CHAPTER 1: An Enemy of Edmund Creed
I looked up at Mom, indecision in my amethyst eyes and fuzzy uncertainty in my sunshine blonde waves. I inherited my short, thin figure from Mom. My brothers and I inherited my father's eyes-
"Maximus, goodness. Stop tearing up, Darling. She's only going to college. It's not like she's chosen to study in another country." Mom murmurs to him, he grunts in annoyance, pressing Mom closer into his side and connecting his forehead with her temple. He did this often when he was stressed.
I give him a small smile, "I'm not venturing off to Washington like Marvin, Dad. I'm still here, in London." I tell him, folding my arms.
He blinks twice, "Lord, you kids need to stop bloody well growing. It was honestly only yesterday you said my name for the first time and now you're off to college, getting your business degrees, even though you don't need them. Mathias, you're staying here with your Mom and I, right? Poppy, we need more kids." He turns to Mom, placing a hand on her abdomen, giving her a mirthful smile, like he was actually serious. I raise both eyebrows at his words, Mom whacks the upside of his head for good measure as my younger brother removes his newest Gucci earphones.
"Did you say something?" He asks, confused.
Dad facepalms, "This is ridiculous."
"I won't be gone forever, Dad. Just three years, and I'll visit often." I murmur, wrapping my arms around his waist, he places a kiss on my hairline, returning my hug and squeezing my shoulders. His embrace was warm and familiar, Dad has always been one for bear hugs.
"You're my only daughter and there are so many boys at that school, do they have an orientation for the parents of the students attending? I need a checklist of all the males you must stay away from...unless they're already taken. If they're taken, they don't need to be on the list, but their relationship must have lasted at least five years." He looks into my eyes, I tilt my head towards Mom, looking incredulous.
She places a kiss on Dad's cheek, before turning to me, "He's right though, you take after my looks and your father was constantly convinced I had created some mythical enchantment to attract more testosterone filled males. Gosh, he still is as delusional as he once was." She whispers to me, patting down my hair.
I sigh when Dad protests, "I am not and you did attract a lot of males, Poppy. Left, right and centre...I spend most of my life guarding you." He argues, she gives him a raised eyebrow, his gaze softens as he looks at Mom. Just the way he always does.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, honey." He whispers, lovingly.
I roll my eyes, "You guys smooch while I take your Maserati." I say over my shoulder, Dad pauses at my words,
"Hang on a minute, young lady. No, you can take your mother's midnight Bugatti Chiron. She gave me the Maserati on your-what was it? Their eighth Christmas, love?" He asks Mom, while I place another one of my bags in our main foyer.
Mom pats his suit-covered chest, "Tenth for Melanie and Marvin, eighth for Mathias, darling." She answers him, but steps over to me as her heels click along the tiled floor.
My eyes trail up to her when she helps me zip up my bag, "Remember, I showed you a few study plans and schedules for when you get your timetable," She whispers to me, patting down my hair, she closes her eyes and pulls me in for another embrace.
I wrap my arms tightly around her waist, "I'm going to miss the living stars out of you, my little dove." She whispers her nickname for me.
I promised myself I wouldn't cry, but I hear Dad's sniffle and I hold Mom tighter, swallowing deeply, "I'm going to miss you a thousand little orchids." I whisper, Mom begins to giggle as she tucks a stray strand of one of my curls behind my ear.
"I'm still going to miss you more, even though I know how much you love your orchids." She says to me, knowingly.
Dad rolls his eyes, "Thanks, Hideyoshi. At least she isn't obsessed with blossoms." He says under his breath, Mom glares at him over her shoulder as I look at them confused, Dad gestures to Mom, looking down at me.
"That was his nickname for her, before I put the bastard-I mean, Hideyoshi, in his place. Another one of the males chasing after your mother." He whispers, speaking behind his hand as he leans my way, before folding his hands in his trouser pockets, staring into Mom's eyes, feigning innocence.
I nod slowly in understanding, "First Jace Daniels, then Uncle Ivan, and Uncle Carter, now Hideyoshi...alright, Dad, I get what you mean." I whisper, laughing lightly when Mom's jaw drops to the spotless tiles, comically and she looks at Dad and I in disbelief.
"Melanie!"
Dad barrels down in laughter, clapping his hands, Mom spins to him, "You told her about Daniels?! Goodness, Maximus, why on earth..." She questions, looking slightly astonished about the stories Dad did tell us.
Dad winks at me, before pointing at Mom, "Two words. Boy magnet. I'm glad I stepped in when I did." Dad folds his arms and puffs out his chest, his way of looking stronger, Mom doesn't think so as she gives him an undignified look,
"It took you almost a year to kiss me." Mom mutters in retort, Dad smirks.
