didn’t even like senior pranks because he believed they were dangerous and immature. He wanted his students to act like responsible young adults.

  Responsible. Yeah, that’s a word that Ashley had been repeating in her head all summer. If she had been responsible that night, that car accident wouldn’t have happened. If she had been responsible, she wouldn’t have had her car keys taken away. However, that was all over and it was time to move on. She was now away from that toxic environment and she had no contact with those so called friends.

  The entrance to the main office where Ashley was waiting opened and Ashley recognized the tall young teenager. His brown thick hair combed over one of his green eyes. He shook his head in amusement. “First day and you’re already being called to the principal’s office. Wow, I really thought you changed. Guess I was wrong.”

  Ashley gave her friend a look. “Very funny.”

  Lucas Hardy. One of the first friends she had made in Emerald. And it was all because of her stepmother. Ashley had been surprised when her stepmother had sent out wedding invitations to only a couple of her students. She would have thought she would have invited a lot of her former or current students.

  Despite Michelle being well known around town, she and Kyle both wanted the wedding to be a private affair: close friends and family only. Michelle had two of her coworkers who were also her friends as her bridesmaids, but none of her other coworkers were involved or invited to the wedding.

  Michelle explained to Ashley that she and Lucas had gotten close after he had volunteered to help out with the school play. When Ashley had talked to him at the wedding reception, she had learned a lot about him.

  Lucas moved from St. Louis to Emerald last year when his parents were killed in a car accident and both he and his younger sister Sabrina were sent to live with his aunt and her family. Like Ashley, he went through a similar experience before he too realized the error of his ways. They had swapped stories about the trouble they were in during their rebellious phase. Ashley had to admit it was nice to know she wasn’t the only one who had gone through a rough time and turned to doing drugs and drinking to relieve the stress and pressure of her personal problems.

  “I wish I can just get this over with,” Ashley told him as he sat down next to her. She didn’t want to tell him how many times she had changed her outfit that morning. Or how many times she had brushed her long naturally curled auburn hair. Normally, she would put makeup on, but she wanted to show off her chocolate brown eyes. Of course, her fair skin and
dimples already made her noticeable. Not to mention her short stature. Yet, she doesn’t let it get in the way of her fierce exterior.

  “You shouldn’t be so nervous,” Lucas told her. Ashley was grateful for the reminder. “It’s not like you’re in trouble. Mrs. Campbell just wants to talk to you to get to know you. To hear your side of the story. You’re lucky. I didn’t have someone vouching for me when I talked to Mrs. Campbell.”

  Ashley managed to let out a laugh. “You’re talking about Ms. Jordan, aren’t you?” It was weird calling Michelle by her maiden name, but Michelle thought it would be better for her students to continue calling her “Ms. Jordan” since that was the name she was known by.

  Lucas just gave her a smile. “I knew I could cheer you up.”

  Ashley smiled a small smile in return. “Thanks, but we both know the truth. Mrs. Campbell is going to hate me. I just know it. Have you seen my file? It is a mile high. There is no way she would accept me.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Lucas said. “Your file can’t be all bad.”

  Ashley wanted to believe that, but her focus was on her past extracurricular activities. If she could really call them that. More like truancy. She was about to respond when the door to the principal’s office opened up and Mrs. Campbell appeared in the hallway.

  “Ashley, you may come in now.” Getting up from the chair, Ashley heard some encouraging words from Lucas, but she wasn’t really listening. She also didn’t hear Mrs. Campbell’s introduction. Butterflies overpowered her stomach and she couldn’t concentrate on anything else.

  Once they were in the office, Ashley could see her file laying on the desk closed. It made her wonder if Mrs. Campbell had already read it. There was silence as Mrs. Campbell gestured for her to sit down in one of the chairs across from her desk. Ashley remained quiet as she took a seat.

  Mrs. Campbell did the same. Ashley glanced down at the file. There was no movement to open it. Ashley looked back up at Mrs. Campbell. Mrs. Campbell had short jet black hair. She gave her a warm smile as she spoke. “I do hope you’re settling well in Emerald. I’m sure it must be quite an adjustment to move from a big city to a small town.” Ashley just nodded in agreement, too nervous to respond. “I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Ashley.”

  Hearing those words made Ashley begin to hate that sentence, but she refrained from responding to it. She decided to cut to the chase before things went too far. “Look, I know my stepmom has already talked to you about me and she probably made it seem like I wasn’t much of a troublemaker, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I wish I could tell you I was a good girl who never cheated on a test or skipped class to go shopping or take the driver’s education car out for a joyride, but I would be lying.”

  Mrs. Campbell opened the dreaded file and glanced over it. She chose her next words carefully. “Yes, you certainly have had quite a few unauthorized field trips last year. I’m surprised you’ve managed to scrape by with a C- average in almost all of your classes. That’s interesting considering how many days you decided to skip school.”

  “My dad threatened me with shipping me off to military school if I didn’t drop my attitude and improve my grades,” Ashley explained. “When I realized he was serious, I turned everything around. I stopped skipping school. Stopped sassing off to my teachers. And I concentrated on my studies. Otherwise, I would have had to repeat my sophomore year and go to summer school.”

  Mrs. Campbell gave her a gentle smile. “Yes, I know how tragic it is for students to hear their summer will be taken away from them, but that is the consequence for skipping school or failing a class.”

