Prologue
Alexander
I stood outside of the auditorium with the rest of the graduating class of Lexington Boys Academy. I finally did it. I graduated high school from the most prestigious boys academy in the nation and was all set to attend Harvard Business School in the fall. There was never any doubt that my future would lead me there. After all, I was a legacy. For four generations, the Arnoult men have attended Harvard. If my name or grades alone weren’t enough to get me in, the millions of dollars my family donated would be. After graduating from Harvard, it was assumed that I would follow tradition and take over the family business, Arnoult Inc. This is where my future was happily leading, and the first step, high school graduation, was now complete.
“Alexander, dear, there you are. It was so difficult to find you with all of these people around,” my mother said, coming up and giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“We are so proud of you, son,” my father said, patting my back.
“Thank you Father, Mother,” I replied.
“Now that this is over, shall we return home? I believe my sister and her family should be arriving sometime soon,” Mother told us.
“Ah, true. I’ll have Sebastian bring the car around,” Father replied.
A few minutes later, we were climbing into the back of my father’s limo and heading home.
“How long are Silvia and Daniel staying for?” Father asked in the car.
“I believe it is only a few days. I know Daniel can’t leave his business for too long,” Mother replied.
“Business, hah,” Father muttered snidely. Uncle Daniel owns a car repair facility on the other side of the country. Even though he owns the business, he is still considered ‘blue collar’, which is respectable, but not equivalent to our family. Father has often mentioned how Aunt Silvia married ‘below her station’, but she seems very happy, so I don’t see a problem with it.
“Now, now dearest, try to be nice. You know they are happy,” Mother replied, not having much of a reply to Father’s tendency to look down upon others, since she generally shared it.
“Will Ethan also be here?” I asked. Ethan is my only cousin. He has not had the same upbringing as me, but I do quite enjoy his company. I never really made friends at the academy, since I decided to focus on my grades, so Ethan is one of my only friends. I am not very good at socializing, so I am glad to have him.
“He will,” Mother replied with a smile.
By now, we were pulling through the gates and up the drive to our mansion. After walking through the front door, I removed my cap and gown and handed them to Mary, my maid, before straightening my suit jacket and tie.
“I am glad to have that off, it was terribly uncomfortable. Can you please have it pressed and stored?” I asked.
“Of course, sir. Do you need anything else?” Mary inquired.
“That will be all. Thank you,” I replied, before walking up to my room to relax for a few minutes before Mother’s family arrived. I needed to check on my stocks anyway.
An hour or so later, Mary knocked on my door to tell me that Mother wanted me downstairs.
“Thank you, Mary”, I replied, before standing up and buttoning the last button on my suit jacket and straightening my tie, to ensure I looked presentable. I then proceeded downstairs to my mother.
“Mother, you asked for me?”
“Ah, yes. Your Aunt Silvia and Uncle Daniel have just arrived to offer their commendation on your graduation,” Mother replied.
I was then pulled into a hug by Aunt Silvia, their family was always very touchy. “Congratulations Alex, I’m so proud of you!” she exclaimed, with tears in her eyes. They were also the only ones that ever called me Alex. I think it bothered Father for them to shorten my name, but I didn’t mind.
“Good job, kiddo. I heard you graduated as valedictorian. That’s so impressive,” Uncle Daniel told me, giving me a hug after Aunt Silvia let me go.
“Congrats, Cous’. How’s it feel to be free?” Ethan asked me, offering me a fist-bump.
“It feels like it is time for me to start studying for Harvard. It is only a few short months until my first day of class. I am excited to get to work,” I told him, honestly.
“Dude, you’re killin’ my buzz. You just graduated, live a little first,” he replied.
“Aunt Elanor, can Alexander come out with me to celebrate his graduation? He was telling me about the improvements they just made to the course at your country club, and I would love to see if I have improved my slice,” he asked my mother.
“As long as your parents are agreeable, I think it would be a lovely idea to go out. After all, you only graduate from high school once, why not have a celebration after,” Mother replied.
“Would you mind if we stop at the pier near the club for coffee first? I haven’t seen the beach near here in a while,” he inquired.
“That is just fine, dear,” she told him.
Before Mother could change her mind, Ethan grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. We walked to the garage and got into my black McLaren Elva, before pulling out of the driveway and onto the road.
“Ethan, I know you hate golfing, why did you tell my mother you wanted to go?” I questioned him, once we were safely on the road.
“I didn’t think she’d let you go if I told her we were going to the club to check out hotties at the pool,” he told me.
“And the coffee at the pier?”
“Beach hotties, duh,” he replied.
