"Boy, you give me feelings, never felt before
I'm making it obvious by knocking at your door
I know that I'm coming tonight
You know I'm coming tonight
Don't want to deny it anymore"
Delilah's POV
Slipping on my heels, I pushed my hair over my shoulder as I looked down at the time. 10 minutes to spare! Going over to the mirror quickly, I fixed my navy blue vest, tan skirt, and tie. Finishing up, I grabbed my bag and walked to the door. Walking down the stairs, I saw my younger siblings already sitting at the table. Going into the dining room, my father turned his head to the sound of my heels.
I smiled at him and kissed his head. " Good morning, daddy, " I said, and he hummed.
" You're late for breakfast Delilah, " He said, and I scoffed.
" You're kidding. I have ten minutes to eat! " I said, and my 14-year-old brother Zachary lifted his head and spoke.
" 5 minutes now " My jaw dropped and my father nodded.
" See what I mean? Should've been down earlier.. "
" This is ridiculous, mom back me up on this! " I said as she entered from the kitchen with Trinity in her arms. She sighed handing Reginald my younger sister, and he walked out of the room cooing at her.
" Killian stop. Let the girl eat and Zachary, don't encourage your father. " It was my father's turn to drop his jaw.
" What did I do? All I did was tell the truth. "
" You know what you did Killian, " She said giving him a look, and I smirked at him feeling triumph. Ivory held up her hand for a high-five as she stuffed her face and I gladly accepted it. He shook his head as he mumbled a few words under his breath and my mother spoke.
" I'm sorry what did you say? " She asked, and he held up his hands as he spoke.
" Nothing, nothing. I promise "
She walked over to him " Mhmm.. Keep it up, and we'll see where that leads you... "
" And where will it lead? A little trouble never hurt anyone. " He said as he bit his lip and grabbed her by the waist. I choked on my orange juice and Ivory closed her ears as Zachary pushed away his remaining food and spoke.
" You guys sure know how to make someone lose their appetite. " Our father rolled his eyes.
" I can surely do whatever I please with my wife anywhere regardless if it was in front of my children. How do you think you all got here? " I sighed as I pushed away from my seat and stood up.
" I actually don't want to throw up, so I'm just gonna go. " Ivory and Zachary agreed as they stood up and mom looked over to us as she pushed dad away.
" Have a good day at school my loves! " She said, and he spoke.
" Leave already so I can enjoy my last ten minutes with my wife. "
" Alright, thanks.. I guess. " Ivory said, and we all exited the dining room. Almost immediately we heard mom start to giggle and the three of us held our hands up to our mouths to stop the incoming vomit that wanted to come out. Quickly grabbing our things, we stumbled out of the house and ran to the fountain where Kimiko was waiting for me with her younger brother, Jin.
" Hey Kimi, hey Jinny, " I said, and she noticed the look on my face.
" You guys looked like you've just witnessed trauma. "
" Believe me. We have, " Zachary said, and she didn't further question. He, Jin and Ivory then said their goodbyes as they headed for our other driver, Leo's, car to see Uncle Blaine's and Uncle Eugene's children. Kimiko and I turned as we entered the car and George, our driver, drove off.
After about 10 minutes, we reached the middle school branch of the Academy, and I watched faintly as Ivory, Jin, and the others all got out of the car ahead of us and went to their building. Just down the street, Leo dropped off Zachary to the high school branch and Kimiko, and I still had around five-ten minutes before we reached the University branch which had a few streets to itself.
Highland Bridge Academy was an academy that was specifically, for lack of words to use, 'kids who had money.' It slowly became one of the most popular schools in the country and was well known for their well-educated teachers and students. The parents are key investors to this school paying and started giving well over 5,000 a year... for kindergarten and as the grade goes up, so does the price for everything from semesters to uniforms. They make a lot of profit off of their students, and that's why the acceptance rate is less than 5% if you don't have a 50% down payment.
I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard Kimiko speak.
" Dee, I want you to know that going back to the academy especially for university.. it's going to be different. " I listened to her continue.
" It's not like high school or grade school... The students there are intense, and if we're not together, I want you to keep to yourself or just stay clear of trouble.. please. "
I grabbed her hand and mine and scooted closer to her. " Kimi what are you talking about? Is everything ok? " She sighed and looked over to me.
