Mariah's Letters

Dear Dr. Blaine,

Guess what? We've moved again. We're not in Phoenicia anymore. We're not even on the East Coast! I don't know exactly what happened, but then, what else is new? It was all cloak-and-dagger stuff. Anyway, whatever happened, Hadley doesn't exist anymore. The school got bought out by some company I don't recognize and they transferred us. I'm now a resident of St. Christina's something-or-other at a place called Green Ridge. It's an honest-to-goodness island off the coast of Oregon.

The trip out here was kind of scary. I'd never been on a plane before and I was really nervous. I would have much rather taken a bus again, or even taken the train. But it ended up being sort of okay. I had an adventure in the airplane bathroom - those things are TINY - and then when I came out I heard my friend Nell inviting everybody to a card game, so I sat down and played with her and this really nice guy Jamie and a couple other people. It was a lot of fun and it took my mind off of being scared.

Now that we're here, I think I'm gonna like it. You can smell the ocean from not too far away - I haven't seen it yet, except when we took the ferry from the mainland to the island, but I can smell it. There are three other people in my room, and one of them is Nell, so I know everything is going to be okay.

I have to go - it's almost dinner time - but I promise I'll keep writing to you. Thank you so much for taking care of me!

Love,
Mariah.