After driving for about fifteen minutes, I pulled into the parking lot near the pier and we both got out of the car. Not wanting to tell my mother a lie, I walked over to the coffee shop to order a Kopi Luwak Coffee. This was one of the few places I have found that actually serves Kopi Luwak, so I love coming here. Once I had ordered, I turned to see if Ethan wanted anything, but noticed that he had not followed me to the shop. I suppose he did not care if he lied to Mother or not. That is fine, however, as long as I can say that I had a drink, she would be convinced.
While waiting, I looked around to find Ethan and saw that he was down near the beach speaking with two females. Deciding that it would be rude to sip my drink in front of them, without offering something, I went to have a seat at one of the tables and watch from afar. I would join Ethan after finishing my beverage.
“Oh, would you like a spot o’ tea?” a young man said, walking by me.
“Chip chip cheerio,” the other replied, before looking at me and laughing.
“I assure you that I have no idea what you are talking about. I am clearly not British, and from the ones I know, none speak like that,” I told the boys. Ignorance is never a positive thing, from what I have learned.
“Oh, fancy rich boy got som’in to say?” the first boy asked.
“Think you better than us?” the second questioned.
“Not better, per say, but I would venture to believe higher educated, based on your dialect,” I replied matter of factly.
“You want a piece of us? We’ll take you down!” The first said, grabbing my tie and pulling me up to a standing position.
“Please unhand me. That tie is from the Title of Work collection,” I let him know. This was clearly the wrong thing to say, because the next thing I knew I was laying on the ground with blood running out of my nose.
“Dude! What the…” Ethan yelled, running up. “You guys better get out of here. My aunt is going to have a fit when she sees this. I’m guessing she’ll press charges,” he told the two guys that attacked me, causing them to quickly run off.
“Man, he nailed you good, let’s get you to the ER, I think that might be broken,” Ethan said, after getting some ice from the coffee shop to hold to my nose. “You clearly can’t drive like that, but don’t worry, I’ll be extra careful with your baby,” he snickered, taking the keys from me.
“If you even scratch my car, you will have to face me,” I sternly informed him.
“Based on how easily that dude laid you out, pretty sure I could handle taking you on,” he laughed.
“I was not prepared,” I defended, which made him laugh louder.
I was in the emergency room for about an hour and, sure enough, my nose was broken. The staff carefully set it and had me waiting in a patient room when my parents walked in.
“Oh Darling, look at your nose! What are we going to do? We won’t be able to go out in public for a month or two until that heals!” Mother exclaimed, with devastation.
“Don’t worry, he’s fine, Aunt Elanor. Thanks for asking,” Ethan murmured under his breath.
“Do not even get me started on you, young man. Were you not with Alexander? How did you let him get injured while you came away perfectly fine?” Father asked.
“I was admiring the beach while Alexander ordered his drink. As soon as I saw the guys come up to him, I headed toward him. By the time I got there, they had already punched him, but I scared them away immediately, or it would have been worse,” Ethan defended.
“Honey, I am sure it was not Ethan’s fault. What exactly did happen, though?” Mother inquired.
“They walked by mocking the British and I informed them that the British people did not actually sound like that. They then became aggressive and I merely asked that they unhand my expensive tie, and then they punched me. It was a very strange confrontation, to be honest,” I explained.
“Wait, so they were making fun of you and then you basically mocked them for it and added insult to injury by pointing out how expensive your clothes were? Man, sweet burn,” Ethan said.
“I assure you that I had no intention of burning anyone. I simply assumed they would want to know that they were misrepresenting an entire nation of people,” I defended, but only made Ethan laugh harder.
“You need to learn some social cues, dude,” he snickered.
The conversation was then cut off, as the doctor walked in to inform my parents about what care was needed for my nose, and then to release me. Ethan drove me home, while my parents rode in their limo. Once we got home, I retired to my room to go to sleep, since we had been at the hospital for a while and it was already quite late. I believe Ethan was probably going to go to bed as well.
Over the next few days Ethan and I were restricted to the mansion grounds, since my parents were worried about my injury.
“I feel like a prison inmate,” I complained to Ethan, as we put our tennis rackets away and walked over to the golf cart to ride back to the house.
“Are you kiddin’ me?” he inquired, giving me an odd look. “We just finished playing tennis on your courts. This afternoon, are we going to swim in your massive lagoon-style oasis pool, or should we watch a movie in the indoor theater? Oh, I know, maybe we should practice chipping at your putting green?”
“You dislike golf, why would you want to practice it?” I asked him, with confusion.