" Usually.. I occupy myself with things, so I don't have to witness it and if you stay clear of them, you won't need to either. " I furrowed my eyebrows, but before I could ask any more questions, we reached our destination. We both stepped out, and eyes immediately turn to us as it was silent with faint whispers.
" There's Delilah, Killian Russel's daughter.. "
" She's back! "
" She's so pretty.. "
I continued to hear their whispers as we entered the building. As I ignored them, Kimi and I walked over to the temporary homeroom that was designed for us just to get our first week schedules that had to do with our regular classes. To stay in the school because all of their students were 'well rounded' as they put it, we had to have a few extracurricular activities that we would be able to choose next week along with our majors. From the looks of the current syllabus this week, we finished around one or two, and this was pretty common in our school system.
The days were short because we have other regulations to attend to with our businesses. Our school year was also different consisting of 3 semesters that all lasted three months and a month interval for a break. Currently, we were in the Winter semester which started in January and ended in March giving us the month of April off. We even had a scheduled lunch, though I didn't mind it.. I'm just happy we get to eat at some point.
Entering one of the many lecture halls, we took a seat, and other students started piling in as well. The professor started speaking and going over everything that was necessary. Eventually, we were allowed to leave and go to our first official class. Thankfully, Kimi and I had our first in Calculus and Statistics. Though we had to split afterward when she went to English, and I had Physics, so I quickly headed to my locker. Even though most colleges don't have lockers, our school somehow decided that we needed them and regardless, I made sure to use it as much as I could.
I could still feel the discreet stares, but I just minded my business as I opened my locker with my thumbprint. Grabbing what I needed, I jumped as he spoke.
" Well, aren't you popular? " Looking over my shoulder, I bit my lip as I looked back to close my locker.
" Hi, Archer. " I turned to him fully and looked up as he stared down at me.
" You shouldn't have come back.. " He said out of nowhere, and I furrowed my eyebrows.
" Things have changed ever since you left, it's not the same as you remember. "
" It still looks and feels the same to me, why did you stay if things have 'change' " I asked bravely, and he didn't say anything. Slowly, he took footsteps towards me, and I backed myself against the lockers as I had nowhere else to go. I dropped my bag from my hand in shock, and he stopped. Looking down at my bag, he ignored it gazing back at me.
" Because I know how things work around here.. people care a lot about how much money daddy makes and how important your family is. Just because your father makes more, you would think you'd be safe from any of the discrimination, but you'd be surprised to know you were the next target. " My heart dropped at his words.
" W-what do you mean? " He leaned down to pick up my bag, and he handed it to me as he spoke.
" Keep to yourself, and you won't have to find out, sweetheart " And then he walked away. Again I released a breath I didn't know I was holding as I leaned against the lockers. Looking at the clock, I noticed my class started in a few minutes, so I straightened my self up and walked to the room.
Once class finished, I texted Kimiko to meet outside so we could have lunch. I made my way out of the classroom and walked over to the locker to put my books and laptop inside. I made a move to close the door, but I jumped when the sound of something banging against the lockers rang into the halls. I closed my locker door and looked around as a few of the students seemed frightened by the sound but weren't as confused as I was. I looked down the hall to see a small crowd had formed near the noise and I walked over cautiously.
My hand flew to cover my mouth when the sound rang aloud again, but only this time, I could see what it was or rather who it was. It was a boy who had short black hair and wore glasses. He slid down the door of the locker, and I heard a dark chuckle.
" ... Pathetic. Do you honestly think I wouldn't have found you? " A voice that had a small British accent spoke and my mind told me to run for it, but my feet were unwillingly making their way to the crowd. A few of the students let me get by as I was pretty short and my breath hitched at the scene.
" It wasn't hard honestly... everyone here would know the smell of poverty from a mile away, but you don't seem too.. Oh forgive me, I must have forgotten.. You would know because your father barely makes a cent in his shit engineering business. "
The boy sat against the doors as three other guys stood a few feet away, the one in the middle holding onto his sinister smile.
" It's pitiful really. Your father works his ass off for mine and a few years from now.. you'll be doing the same for me.. Did you not learn your lesson when you first came to this school? " He asked, and the boy attempted to get back up on his feet.
The smile on the face of the guy in the middle was starting to fade, and he lifted his hand and snapped his fingers twice. In an instant, the boys beside him walked over and pinned the boy down as they threw punches at his stomach and a few to his face.
