Chapter 14: Meeting The Vanderbilts
(Ravine POV)
I woke up to the feel of a silky bed cover and then I remembered I did spend the night at J.J.'s. I rolled over to the side of the bed only to find it empty.
J.J. must be downstairs.
I went to the bathroom and changed into my clothes from yesterday. As soon as I was done, I quickly headed downstairs to ask J.J. to drop me off the boarding house when I was greeted by Rosa.
"Hello, dear!"
"Hi Rosa! Have you seen J.J.?"
"He's in the dining room with his parents, having breakfast. They are actually waiting for you." She said.
All of a sudden, I got completely intimidated.
"Don't you worry dear, they are actually very excited to meet you." She said.
She escorted me to the dining room where J.J., his mom and his dad are eating.
"Hey, you're up!" J.J. said.
His parents both stood up from their seat and introduced themselves.
"You must be Ravine, I'm Grace and I'm J.J.'s mom." She said as she lent her hand out for a shake.
"Pleasure to meet you!" I said.
She looks extremely pleasant and very beautiful. She has a short brunette hair, the same hair color as J.J.'s and she has the physique of a model. She's wearing an elegant floral dress which complements her charismatic personality.
I then turned my attention towards J.J.'s dad who is the slight opposite of Grace. Don't get me wrong, he is very handsome and I can definitely see his resemblance to J.J. but he looks so serious. He has a square jaw and he's quite muscular as well. He's wearing a dark polo shirt and a beige colored pants.
He looks so formal with his attire. He must be a very busy man.
"You must be J.J.'s dad. I'm Ravine." I said as I lent my hand out.
"Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you. I'm Jacob." He shook my hand out.
"Please, join us for breakfast." Grace said.
I sat down next to J.J. and all of a sudden, a server laid down a plate filled with posh breakfast food.
"Dig in." He said.
I grabbed my utensils and I tried to be as sophisticated as I can with eating. I don't want J.J.'s parents to think badly of me so I did my best to be graceful with handling the spoon and fork, slicing the bread and of course, the chewing.
The pressure is on. Try not to make a mess, Ravine.
"So Ravine, J.J. told me you're a scholar." Grace said.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Please, just call me Grace and just call him Jacob. You're making us feel old." She giggled.
"Sorry."
"Why did you choose Waldorf?" She asked.
"Because it offers high quality education and it's one of the best schools in Canada so why not?" I said.
"Your parents must be incredibly proud of you."
"I hope they are." I said.
"What are you currently into?" Jacob asked.
"I'm currently into writing, sir. I actually write for the school paper of Waldorf."
"Dad, Ravine has been awarded 'Best Student Writer' by the school, just so you know." J.J. added.
"That's awesome, do you plan on going to college to pursue writing?"
"I haven't really thought about it, sir." I said.
"I think highly of so many writers, you know. What started your passion for writing?" Grace asked.
"My parents work as contributors to magazines and newspapers as a sideline and I would always get enticed just by reading their pieces. I am also an avid reader so I guess that's also a factor to my passion for writing."
"Mom, let Ravine eat his breakfast. You ask too many questions." J.J. said.
"I know. I'm sorry." Grace said.
"It's fine, J.J. Let her ask questions." I said.
---
Frida and I are currently writing for the school paper in the cafeteria when she brought up something that caught my attention.
"You and J.J. seem to spend so much time together."
"What do you expect? We're friends."
"Come on, Ravine. It's so obvious J.J.'s totally into you."
"That's not true. He told me he likes someone right now." I said.
"He could be secretly referring to you, you know."
"Not going to happen."
"Did something happen when you spent the night with him?" She asked.
"Nothing happened. We just slept next to each other."
"Oh my god! You guys did it, didn't you?"
"Frida, you're gross!!!" I said.
"I wonder how he's like in bed."
"Can you stop talking already? I am trying to concentrate here."
"He's probably super aggressive."
"Shut up!!" I said.
Suddenly, the school principal approached us at our table.
"How are we doing here, fellas?" Beverly greeted.
"We're fine, ma'am!" I said.
"If you guys need anything, you know where to find me, okay?" She said.
"We know."
"Good."
As soon as she left, Frida and I got a little bit weirded out.
"Dude, that's so random!" Frida said.
"I wonder why she's so nice to me."
"Do you know that there's a rumor circling in this school that the reason why she wears turtleneck everyday is because she has so many scars?"
"Scars? Where would she get that from?" I asked.
"I don't know but some say that she used to have an abusive ex-husband. Some say that she even had a miscarriage because of him."
"That's so sad."
Maybe that's the reason why she is so extra nice to students, because she doesn't have a child. Maybe she sees us as her second children. I hope she finds comfort one day.