"Damn, I remember that day as if it were yesterday. We should go camping again." He wonders, aloud. Giving Mom wiggly eyebrows, Mathias and I share a mirthfully disgusted look.
Mom gives him a deadpan look, "Three words. No bloody way." She says.
Dad slumps, "Honestly, Honey. It's recreating memories, we're not getting any younger, love." He raises an eyebrow, holding in a smile that drops when he sees the look on Mom's face, her emerald eyes not finding him in the least bit, funny.
"Are you telling me 'I look older'?" She interrupts him, crossing her arms strictly as she stares into his eyes, daringly, in an impenetrable manner.
I smirk, just as Mathias points at Dad and mouths 'He's in the dog's den now', chuckling. I hold a hand over my mouth as I nod at how accurately he explained the situation, Dad looks between us with narrowed eyes, before pointing at Mathias.
"What'd you say?" He says, mocking a low voice as he fails to hide an amused smile between Mathias and I. Dad hurriedly turns to Mom when she begins tapping her heel on the tiled floor. He had fifteen seconds to say something apologetic, or Mom will bring out the big guns.
He snaps his head to her, eyes widening at her raised eyebrow, "Of course not, honey. You know it's me who looks older. I'm only suggesting we do a little travelling. It's been awhile since you and I had gone somewhere." He sighs in defeat.
Mom gestures over to Mathias, "Our son is still in high school, Maximus. It'll be another two years."
Dad clicks his fingers, "Mathias, I need to you to start ageing, buddy. Just by two years." Mom pinches the bridge of her nose, shaking her head.
"I swear, your father is all over the place, lately." She smiles though, watching Dad and Mathias as Mathias shows him something on his tablet and Dad acts interested.
The staff of the house help me with my bags as Jenkins brings the car around to the front of the estate, I catch him help loading the bags into the front, Mom turns me to her, "Melanie, promise you'll call or message us at least three times a week. Sleep properly, that's important when you're studying. You're like me with your eating habits, we're both addicted to all kinds of salads but I still had a burger once or twice around your age. If you ever need to talk to us, ever, I want you to come to me, alright? I'll drop everything and come straight to you. Lord, little dove, I'm going to miss you." She whispers, cupping both my cheeks, I sigh in content, rubbing her hand.
"Mom, you taught me everything you know. Even how to hack...I will be fine." I reassure her, Dad wraps his arm around her waist and wraps his other hand behind my head.
"Stevens taught her well but, seriously, sweetheart, you punch every male who tries to touch you, with Poppy as one of the board members at the academy, it will be the male getting into trouble." He says to me, nodding reassuringly as Mom rolls her eyes once again at him.
She stares intently into my eyes, "I love you." She murmurs, placing a kiss on my forehead.
I take a long breath, "I love you,"
Dad clears his throat, nudging his head into both our lines of sight. I place a kiss on his cheek, as Mom does the same, smiling at his antics as if in memory and he laughs,
"I love you too, Dad." I murmur, before they both snuggle me into a group hug. I step away, grabbing my small bag and waving to them, watching as Dad rubs Mom's shoulders, they watch me go.
I chuckle, "BYE MATHIAS!" I yell over my shoulder, he waves me off and I shake my head as Mom scolds him and tells him to get off his device and say 'goodbye' to me, but I had already gotten in the car.
Revving the engine, I toot 'goodbye' as I thank Jenkins for helping and I drive around the fountain as Mom had taught me. The front gates open, I take one last look at the estate, already missing both Mom and Dad as I check both sides of the road, before indicating left and officially leaving.
The car is silent, I keep my eyes on the road ahead, "You're doing the right thing, Melanie. Getting the degree, then accepting Mom's offer on the Parker-Myer's company. It's only three years, then you'll be back home." I reassure myself, taking deep breaths before my phone vibrates on the stand in front of me, I click accept when I see Lorraine's name on the screen.
I smile, "Are you already there?" I ask my oldest friend.
She scoffs, "I've been here for three days already, Melanie."
I roll my eyes, "Using my full name, something must be up?"
I could just imagine her pointed look, "Besides the fact you were also suppose to be here three days ago. You won't believe what Mom gave me when I was packing...pepper spray, can you believe it? Four cans worth? Even Dad gave her the look, the kind that says 'calm right down, Diana'." She tells me.
I let out a small giggle, "Wow, Mom and Dad just gave me the 'I taught you everything you need' talk, including the one about punch in every guy I see who tries to talk to me, in the throat." I explain, she outright laughs at that.
"Well, if anyone could, it could definitely be you, your Mom is honestly legendary in all martial arts." She reminds me, I nod knowingly.
"You planning to use me as a human shield now?" I ask, mockingly.
She 'pfft's', "I have four cans of pepper spray, you're my worst case scenario."
I scoff, "Thanks, Lorraine. I feel real special in that fact." I say, bemused.
