*ARABELLA'S P.O.V.*
5:30 A.M.
Mornings in the Archibald household were never easy to deal with, especially as a teenager. I could hear my mother's high-heeled footsteps approaching my room. Deep down inside me, I hoped that she would stop there, but of course, it doesn't work out in my favor.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
"Bella, honey, are you awake?" My mother asked before entering the room.
I let out a loud groan in response before covering my face with my silk-covered pillow as she opened the light pink curtains that protected the windows in my room. As much as I love my mother, this was just too much; it was way too early for this. Despite my heart telling to sleep in, I slowly removed the pillow from my face and sat up as I opened my eyes.
"Mom, the sun isn't even out yet," I stated, gesturing to the window.
A soft laugh escaped her thin lips as she shook her head. She probably thought that I was being overdramatic. I mean I don't blame her. However, she also needed to understand that as a teenager, 5:30 A.M., was way too early for school. The only time it was ever acceptable to wake this early was for a flight or something having to do with a vacation. I glanced up at my mother and smiled at her, and she smiled at me in return. Her smile was just like a ray of sunshine and I could see why my father never got over her even when he was with my aunt.
Now you've probably been wondering who my parents are and well, they're the one and only Serena van der Woodsen and Nate Archibald. They were meant to be from the moment my mother returned home from boarding school years ago although, they both had gone through many obstacles in order to end up together; obstacles such as my aunt and father being together when my mother came back after a year and eventually having my mother date some guy named Dan Humphrey. From what I heard, Dan and my mother were totally in love, up until they found out that he was the one who was running the original Gossip Girl site, and the idea of him being the one who tormented them with all the drama and rumors during their high school and college years made my mother furious which caused her to end everything. It's so crazy to think about how my life would have been different if my father was Dan instead of Nate. However, I'm proud to be an Archibald — I wouldn't have it any other way.
As I snapped out of my thoughts, my mother had definitely said some things that went through one ear and out the other. I just nodded as she sat on my bed.
"Are you excited to start your sophomore year?" She asked with a tilted head.
"Definitely. I'm excited to see Camilla, start lacrosse and volleyball, and try out cross country for dad's sake."
My mother smiled brightly as she nodded her head. "Well, alright. You're starting to think more positively, and I think your dad would be really happy to hear that you'll try cross country this year."
Of course, my dad would be really happy since he was a runner back in the day and, neither of my siblings wanted to run. Rosalie wanted to do all-star cheerleading, and Sebastian wanted to do football and hockey. However, he also decided to take up lacrosse his freshman year of high school which made my dad ecstatic. I, on the other hand, had always found lacrosse interesting and decided to start even earlier than Sebastian at the prime age of 7 and 1/2 years old. From there on, my dad coached Sebastian and me up until now and probably until we both graduate high school. On top of lacrosse, my mother put me in ballet classes when I was around 2 and 1/2 years old. Since then, I've taken up other types of dance classes, started competing at the age of 6, and was an automatic shoo-in for our school's poms/dance team. It wasn't 'til this past summer that I decided to become a tri-sport athlete and what a better choice of a sport than running. Almost every single morning this summer, I went on a daily run with my dad to build up my stamina and endurance.
I watched my mother get up and leave my room before forcing myself to roll out of bed. I was more of a night owl than a morning person, despite the fact that the sunrise was always gorgeous. Letting out a soft yawn, I stretched my limbs then made my way to my bathroom, where I proceeded to brush my teeth and wash my face.
"Don't fret. The school day will be fun. You'll get to see Camilla, Henry, Maverick, Roman, and even Milo." I remind myself after patting my face dry with a towel.
Afterward, I stepped out of my bathroom and walked over to my vanity where I did my make up. I turned on the lights that surrounded my mirror, then grabbed the pink makeup bag which held the stuff I used on my face on a day-to-day basis — well, mostly day-to-day. There was definitely some days where I preferred to go bare-faced, some days where I would wear mascara, some days where I would wear a little bit more than just mascara, and very rarely, days where it was a full beat face. However, on school days, I only wore some concealer, powder, mascara, bronzer, blush, and lipgloss. To some people, it may seem like a lot, but to me, it just seemed very minimal.
When I finished caking my face, I decided to style my hair with some curls that I finger brushed that way it would have a more wavy and casual look. Then, I changed into the Constance Billard uniform — a white blouse, a blue plaid skirt, and a matching plaid blue tie; even though my mother graduated years ago, uniforms at Constance Billard were still a thing. However, with the help of her and my sister Rosalie, I learned a few ways to make to make the uniforms more stylish. Depending on my mood for the day and the weather, I'll either add a headband, a coat, jewelry such as dainty necklaces or bracelets, or something else. Today, I just opted for a headband to keep my golden locks away from my face.
The smell of blueberry pancakes hit my nose which made my mouth water and my stomach growl. 'Thank goodness I have time to eat,' I thought to myself before grabbing my Givenchy school bag then making my way down the stairs and to the kitchen, letting my nose guide the way. There she was, our nanny and personal maid, Ellie, making fresh blueberry pancakes for breakfast. My favorite!
"Good morning, Ellie. How are you?"
"I'm well, how about you, my dear? Ready to start school again?" Ellie asked, a caring smile plastered on her tanned face. She was definitely like a second mother to my siblings and I when my parents were out on business trips or if they needed some personal time for themselves. When Rosalie and Sebastian were old enough to watch me, my parents didn't want to get rid of her because she was apart of our family. We brought her on vacations, gave her days off when she wanted and needed them, and my parents even purchased a house for her and her family to live in.