“Dude, sarcasm. Your house literally has everything. If this is prison, lock me up and take away the key,” he said, before hopping into the driver seat and speeding down the sidewalk back to our home.
“Alright, it could be worse, but you leave tomorrow and then I’ll just be stuck here alone,” I explained.
“I know, I’m pretty sweet.”
“You do not smell pretty sweet right now. How about you go take a shower and we can meet back in the theater room?” I replied.
“Great plan, see ya there,” he said, after parking the golf cart and walking inside.
I decided that this would also be a good time for me to take a quick shower, so I walked inside as well, heading up to my room to shower and change into my normal attire. My collared polo shirt was wonderful for a round of tennis, but was simply not appropriate for anything past that. For this reason, I put on my dark blue button-up long sleeve shirt and black slacks after my shower, and left my room to meet up with Ethan.
As I was passing the first floor sitting room, I heard voices from inside. Now, it is very impolite to listen to someone else’s conversation, but when I heard my name, I had to stop. Not wanting to be improper, I knocked on the door to let them know I was here. In case I was needed for their conversation.
“Come in,” I heard my mother say through the door.
“Mother, Father, I apologize for my rudeness, but I heard my name as I was walking past. Do you need me for anything?” I inquired.
“Ah, it’s a good thing you are here. Please, son, have a seat,” Father told me. “Your mother and I are worried about you, after your recent encounter. We believe that your cousin, as ineloquently as he put it, may be correct. Although you are highly intelligent, we believe you may be lacking in social skills. This could not only lead to you being injured in the future, it could also impact your ability to broker deals for the business, once you take over.”
“How would you suggest that I expand my social knowledge, Father? Is that not something that going to Harvard would assist with, since I will be exposed to a wider range of individuals?” I questioned.
“I am worried about your preparedness for Harvard, so I am proposing a drastic approach. I would like to defer your admittance for one year,” he explained, shocking me.
“What do you suggest I do for that year?”
“We would like to expose you to the commoners, by sending you to live with your aunt and uncle. While there, you will redo your senior year of high school, at the same school that your cousin attends.”
“I am confused. I have already graduated, is it legal to attend for a year after the individual has graduated?” I have never heard of such a strange scenario.
“The year will not count for anything, so I see no harm in it,” Father replied. He did not really answer the legality of it, but I am assuming a monetary donation might come into play.
“If that is what you are wanting me to do Father, I will not be disagreeable. When will I be moving?” I asked.
“Not until the end of summer. Until then, I will hire a personal trainer to teach you self-defense. I will not be sending you into that mess of hoodlums without a way to protect yourself,” Mother told me. I had always focused on my mind, so it might be interesting to focus on my body. I think I shall enjoy learning self-defense.
“As you wish, Mother. Do you require me for anything further?”
“No, that is all. You are dismissed,” Father said.
“Thank you, I am going to meet Ethan in the theater room, if you are looking for us later,” I told them, before heading out.
“Dude, I just ran into my parents. Is it true, you’re going to live with us next year and go to school with me?” Ethan asked, as soon as I walked into the room.
“It appears that is the case. My parents just informed me of the situation a few minutes ago,” I replied.
“This is going to be epic, dude! I mean, it sucks for you, having to do high school again, but this time it’ll be with me! I can’t wait,” he told me, with excitement.
“It is alright. I rather enjoy learning, so I have no complaints with the situation, and it will be enjoyable to experience it with you,” I replied.
“Ok, so we have roughly two months to get you talking like a human, not a robot. This formal English you have goin’ on isn’t gonna fly in a regular high school.”
“What exactly is improper with how I speak?”
“For starters, the use of the word improper. After that, ever heard of a contraction?” he asked me.
“Of course. Who has not heard of a contraction?”
“And there is the lack of understanding sarcasm. We’ll work on all of that over the summer.”
“How do we plan to work on this, if we will not be together until just before school reconvenes?” I questioned.
“We’ll just call each other and stuff,” he replied. I suppose that would work. “For now, however, let’s just watch a movie. I go home tomorrow, we can plan the rest of the summer then,” he added on.
We enjoyed the movie before each retiring to bed. The next morning, I bid my aunt, uncle, and cousin farewell, knowing that I would be seeing them again soon, for an extended stay.
The rest of the summer seemed to fly by. I spent my spare time alternating between studying, working out with my trainer, and normalizing my dialect, as Ethan was convinced I needed to speak less formally, although I am not sure if it made a difference. In no time at all, I was packing up a small amount of my belongings and loading into my father’s private jet to fly me cross-country, where I would be staying for roughly the next ten months. Surprisingly, I was actually excited about this experience and the enhancements it would bring to my character.
