Chapter Eight

Chelsea's POV



Later that evening, we were all in the living room watching a rom-com when dad brought up the matter of schooling. I hadn't thought of that. After all, my mind was still clouded by the sudden incidents that came crumbling on us.



But, we had to go to school after all.



"I went around the neighborhood today for a good high school for you." He began. "I found two good ones."



I immediately turned my attention to him when I heard this. Everyone also stopped listening to him casually and maintained their gazes on his face. Jasper even paused the movie for better effect.



Or, it could be he just wanted to get a break from the movie which wasn't to his taste. He wasn't exactly a romance fan and he preferred to watch action and sci-fi movies. He wasn't that much of a horror fan either as he believed there was hardly any green screen or added effects that could scare him.



Usually, he would leave for his room whenever we were all gathered to watch romance. But, that was in our previous home. Where we all had separate televisions in our rooms and could watch what we wanted.



But, things were different now.



"The neighbor, Mr. Davis took me to the second one. And to be honest, I think it's the best. The environment is nice and the teachers I met also seemed to be fairly nice and good too." Dad said.



"With the bonus that they also have a middle school just right beside yours." Mom piped in as she looked toward me and Jasper. She seemed quite delighted and I couldn't help but wonder why.



"Your brother will be in your care and you two have to drop him off at school in the mornings and pick him up when it's due," Dad stated too.



Mom was a full-time housewife and she enjoyed taking care of us. There was hardly any time she wasn't around. And most importantly, she enjoyed the thrill of taking us to school and back.



Not sure why though. But, it depended on principles, I believe.



She soon explained why she was happy to dump him in our care though. She couldn't sit at home any longer as we were dwindling on finances.



So, she had to pick up her resume and go job scouting along with dad. And, the good news was that both of them did land quite some fairly good jobs.



After all, mom had graduated as one of the best students of her year at Princeton University while dad had bagged fifteen work offers from several companies after he graduated as a first-class student at Harvard.



They both studied on either side of the world. Yet, they had ended up together.



But, that was a story for another day.



I returned my attention to the matter at hand. Then, I crossed my legs on the sofa scooping a handful of popcorn from the family-sized bucket in between Jasper's laps.



It soon disappeared in the opening of my mouth and was crushed.



Then, I asked Dad, "You said the neighbor told you."



Dad nodded. He explained, "I met him at the company I went for an interview today. He was in charge of handling the processes of recruitment. As I was returning home, we ran into each other at the gate. So, we chatted a little."



" He mentioned a few good schools for me to check out for you guys. And, I think the one we chose is the best." He added. "I hope you all are satisfied with this arrangement."



I immediately smiled. Leave it to my parents to consider our opinions on matters. I had seen and heard of the way other kids were treated. Most of their parents believed they were the only ones meant to make decisions about their children's lives simply because they were their parents.



I once asked my dad why they were so tolerant of us. He said, "I don't want my kids to think they have no right to speak. I want you all to be brave. Especially you, Chelsea. I want you to know that you are my daughter and no man can order you around."



Another smile crept up at the corner of my life at the thought. At that time, I hadn't thought much of it. But now that I did, it sounded so right and comforting.



The sound of the movie being played sounded jolting me out of my thoughts. I immediately looked in its direction and leaned back on the sofa.



Afterward, we all began to watch the movie with interest.



Later that night as I lay in bed unable to sleep, I thought of the new school. I didn't have many expectations of it. But, I hoped it would be nice.



A part of me was very unwilling to interact with others. And for most of it, I was even more unwilling to place my trust in anyone again. My once best friend had taught me a good lesson regarding that one.



I was unable to sleep. No matter how much I tried to doze off, sleep was far from me. At some point, my brain did its usual assault. It began to conjure all sorts of memories for me to deal with.



Like the time I stole my deskmate's pen when I was in middle school. Or, the time I tripped a girl in the school bathroom because she was flirting with Mona's boyfriend. I had wanted to defend my friend.



But what did I get from it? Utter betrayal.



After some time, I reached out to pick up my phone which was placed on the bedside table. It was silent and there were no calls or texts.



No one bothered to check up on me.



As I thought, a single tear slipped down my eyes. I had invested a lot. Once upon a time, I was one of the girls in the most famous cliques at school.



I was the girl many boys admired and wanted to get to know better. I was the girl every junior student admired and wanted to be like. Who didn't know of the Randall siblings? We were family friends with the mayor's family. Our father owned one of the biggest companies in NYC.



Who didn't know of me?



But now, I was the deserted girl. The one no one wanted to be seen with since she was no longer wealthy. She was just an ordinary girl who couldn't even attend the noble's school any longer.



'Stop it. You're overthinking again.' My internal self screamed at me.



I sighed and returned my attention to the phone. I intended to keep myself busy since I was unable to sleep.



After a few funny TikTok videos though, I was still unable to sleep. Notifications were now flooding my phone as I had turned my network on. They were from the group chats at school.



But, I didn't dare to look at them. I knew they wouldn't be anything good.



After a few more minutes of playing online games, I decided to stop playing. I was going to force myself to sleep.



However, as I reached out to place the phone in my hand on the bedside table, my hand slipped. I accidentally clicked on the newest notification.



I immediately thought sat up when I saw this and panicked a little. I didn't want to face the reality so soon.



But, I was also curious.



So, I peeked at the contents of the chats.