Chapter 6

CHAPTER6

“Ungrateful little brat!” came the outraged shout that drew Sebastian’s attention to the teacher’s parking lot in time to see Chloe, who was in the middle of storming off, suddenly go still seconds before she pushed her glasses back up her nose and turned around.

“Oh, crap…” Cole said with a look of panic when Chloe stormed up to him and-

“He should have made a run for it,” Sebastian said with a sad shake of his head as he watched Chloe, who looked really pissed, throw her backpack on the ground and took Cole down with an impressive headlock while Uncle Jason and Elizabeth simply sighed as they walked past them.

“He really should have,” Mikey murmured absently, drawing his attention from his cousin calling Chloe an ungrateful brat as Cole struggled to pull her off his back and found himself swallowing hard as he took in the large school before them.

It didn’t look anything like the schools he’d gone to before.

This was…

“I think we might be out of our league here,” Mikey said as they stood there, taking in the huge building that looked like something between a mansion and a college and he had to agree.

Then again, the limousines, BMWs, Mercedes, and line of luxury cars waiting behind his father’s pickup truck to drop their passengers off already gave that away. As they stepped onto the cobblestone walkway, Sebastian watched his father’s truck pull away from the curb and follow a black Rolls-Royce to the gate before he took in the meticulously manicured lawn, the tables covered in white and blue tablecloths set up around the courtyard, and-

Felt his lips twitch when he spotted Mikey sending a wistful glance at the baseball fields as she moved to take a closer step only to grumble when Sebastian reached over and grabbed hold of her bag before she could make a run for it.

“That will have to wait,” he said, gently pulling her back before placing his hands on her shoulders, turning her around, and, after she grumbled one last time, he gave her a gentle push towards the table with the large sign welcoming freshmen to Latin Scribe High School.

“But baseball comforts me,” Mikey mumbled sadly as she threw one last wistful look towards the baseball fields.

“And not getting in trouble on the first day of school comforts me,” Sebastian said as he led her towards the line of freshmen and-

“I’m done with the little brat,” Cole bit out as he joined them, only to narrow his eyes on the teenage girl muttering to herself while she shoved her glasses back up her nose as she made her way past them.

“And she seems heartbroken about it,” Sebastian said as he was forced to reach over and grab hold of Mikey’s bag to stop her from sneaking off to the baseball fields when she made her move.

“She does, doesn’t she?” Cole murmured absently, never taking his eyes off Chloe as he reached back and grabbed hold of Mikey’s backpack and helped pull her back into the line.

“What did you do to piss her off this time?” Sebastian asked as Mikey mumbled sadly, “Baseball soothes me,” by his side.

“I know it does,” Sebastian murmured absently as he took in the busy courtyard.

That was followed by a mumbled, “I’m going to have a look around,” as Mikey shifted her backpack over her shoulders, sighed heavily and headed off, leaving Sebastian standing there, watching as she paused by a table welcoming back seniors to help herself to a notebook before helping herself to a tee-shirt from the football team’s table moments before she wandered inside and-

“Are we going to talk about that?” Cole asked, making Sebastian bite back a sigh as he reluctantly shifted his attention away from the teenage girl that he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Sebastian said, slowly exhaling as they stepped up in line.

“If you say so,” Cole said, shrugging it off as he reached past the girls staring down at their phones and grabbed a welcome packet off the table and handed it to Sebastian.

“Are you going to tell me what you did to piss Chloe off?” Sebastian asked, stepping out of line as he opened the packet and took a look inside, taking in the welcome letter, the map of the school, and the list of resources covering everything from the hours for the school store to a list of events that they could look forward to this year.

“I offered her a ride to school,” Cole said as they headed inside.

“You only have a permit,” Sebastian reminded him as he placed the welcome packet in his backpack and pulled out his schedule.

“And yet, I was still willing to give her a ride to school,” Cole said, shrugging it off as he reached over and plucked the schedule out of his hand.

“And how did that go?” Sebastian asked as Cole looked over his schedule.

