As I boarded the plane, I saw a variety of seats, rows of four with a TV in front of them, boxed off seats which looked extra comfy, but what I didn't expect to see was a spiral staircase in the middle of an aircraft.
Caroline began to climb up the stairs so I hesitantly followed, when we got up there we passed a bar, a lounging area and large doors which slid open to reveal the most amazing accommodation a plane could have. I was utterly star struck.
It had a single bed, with a big TV in front of it and some folded clothes neatly presented on the bed. Caroline said that she would leave me to get settled in, and check on me later. I shut the door, flopped onto the bed and set my backpack down in the corner.
The take off wasn't as bad as I had imagined, and when we were gliding through the air at a safe altitude, I un-buckled my seatbelt and decided to explore the plane.
I went into the bathroom first, and was amazed at the careful detailing the designer must have spent much time doing. I traced my slender fingers over the beautiful tiled wall and found a wonderful mural on my right.
As I lowered myself on the toilet seat, I began to let everything sink in, I had never been exposed to such wealth and fortune, and for my brothers to pay for all this made me slightly uncomfortable. I didn't want to take advantage of the luxuries.
I checked my phone to see that I hadn't even made it through a quarter of the flight time, It would be late by the time the plane touched down on a New York runway, so I had time to relax and explore more.
I walked out of the bathroom and continued to venture around the large plane, I came across the bar that we passed when we first got on here, I was wondering if I could order a drink from there. When packing in London, I ensured that I stowed away my fake identification, but I needed to double check.
My bag was emptied messily all over the clean sheets, I saw the cigarettes that were somehow still there from a few days ago and a couple thousand in cash that I bought with me, I was saving the money for the bills I had not yet paid this month, and some of it was to be invested later.
I had a bank account which I was only allowed access in mid December and that was only in a few months, I have no idea why it was such a random date, but whenever I try to log in it always tells me that I will be able to access it on that particular day. All of that all of that money in that account was everything that I have ever saved and earnt. I estimate that there is quite a bit in there, enough to start a new life.
I decided that as soon as I got to the airport in New York, I would find an exchange bank to change the currency of my British money. I continued to search for the ID, I rummaged through my stuff and found it tucked away in a pile of clothes. I took it out and packed everything back away. I sat on the bed cross legged and debated whether it would be a good idea to buy alcohol somewhere like this, I eventually decided against it as I had a feeling it would get me into trouble.
I decided to get into the bed and try to find a movie to watch, after a few minutes of browsing I found a streaming site, I clicked on the application and flicked through the many options of TV shows and Movies. I eventually found my favourite film, it bought back good memories of the occasional rainy Wednesday evening. 'Goodfellas.' I could easily quote the film and turned it on quickly.
The mafioso type films with realistic situations, I know that they are realistic because I have seen it happen with my own two eyes, I have many videos and tabs on these different people who come into the neighbourhood, I always research them and find out the group they are from, what their name is and I hack into their trade. I get some information, some information that people would die for, literally. I have lots of detail about the Russian Mafia that the Italians are desperate to get their hands on, and I have much information that the French Mafia would love to see. All that information is saved on my laptop, in copyrighted form, in a file that is password protected and hack proof, I also have another copy saved on a flash drive, and another one saved on my phone.
Once I had finished the first film, I checked the time to see that it got late very quickly, I also noticed that my phone was low on power and I needed a good battery percentage for when we landed, I got my charger from my bag and found a plug socket in the corner.
I got out my laptop and logged on, I went to my documents and files to look over the information and the trackers, I sometimes find it interesting to see where the leaders and the members are.
There was one time that I tagged them and it still works to this day, I don't think that it will ever not work. I hacked into their system and saw their trade deals, they were pathetic, Russians need to up their game if they want to get shipments and make allies, I could fix this in a matter of days but I would prefer to let them suffer like they made me suffer. I could easily hack into the Italian system, even though their security is slightly better, but I choose not to as I respect them and their work.
I carried on looking at all the charts and numbers on the Russians system, I almost let out a loud laugh when I saw who they were trading with. London. What they don't know is that London have been allies with the Italian mafia for decades, it is clear as day that London is working with Italy to double cross, but it may not work as Russia have newly developed technology that you wouldn't even believe. I would love to warn the Italians, but I never could, the Capo is basically a ghost meaning he is completely untraceable.
The underworld is very spontaneous, you have to be prepared for things that nothing can prepare you for.
After I put my laptop away, I went back onto the television and searched through the movies again, I went on the recommended section to see movies that were popular. Just then I heard a knock on the door, after I gave a reply, Caroline slid open the door and stood there politely.
'Hi honey, I know it's late but would you like any drinks or snacks, the next time we will be serving is an early breakfast.' She said sweetly.
'No thank you, I don't have any money.' I responded, quite bummed that I couldn't get any water, I was parched.
'All food and drink is free, they come complementary with the package.' She explained.
I nodded and ordered a water, she told me that she would be back in a minute and left the door slightly ajar. I sat patiently before she came back with a cup of water, I thanked her and put the cup on the table beside me. She left, and as soon as the door was fully shut, I grabbed the glass and gulped it down very quickly, panting slightly after I had finished the last drop.
I turned back to the screen and picked another interesting looking showing.
After the film, I noticed that we had a few hours remaining until we land, only a few hours until my entire life changes.
I laid down on the most comfortable bed I had ever been on, and sleep immediately took over me. I was awoken by the knocking on the door, I told them too come in and I saw a completely different hostess to the one I was expecting, she was just as kind and gave me the breakfast options.
