NUNNE

CHAPTER 2

'Nothing will go wrong', Salem chided himself. Yeah, right.

"What do you mean I can't enter the school grounds?"

After swiping his temporary student ID on the scanner, the security guard in front of him blocked his way before he could go any further. He hasn't even step foot into the school and he's already in trouble. What a great way to start his stay here.

Salem could feel the other kids' gaze glued to him as one of the guards asked him to step aside. It was downright embarrassing. He didn't even know what he did wrong!

The tall man in front of him stood with his hands folded and his eyebrows furrowed as he peered down at Salem. He appeared to be in his early 50's and had a few wrinkles on his face; his black eyes looked tired and droopy, like he's getting tired of handling kids on days like this –especially the delinquents who somehow manage to break the rules on the very first day.

"Look kid," he said in a low and exhausted voice as he combed his hands through his salt and pepper hair, "the rules state that the male students attending this university are not allowed to wear any unnecessary accessories –like the one on your ear for example."

Salem immediately traced his finger to his right earlobe where a silver ear cuff was placed. It was shiny, easy to spot and had some sort of design that he never really bothered to care about.

"Y-you mean this?" he asked, a small hint of panic formed in his voice.

"Exactly. Now, I can grant you access inside the campus, once you get rid of that. If you can't, you can kiss your chances of attending this university good-bye."

Salem looked disheartened.

What was he supposed to do? He couldn't take it off, he just can't. He's had it with him as far as he could remember. According to Bailey –his adoptive mother –that was the only thing that his real mother left him before she disappeared. As sentimental as it sounds, it was the only thing that connected him to her.

"I-I'm sorry, but –"

"Is there a problem here Kirby?" a voice cuts in.

Salem and the guard –who he assumed to be Kirby – turned around to the owner of the voice, only to find themselves facing a young man in his early 20's, walking towards them.

He had light-blonde hair that was neatly styled to the side with a few short tuffs dangling from his forehead. The man's deep-green eyes stayed glued on Salem as he approached them with an award-winning smile and was dressed in a black suit and tie.

The other students around them seemed to tense up all of a sudden; some, where whispering to each other and the rest just didn't care.

"Now, how can I help you two?" the man asked as his eyes bounced off Salem then landed on Kirby. His voice was calming and suave, but at the same time firm and authoritative.

Kirby suddenly stood up straight as if he's been shot with lightning. The droopy look in his eyes were suddenly replaced with that of a serious one; and his once folded arms now lay on his sides.

"You see sir, I was just explaining to this kid that he's not allowed to wear any unnecessary accessory. I asked him to take it off, but he seems rather reluctant."

The man eyed him a bit closely, as if he was trying to remember his face. When his gaze landed on Salem's ear cuff, the man smiled. "Are you, by any chance, Salem?"

Salem nods in response.

The man then gave out a hearty laugh, "Excellent! I've been waiting for you to arrive! I thought you weren't coming." He then turned back to the guard, "Let him pass through."

"I beg your pardon sir?" Kirby asked. "W-What about the rules?"

"He's an exception. Look at the design on his ear cuff, it's the same design as mine." As to prove his point, he motioned to a similar ear cuff on his right ear. "As you can see, this is a family trademark. We can't afford to take them off."

Without any hesitation, Kirby asked him to swipe his ID again and allowed him to pass through. Inside, the man led him to the check-in station where the other students were gathered. It looked like the right place, but something didn't feel right to Salem.

A 'family trademark'?

Salem was confused. What was this guy talking about? And more importantly, who is this guy? His face wasn't familiar and he doesn't recall meeting him anywhere. But judging by how the guards acted, he must be a big-shot around here, which is kinda strange seeing that he looks really young.

"Well, now that you've made it here, I'll be heading back now." The man voices out. He then held Salem's shoulders and gave him a smile, "I'll see you around Salem."

The man was about to turn away and leave, when Salem finally manages to break free from his thoughts and promptly asked him to stop. "Wait. Pardon me for asking this, but, who exactly are you? And how'd you know my name?"

The man looked a bit surprised, "Hey, hey now. I thought you would've recognized me when I singled you out back there." He then gave him little smile, the kind a teacher gives his student when they make minor mistakes. "But then again, I did fail to introduce myself properly, so I'll do it now. My name's Malcolm Vicari IV, and I knew your name because we're family, cousins for that matter."

'Cousins'? The word rung in his head.

"Wait. What? What do you mean-"

Malcolm held out his hand as a gesture for him to stop, so he did. "I know you have tons of questions right now, but I'm afraid I can't answer them. We can talk after the orientation ceremony tomorrow. Anyway, I have to get going, I have a meeting to attend to. See you around Salem. Oh and welcome to Saint Barbara's University."