Book.ed

Chapter one

Sunday Morning.
James inhaled the musky smell from all the books surrounding him in the library.He sat up from the couch, where he had spent the night, removing a copy of William Golding's Lord of the flies from his chest.

Never gets old, he thought. He had planned today to go to the local bookstore, Pick n' Read to purchase a book that was scheduled to be released today. The bookstore was usually open by 8 o'clock and by then a queue of book lovers would have already been waiting in line for the release.
He noticed with a start that it was already nine o'clock and proceeded to sneak out of the family library. He usually kept the hinges of the library doors oiled for such occasions.
He opened the doors and smiled when they produced no sound, proceeding on with caution on the carpeted hallway. He began running towards his room, fingers crossed but as he took the turn leading to his room he collided with him. His father.

"How many times have I told you to stop sleeping in the library? I know you do it to spite me but I will have to have those locks reinstated. Why can you not sleep in a bed like a normal person?"

James had received this talk on countless occasions and sadly had gotten used to it that he just zoned his father out, studying his father instead. Though he had never seen his father work out, he was always in shape, with his close-cropped military buzzcut and cold gray eyes. He always wore sharp suits with handmade loafers. James couldn't remember the last time he saw his father in casual wear. He sometimes wondered if his father slept in a suit.

"I am sorry father, I will learn to sleep in my bed. But if you really wanted me to be normal you would be allowing me to go out...have a life...make real friends, but hey who's complaining? I love my life!" he said sarcastically.

"And now if you may excuse me, I have to meet my Spanish tutor in the next 20 minutes," he said, moving around his father to enter his room.

"Not so fast boy. I need you to meet me in the study to help entertain a business associate. We have to present a united front in the running of the family business...you being my heir and all that," he said.

"Father, I have told countless times I don't want anything to do with the family business. I..."
As usual, when he began complaining his father simply walked away.

"Oh and I will send Franklin with a suit. You need to look presentable for the meeting," he yelled over his shoulder.
Great...did i just become Artemis Fowl? he wondered.

He entered his room and closed the door behind him. His room was sparse and plain looking with bare walls since he rarely even used it.
I really should move back in here,
he thought for about the fifth time that week.

He shrugged and went into his bathroom to study himself in the bathroom mirror.
I really should get a haircut, he thought as he brushed his brown hair from his face.
He was tall and lean, and had tried in more than one occasion to gain some muscle but realised it was pointless.

His face had sharp features and deep-set electric blue eyes which reminded him of his mother.
He gazed dreamily at his eyes through the mirror, remembering the moments he relished with his mother when he was snapped out of his reverie by a sharp knock on his door.
Must be the wretched suit, he thought as he moved to open his door.

Franklin stood erect outside the door with the custom-tailored suit in his huge hands. He wore a well-pressed suit which fit his huge form perfectly, though the bulging muscles underneath the jacket were easily noticeable and intimidating.
He entered and crossed the length of the room in two massive strides and sat on the bed as James closed the door behind him.