Chapter One

"Bethany, listen. I don't want to. What part of that can't you understand?!". He just slammed his door at me. Amazing! Lucas Flinn (Luke for short) don't want to go to school with me.

"So, I guess I would be taking the bus then." I said emphasizing my words, so he could hear behind the doors.

"then go, or else you won't be able to catch it up."

I sighed and rolled my eyes at what he just said.

I went down the stairs and sat together with his dad at the kitchen counter. His mom was cooking the breakfast with the assistance of his three-year-old cute little sister, Samantha. She gave me a pancake with a syrup on top. Sam gave me a fork to dig with it.

"It seems not coming to school together?" Mr. Flinn asked before sipping his coffee.

I continued eating as an answer.

"why?" Grace questioned me, wondering. She is Luke's other younger sister. I don't know how old she is, all I know she is on eleventh grade and she looks more ladylike than me." You have always come to school together, like it's not just a first day ritual but an everyday thing for the both of you."

"she needs to expand her world." He answered with every dot in his word while taking a plate with pancakes in his hands, he dozed off the kitchen like it was nobody's business. After finishing his breakfast, he went straight out. "bye mom! Bye dad! Bye Samee! Bye Gracie! Bye Beth! Bye everyone! Beth don't be late." He pointed out the last words. After saying that, he zoomed out of the garage with his car. Not giving me any chance to react.

"so…. I could drop you off to school together with Grace. If only you want to." Mr. Flinn hesitated.

"yeah, sure." I smiled and went off with them.

"Bethany?" Mrs. Flinn sweetly approached me. "I hope you wouldn't take his words by heart. You know, just like how he always does." She smiled awkwardly. I smiled and nodded. She's right, Luke can be mean sometimes even though he doesn't mean it. I hopped in the car and they dropped me off to school.

By the way, I'm a college student. Funny right. Who would think I would be one. It's not that my parents can't support me, it's just that except for my teachers, Lucas and his sister no one knew I existed in high school. Weird, I know. I admit it. I'm a loner. I don't want to be excluded from the crowd, but I also don't want to be noticed by the crowd. A typical introvert, as labeled by everyone. I'm not a nerd, just every other student I also struggle at meeting my grades. People should stop generalizing loner people as nerds.

I arrived at school two hours before my first class. I woke up early thinking that I would change his mind from leaving my side for all my college life, and I failed. It's already been a month and I haven't blend in yet to the crowd. Luke said I should do it. It will be best for me. Who does he think he is? Doesn't he know my palms are excessively sweating. My chest feels so tight that it is hard to breathe. I continued walking until I reached my seat.

First class. Viola. English Literature 1, lucky me! The class that gives you a lot of exposure. I want to collapse.

I opened my book and read our topics in advance. I hate school, the teachers are so demanding. But I still read because it's either I pass, or I fail and there is no in between. Little by little, people filled the entire room. The once quiet place I was in became noisy which were amplified by the four large walls. I wish this could end soon.

"hi!" a girl at my right caught attention. She is waving at me. She's pretty, with a wavy long brunette hair until her shoulders, paired with a cute face. I waved my hand with a smile in return.

"Are you a new enrollee? The class already started a month ago, I've never seemed to remember you sitting next to me." Before I could respond, the bell rang. I just smiled at her again and pointed in front to let her know our professor is there. I'm not a new enrollee of this class, I just happen to sit two rows at the back from this seat, and last Friday the teacher rearranges the seat plan. She was absent that day and all the absents' seats were remained as is to avoid a huge mess when they came back.

The class started as usual. Everyone had their eyes in front attentively, taking important notes if necessary. It makes me so sleepy, who wouldn't be in a two-hour class. It's so boring.

The class ended. And my day went on with attending my other subjects. Everything was normal except that I feel someone is staring at me. But who? It's so creepy that it made me cringe. Looking around everyone was so busy with their own hectic life. Everything seems normal, so I just brushed off that thought aside. I've bumped with Luke a few times this day, but we didn't say a word to each other. He would just smile and walk past me. After such a long day that always felt like a decade away from my room I decided to go home. I am not rushing but I am only thinking one thing in mind; "HOME". Luckily, I don't have any schoolwork to do so I could relax all I want when I get home.

