What Lies Beneath Page #2

The undiscovered truth of Nicholas Anderson

• Fiction

								


"You can't stay in this room; it's for guests," my mother says, giving me a pointed look.

"It's the only other room," I reply, trying to blink the sleep away, seeing as they rushed into my room forty minutes after we got here and while I was sleeping.

"Your room is the attic," she spits out.

"Why can't I stay here?" I let out in frustration, forgetting myself.

"Did you talk back to your mother, boy?" My father hisses out with his jaw clenched, one hand raised.

I gulp before quickly speaking. "I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking."

"Damn right, you weren't," he says slowly, bringing down his hand but still piercing me with his eyes.

"I will go to the attic, s-sir," I say, feeling my hands going numb as something crawls up the back of my head toward my neck.

With that, they leave the guest room, and I can finally relax a bit.

"I shouldn't think about useless things," I mumbled as I slowly pushed open the window that led to the balcony. Apparently, it's a thing for some houses to have balcony windows in the attic. I honestly thought this place would be terrible, but there's a bathroom up here, and I have a makeshift walk-in closet. Plus, I don't have to deal with anyone while I'm up here.

Also, my parents so generously dumped Anne's old things here, saying the things would take up too much of the basement space and that they gave me permission to use them. Seeing as they were things like a flat-screen TV, a cream-colored couch, an Apple desktop, and a round glass coffee table—in other words, things that they would never buy for me but only give me as hand-me-downs—at least I can resell them, seeing as they buy her new things every two years, so they are in mostly good condition. Plus, I have no use for her clothes or bedazzled items.

I cleared my head before I started thinking about why that brat likes pink and shiny things. As I got out, I lit my joint and brought it to my lips. As I took my first hit, I let the toxic smoke fill my lungs. Then I exhaled the smoke, letting it form a gray cloud before it blew away.

I stood outside for what felt like five minutes, just looking straight ahead toward the forest. That was when I saw a light peeking out from the treeline. Was it already morning?

I searched through my pockets before grabbing my phone to see the time, only for it to read 6:34 a.m. Realizing I had spent another sleepless night just staring at the forest, I sighed.

It was better than sleeping anyway.

**************************

It took me 40 minutes to get ready. School starts at 8:30 am, and it's only 7:14 am.

I look myself over in the mirror, brushing my blonde hair to the side so it doesn't fall into my eyes. I notice that I need a haircut soon because my messy bed hair isn't always so sexy.

I also checked one last time to see if my long-sleeved white shirt and black ripped jeans looked good before pulling on my black leather jacket and grabbing my bag.

I rushed down the stairs, heading toward the spacious white marble kitchen. Seeing that no one was there, I let out a sigh. I quickly made two jam sandwiches and grabbed a juice box as if I were being chased. Since it's a new school, it's best to bring my own food on the first day, just in case.

That's when I heard footsteps heading this way. My mother entered the kitchen, pausing to give me a look. Seeing nothing wrong, she started making breakfast, completely ignoring me.

I started heading out before stopping when I heard, "Your father will take your sister to school from now on since it's on the way to work, and I may pick her up from time to time. So you have to check with her if she will need a ride home," she said, not even looking at me.

"Okay, Mother," I answered, turning to leave. It's for the best, seeing as nothing good comes from being too close to her.

I walked towards my blue Aston Martin DB12, opening the door before getting in. I tossed my bag on the passenger seat before starting the car and heading to my new high school.

One may ask why parents that treat you like shit give you a sports car. Well, my parents are fairly well off. In fact, my father was promoted to the head of the financial department in the main branch, hence the move. All that aside, my parents, especially my mother, value their image more than anything else, so having their son looking deprived isn't part of that image. That is why they give me enough money to stay up to date and show off.

As I drove, it did not take long before I found myself already pulling into the parking lot of the school. I am here at Westville High School, a private institution that fosters creativity. How delightful?

Chapter 3

POV Nicholas 

I made myself comfortable in the car and pulled my seat back. Since I still have 37 minutes until school starts, and since it's the first day, there will be a morning assembly where they welcome freshmen and new students.

The only reason I know this is because of the welcome packets they sent. Those had the school map, events calendar, my schedule, and some obviously cheap school merchandise that said, "Welcome to Westville High." 

This school is divided into three parts: middle school, high school, and college. Of course, they separate the students, considering the campus itself is as big as a town. Though there are times when they do mix, like when 8th graders are about to move to high school. They show them around and let them move to the high school side in the last month before summer break. The same goes for seniors planning to attend college here.

I wonder if they think doing this will make things easier for them. I mean, if you're going to be bullied in high school, going there a few months early won't change sh*t.

Slowly, my eyelids began to droop, and I realized that if I stayed here, I would surely fall asleep. I opened my car door and grabbed my bag before getting out of the car. As I walked toward what I believed to be the high school building, I noticed the words "Westville High School" written at the top. 

Just to be certain, I took out my school map and looked at the directions.

"Are you new here?" I heard a slightly deep, cheerful voice ask from behind. I turned around to see an enthusiastic brown-haired guy. Just from the look in his green eyes, I could tell he was waiting for an answer.

"Yeah?" I said back with a questioning look.

He smiled at me awkwardly before pointing at the piece of paper in my hands. "Normal people don't walk around looking at a map here," he said.

"Oh," was all I could say, realizing how I might seem to others. Slightly embarrassed, I looked away.

"It's okay. This is a pretty big school, after all." He let out a light laugh. "If you want, I could take you to the auditorium for the assembly and then show you around." He asks, and for the first time, I could see a hint of nervousness in his bright eyes.

Knowing that I was planning to skip the whole welcome ceremony, I couldn't help but question why I gave this reply: "Yeah, that sounds good."

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