She 'aww's', "Don't worry, I wouldn't have stayed hanging around with you all these years if that were the only case. You're not as boring as you first appear." She giggles.
I sigh in defeat, "Honestly, you've really bottled up all your insults from the last three days." I murmur, indicating right off the motorway, driving for another hour out of town to get to this large prestigious Business Intelligence Academy that works worth students all around the world, looking to get highly qualified degrees in business, specifically.
"I'm only kidding, you know we're best friends for love, woman. Are you at least on your way? I've been a sad little loner for way too long, but I do have news." She whispers into the phone, as if her words were secretive.
"I'm listening." I mutter, using the windscreen wipers when it begins raining.
"You know how all schools have these stereotypical popularity rated groups, and there's always a specific group right on top of this metaphorical pyramid. This school takes it to a whole new level, Melanie...they have an elite operative team, all a year above us but they're apparently known millionaires from New York." She gossips.
I raise an eyebrow, "So, what's different about these ones?"
"There's five of them, each letter of their first names spell out 'E-L-I-T-E', it's kind of freaky and they're all good-looking. That's important, or I wouldn't have said that. When I mean good-looking, I mean mysterious, dark and dreamy individuals that have most girls thoughts running wild-probably not yours, because your Poppy Myers' daughter, but seriously, once you get here, you'll see what I mean." She says to me, I tap my fingers on the wheel.
"What are their names?" I ask, nonchalantly.
She begins, "Alright, I'll start off with their leader, his name is Edmund Creed. A known American millionaire in oil manufacturing and shipping. Tall, about six foot four, pitch black hair with the sides shaved and grey eyes. His skin is almost deathly pale but he's not albino, and he has dimples...you know I'm a sucker for dimples, but he's never once looked at a girl. Some believe he's taken by some Brazilian model but, he doesn't travel and I don't think I've ever seen him smile once in just my three days of being here." She explains the first 'E' in the elite squad. I save the name to my own navigational system that I had designed just last year.
I save the name and description in the system, before ordering it to record the conversation once I've indicated to the next lane, heading towards Bastion point, on the way to the Academy.
"-next is Lyndon Vera. He owns a music studio and has his name on a few famous albums, also American with dark green eyes and dark blonde locks. His sister, Iris is also part of the elite, she's the only girl though and shares the exact same features but, she's probably only five foot six, whereas he's five foot eleven. She sings, I think and also has her own album. Then, Talon Sorenson. He also works in computer engineering but he's no where near as famous as your family business, so he's probably the only one who has heard of you, just doesn't know you're attending the same academy. He's six foot two, light blue eyes and dark brown hair that always seems to be gelled back, it looks kind of creepy but, honestly, they all look really creepy and mysterious." She explains to me, I sigh at all the barrelling information.
"Why are they so mysterious?" I ask, wondering the obvious, she had repeated the fact at least three times, making it seem significant.
"They keep to themselves, not caring for the publicity or the fact all students want their autographs. They're just...weird. I've honestly never seen such a tight-knit, strange-looking group. Vampires. That's probably the best way to describe it, they have that same dark aura but, beside the fact they're not actually mythical blood-sucking creatures but, I swear, one look from any one of them makes one feel like their soul has been sucked right out of their body." She explains, I furrow my eyebrows.
"You've been watching way too many supernatural movies, Lorraine." I comment.
She huffs, "Whatever, they just have that effect on people, but they're famous, so everyone still wants their signature somehow. Anyway, the last one is Erik Young, car enthusiast, he's Japanese with short black strands and dark brown eyes, he's slightly tan and is about six foot one. Your system recorded this right?" She asks me.
"Yes, Lorraine. I'm about twenty minutes away. Is our room organised on level one yet, I had that specifically ordered at least a few months back now?" I ask, hurriedly.
She sighs, "Yes, we've got the room. Our own two bedrooms with our own bathrooms, the lounge and the kitchen, and we have a small room for our own laundry. You kind of went all out. Everyone thought it was me who requested these renovations, I've honestly never been this popular." She laughs.
I hold in a smile, "Is that how you caught the attention of the Elite?" I ask her, curiously,
"That's the thing, I haven't caught there attention, I just happen to know who they are because it's all in the school magazine and I googled what I could of them, it's just you might be able to get more information, with your skill set, specifically." She says to me.
I scoff, "Thanks," I say, rolling my eyes, "-listen, I'll be there soon. Can you wait for me out front?" I ask, politely.
I could hear the smile in her voice, "What do you think I've been doing this entire time? Hurry though, I'm running out of pages in the magazine." She says, sending hilarious friendly kisses through the phone before hanging up.
