Rowan

***Somewhere in New Zealand ***

Mr. Jordan's eyes reddened as he looked at a picture of a boy.

"I'm waiting." he muttered.

He dropped the picture and looked out the window as he buried himself in deep thoughts.

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England

Knightsbridge.

"Here is your cup of tea ma'am." A maid said as she served Mrs. Parker.

"Tell Mr. Jonas to come in on your way out." She replied.

Okay, ma'am. She replied.

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Mrs. Parker is the leader of the largest Mafia group in England.

"Mr. Parker" her husband is a business tycoon.

Yes, the same Parkers that are in a collaboration with the Addams Family in California.

Mrs. Parker is quite the feisty woman, a woman of power and authority. All her children except one are in the mafia, "Marilyn" her first daughter. Although Marilyn escaped the clutches of her mother, it was just a partial escape. One should never underestimate the power of a Mafia.

One hot afternoon, her son went missing.

After all the police searches they ended up at a dead end. She had to contact her family to ask for help.

Marilyn had no choice but to meet her mom only to find out it was her Mom's doing.

"How could you mom." She cried out aggrievedly

"I had to do what I did." Her mother replied nonchalantly as she sipped her tea

After so much pleading, negotiation, and a little help from Mr. Parker, it was decided that the child will be released to her when he clocked seventeen.

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"Good evening ma'am." Mr. Jonas greeted politely.

"Evening Mr. Jonas, have your seat." She greeted back.

"How is he now? When will he be discharged?" She asked with concern.

"He'll be discharged tomorrow, by then his strength will have fully recovered." Mr. Jonas replied

"(signs) that's a relief." She muttered.

"At this point, It's advisable to let him do less strenuous activities. His body is at its limit already." Mr. Jonas seriously advised.

"Oh, he wouldn't be doing any more strenuous activities for a while. After all, this is the last test." She replied reluctantly.

Okay ma'am, here are the medical reports of the other.....

The discussion went on for over an hour before they called it a day.

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Rowan's pov

Every single bone in my body feels crushed. I'm so glad I'm getting out of here soon.

Training is fun and all because I've been doing it my whole life. It has been my source of solace all through my life. But this week's training was different and difficult. At first, it was training with my seniors, then, the sparring sessions to having to keep up with school work.

I'm exhausted. Physically and mentally exhausted.

Mom has not visited me this month like she always does.

She was supposed to come to get me last week but she did not. Granny claimed there was a delay. I can't help being anxious and down even though I trust her. I have been looking forward to leaving this place my whole life, one more year here, I'd go nuts. I miss my parents and my sister. Words can't explain my longing for them. I look forward to reuniting with my family.

He drifted into dreamland with an uncertain smile that carried hope on his face.

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Grey High School,

California.

For some unknown reason, Mr. Chi Fu was allowed to visit me and access the school without much procedure. He taught me a different technique from the one he usually taught. To be honest, it was not easy. A new technique and stealth walking are never the easiest things to learn.

Apparently, Mr. Chi Fu will be allowed in the school on Saturdays so my Saturday noon has a fixed schedule already…not cool.

I wonder why Dad is so persistent about my classes with Mr. Chi Fu when I already have to go to defense classes here in school.

I freshened up and went to the school cafeteria for dinner.

I went to meet Tia in the evening and invited her to the gummy Gretz shop. It is a snack shop in the school. I got to know more about her and had fun with her.

It is a Sunday evening, I went for a swing with Tia earlier before we went our separate ways. I am under my favorite oak tree again, the sound of the wind is therapeutic to me. I took in the calm and thought about random things.

The school's educational activities officially start tomorrow and I am excited.

I went back to my room, freshened up, and prepared for the next day.

I prayed, laid down, and watched the girls doing their usual long-session skincare routine till I drifted off into my dream wonderland.

Monday 14

.... In Grey High School, the hallway was quite busy. The students were getting the books they'll be needing for their classes...

I was asked to meet my class teacher, "Miss Julia" before going to class so I had to and I ended up helping her carry her materials. She seemed nice and accommodating.

I took a deep breath before I walked into the class.

"Good morning class." Miss Juliana said.

We have a new student joining us, do well by making her feel comfortable. Introduce yourself and sit on seat 24b. she continued.

Good morning everyone, I am Jordan Raven. it's nice to meet you all, I hope we all get along well.

I said and took my seat.

The class was pretty much normal except for the strange glances a few people threw at me occasionally. A look of concern mixed with pity or whatnot.

why my seat partner slept throughout the first two classes without being scolded still baffles me. The rest of the classes I had today were separate so I did not go back to class after the first two periods.

I had practical classes, defense classes, and fitness and poise classes.

I enjoyed the defense class, I was taught something totally new. The practical classes weren't too tasking. The fitness and poise class is not much to write home about. I did enjoy the fitness part but the poise part? not so much. I would have been embarrassed in my first class if I hadn't taken any stealth lessons before. it's annoying to have weights on your body and still try to walk on a thin metal bar. Life is not easy as it is, why make it harder, uh?

Monday was not too eventful but high school life is definitely enjoyable and I am looking forward to my time here. Time seemed to slow down as I holed up myself in the library doing my assignments carefully. I would not have myself failing at any point when this is the only year I would be spending in high school.

***l The next day ***l

I woke up and went to class early today, I'm not sure exactly why. A small part of me admits I was trying not to get into any situation with Bianca but I'm just excited that's all.

I am glad we aren't in the same class. All my roommates are in other classes. The last grade is divided into four classes. I happen to be in the first-class building which is quite a distance from the other classes' buildings.

I met my seat partner today and this time he was not sleeping. He looked at me with amusement and asked who I was. I introduced myself and sat down. He's pretty chill but looked like someone that doesn't want to be disturbed. I asked him a few questions about our class, he replied succinctly so I guessed it was my cue to shut my mouth. I took out a book I borrowed from the library and buried my head in it.

The school was over in a short while as today was Tuesday. We all went to the gym for training. It was a walk in the park for me but it was fun doing it with people.

I went back to my room, had a bath, and rested for a while. I went for dinner and sat under the oak tree for a while before going to sleep.

I lay on my bed preparing to sleep when Tia and Grace came over looking quite anxious.

I" heard that you were allocated to the first building." Tia said in a gossipy tone.

"Yeah." I said sitting up as I looked at them curiously.

"Is it true that you sit with Addams Adrien?" Grace asked earnestly.

"Uhh, who's that?" I asked

"Wait, what? You don't know who Addams Adrian is?" The girls asked astonished.

"Hahaha." Bianca giggled hysterically. What do you expect from a lucky bumpkin, you both should not get your hopes high on her, she's hopeless. "Now, let me educate you, Addams Adrian is the king of Grey High School. He's the most handsome guy you'd ever come across." She said walking to her mirror. He is the most...… I ignored her as she seemed to be trapped in her little world already.

"Don't be offended Rav, she's the hopeless one here. She has been chasing after Adrian for a while now, she's quite close to Adrian. At least they speak once in a while. Whatever you do, Adrian is off limits else Bianca would make your life miserable." Tia said in a low voice.

"Apart from getting irritated easily, he's not much trouble." Grace said in an assuring voice.

They both left after a while leaving me thinking about why they are being like this. Perhaps I'm not sitting with Adrian because the person I seat with is just a lazy, cool nerd.

I was exhausted and I did not have the strength to think about anything for long so before I knew it I had slept off.