Tears started gathering in my eyes, and when another they threw another punch, a yelp left my lips as I jumped. I was sure that everyone heard it as the leader of the group turned his head and stared at me. I could feel my heart stopping, and he slowly turned back to the boys and spoke.
" Enough. " Immediately the boys stopped, and the one on the floor sat in defeat. He didn't look to have anything broken, but I knew he was most likely in pain. He smirked for a quick second before speaking.
" I'll see you at lunch- " He gazed over to me for a split second and continued.
" Don't be late. "
They walked away from the scene, and the students backed away so the three of them could leave. The crowd started to disperse, but I couldn't seem to move. My words were trapped in my throat as I watched him sit on the ground. What did I just witness? "The students there are intense. People care a lot about how important your family is. It's going to be different. "
Was this what Kimi meant by fucking different?
I finally felt myself go back to normal and I took one step towards the boy, but the click of my heel made him freeze. He looked up at me, and the look in his eyes held anger, and they were full of revenge.
" ... You stay the hell away from me " I stopped in my tracks, and a look of confusion plastered on my face. I heard the clicks of another person's heels and a voice.
" Where is sh- Dammit Delilah " I looked up at Kimi, and she immediately noticed the look in my eyes. She walked over to me and dragged me away from the boy.
" Kimi- "
" How much did you see? " She asked quickly, and I responded.
" What do you mean how much- "
" I mean exactly what I said. How much did you see? " I stopped in my tracks and turned her around. She looked into my eyes, and her face softened as she saw the unshed tears in my eyes.
" Kimiko, I-I need you to explain what the hell is going on here. First I get a warning from both you and Archer about being here, then I witness a boy getting assaulted, and everyone just stood around saying nothing. And the second I move to help him, he curses me out. " I forced myself to hold back my tears, and she grabbed my hand slowly and walked us outside to the courtyard which was large and one of the main places for students to go.
She walked over to a table for us to sit and I placed my bag down as I waited for her to speak. She sighed as she began.
" In the entire academy, there's a 'hierarchy', if you will, of students whose families make the most in the school... " And then she continued, and I had no choice but to listen.
Essentially, they subconsciously placed us in different classes. Class A consists of five families who range over a few billion.
1. The Russel Family
2. The Porter Family
3. The Lockwood Family
4. The Crawford Family
5. The Masahiko Family
Next in Class B were millionaires who were surgeons, lawyers, business owners, designers and just about three or four more professions that allowed them to earn that much. Class C was for the families that were doctors, accountants, architects, managers and others that made over 1 million a year, Class D made 200,000 to a million, and Class E/F were those that made less than 150,000 a year. Without financial aid, it could leave you with less than 100,000 for the year after paying for a semester or two, and that's without the extra costs of extracurricular activities that we are required to take.
" So why did those three guys hurt the boy? " I asked.
" Because Luca Crawford believes he runs the damn school and thinks that the people who were emitted into the school with financial aid or are below him are a waste of space. "
" Why didn't anyone stop him? W-why didn't the teachers look out of their classrooms- "
" Because everyone believes he actually does own the school because of how much money his father gives the board. "
" So it's all about the money? They don't care about the well being of their students? "
" They do... to an extent. " I leaned back into my chair and scoffed. To an extent.
" Delilah don't think about it too hard. "
" I'm trying Kimi. I'm just slowly coming to terms to what I've returned to. "
" Did Luca see you? " She asked, and I nodded my head causing her to sigh again.
" Delilah I need you to promise me you'll stay away from him at all costs, "
I replied " Don't worry. I was already planning on it. "
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Hello loves! ♡♡ Sorry for the late chapter, had to get things done last week. I'm thinking 1-2 updates per week, but I need to get my life together so... Maybe??? Anyway, I have a few things I want to share, and I want you all to listen very closely!! Don't skip because your favorite questions are below!!
1. Reminder! This is only the second chapter meaning not every character from the first book is going to pop up in the next few sentences.. it takes time as do a lot of other things that need explaining and will be explained in the future. I will probably put up a chapter dedicated to the characters in the future, but we'll see!
2. This book will have a bit that is not solely based on Delilah, but in the end, it kind of is. There will be chapters where it is about our other protagonist, antagonist and other characters that are important to the storyline, so I don't want you to get confused if I jump from different point of views in the upcoming chapters. Not more than twice in one chapter though. It's just a different perspective... you'll see what I mean. Much love. x
How did you like this chapter?
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Angel ♡