I click the heat off in the car, glancing out as I accelerate forward along the empty road, I was only ten minutes away from the Academy. The engine was quiet as I speedily dashed along the road, before slowing down at the front gates where at least six guards stand, one steps up to my window and I roll it down as he asks,
"Miss Myers?" He asks, unsure.
I show him my identification card with the academy's logo on it, "Yes." I murmur.
He nods, handing me back my card, "Head on through." I roll the window up, slightly nauseated by the look of the male as he opens the gates. What was strangers was the fact that they were visibly armed with rifles, no general hand-guns. I wheel on through and am directed to the west-side where I see Lorraine sitting on the front deck that we were also given, with a view of the forest and the creepy lake. I park the car next to her Sedan and step out, she salutes me, throwing the magazine on the outside hammock.
"You're late. We were supposed to be at orientation by this time." She says, giving me a hug, I return her hug.
"We can organise another, I'd rather look around freely first." I say, looking up at the modern structure I'd the large set of castle-like buildings. The place was fairly huge, but only had a population of approximately three-thousand students from all around the world. It's main population is consisted of British students, about forty-three percent, while the rest was a collation of smaller percentages and of mixed cultures.
Lorraine helps me with my bags, her light brown strands flying with the breeze, as I close the back of my new vehicle and lock the car as we step inside the room, luckily just as the rain hits, I close the back door.
The heat pumps were luckily on, as she puffs, taking a seat on the plush red couch in the lounge, letting go of my bags, I place a hand on my hip, "You can't possibly be tired?"
She points at me, "Do not judge, no one works out as much as you do."
I roll my eyes, "I am the one who just drove for two hours straight. C'mon, let's get something to eat?"
"Cheesecake?" Something she's absolutely obsessed with.
I raise an eyebrow, "So, I'm paying?"
She waves me off, "You're the billionaire." She grunts as she gets up, stretching her arms up wide, I grab my phone and purse, stepping towards the door, I use the keypad lock, opening it to an empty hallway.
Lorraine grabs her sweater, "I swear, they purposefully turn this place into an ice-box." She mutters under her breath, stomping in her spot and jumping lightly to warm up. I glance down at my thin midnight business suit, not understanding what she means but I always preferred winter over the other seasons.
"Have you had a chance to look around yet? The lecture rooms, or anything?" I ask her.
She shivers, moving in next to me, "Only a couple, I don't even know if they are our lecture rooms. I wasn't going to tour without you." She says, emphasising with hand gestures, as if it were obvious.
I smile, nudging her shoulder with mine, "You just don't want to do the tour for a second time if you did the first without me and didn't want to be alone when it was my turn for a tour." She gapes at me, in disbelief.
I nod, knowing I was right, before I hear beside me,
"You're late."
I pause, glancing over to see a pitch black-cloaked male, standing tall in his form, arms at his sides in stiff annoyance and his aura, cold. I trail my eyes up towards his silvery eyes that stare into mine with irrevocable frustration, black strands had toppled over his forehead.
I blink, "I'm sorry, who are you?" I wonder, aloud. Lorraine stays quiet next to me, but she looks down at the floor, as if she wishes it were to swallow her whole. I glance back at the cold male.
"You're too dense to even know my name?" He spits at me.
I narrow my eyes at him, "Alright, listen here and listen good. I don't take well to your tone and you're the one who interrupted my conversation, rudely too and now you believe I am supposed to miraculously know who you are the second I meet your pompous self, think again. It would do you well if you politely excuse yourself." I gesture to move, he was standing in front of what looked to be a quiet study room.
He gives me the iciest of looks, "Listen Lemon, you're the one who doesn't know who you're dealing with here. I've been waiting four fucking days to give you a tour of this academy and you have the audacity to not only show up here, out of the blue, but insult me also. You have some nerve." He points at my face, I hold the urge to grab his finger, rip it away from me and break the bloody bone.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, "Don't give me a nickname, you don't even know me and you're probably only giving out this tour for a particular school credit. This is not high school, you can speak to me in a civilised manner and I haven't the foggiest idea as to why you think you have the right to yell at me in the middle of a hallway, claiming you're a tour guide when you can't possibly considering a tour guide requires adequate social skills. Something you greatly lack. You can forget about your position, I'll be requesting a better tour guide." I wave him away, only he doesn't move, his silvery eyes swirling with condensed rage as he looks down into my eyes.
"I am a member of the elite of this school and you have just publicly and personally offended and attempted to humiliate me, stupid lemon. You've just made an enemy of me!" He steps back inside and slams the door in my face with a resonating bang.
I blink once, holding in my fury as I turn to Lorraine, who runs both her trembling hands through her brown strands, "Who was that?" I ask her, moving us away from the classroom.
Her eyes dart in fright around the hall, as she moves me around the corner, clustered and hushed, "Creed. That was Edmund Creed. We've just made an enemy of Edmund Creed."