Chapter 11

The next day, Sebastian and Ronald arrived at the freshman check-in counter even before the staff, determined not to miss Bella. Time slipped by. As the check-in period neared its end, Bella still hadn't appeared. A gnawing worry set in—had the fire at the Shaw residence caused her to miss enrollment entirely? Just as they debated whether to look for her, Sebastian noticed the last student in line pulled out his acceptance letter. The sight of the document, identical to theirs despite being for a different college, jolted his memory back to the day the letters had arrived. That day, they had gone straight to see Tessa afterward. If his and Ronald's letters were the same because they were in the same program, why did Tessa's letter for the arts program look exactly the same too? After standing guard for days without seeing a single different style of letter, a chilling realization struck him. He grabbed Ronald, who was about to leave, and hurried over to a senior who was packing up