Phoenix: Book One of The Stardust Series by Autumn Reed, Julia Clarke Page A

a dog, so I’ll go with
the Scottish Terrier.”
    I watched with
amusement while Chase set up the game. He chatted about playing Monopoly with
his grandmother and Ethan, and he told me how Ethan always tried to fight him
for the battleship. It was nice to see this easy-going side of Chase. He said
more in those few minutes than he had the rest of the day put together.
    As we got into the
game, I had to admit that I was having fun with Chase. I’d never had the chance
to do normal things like this with anyone other than my dad and Jessica. For
probably the millionth time, I wondered what it would have been like to be an
ordinary teenager.
    “So, Haley.” Chase’s
voice had an inquisitive tone, and I was slightly worried about what he was
going to ask me. “What was it like, growing up with your dad as your teacher?
Did he give you straight As?”
    I laughed quietly. “My
dad was a great teacher. And no, he did not give me perfect grades; I
earned them.” I confidently moved my pawn and collected cash from the bank.
    Chase grinned.
“Touché.”
    “When we first moved
out here, my dad was home with me all the time. He focused on the basics—reading,
writing, math, and science, but he used every opportunity as a chance to learn.
Eventually he transitioned to working part-time, and he gave me more input on
what I wanted to study.
    The older I got, the
more independent my studies became. By the time I was thirteen, he went to work
all day, and I completed my chores and my lessons on my own. After dinner, we
would sit down at the kitchen table and go over what I had learned. He didn’t
give me grades per se, but he tested me to see how prepared I was. He asked
tough questions, so I always tried to anticipate what he would quiz me on. I
learned a lot from him.”
    Chase purchased a
property before continuing with his questions. “That sounds like a good way to
learn. But what about friends? Sports? School dances?”
    I smiled. “I can’t say
the idea of a school dance ever appealed to me. As far as sports go, I love
running. Plus, my dad took me hiking and camping all the time and taught me
basic survival skills. And friends.” I paused. “Well, I have one really close
friend who moved away last year for college, but we still keep in touch.”
    “You said you already
finished your high school curriculum. Are you planning on going to college?”
    The question was
innocent enough, but it was a difficult one for me to answer. How could I tell
him that opportunities like college had never been open to me? I didn’t want
him to think poorly of my dad, and I wasn’t sure that he would understand Dad’s
overprotectiveness. “I don’t know yet. It’s something that my dad and I still
need to discuss.”
    Anxious to deflect, I
asked, “What about you? Did you decide to work in private security instead of
going to college?” Chase looked a little older than me but was definitely still
in the typical college student age range. Since he appeared to be employed
full-time, I guessed he wasn’t in school.
    “Actually, I’m a
student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. I’m studying computer
science.” Apparently I was wrong. How did he manage to go to school and go away
for work for days at a time?
    He told me a little
about the campus and his classes, and I couldn’t help but feel jealous. Santa
Cruz sounded like the ideal place to live and go to school. I could easily
imagine myself biking down the boardwalk on a beach cruiser, the cool ocean
breeze in my face. I silently laughed at myself. Such a daydream was pointless,
too distant from my current lifestyle to be a realistic possibility.
    I turned to Chase,
finally asking the question that had been running through my mind since I first
saw him in the cabin. “You were following me, weren’t you? When I ran into you
at the library?” Anticipating his answer, I almost forgot to take my turn.
    Chase rubbed the back
of his neck, looking sheepish. “Yeah,