The Physics of Love

Chapter 6

So this is it. I inhale deeply while I'm standing in front of a...mansion, surrounded by greenery from all sides. Yep, that's the word for Ted's residence in HeatherHeights, a neighborhood reserved for the upper class only. I knew his dad was some big-shot lawyer, but I didn't really expect to face a security check at the entrance gate.

School is approximately half way between my house and his, so I take a bus to get here. Suffice it to say that I'm not one minute late, since I spent the last two hours checking the time on my watch. Now that I'm at his door, I'm thinking whether I should have come a bit later to look more casual. I would take a stroll down the street now, but those guys at the gate already saw me, so that would be really lame.

I approach the gate and before I get to open my mouth a tall slim guy dressed in black asks 'Miss Bianca?'

'Yes,' I nod and he presses the button to open the gate. The bars slide to the left and I enter the property hesitatingly.

'Just go straight till you reach the back of the house and take the first entrance on the right.' Ted obviously gave them precise directions.

'Thanks,' I say and start walking forward.

I look around. The house is even bigger than it looks from the street. I can't really say how old it is, but it looks modern and doesn't have those high ceilings which make me hate the world order. I understand that someone wants to live in a huge space if he or she can afford it, but high ceilings won't make you aristocracy, they only make the rooms impossible to heat.

There's a swimming pool in the front yard. It's not too big, but its deck covers a vast, elliptically shaped area. Chairs and parasols scattered around seem sad and deserted on a chilly September afternoon.

The front door is made of glass, but I can't see anything through it since it's still sunny outside. I don't want to look like I'm snooping (because I'm not), so I move at the brisk pace to the back of the house, as I was directed.

There's a lot of space in the back too. I spot a gazebo and a part of a tennis court behind it and I assume there's more at the rear of other wing which I can't see from where I am now. Everything's clean and neatly arranged. The grass and the bushes are perfectly trimmed, the walls are freshly painted and every corner seems tidier than my fridge. Looks like too many people earn their bread at this property.

I wonder how it is to live in a place like this, with all the facilities and lots of help, or should I say, grow up in a place like this, like it belongs to you, even though you haven't done anything to deserve it. Is that how you learn to walk that steadily?

As I'm about to knock on the back entrance door, it opens suddenly and I get startled, jumping back a little.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.' Ted is standing in front of me, obviously informed by the security that I'm here. He's wearing a grey t-shirt and matching shorts, the most casual clothes existing, in which, of course, he looks perfect, but what captures my attention are wire-rimmed glasses I've never seen him with before.

'You're wearing glasses.' It was more of a declaration than a question.

'Yep. I'm not as perfect as you thought.'

Wh...what did he just say?

I look at him flabbergasted. My thoughts are racing, trying to figure out what he means. Am I that obvious? Is he reading my mind? Did Annie say something?

After those few seconds that last an eternity, Ted's face softens. 'I'm playing with ya.' He snickers. 'Come in,' he shows me the way.

I enter a long hall. There's no light in it, so I can't see where it leads. His room is the first one on the left. The door is open and he lets me get in first.