[04-07-2022] This chapter has been re-written.
----------
CHAPTER 1
NOAH SKY
There's a loud bang on my door.
Groaning, I roll over the bed, the duvet getting tangled around my feet and body. The warmth of it makes me want to sleep more and continue dreaming. Which is why I'm so pissed to get up. Getting off my bed puts me in a bad mood.
This is the first day of school, of being a senior. A lot of students have enrolled in, and I'm not sure if I want to deal with them.
There's another set of loud bangs on the door.
I get off the bed (against my will!), but I fight the urge to lay down still and sleep more. I walk towards the door and open it, revealing the annoying face of my stepbrother, Gloss. What kind of name is that? Why did his mom name him Gloss? Is there some sort of history to that?
"What?" I snarl, glaring daggers at the annoying face in front of me.
It's too early. It's just 6 in the morning, and the school won't even start until 8. What's with the deal of waking me up early? I'm good at managing my time. I can shower within 5 minutes, prepare in 5 minutes, and eat in less than 5 minutes. It takes less than 20 minutes for me to arrive at school! Additionally, the school is just fucking near.
"Richard said to wake you up," Gloss says, his face contorting into disgust. He looks right at me in the eyes. "Get your ass downstairs. Mom keeps bugging me, too, to wake you up."
I roll my eyes, uninterested at what he's saying. I really don't care about him. Cecil, dad's new girlfriend, is all I care about. She makes my dad happy, and I just hope she wouldn't leave us like my mom did.
She left us for another guy, and that was 5 years ago. She didn't care about us, and she doesn't care about us now. I really have no idea why it turned out this way. It made me hate her because I can't see any valid reason as to why she would leave us for another guy, why she would leave dad, who is amazing, for another man.
Who would have thought that a guy âa very nice, caring, loving guy, like my father, would be dumped?
"Yeah," I reply back, still glaring at my idiot of a stepbrother. I don't know why Gloss irritates me. Maybe because of his name, or maybe because he's just really annoying. I despite him. At school, nobody even knows we live in the same house. I told him not to tell everyone, and that I would beat the shit out of him if he did. We made a deal. "Now, get out of my face. And my life. Get lost."
"Such an asshole," he mutters, rolling his eyes. I slam the door in his face. What a fucking twat.
I calm myself down and decide to take a shower. It's a short one because I just showered last night before I slept. I wear my uniform after I dry myself. The school requires the students to wear a fucking uniform. And have I mentioned that it's my dad's school?
Sky International School.
The uniform for men is a white, sleeveless, button-up polo, paired with a black silk pants, and black shoes. For girls, it's quite the same for the top, but their skirt should be at least at knee level, and their heels should no longer go above 2 inches. But that skirt rule is always violated, considering there's a handful of girls in the school who think they are the world's most-prized darlings. And honestly, nobody gives a fuck. They just let them. I just let them.
When I reach downstairs, they are already seated at the table. Dad is wearing a white, long-sleeve polo, tucked in his gray pants. The usually daddy outfit. The one they wear when they reach a certain age. He paired it with a red tie. Awful choice, by the way. He's drinking coffee as he reads the newspapers, muttering something about oil price hike, his dark hair gelled to the side.
"Good morning, sweetie." Cecil chortles as she gives me a kiss on my cheek. The usual morning treatment, and I love her for it. Dad sees us and hides a smile behind the newspaper. I know he's happy that Cecil and I are getting along just fine, but I also know that he's quite pissed at me because Gloss and I don't get along. We cannot co-exist.
"Good morning, too, Cecil." I say as I give her a bear hug.
I swear she's the best woman ever. She prefers to cook rather than the maids. She always wants us to eat what she prepares, and it's always awesome. When she came here into this house, the darkish energy was replaced by a bright one. The house literally lightened up. And dad became more colorful. Happier. They shine brighter.
The first week she came here, she told us that she would like to have a family day. Sunday. She would want us to go out every Sunday, or just have fun in the house, doing family stuff and to catch up with each other. Though I try to hide my excitement, it just comes out in a form of offerings and questions: what are we going to do? Is there something good we can watch? Would you like me to buy popcorns so we can eat something when we watch?
Gloss is quiet, which is unusual. He always runs his mouth. His dirty blonde hair, in its usual style, in a fahawk. He's wearing the same uniform as I am. He looks at his plate with no interest. Cecil sighs, noticing his son's unusual behavior.
"Missing our old home?" Cecil asks Gloss. Dad remains quiet. She takes a seat across from him, and Gloss just nods. He usually has episodes like this every now and then, but today is different. "Honey..."
"It's not just about that, mom." He replies, sadness coating his voice. He looks down at his lap. I'm not getting anything. What is the issue? I frown, resisting the urge to say something mean. Earlier he was being a cocky bitch, and now, he's like a kitten that has been soaked in water. PMSing? "I don't have any appetite to eat." I roll my eyes. Gloss gets up from his seat before turning on his heels, leaving us.
Cecil sighs, and dad just places a hand on her back. They share a look before we decide to eat without Gloss. The dining area is surprisingly quiet, and only the clinks of the metal spoon and fork hitting the plates can be heard. Usually, Gloss would rant about school and other stuff, and dad would just tease him about girls. Cecil would just talk about the sex and how wearing a condom is a must. Even I get awkward at that conversation.
After we eat, I say goodbye to both of them and head to school, driving a Ferrari that my dad purchased for me on my birthday last year.
