Looking for a Mind at Work (Incomplete/Discontinued)

Starting Over

Alex scribbled a few notes down and looked up at his Math teacher in boredom. Math wasn't exactly Alex's favorite subject. Of course, having dealt with money and statistics as a young boy, he was one of the best at numbers in the class. However, he was much more interested in other subjects like English and Politics.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a girl snoring quietly with her head collapsed on her desk. His friend, Morris, sat next to him and looked just as uninterested as everyone else in the room.

Alex yawned and rubbed his tired eyes. Apparently running on only three hours of sleep wasn't working out for him. Just before he fell asleep himself, a ding went off signifying an announcement:

"Alexander Hamilton, please come to the Main Office. Angelica Schuyler is waiting for you."

That sent a bolt of shock through his body. Apparently he wasn't the only one surprised; all of his classmates were staring at him in awe. The Schuyler Sisters were the richest and most famous siblings in New York. Many people compared them to the Royal Family in England or even the Kardasians.

He felt someone elbow him.

"Dude," Morris said with a gaping jaw. "You know Angelica Schuyler?!

He said, "Yeah, and I'm dating her sister too." And with that he went out the door.

Once he arrived, he found her sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room. She was wearing a long sleeved, knee-length dress with silver and red rose patterns. As she stood up to greet him, he noticed that she was wearing blue high heels, making her a couple of inches taller than him. Unlike her middle sister, who was more into a simpler look, Angelica was all about grand styles.

"Why did you come here?" He asked.

"I've had a lot of time to think." She said crossing her arms. "And I think that we should talk more outside." She nudged her head towards the lady behind the office desk. She looked to be in her mid twenties and was staring at Angelica like as if a goddess was in the room.

"Fine. That's probably better anyway." He said and opened the door for her. (Hey, just cause you're mad at someone doesn't mean you can't be chivalrous!)

"Well," Angelica started once they were sitting outside in one of the benches. "King's College is very beautiful isn't it?"

"Why did you dress like that?" Alex asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "I just picked a casual dress from my closet."

"You look like you're going to the prom or something!" He said dumbfounded.

"Well it isn't my fault I have good dress sense." She smiled. "And I needed to make sure people would believe me when I told them that I was Angelica Schuyler. Otherwise, that nice lady wouldn't have let you skip today."

"What? You can do that!" He exclaimed.

"What? It looks like you needed it anyway! Look at those eye bags!" She reached to touch his face, but he swatted her hand away quickly.

He glared at her. "Why did you really come here?"

"Excuse me, I believe I asked you a question first." Angelica said coolly.

"No, you didn't dress up all nice and take me out of school just to chat like two gossiping moms." He said sternly. "What did you really come here for?"

She let out a long sigh. "You are really making this difficult. Fine. I'm here to make amends."

This was what he was least expecting her to say. "Amends?" He asked in confusion.

"Yes, are you deaf?"
She said coldly. "For the past two weeks, I've been sulking around in my room never seeing the light of day for more than an hour. I was thinking of what you said that night and it was painful. It was so painful that it blinded me. I didn't realize that I was also hurting my sisters that I love dearly."

"It was just yesterday that I realized how stupid I was being. And that wouldn't have happened if I never heard that sound. The sound that I know we both dread the most. Eliza crying."

Suddenly, Alex was jerked back to a memory from November of last year.

He was on a date with Eliza when she had suddenly burst into tears over the appetizers menu. When he had asked her what was wrong, his girlfriend had told him that she just saw her ex-boyfriend sitting across from them. She had told him that he used to shout at her and sometimes abuse her often.

He had gotten so upset he marched right over to that table, despite Eliza's pleads. But when he turned the man over, he realized it was actually one of his friends, Hercules.

Suddenly, the rest of his friends came up from under the tables and laughed hysterically. Lafayette was screaming loudly in French and Lauren was recording everything with his phone and screaming, "YOU JUST GOT PRANKED BRO!"

He had been so embarrassed and upset at his friends, he was about to hurt someone before Eliza stopped him.

"Alex!" Eliza exclaimed. She hugged him so tightly, he could hardly breathe.
"AlexIAmSoSorryForDoingThatIDidntWantToButEveryoneSaidItWouldBeFunnySoIWentAlongWithItButNowYoureJustUpsetImSoReallySorry!!!!"

That's when everyone fell silent. Eliza looked up at Alex with tears in her eyes. This time, she was actually crying. It was the single most saddest sight he had ever seen in his life.

He gave her a quick comforting kiss and said, "Hey, it's alright. I was upset but looking at you," he put his hand on her cheek. "made me feel better."

Immediately, Eliza's face flushed as she giggled and kissed him back but longer this time.

The others watched in silence. Finally Hercules said, "Shoot, they're cute."

After that experience, Alex knew he would never forget that terrible feeling he got when he saw Eliza crying. He knew from then on he never wanted to see her like that again. He would make sure of it.

He nodded solemnly. "I see."

Angelica continued with her story. "That is why I decided to bring myself here and make things right. Now tell me Alexander. Are you going to accept my apology and move on with our lives?"

He hesitated. "I don't know. To be honest, I've lost a lot of trust in you since then."

She rolled her eyes impatiently. "Seriously? Be frank with me, are you really still mad at me?"

Alex was about to respond with a witty retort when he realized the truth. He wasn't really mad. At least not anymore. Maybe he was just taking out all of his anger on Angelica for no good reason.

"Actually... no I'm not mad at you."

Angelica looked relieved. She was so ready to be done with this. "Good. Care to share why?"

He sighed. "Well... I think I was just so... worried about losing Eliza."

This time it was Angelica's turn to be surprised. "Oh?" was all she said.

"I-I... I know how ridiculous I must look to other people. I'm an orphan immigrant from Nevis, I've got no family, no money, not even my own name and here I am! Dating the second oldest daughter of Philip Schuyler, a veteran general in the US army! How hilarious is that?!"

He looked down at his feet and said, "Do you know how happy I've been these last few months? I have an apartment, a crappy one but still, it's an apartment. I have great friends who'd stick with me through anything. I have an amazing girlfriend who gives me her heart even though I have nothing to give back. And I have a family."

He looked up at Angelica, who displayed no clear emotion on her face. "I have a family. One that isn't broken. One that cares for me even if I mess up. That's more than my real family could do for me. And I'm-"

He choked down a sob before saying, "I'm sorry for screwing that up. Please forgive me for being stubborn. I overreacted and I should've let it go but I didn't so I'm sorry. I really am."

After what seemed like forever, Angelica smiled. "Man, and I thought I was over dramatic."

"Shut up." He said. "I give you a whole Oscar worthy speech and you make fun of me?"

She burst into laughter and Alex started to laugh too. It was nice seeing Angelica like this.

Finally they both calmed down and he said, "This reminds me of when we first met."

Angelica jerked suddenly and looked at him.

"Our relationship was so much simpler then. I think the only thing we worried about was who'd outsmart the other." He said amusingly.

She twiddled her thumbs awkwardly. "Yeah, well a lot of things have changed since then." Alex was stunned to hear sadness in her tone.

"It doesn't have to be that way." He stood up and extended a hand her. "Hello, my name is Alexander Hamilton. I am very intelligent yet I tend to make stupid mistakes but I make up for it with charm."

She grinned at him widely. She took his hand and stood up as well. "Hello. My name is Angelica Schuyler. I am a young, witty woman who loves to show off her cleverness... sometimes a little too much. And I also have my flaws but I am willing to start over and fix them with you."

They both smiled at each other and that's when Alex knew they would be closer than ever from now on.

"Angelica?"

"Hm?"

"I agree with you. This place really is beautiful."