There was a few weeks left before the summer break when my mom passed away and summer went by in flash that I still couldn't beleive that she was really gone and it was hard to accept it. Frank does his best to make me feel better in his big mansion but nothing helps. I missed our little apartment, it was small but it was warm and full of life. My mom and I would cook every Sunday, I remover how she would nag me about not taking the trash out or to clean my room.
My old room was smaller than this one and yet it was comfortable for me. In the evening, we could hear our neighbors arguing, others left their TV on all night and it was very noisy but I still managed to sleep. There was a time where I were wished for a spacious room like this, the luxurious clothes and different shoes and yet I was not happy, I couldn't not be happy.
My bed was big and comfy and the mansion quiet with almost a deafening silence and yet I couldn't sleep a wink some nights. The food was delicious at first but now it tasted bland in my mouth, it didn't taste like mom's cooking. The only thing she left for me was her handwritten cookbook that I always kept close to my nightstand. I would have given anything I had to go back to that tiny apartment cooking with my mom again in our tiny kitchen.
Frank really tries to spend time with me but his job takes him a lot and he's hardly ever home, leaving early in the morning and arriving late at night. I spent most of my days sitting in the chalet by the pool, sometimes I found Sofia reading in the library, she always greeted me with a warm smile but doesn't talk a lot. I chatted with Mr. Miles too from time to time but he spoke like in the 1800s so I got bored quickly. Besides, I still wasn't used to the staff calling me young master. As for Victoria, she was as cold and hostile as ever when no one is around but she smiled and played nice when Frank was around, seeing the son of her husband's mistress every day is not an easy thing to bear.
Now I also have my own car, one of the many gifts Frank gave me to supposedly make up for lost time, but I preferred my motorcycle more reminded me of my old bike, but it went much faster and when I was on it, it's as if I was escaping a little from my sad reality. So now, I was on long motorcycle rides to pass the time visiting Northview. It was a pretty big city with imposing skyscrapers, a few parks here and there but it was clear that the city was divided in three very different areas: the private properties with mansions and luxurious villas, the middle class areas with ta apartment buildings and finally small houses and small houses in the outskirts of the city a little bit similar to the little town I used to lived in.
After being homeschooled before the summer break, and after a long and dull summer, my first day of school was tomorrow. I was enrolled in Northview High, an elite school for the rich kids. After I pleaded to Frank to keep my mom's last name, I was formally registered me under the name of Blake Hansen, and not Blake Campbell, this name still sounded false to my ears.
I woke up very early that morning to go on a little bike ride, took a shower and put on my uniform, a dark green jacket embroidered with the Northview emblem, a white shirt with a tie and gray pants. I never wore a tie before so I didn't know how to tie it. I then went downstairs to have my breakfast where Frank was already waiting for me.
" WOW !! Look at you ! " , he said with a big smile on his face.
Blake didn't say a thing and just sat down to savor his breakfast.
" What happened to your tie ? " , Frank asked.
" I don't know how to tie it " , Blake said coldly.
" Come here let me help you " , he said but when saw that Blake wasn't coming towards him, he approached him and tied it anyway.
" I have something else for you " , Frank said and handed me a brown box. I opened it and there was an old pen inside.
" It's the pen that I used to sign my first contract and now I'm giving it to you and maybe later you will give it to your son too " , Frank told him with a proud smile.
" Thank you " , said coldly and then continued to eat my breakfast.
" Alright ! What would you say if I drop you off today ? After all it's your first day at your new school " , Frank suggested with a smile.
" No thank you but I prefer to go there on my own " , Blake told him.
Then Victoria came in and said : " wow !! Look at you boys ! You are both handsome ".
" Good morning love " , Frank greeted her and gave her a kiss.
" I'll go now, I don't want to be late for my first day " , Blake told them, stood up and left and once again, he prefered to take his motorcycle rather than his car.
Northview High is one of the most famous and reputable high school in the country, most of the students who went there were all rich kids but there were also middle class kids of course. It was one of those old castle looking schools and Blake entered through the imposing and old style gate and parked his bike. It took him a few minutes to find the office.
"Good morning! My name is Blake Hansen. I'm a new student and I was told to come a little early for a tour and to pick up my my locker number " , he explained to the lady in her fifties type on an old typewriter machine behind the desk. The lady stopped typing looked at him briefly before typing again. That lady was Helga Frye, the receptionist. She was an alumni of Morthview high and has been here for almost three decades.
" Blake Hansen ?! " a female voice from behind him said.
" Yeah ?! " , Blake turned around.
The voice was coming from a girl who was sitting with an open book in front of her, she stood up and introduced herself.
" My name is Caitlin Peters. On behalf of all Northview students, welcome. I'm part of the welcome committee for new students and today I'm your tour guide to help you find your way around this wonderful high school " , she said cheerfully but with a hint of sarcasm when she said the word 'wonderful'.
" Well ... Thank you " , Blake stuttered, still a bit surprised.
" Here is your lock number. You can change it later. I noticed too that you hadn't chosen an extracurricular activity yet. You have to choose at least two activities among the fifteen offered by the school. Can I recommend the robotics club ? We are desperately looking for a fifth member " , Caitlin explained while handing him a small paper with his lock number.
" Thanks. And yeah, I will think about it " , Blake told her.
" Sure ! I'm going to show you around a bit, here it's already the secretariat with Mrs. Frye behind the counter " , Caitlin said.
" That's Headmaster Peters' office over there ", she added.
" Peters as in your name ? Are you the principal's daughter? ", Blake asked, surprised.
"Yes!", Caitlin confirmed while rolling her eyes, "moving on", she added trying to change the subject quickly.
" Northview High was the first high school established here after the foundation of the city and it is ranked third best high school in the country. The area of Northview high is about 9750 square meter and about six hundred students are here including foreign students " , Caitlin explained as they walked the hallway touring the campus.
" To your left is our music room, over there the theater. The gym and the swimming pool are in the other building but we don't have time to go there because the morning assembly will start in about 15 minutes and classes starts 15 minutes after that and it would take us about 10 minutes to cross the whole courtyard as well as the parking lot and therefore we will be late if we go there " , Caitlin told him as they walked down the hall. Blake during this time was speechless, his old high school seemed so small compared to this one.
" Here is your locker ", Caitlin said as they stopped in front of Blake's locker.
" The cafeteria is just down the hall and the restrooms the other way. Our classroom when is just on the floor above. You are in the special group right?! So we have pretty much the same schedule today so we're going to the same classroom, we have maths as our first course for today " , Caitlin added while Blake was opening his locker.