In 5 minutes, I arrive at the school, parking at my usual parking lot. A parking lot meant only for me and my dad. The school is quite big. It's an international school. It has many buildings, and it includes 4 hallways.
For every hallway, there's a color assigned to it. Green for freshmen, yellow for sophomores, red for juniors, and blue for seniors. Each hallway is connected with each other.
The main hallway has white painted walls, and the lights are so bright it seems like Jesus is always walking through the long hallway. I pick up my books from my locker, shove it inside my bag and head to class as the bell rings.
As usual, the girls are looking at me. I wink at them and smirk to myself, and they look like they are about to faint. In this school, I am Noah Gerald Sky, the one and only. The God. The hottest.
I'm joined by my friends. The jocks are walking behind me, and we seem like the most powerful group that has ever existed. The school is basically made for the rich, but there are students that have entered through the foundation. They just need to maintain a good grade and their tuition fee is free.
Each year has representatives. From the freshman year, it's Summers. Sophomore: Lori. Junior year: Gloss Schlund, my most hated enemy. And the senior, well, it's me. Can you believe it? Just a year ago, no one knew his name, and now, he's the junior's representative.
At the end of the hallway, there's a round room where the hallways are connected, and as usual, we all end up meeting there every single day. Summers and her clique friends, Lori and her minions, Gloss with his friends, and me with my group. And as expect, Summers and Lori both flirt at me. Gloss remains uninterested. Our eyes meet, and he rolls his eyes. Moron.
As I enter the room, all eyes are trained on me, including the professor. I just arch my brow at them, not really giving a fuck. They return back to their business.
"Noah, why are you always late?" The professor asks me as he eyes me. I arch my brow again and he lets out a huge sigh, getting the idea that I'm not going to respond. He just jerks his head towards my seat.
The professor goes back to lecturing the class. Sam, one of the jock group, snickers at me and I give him a high-five.
My classes are so boring that I nearly fall asleep to every one of my subjects. The bell rings, indicating that the class is done and now, it's lunch break. We all head to the big cafeteria. As we get there, all eyes are trained on us when we push through the double-wide doors. The jocks wave at the ladies, and I grin.
As I make my way there, I pass Gloss' table and he just rolls his eyes again at me, muttering about something that I can't hear. I give him a glare, and he just flips me. I want to strangle him. I nearly launch myself at him when Nero pats me on the back. I take a seat with them.
"Who's that? And why did he flip you?" Nero asks me, curiosity etched on his face.
"Just a nobody," I reply. "The kid's dumb. One day I'm just going to beat the shit out of him."
"Want me to beat the shit out of him?" Jeric asks. The jocks wait for my reply.
I shake my head. "I'm good. He'll catch these hands one day." They nod.
We stand up, almost like a choir, and head over to get food. The girls keep looking at us, twirling a strand of their hair as we walk past them. They lick their lips like they are some sort of beauty queens. They aren't. They look dumb.
Steaks are served, and when my food is given, I head back to our table. The cafeteria is quite noisy because of the chattering of the students. Some are shouting, some are banging the table, and some are just talking with their loud voices.
"Hi, baby." A familiar voice says behind me, her arms circling around my waist.
Chelsie is my girlfriend, a beautiful lady from Japan. She's of Japan and Brazil descent. Her brown complexion compliments her big brown eyes. Her black hair is almost shining and it's very smooth. Loose, flowing down her shoulders. She takes a seat on my lap.
"Are you going to the party later?" She asks me, stabbing a steak. I nod at her. "Then I'll see you there, babe." She gives me a peck on the lips. I pout. "Don't be like that. I'll just meet my friends. I haven't seen them since last semester, and that was two months ago." She gives me a hug, leans down, and whispers in my ear. "Want to do some adventure stuff on the bed later?" I grin.
Karl mimics Chelsie and the jocks laugh. Chelsie gives him the bird before turning on her heels. He asks if they could join, and the jocks laugh again. Chelsie yells no.
"You guys are such an asshole," I say, though I'm laughing along with them. The bell rings.
Finally, I'm done for today. I head over to my car and bid goodbye to my friends. I send a chicken GIF to our group chat.
At home, Cecil asks how was school. I answer that it was awful. She just laughs and tells me that she will call me once dinner is served. I nod at her, giving her a hug, before heading to my room to do my homework. Despite my image as the bad boy and the ultimate asshole, I do my homework.
After 2 hours of sitting still and figuring out the answer to some of the mathematical questions, I hear Cecil calling my name for dinner. When I get there, she and dad are already seated. Gloss is nowhere to be found.
"Where's Gloss?" Dad asks.
"I don't know," Cecil replies, her face contorting to sadness. She scrunches her nose up and looks at me expectantly, as if I know the answer. No, I don't. And I don't care. "Have you seen him at school?"
"Yeah, I did. But it was just at the hallway, and I think at the cafeteria." I answer, shrugging. Yeah, I really don't care.
"He seems to have a problem." Cecil mumbles. I shrug again, and dad holds her hand.
10 in the evening, and Gloss is still not here. Cecil keeps calling his cellphone, pacing back and forth in the living room. She has paced enough that I'm starting to see the trail on the carpet rug. Dad just watches her. Seriously, I'm not even sure what's going on with him today. He hasn't been himself today.
Nope, I don't care. But where the fuck is he?