  Ashley was surprised that Mrs. Campbell was still being nice to her. Mr. Underwood would have given her a disapproving look when he would have read her file. “I know and you don’t have to worry about that with me. I’m not proud of what I’ve done, but I’m through with disobeying the rules. I’ve learned the hard way that it won’t get me anywhere except juvenile hall. I’m ready for a clean slate. Just give me a chance to prove myself. I won’t let you down.”

  Mrs. Campbell was quiet for a few moments. Ashley tried to read her expression. Mrs. Campbell finally spoke again. “I do believe in second chances and I would like to see you prove to me that you are back on the right track.” A wave of relief came over Ashley. Mrs. Campbell extended out her hand. “Welcome to Emerald High, Ashley.”

  Ashley gave her a grateful smile. They shook hands. “Thank you, Mrs. Campbell. I promise I won’t let you down.”

  Getting up from her chair, Ashley was ready to leave. Mrs. Campbell wasn’t finished with her. “There is one more thing I usually recommend for my new students and that is to see one of our guidance counselors.”

  Ashley’s face fell. She quickly contained her composure. “That’s not necessary,” she protested. “I already have someone to talk to and she is a professional. Trust me.”

  “Are you referring to Dr. Pruitt?” Mrs. Campbell asked. Ashley didn’t answer. She had hoped Michelle hadn’t mentioned her aunt.

  Dr. Jennifer Pruitt was a child psychologist who used to have her own private practice, but she now taught psychology classes at Emerald University. Yet, she was still willing to take time out of her busy schedule to listen to someone about their problems and that included her niece. It wasn’t always easy to have a heart to heart talk with her since she usually didn’t go into “aunt mode”, but she preferred her aunt over talking to Michelle.

  “Yes, I’m comfortable talking to her,” Ashley replied.

  “I’m sure you are, but she is still your aunt,” Mrs. Campbell reminded her. “I feel that would fall under conflict of interest. I would prefer if you would talk to one of our guidance counselors. Her name is Ms. Bartlett. She has only been here a couple of years, but she does have experience talking to students about their problems. Maybe you should meet her before you make any final decisions.”

  “Thank you for the offer, but I’m going to pass,” Ashley replied.

  Mrs. Campbell was quiet. Ashley waited for a response. To her surprise, Mrs. Campbell didn’t push her. “Okay. Now if you would wait out in the hall, I’ll see if I can find the student who should be showing you around to your classes.”

  “Actually, my friend Lucas Hardy is waiting outside the hall for me,” Ashley told her. She would feel more comfortable with him giving her the tour than a random student.

  Mrs. Campbell nodded in approval. “If it’s alright with Mr. Hardy, it’s alright with me.”

  Ashley thanked her again before she left the principal’s office. Lucas didn’t even have to ask to know Ashley was now a student at the high school. He gave her a wide smile. “I would be delighted to give you the grand tour and help you find your classes.” After Ashley was given a student handbook and her schedule, she looked at it.

  To her delight, American History was her first class of the day. It was her favorite subject. She loved learning about the past and seeing how people lived back then compared to the present. Learning about the history of the British monarchy fascinated her. Especially the Tudor period and the Queen Victoria era.

  “Where should we start first?” Lucas asked. “We can go and find your locker or your classes. Or we can do those things last. I would love to show you the library, gym, cafeteria and my favorite place in the whole school: the auditorium.”

  Ashley gave him a smile. “Then lead the way to the library.”

  Lucas and Ashley left the main office and entered the hallway. It was so quiet, signaling it was early in the morning. Most students hadn’t arrived yet. In a way, Ashley was relieved. She wasn’t ready for all the stares.

  “You wouldn’t believe how many extracurricular activities we have here. Besides the usual ones like Student Council or yearbook, there is the Art Club, Book Club, Drama Club and Spanish Club. There are also a few new extracurricular activities like Manga and Anime Club and Photography Club. One of the new activities that a lot of us really love is the Mock Trial Program.”


  That got Ashley’s attention. “Really?” Her dad was a family court lawyer and she always thought of following in his footsteps. That was before she began acting out though. Now she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do as a career, especially after knowing how many hours her dad worked.

  Lucas nodded. “Yeah, it’s definitely interesting to watch because it’s just like a real court case. Of course, I’m sure you know all of the legal jargon a lawyer uses and the rules about trying a case. I’m still learning about how it all works.”

  “I do know some legal jargon,” Ashley admitted. “But I’m still learning myself.”

  “Now if you’re talking about diner lingo, that’s a different story,” Lucas replied. Ashley noticed the enthusiasm in his voice. “We use it all the time at Ralph’s Diner and it’s really fun too. You should stop by sometime. I’ll treat you to dinner.”

  “I’ll take you up on that offer,” Ashley said as they reached the library. Lucas opened the door for her and she noticed how small and quaint it was compared to the one in her old high school. She rushed to the history section to feed her passion and scan the bookshelves.

  He showed her the gym and cafeteria where some students were eating breakfast. As they walked to the auditorium, Lucas explained the upperclassmen were in a different wing than the freshmen and sophomores.

  They entered the empty auditorium. “This is my favorite place in the whole school,” his voice echoed. As they walked past the empty chairs in the dark, she was reminded of a movie theater. Lucas helped Ashley onto the stage as he turned on the stage lights, where bright reds and yellows outlined Lucas in cool colors. Ashley noticed the leftover set items from The Wizard of Oz, the play the school had done the year before. “Whenever I have a rough day, I go here. It works out since it’s nice and quiet. And I don’t get in trouble for it.”

  “Really? Why is that?”

  “Because Ms. Jordan knows I won’t do anything to destroy the stage,” Lucas replied.