Chapter Four

While Stephen was working his desk job at the Sim City Police Department, the onus fell on Wanda, now some four months pregnant, to drop her daughter off at Hanover Academy, a beautiful, classically-designed building evoking an era gone by. It was not a job she wanted. "Honey," Wanda wailed as the taxi pulled up in front of the school, "I don't want you to leave me."
"Mom," Melody retorted, "it's not like I'm going to outer space where you won't hear from me at some point."
Sighing in resignation, Wanda said, unsure if Melody heard her, "And Melody, please, dear, try to make some friends."
Wanda continued to wipe away tears as Melody walked away, not even glancing backward. She couldn't even bear to watch her disappear inside the building.

Melody drank in a long look at her new surroundings. Posh, she thought, just like the brochure. Continuing to walk upstairs, she met her new roommate, a cool city-bred blonde with green eyeshadow and blood-red lipstick. Her walls were covered with posters of her favorite rock bands and art nouveau portraits. I think I'll get along just fine, Melody thought to herself.


"Hi!" the girl said sweetly. "I'm Sarah Rodiek. You?"
"Melody Tinker," she replied.
"Melody," Sarah repeated. "Pretty name -- nice to meet you."
As the girls entered their shared bedroom, and Melody began to set up some of her things, Sarah gazed in awe at some of her paintings. "Did you really paint all those pictures?" she asked.
Melody nodded shyly that she did.
"Wow. You're really talented. So you want to be an artist when you grow up?" Sarah asked.
Sarah and Melody sat up talking half the night -- about everything and nothing all at once. It was nearly two in the morning when they finally decided that they needed to get to bed. "Good night, Sarah."
Sarah laughed. "Night, Mel."
After breakfast, girls listened intently to the headmistress's customary welcome speech. "Ladies, I'm sure you're aware of what is expected of you," she began. "You are about to enter into an entirely new world filled with endless possibilities. You are joining a learning community full of like-minded spirits. I hope that all of you take full advantage of this opportunity. We believe that you will leave here a different person from the way you've come... Ladies, welcome to Hanover Academy."
When classes began, Melody immersed herself in Hanover's curriculum, soaking it up like a thirsty sponge, feeding her thirst for knowledge with gusto. She'd been placed in both its exclusive honors program and the talented art program. Her sheer joy, however, concealed a white-hot ambition. When she wasn't studying, she was working out. Something of a fitness freak, she had a low tolerance for laziness. After classes, she and Sarah would use the exercise equipment in the school gym. They were often the only two students in there. Melody made clear her desire to win the Hogan award, a scholarship given each year to students who keep themselves in top physical condition. "Really?" Sarah asked. "I'm going after the Hogan award, too. Let's both of us try to get it."

Melody had no clue that while she and Sarah were eating dinner that evening after working out, her mother had decided to pay an impromptu visit to the school, to speak to the headmistress. "Miss Hanover?" Wanda called, looking around the grounds for someone who looked important.
"I'm Miss Hanover," Liesel replied as she approached Wanda. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Managing a wan smile, Wanda introduced herself as Mrs. Tinker.
"Ah, yes, Melody's mother," Liesel thought. "Please, do, come in."
Liesel led Wanda to her office, where they sat to chat. Her office provided a stunning view of picturesque Bluewater Village. "You know, Mrs. Tinker," Liesel began, staring at her computer screen, "we have a waiting list to get in here. But when I received your daughter's online application, I had to admit her."
"Oh?" Wanda asked, growing more curious. "What do you mean?"
"Her grades are stellar, her former teachers rave about her desire for learning, her admissions essay was an intriguing read -- but what really sold me on letting her in here was her artwork samples. I had difficulty believing they were the work of a fourteen-year-old. Has she had any formal art training?"
"None whatsoever, if you don't count her high school art classes. All she's ever wanted to do, really, is paint. And we don't know where she got it from. My husband and I, we're toymakers, and neither of us can draw a stick figure!"
"Interesting." Liesel smiled.
"Ever since she was small," Wanda reminisced, "she always seemed like she was searching for something. My husband and I, we never could quite figure out what it was she was looking for."
"What we seek to do with gifted and talented girls like your daughter is to nurture them and help them to grow. I believe your Melody will thrive here."
The two women ended their conversation with smiles and handshakes. Wanda returned home feeling much better about Melody's placement.