I nodded my head and smiled at her. "Of course, but you know me, I would rather be back in the Hamptons or Aruba," I replied, a soft giggle escaping my glossy lips.
As I was eating my pancakes, the rest of my family came down the stairs to which I greeted all of them with a bright smile. When my gaze turned to my dad, he was beaming. My mother must have told him about the idea that I wanted to try cross country.
"What?" I questioned with a tilted head.
"You know exactly what. Your mother told me that you're looking into joining cross country." He answered, a smile on his face.
"Oh, yeah! I thought it would look good on a college application if I did three sports and be a tri-sport athlete. Who knows, maybe I'll end up committing to one of those sports in college."
"That's great to hear, hun. I don't think you can go wrong with any of those sports for college. I'll try to leave work early to make it to all your meets and games when they start."
I nod my head gently and smile at him. My dad has always been a very big supporter of mine and my siblings' interests. You could always find him in the stands at our meets and games, even when we were little. If he wasn't in the stands due to finding himself stuck at work or him being away on business trips, then he'd end up face timing Ellie, my mother, or one of his own children who wasn't participating just so he could watch.
I glanced over at my sister — jeez, Rosalie was beautiful. Not only that, but she was popular; all the boys wanted to date her and, all the girls wanted to be her. She was the student body president at Constance Billard and was a shoo-in to be the class valedictorian at the end of the year. She was all around the perfect person and I looked up to her. With all her amazing grades and outstanding extracurricular activities, many Ivy League schools and other colleges took an interest in her. However, she was probably going to commit to Dartmouth University.
My older brother, Sebastian was nothing like my sister. Rather than focusing on academics, he focused on sports and one particular school subject. However, if colleges were to look at his playing ability in the sports he chose to play, they would take an interest in him as well. My family including me, think that he's the front-runner at being the usher for Columbia University when Ivy Week rolls around since both my mother and father went to Columbia.
Eventually, my family finished our breakfast together. I picked my plate up and brought it over to the sink before turning around. My dad had gotten up as well which caused me to raise my eyebrow. 'Where was he going?' I thought to myself since he and my mother didn't have work today.
"I'll bring you to school today," My dad told me as he walked into the foyer where he grabbed the car keys from our little collective bowl that held our numerous amounts of keys.
"Oh okay," I replied, a content tone in my voice. It's always nice to be able to spend time with my dad since we just have a bond that neither of my siblings can replicate with him. Personally, I think it's because I'm the youngest. I mean anyone could see that special bond because even my own mother says that I've had my dad wrapped around my finger since the day I was born.
I slipped my shoes on and followed my dad out to the garage — his collection of cars looking spick and span. I glanced over at the keys in his hand and immediately knew which car we would take — our family car, the 2018 Range Rover Evoque. In all honesty, this was my favorite car just because it gave me a cozy feeling. Not to mention, it was pretty nice. After letting my mother know that I was heading off to school, my dad and I got into the car. In one swift move, he was able to back out of the garage and start driving towards Constance Billard, which wasn't too far away.
"Are you excited for school to start?"
I shrug my shoulders gently, then turning my head to look at him. "I mean sure, I'm excited to see all my friends, but I really don't want to deal with drama this year."
"I understand, but it's high school, Bells. Drama is sort of inevitable, no matter how small it is. Just like mine and your mother's friends, just stick together and you'll for sure get over whatever the drama is."
Sometimes I forget that there was literally an anonymous blogger who spread drama like wildfire when my parents were in high school. However, hearing his advice did help. I just wasn't the type of person to know how to deal with drama when it comes around, mostly due to the fact that I get scared of doing or saying the wrong thing, which could potentially make the situation worse.
As my dad pulled up to Constance, I snapped out of my thoughts and nod my head at him as if to show that I had been listening to whatever he was saying and, I was for the most part.
"Do you need me to come and pick you up after school?" He asked with a smile.
"Yes, please. That'd be awesome," I replied, grinning.
"Alright, say no more, kiddo. I'll be here before 3:00 PM."
"Sounds good, thanks! Love you!" I tell him before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek then climbing out of the car.
I closed the door and waved to him before watching him drive off. I took a deep breath and turned around to face the building that I had been to plenty of times. The building architecture was gorgeous and definitely held character — much like any other buildings you'd see around the Upper East Side.
Since I didn't want to enter alone, I decided to cross the street and make way to the Met steps, where I would usually meet up my cousin, Camilla. I sat down and whipped my phone out as I waited for her. In a sense, Camilla was like another sister to me due to the fact that our mothers and fathers were best friends and were related; my uncle is my mother's adoptive brother which makes his wife, Aunt Blair, my mother's sister-in-law. It's crazy to think that the four them started out as best friends then ended up being related to each other one way or another. When I think about it, even if none of them were related, I knew that their children would still end up growing up being close to each other because of that best friend status. I adored it and it was something that I personally looked forward to in the future.
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This will be the end of Chapter 1! I've worked on this chapter for 3 days and I really wanted this chapter to focus on the main character and her family. Hopefully, this gave some insight as to how the Archibald family works (obviously this uses the serenate ship and not the derena ship. if you don't like it, then don't read it!)
The next chapter will be the first day of school and some other characters that I have cast will be in that next chapter.
I'm definitely wondering if I should switch POVs between the characters that way readers can get different perspectives. What do y'all think?
Also, I really want to add a picture collage of what the Archibald household looks like. Would y'all like to see that as well?
That's all for this chapter!
Thanks for reading & make sure to look out for the next chapter soon.
- Renee :)