“You mean besides the pleas for mercy?” Cole asked, handing the schedule back to Sebastian as he gestured towards the left hallway.

“How’d Uncle Jason handle that?” Sebastian asked, watching Cole shrug it off as he said, “He was the one pleading for mercy,” making his lips twitch.

“And Chloe?” Sebastian asked as they made their way down a long hallway lined with tastefully decorated windows and the occasional leather chair.

“Is a violent little thing,” Cole said with a heartfelt sigh when they came to the end of the hallway and headed down the hallway to their left.

“Are we going to talk about that?” Sebastian drawled back.

Chuckling, Cole said, “She adores me,” as Sebastian spotted Chloe coming down the hallway only to go still when she spotted them. That was followed by a wince as she quickly turned around and went back the way that she came from.

“Is that why she’s fleeing?” Sebastian asked, gesturing absently towards the teenage girl trying to navigate her way through the crowded hallway and-

“Stop acting like you don’t adore me, woman!” Cole yelled as he went after her, leaving Chloe to panic as she ducked into the nearest classroom, leaving Sebastian standing there, shaking his head in wonder as he watched his cousin go after the girl determined to drive him crazy.

“Poor bastard,” Sebastian said as he found his way to his first class and-

He couldn’t believe this was really happening.

Slowly exhaling, Sebastian opened the door and made his way inside, taking in the rows of desks taking up most of the large classroom, the students filing into the room, the books stacked along the windowsill, and Uncle Jason sitting at his desk checking something on his computer as Sebastian made his way to the row of desks by the windows and sat down.

Once there, Sebastian shifted to get more comfortable, glanced at the clock on the wall above the whiteboard and swallowed hard when he realized just how nervous he really was. Needing something to do, Sebastian stood up and made his way over to the bookcase in the corner and helped himself to a book before heading back to his desk and sat down, only to realize that he already read this one.

He moved to grab another book when he spotted Mikey walking into the room with a warm smile for Uncle Jason, only to watch that smile slowly slip away when she spotted him sitting there. Frowning, Sebastian watched Mikey nervously lick her lips as she shoved her hand into her backpack and grabbed her schedule before dropping her bag on the floor, all while mumbling, “This can’t be happening,” to herself while she stared helplessly down at the schedule in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” Uncle Jason asked, frowning as they watched Mikey frantically shake her head as she continued mumbling to herself. “I-I can’t be in this class.”

“Why’s that?” Uncle Jason asked as he pushed his chair back and stood up.

“That boy!” Mikey said, pointing a damning finger at Sebastian and making him bite back a sigh.

Frowning, Uncle Jason plucked the schedule out of her hand and looked it over. “You’re in the right place,” he said as they watched Mikey, who was still frantically shaking her head, grab her bag and hug it against her chest as she stumbled back. Swallowing hard, she mumbled hollowly, “I’m not supposed to be taking AP courses.”

“This isn’t an AP course,” Uncle Jason pointed out as they both watched Mikey go still seconds before that look of panic that he was starting to find deeply disturbing disappeared and was replaced with a frown as she dropped her bag back on the floor and stormed over to Sebastian and snatched his bag off the floor.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked, only to be ignored as the little brat determined to drive him crazy tore through his bag. When she found his schedule, Mikey looked over it and-

“There aren’t any AP courses on this schedule,” Mikey bit out accusingly with a glare.

That was followed by Uncle Jason plucking the schedule out of her hand and frowning down at it as he made his way to the back of the room and opened the door that connected this classroom to the one next door. “Mr. Harrison, can you keep an eye on my class for a few minutes while I run to the front office?” Uncle Jason asked before shifting his focus back to him.

“Mr. Bradford, please come with me,” Uncle Jason said with a pointed look aimed at Sebastian.

Knowing that he really didn’t have a choice, Sebastian grabbed his bag and followed Uncle Jason into the hallway and-

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked when Mikey joined them.

“I don’t like being left out,” Mikey mumbled absently as she pulled a donut out of her backpack and took a bite.

