Then there’s Lance Cain. Not exactly a great first impression either. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from him before meeting but confirmed my suspicion of him having fed with a silver spoon disease.
Too bad.
All the looks, but just the wrong attitude. Images of his sweaty body, moving in the ring today intrusively break through into daydreams. Yes, he was hot. Super hot. I forget where I was going with my train of thought and take out my journal to better conceptualize it all.
I start with the titles: Moving on Up. I smile to myself before continuing to write.
Chapter 6
I wake up in the morning around nine. When I open my bedroom door, Marta is sitting in the dining area, waiting for me with a silver tray on the table beside her. She lifts the cover, revealing a mini tower of crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and grilled vegetables.
“Good morning.” Marta says with a smile. “How was your first night?”
“Excellent. I had a nightmare that I woke up in my actual home.” I smile back.
Marta stands up from the table and invites me to sit. “Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure, what do you have?” Marta looks at me funny. I suppose the possibilities were endless. “Orange juice?”
“Of course.” She pours me a cup and reminds me that Mr. Winters would be here soon to drive me to the Principal’s home for a new student interview. Apparently, all new students must meet him before school starts.
I’m nervous to meet the principal, Mr. Davis Aldridge. I looked up some information on him last night but couldn’t find more then a faculty picture of him and short bio from the school. I have this idea that if I sit down with him, even for just a few moments, he will realize I’m a fake and don’t belong at Ryland Academy.
The thought makes me feel completely full, despite barely eating much. I stand up and bring my dish to the sink. Marta tries to intervene saying she can do this for me, but I prefer her not to. I somehow manage to spill some scrambled eggs along the way.
A knock on the door startles me and I almost drop the whole plate on the floor. Marta answers the door and Mr. Winters walks in.
“Hello again.” I say cheerfully.
He nods his head at me and smiles. “Are your ready to leave Elle?” I nod my head back.
Winters takes a few steps inside the guest house right into the scrambled eggs on the floor. Suddenly the smile on his face fades. With the expression on his face it seems like I just said something offensive to him. He lifts his shoe and sees the scrambled eggs mashed on the bottom.
“Sorry about that.” Marta says. “I was just about to clean that Mr. Winters.”
He ignores her, takes out a pair of leather gloves from his jacket and puts them on. He takes off his shoe and goes to the sink cleaning the bottom furiously with water, and a paper towel. When he seems convinced there is no trace of eggs, he manages a small smile at me.
“I’ll wait for you in the car.” He says, and promptly leaves.
I look at Marta, unsure how to respond.
Marta just shrugs her shoulders. “He’s a very particular man, but very nice.”
I finish getting ready. This time I’m not wearing a white tank top. I put on the only blue blouse I packed which suits my body nicely without coming on too strong. It is probably the only nice-looking article of clothing I have left.
I enter the back of the Escalade, and Winters opens the window between us. “Shouldn’t take us more than thirty minutes to get to Mr. Aldridge’s property.” I thank him and he rolls the window up.
I’m tempted to know more about my mysterious driver. I almost want to roll my window down and play thirty questions with him. Although he seems to have his issues, besides Marta, he has been welcoming. I wonder what his situation is like. Is he married, divorced, kids, dog, cat? I get the image of him being a lonely guy with several large loving dogs surrounding him always. Who needs a woman when you have man’s best friend beside you?
I roll down the window but have no clue how to start the conversation.
“Are you okay Elle? Do you need something?”
“No, sorry. I hit the button on accident.” He smiles and rolls the window back up.
Soon enough we enter the premises of Mr. Aldridge. His property is probably one tenth of Arthur Cain’s, but is wealthy for a principal. I have no clue what my principal made for a salary at my last school, but it was likely nowhere near what principal Aldridge brings in. Obviously being in charge of the top secondary school in the nation has a decent take home pay.
Thomas pulls up to the entrance, and a man with slicked-back white hair in a grey sport jacket is waiting for me. Beside him is a slightly younger woman with blond hair in a pretty blue dress. When the car comes to a complete stop, the man opens the car door for me.
“Hello, I’m Mr. Aldridge.” He puts out a hand and I use it to exit the vehicle.
“Elle Maven.” I say. “Pleasure to meet you Principal Aldridge.”
The woman laughs. “Please don’t do that today, Elle. He’s your principal tomorrow. Today, he’s just plain ol’ Davis.”
“I’m afraid she’s right.” Davis Aldridge says with a smile. “Please come inside. We have a little brunch set up for us.”
I follow them to an indoor patio with a greenhouse ceiling. A small table with three chairs is set up with two on one side and the third on the other. A silver tray has coffee and pastries on it. The light shines through the clear ceiling, beating down on me. If it wasn’t for Mr. Aldridge and him being so pleasant, I’d feel like I’m
