Page 16 of Take My Crown

He passes me a phone with Katy’s number already programmed into it. He nods, encouraging me to press the button to make the call, like he is doing me a huge favour instead of giving me the bare minimum.

Still, Katy must be going out of her mind with worry by now. Much as I wanted to defy my father and throw the phone out of the window, I owed it to her to let her know I was okay.

She answers the phone within three rings.

“Katy?”

“Ivy! Oh, thank goodness. Where are you? Why did you disappear like that? When I went looking for you, I found your rucksack near the shop and I was imagining all sorts of terrible things. I called the police, but they said you are old enough to do what you want and to come back to them in a few days if I hadn’t heard anything.”

“I’m sorry, Katy.” She sounds terrible, like she had been crying for hours. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I met up with some friends and lost track of time.” I cringe as soon as the words leave my mouth. Katy knows me better than that. She knows I don’t have many friends, and certainly not any I am close enough to want to run away with them.But what else was I supposed to say?

“Really?” I can hear the disbelief oozing out of every pore. “And what are the names of these ‘friends’?”

“Err… Jane and Jo.”

“All right, Ivy. I’ve never heard of a Jane or a Jo. I know when you’re lying to me, so tell the truth. It’ll be okay. I promise. What’s really going on? Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“No… not really.” I didn’t want to say too much in case my father had set up recording software. If he listened to this call later, I don’t want him to think I have been sending Katy hidden messages.

“There’s something wrong. You might think you can fool me, but I know you too well. Tell me where you are, Ivy. I’ll come get you, no matter how far away you are.”

“I’m really sorry, Katy, but I’m not coming home. It’s my eighteenth birthday soon which means I’ll be out of the care system and I have to stand on my own two feet. I’ve been given the chance to start a new life and I think it’s best if I give it a go rather than being a burden on you. I’ll call you soon to let you know I’m okay. You’ve been an awesome foster mum, but it’s time to say goodbye and move on.”

“Ivy! Tell me what’s really going on! Ivy!”

“Bye, Katy.” I hung up.

“Good girl.” My father beams his approval. “Speaking of your eighteenth birthday, I want you to start thinking about what you’d like from me. Money’s no object, so you can have a car, a couple of weeks in the Maldives…”

“What about my own home far, far away from here?”

My father laughs. “I really do admire your sense of humour, my child. But I mean it. Have a serious think about what I can do for you. Meanwhile, I want you to start planning your party with Isabella. She is an exceptional event planner and she’ll make sure everything runs smoothly. I was thinking a mask ball might be a good idea, give you an excuse to get dressed up, make a display of power.”

“A masked ball?” That sounded like my idea of Hell. I have been planning on spending my eighteenth at the local pub with Katy, enjoying my first legal taste of alcohol. “Who would I invite to a ball? I barely know anyone in this town and I’m not exactly Miss Popularity.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about the guest list.” My father waves away my concerns. “I’ll make sure everyone who needs to be is invited. You just have to focus on making it the best eighteenth birthday party a girl can want. We need to show the other houses Ivy Archaic has arrived.”

“So it’s my party, but I don’t get a say in who’s invited?"

“My girl learns fast.” My father has an air of smugness about him. “This is why I want you to be sure you choose a present you really want. That’s for you. The party is for everyone else. This is our opportunity to remind everyone that House Archaic is on the rise. We have to make the right impression on the right people. I’ll have Isabella coach you in advance to make sure you don’t do anything foolish.”

With that, our conversation appears to be at an end. My father pulls out his phone and starts talking in some language I can’t identify, let alone speak. So, I gazed glumly out the window for the remainder of the journey until we get home and I am able to escape to my room.

All in all, day one wasn’t too bad.

Chapter Seven

Ivy Archaic

My first class the next morning is music with Mr Metcalf, the one bright thing about my life right now. I didn’t want to risk bringing in my precious new Gibson just in case someone like Ally decides to have an ‘accident.’ While I was sure my father would just buy me a replacement, I don’t think I will ever get into the mentality of spending money for the sake of it. Besides, guitars are like children. You look after them your whole life. I don’t want anything bad to happen to my baby.

Despite the tour of the Academy the day before, I get hopelessly lost looking for the music department, so I am fifteen minutes late by the time I find the right classroom. I burst through the door, apologising profusely, only to have half the class turn round and angrily shush me.

Blushing, I slip into a chair at the back of the room, while the boy who is at the front continues to sing, seemingly not noticing the interruption. His voice is amazing, husky and sexy, but with the kind of control that spoke of years of vocal training. It is kind of like a mash up between Shawn Mendes, Harry Styles, and Hozier. It helped that he has the looks to match; long, shaggy brown hair and big brown eyes that are so dark they are almost black. The guy has star quality all right.

I don’t recognise the song he is singing, but it is beautiful; soulful and haunting. It makes my heart ache to hear it and as the final few notes die away, the whole class sits in stunned silence for a moment, held captive by the spell of his music.

“Well done, Declan.” The teacher finally speaks. “I love how you take on board the notes I gave you after your last composition. Your song writing ability is coming along nicely, but I would like to see you push yourself even further. I think the next assignment will do just that. You may go back to your seat.”

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