New Boy

By Aubrey Fredrickson

Dylan Blake has never had a home before and he isn't expecting to find one in New Elphame, Michigan. But his new town is nothing like he expected. Between the foster parents who don't seem quite sure what to make of him and the kids at school who act a little afraid of him, Dylan is pretty sure that he's not going to stick around too long. But then someone tells his a crazy story about another new kid at Seelie High and the mysterious door she opened. It's all a little hard to accept, but Dylan might start believing when he steps through the door himself.
Find out what life is like on the other side of the door in this third installment in the Tales from Seelie High collection. Whether you have been keeping up with the series or this is your first introduction to the students of Seelie High School, you will find yourself drawn into the mystery of New Elphame's strange, and possibly magical, past and the exciting adventure of its future.

This edition also includes two mini-stories involving the students of Seelie High—a collection of interviews conducted by the intrepid Greer Douglas, student reporter for the Daily Chronicles, and a personal account of one student’s discovery of a magical heritage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aubrey Fredrickson
• Release date: Jun 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310583391

Aubrey Fredrickson

Aubrey Fredrickson lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with a landlubbing pirate, an amateur train enthusiast, and a baby who may possibly be a piranha in disguise. She is a full time stay-at-home mom, a part-time freelance writer, and an in-between-time crafter of stories. Sophie and the Flash Mob Santa was her first self-published book. She is now working on the "Tales from Seelie High," a collection of short stories which she will be publishing individually.

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New Boy

Tales from Seelie High #3

by Aubrey Fredrickson

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015 by Aubrey Fredrickson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoy this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Table of Contents

Story

New Boy

Bonus Material

Interviews about Dylan

This Side of the Door – Chelsea Lloyd

Information

About the Author

About Tales from Seelie High

Connect with the Author

Discover other titles by Aubrey Fredrickson

New Boy

October 9, 2014

Dylan sat slumped in the backseat, staring out at the endless trees that flashed by as they raced down the road. Trees. To Dylan, a tree was a domesticated thing that had been pruned and fertilized into submission in someone’s front yard. He had never seen trees like this, so overgrown and wild. They reminded him of the dark forests in fairytales that lulled children off the safe path and toward the witch’s cottage.

In the driver’s seat, Callie—she insisted on being called by her first name, as if that somehow made them friends—was talking. She never quit talking, although he had quit listening about fifty miles ago. Either she hadn’t noticed when he stopped responding, or she didn’t care. Maybe she couldn’t help herself. Maybe it was some kind of disease. Or phobia. That was it, he decided. She was afraid of silence.

He turned up the volume on his iPod, trying to drown out her voice, but in a lull between songs, he heard the cheerful, We’re almost there. Are you ready to see your new home?

Home. His stomach clenched at the word and he turned up the volume even louder. The heavy beat of the next song on his playlist overwhelmed Callie’s voice, finally erasing her from his immediate world. He wished that he could go on raising the volume until it drown out not only the sound of his social worker’s voice, but also the sight of the feral trees, the vibration of the car, and finally the existence of the house they were racing toward. Because that’s all it would be to him—a house. Not a home.

Whatever Callie might say, he knew by now how it worked. The place where you slept and ate and did your homework was a house. Your home was something else entirely. He had lived in a lot of houses, but he could not remember ever being home. Home was the place where they wouldn’t send you away. Home was forever. Whatever else the house he was racing toward was, Dylan knew that it would not be his home.

But at least it was a nice house. Two stories, a porch out front, and a large picture window in the living room that looked out onto a properly domesticated tree. Conor and Vivian looked nice enough, too. They were younger than he had expected. Conor was maybe thirty-five and Vivian looked a few years younger than her husband—barely old enough to pass for Dylan’s parents.

He sat on a couch next to Callie, across the room from where Conor was sitting stiffly on the very edge of a recliner. Dylan was good at reading adults. Conor was uncertain about this arrangement and worried about his wife. Vivian was eager, but also anxious. She fluttered around the room, straightening pillows and asking—again—if anyone would like a glass of lemonade.

I’d love one,