I don't feel like taking the bus or train, so I decided to hail a cab. It was better to sit with a stranger inside a car than bumping into a surging wave of strangers. My classes end at 3pm and it takes less than an hour to reach our house from the school I'm currently attending in but if I take the bus or train it will take more than an hour.

I am already home, but no one's around. I dropped my bag on the couch at the living room and I went straight to the kitchen to drink some water. Refreshing! As I was drinking, I checked the notes on the bulletin board beside the fridge. My sister left a note like we always do when no one is around when were leaving and were also expecting that the other will be home earlier than us. "I LEFT SOME FOOD INSIDE THE FRIDGE. YOU CAN HEAT IT UP LATER. I WILL BE COMING HOME LATE, BUT I WILL BE HOME FOR SUPPER, SO YOU HAVE TO COOK." I checked the refrigerator and the food was there. I took it, heat-it, and brought it on the couch in front of the television and ate it.

I miss my parents and other siblings especially at moments like this. Though I don't want to be surrounded by a lot of people, my loved ones are the exception. I grew up in a pretty huge family with six siblings. When I reached junior high my siblings decided to separate one after another. Our eldest decided to stay. After some period, my parents decided to live on their hometown to settle in because it was the best place for them to calm down. It was only me and our eldest sister that was left in this house for quite a long time now. They come to visit sometimes though and on holidays we get together on my parents' house.

After a long search for something that I would like to watch, I've decided to watch an unknown movie. The setting looks like at a Victorian era. The movie is about a boy who was forced to be a butler by his family because their lineage served a noble family for centuries and he is also expected to be one. Though at a young age, he was assigned to the eldest son of the family to be his master which was also at the same age as him. Their bond was strengthened by time which made them treat each other just like brothers. They both grew up to be fine young men. The noble son was now introduced to a pretty lady of some other noble family. They became friends and introduced her to the butler. The three of them became close to each other until they reached at the age where it is expected for someone to get married just like how the movie described it. Both noble families decided to create a pact by marrying their eldest son and daughter. Just as how I predicted it, the eldest son of the noble family has come to like the girl. But the girl ends up liking the butler and vice versa.

The story continued with the nobles getting married and the butler was sent away by force without the two knowing. The butler went to places, though he is far away he communicates with the girl with letters about his experiences. Time comes the letters stopped coming. The girl wondered so he asked his family that was still serving at their house. The butler died because the ship that he was in, sunk at the middle of the sea. After learning what happened, the girl went to the attic which was the butler's room before. Though dusty, everything was left as how he had last used it. While in there, he saw a book below his pillow; it was his journal. She read it and reminisced as how they had first met and the times, they were together. At night she wept and cried a lot and confessed at the noble son how much she loves the butler and how she regrets not telling her how she feels towards him. The noble son told her that it's okay and he knows, they held a funeral for him even without his dead body.

The story ended with them having a child and naming it after the butler.

Though the story was predictable, it made me cried my heart out. When I looked at the window it was already sunset, my phone rang; it is Luke.

"Hey!", trying to cheer my voice up.

"something's wrong?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"are you crying?"

"no!" I denied. "just caught a cold."

"oh! okay." I know he didn't believe me. "open up, I'm at the door."

I sighed. when I opened the door, I saw him with his angry face.

"what?"

"Why did you sigh? Don't you want me here?" he asked while barging in. "and you said you where not crying, how come your eyes are bloodshot?"

"I'm on drugs." I respond flatly. Rummaging at the pizza box and the plastic bag he brought.

"where's Elena?" he is asking about my sister without minding my words earlier.

"working."

He sat at the sofa, feeling so much at home. "so, how was your first day alone?"

"it was fun!" I smirked.

"oh yeah!" he munched at his pizza, creating puffy cheeks. With his mouth half full he said, "your young, you should have a life outside these imaginary walls that you have built."

"yes, sir."

"Bethany, I'm serious. You're twenty and my seventeen-year-old sister has more life than you." He stated matter flatly.

"whatever!" I looked at him seriously, as if daggers are coming out of my eyes. He looked at me like he hasn't said anything that hurt my feelings. I took the big box of pizza and 250 ml coke and ran to my room upstairs.

"hey! I bought that!" he shouted which I didn't mind.

"go home!"