Chapter Two

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, yawned and forcefully rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, grabbed a shirt and followed my brother, practically skipping down the hall.

"Weirdo."

"Ken is he up," I heard my dad shout at my brother from somewhere downstairs.

"I'm coming! I am coming!" I yelled a bit louder than intended while pushing my head through the shirt's neck whole. I heard mom giggle. What is wrong with these people today?

I bounced down the stairs yawning a bit annoyed that I was being corralled this early in the morning and I don't have school. Heck, I won't have school until probably another three hundred and sixty-five days at least.

I rolled the end of the shirt down and followed Ken into the family room where mom and dad sat evidently excited about something. I rolled my eyes at them and dropped myself into the recliner adjacent to them.

"OK I'm here. What do you bone heads want," I grumbled, adjusting the recliner, so I could lean back comfortably. God, I hate mornings.

Suddenly, something was tossed at me, hitting my chest and sliding into my lap.

"Read it," Ken said, chuckling as he sprawled himself on the single sofa across the coffee table in front of me.

I pushed out a huge gush of air, pressing my lips together before it sat up and snatched the letter from my thighs.

I held the envelope on one side, about to rip it open, but stopped short when the sheet of paper fell out the other side. I sighed and looked at my family very disapprovingly.

"What the envelope was blank, we wanted to know if it was ours," my mom squeaked defending them.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and snatched up the piece of paper. It felt crisp and warm, warm like the letter from last night. Where is that letter any way? The letter was a soft baby blue with a school emblem and fancy writing. This must be some really high-end school. Wait, which school is this? I scanned the letter carefully, slightly frowning until I caught the name. Stanton University. I had never heard of that school before.

"Have any of you guys ever heard of Stanton University?" I spoke aloud, looking at the letter and searching my mind for any familiarity.

I heard my mother hum in thought while high speed tapping told me that my brother was on his phone, but before Google could respond to his request, my dad answered my question.

"Yeah, I know that school. It's one of those schools for geniuses somewhere in the UK," dad spoke in a smooth yet deep voice as the memory resurfaced. I looked up at him silently begging him to continue. "I had a friend who went there. Dang smartest person I know. Got a full scholarship too. Little glasses Mikey."

"Wait you said Mickey as Micheal Wheeler," my brother said, looking from his phone to dad.

"Yeah," my dad said, smiling widely, showing off his perfect teeth, looking at Ken.

"Well, according to this, he is the president of the university now," Ken said, scrolling through his phone, then he suddenly turned the phone to dad " this is the guy we're talking about right?"

I lost interest in the conversation as my nerves started to itch to read the letter.

Dear Mr Taylor,

The board of Stanton University would like to inform you that you have been chosen as a candidate to participate in our scholarship program for attending the above institution. We have reviewed your portfolio, and you have exceeded the requirements to attend this institution.

Re the scholarship mentioned, you will have access to five years' tuition, all school material and living, and other expenses can be deducted from the ten thousand pounds monthly allowance you will receive upon campus entry. Any other issues and concerns will be addressed upon arrival. We will send you someone to assist in your preparation on the nineteenth of July, two weeks after the expected delivery of this letter.

With high regard,

President of Stanton University,

Mr Michael Wheeler

Whoa.

Just Whoa.

"Um Jay, you plan on stop catching flies and tell us what it said," Ken chucked after taking a picture of my expression.

"Huh?"

"The letter sweety. What did it say?" Mom said in a soft voice.

"Oh right here," I rushed out, tossing the letter to her, my mind still swimming in the information I had just read.

Ken jumped up to press himself against dad, stretching his neck to get his peek at the letter. Practically crushing dad.

"Wait, today is the nineteenth," Ken said, his eyebrows narrowing, and like set on cue, the doorbell rang, pulling attention from the letter to the door.

My brother hopped over the sofa arm and jogged to the door. Ken came back shortly, and he was accompanied by someone. He was smoothly tanned, wearing a pair of black slacks, a black turtle neck and a pair of black dress shoes. His dark brown hair draped down to his shoulders, hugging his high cheekbones and tickling his sharp jawline. He looks like a heartbreaker, and his piercing gray eyes only emphasized that theory.

"Hello, good morning. My name is Adrien Valentine, and I was sent here to assist Mr Taylor in his preparation for his travels in three days' time," he said courteously in an insanely thick British accent. He sounded polite, but he really didn't look particularly happy about all this.

"Wait three days!" Mom blurted at the realization of the short time.

"Yes, I assumed you would have known that when I arrived it wouldn't be long before our departure," he said, his face contouring in confusion.

"Yeah but we only just found the letter this morning," Ken said, looking up at Adrien from the armchair.

Adrien's eyebrows pushed together and lowered slightly.

" I'm confused. The letter was sent two and a half weeks ago. How are you saying you just got it?" his voice moving from fridge to freezer.

"Yeah, we found it this morning on the coffee table. I don't even know how it-,"

"Wait, you found this on the coffee table this morning?" I blurted, sitting up a little too quickly almost throwing myself onto said coffee table.

"Yeah, when I woke up this morning I found it sitting there," Ken said, sitting straight, looking at me like a troubled child.

This is the letter that was delivered last night. Well, this morning, actually.

"Um.. Adrien, I collected that letter this morning-"

"Jay I was up at five this morning."

"-at three this morning. Someone delivered the letter at three this morning." I looked at Adrien and his lips curled into a small smile but his icy eyes made the North Pole feel like the Caribbean.

"Well, I sincerely apologize to you and your family for this mishap, but the matter of your departure is outside my hands," he said with his eyes still digging through my soul. He's a bit scary.

"Well since we don't have much time let's get to it," dad said, kicking his legs up to swing his upper body off the couch. "Now if anyone else cares for breakfast. The kitchen is this way," he said, throwing his hand dramatically in the direction of the kitchen. Everyone got up and made a beeline to the kitchen while Adrien statued himself.

"Adrien, you're welcome to join us," my mother gestured to Adrien from the doorway to the kitchen.

"That would be much appreciated, Mrs Taylor but I already had something on my way here."

"Oh, OK. You can have a seat while you wait." And with that mom practically ran off to the kitchen. Adrien walked over and sat on the couch my parents once occupied, taking out his phone to do whatever. I then decided it was time to eat something and got up to go to the kitchen, but as I was about to cross the threshold, Adrien asked a question that made my stomach dip.

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