Frowning, Sebastian asked, “Where did you get a donut?”

“Oh,” Mikey mumbled, waving absently towards the other end of the long hallway, “they were on a table in a room back that way.”

Sighing heavily, Uncle Jason reached over and plucked the donut out of her hand and took a bite. “That was the teacher’s lounge.”

Nodding, Mikey said, “That would explain a lot.”

“Stay out of the teacher’s lounge,” Uncle Jason said, gesturing for her to go back to class.

Following his gesture, Mikey absently pulled out another donut, making Sebastian roll his eyes as he reached over and plucked it out of her hand, only to bite back a smile when she said, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“What’s not a good idea?” Uncle Jason asked as he finished off the donut.

“Leaving me unsupervised,” Mikey said with a heartfelt sigh and a sad shake of her head.

Sighing heavily, Uncle Jason reached over, palmed the top of her head and turned her around before giving her a gentle push towards the door. “Stay out of trouble.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Mikey reluctantly headed back into the classroom as she reached into her bag and-

Grumbled when Uncle Jason reached over and plucked the Danish that she’d managed to hide from them out of her hand before gesturing for Sebastian to follow him.

“Where are we going?” Sebastian asked as he followed Uncle Jason.

“Why didn’t you sign up for any AP courses?” Uncle Jason asked as he finished off the Danish.

“I didn’t think it was a good idea,” Sebastian admitted as they made their way to the front office.

“And why is that?” Uncle Jason asked, throwing him a curious look.

“I didn’t want to do anything to risk losing my scholarship,” Sebastian admitted, watching as Uncle Jason nodded absently with a murmured, “The G.P.A. requirement.”

“I want to stay out of trouble this time,” Sebastian said, thinking about the plan that he came up with after he found out that Latin Scribe High School was willing to take a chance on him. He was going to keep his head down, do his work and do whatever it took to stay out of trouble for the next four years, even if it meant that he was bored out of his mind.

“And you really didn’t think this was going to end badly?” Uncle Jason asked, throwing him a questioning look as they stepped into the front office that reminded him of the offices at Blaine Industries.

“Good morning, Mr. Bradford. What can I help you with?” a middle-aged woman with a warm smile asked Uncle Jason.

“I need to make a few changes to Sebastian’s schedule, Mary,” Uncle Jason said, returning her smile as he reached for a schedule change request form.

“Let’s see what we can do,” Mary murmured as she shifted her focus to the computer on the counter. “Last name?”

“Bradford,” Uncle Jason said, only to add, “He’s my nephew,” when Mary sent him a questioning look. With a warm smile sent Sebastian’s way, she returned her attention to her computer.

“Sebastian Bradford,” Mary murmured to herself as she typed in his name. “What changes would you like to make?” she asked as she turned the computer around so that Uncle Jason could take a look at the screen.

“Mr. Bradford needs to be enrolled in as many AP classes as we can fit into his schedule,” Uncle Jason said as he reached over and began clicking on each class, opening a drop menu and scrolled through the list of classes available for that time slot.

“The AP classes assigned homework over the summer. Sebastian might have a difficult time catching up,” Mary said after a slight hesitation.

“I have faith in Mr. Bradford,” Uncle Jason reassured her with a smile as he changed out United States History I for AP Biology.

“The books for the AP courses can’t be downloaded. They’ll need to be purchased and then, there are the costs for the labs and the exams,” Mary explained as she pulled on a pair of reading glasses and took a closer look at the screen. “His scholarship should cover some of the costs.”

“Whatever his scholarship doesn’t cover, I’ll pay for,” Uncle Jason said, finishing what he was doing before turning the computer back over to Mary.

A moment later, Mary was gesturing to the schedule request form. “I just need your parents’ signature and you’ll be all set, Sebastian.”

“I’ll sign for him,” Uncle Jason said as Sebastian stood there, releasing a shaky breath as he watched his uncle sign the form and-

“It’s time to show them what you can do.”