My choice was limited, so I settled on the simple toast, butter, and a glass of water, she left looking warily at me for the lack of food I had requested, little did she know that this would fill me up to the maximum. I ate my 'breakfast' and listened to music on the TV. I turned on an Italian opera discography as I peacefully finished my food.
The captain spoke over the speakers announcing that we were starting our descent, I put everything away into my backpack, kept my phone beside me and fastened my seatbelt. I looked out of the window, to see the beautiful artificial lights of New York City, I gazed wondrously as we passed by each building, gradually getting noticeably closer to the ground.
I sat amazed as I saw the stars that seemed so close on this clear night, I saw how close we were getting to the ground and my ears began to hurt, popping and squeaking every few seconds. I didn't know what to do, so I just covered my ears with my hands desperately trying to get rid of the horrible feeling caused by a profound drop in pressure.
I felt the plane make contact with the runway beneath, and skid quickly across it. The blinding lights came from every direction causing me to squint because of the sensitivity. I double checked my make-up to make sure that none rubbed off whilst I was sleeping, It was fine so I put my phone away and carried on looking outside the window.
As I exited the plane accompanied by Caroline, we walked through a tunnel already feeling a refreshing breeze that made me feel less confined. We walked through the airport to find the collection area before I remembered something and stopped Caroline from moving any further.
'Is there an exchange bank here, I need to change the currency of the money I have.' I asked silently hoping there would be.
'Yes, it is right up there next to the sign where it says Terminal 3, I will come with you.' She said leading the way. I let out a breath of relief as it would have been very awkward to ask my brothers to exchange my money.
We arrived at the till and I handed over the money that I had, neither Caroline nor the woman behind the desk looked surprised at the amount I had handed over, and gave me back the correct amount of dollars. I only assumed that it was normal to want to exchange such a large amount. I put the money into the bottom of my bag and made sure that it was secure.
We then carried on walking the same way to the collections area, Caroline and I made small talk along the way and asked the basic questions like if I was excited or nervous etc.
We arrived at the collections area, Caroline was eagerly looking for someone to collect me and I was just standing there probably looking bored as ever, all of a sudden I heard a buzz from my bag, it must have been from the phone that my eldest brother had sent me, I pulled it out and looked at the message on the screen, it read 'I'm waiting outside.'
That is all it said, I had no idea who I was looking for or what this person even looked like. I showed Caroline the message and told me that she was not allowed to go outside with me, I thanked her before leaving for the glass doors. I ran my fingers through my hair and shrugged my leather jacket so it was properly sitting on my shoulders.
When I stepped outside, I was welcomed with a strong blast of cold wind hitting my face, I stepped back slightly to regain my balance and began to search for my brother. I walked along the side of the airport, under the shelter until I got another message. 'I see you, don't move.' I did what I was told and didn't move, my eyes moved to every direction to see if anyone was coming towards me. When I saw a well dressed man wearing black slacks, a grey shirt and a long black trench coat coming towards me, I immediately straightened up, if he was one of my brothers, I wouldn't want to be seen walking next to him looking like this. It would ruin his image.
He approached me and stopped right in front of me, he did not say anything so I took it upon myself to speak first.
'Hello mate.' I said still looking at his tall figure.
'Your Alessa, correct?' He asked looking at me intensely.
'Yeah, are you one of my brothers?' I responded to his question with a question of my own.
'Yes, I am, My name is Armani, I am your second eldest.' He spoke his tone getting softer after I confirmed who I am. 'You really have grown to be a beautiful young lady.' He spoke with kindness before pulling me into a hug. 'I'm so happy your home bambina.' I froze up as he hugged me, when he realised I wasn't going to hug back he reluctantly let me go, and looked towards the direction he came from.
'We better get going, you must be tired.' He said turning around. 'Where are your bags?' He asked.
'This is all I have' referring to the tattered bag on my back.
'Really? How come?' He asked again.
'Is this really necessary?' I asked trying not to sound to harsh.
He sighed and told me to follow him to the car. We walked for about a minute until I saw him pull out some keys from his coat pocket, he pressed a button on them which made a dark grey car in front of us light up.
My jaw dropped as I saw the expensive sports vehicle logo on the hood of the car, the brand new Lamborghini was right in front of me. Armani must have seen the shocked look on my face as he chuckled lightly before putting a hand on my back to guide me to the passenger seat. I got into the warm car and took my backpack off putting it by my feet. As soon as Armani got into the car, he started the engine and drove away from the airport.
'How did you manage to get your hands on this car? It came out two weeks ago.' I asked him as we were driving down the road.
I could tell that he was impressed by my knowledge of cars by the eyebrow he raised and the smile that appeared on his face, I then heard him mutter something like 'Just like Dante.' I wanted to ask who the said person was, but I decided to keep quiet when I saw him about to answer my question.
'We got this car sent to us, lets just say it was a gift.' He spoke. 'You can go to sleep if you would like, we are not going to arrive at the house for another hour.' He said taking his eyes of the road for a moment to look at me.
'I'm fine, I slept on the plane.' I answered him, talking about the 2 hours that I actually slept.
'Ok well tell me about yourself Alessa, what have you been up to all these years?' He asked starting to build a conversation.
'I'm not remarkably interesting, I do the normal things a person my age does. I play sports, spend time with my friends, etcetera.' I answered simply. 'What about you?' I asked him.
'I also enjoy sports and spending time with my family.'
Nowhere did I mention a family, but he did, because he actually has one. I plastered a smile on my face and nodded to show I understood what he said.
'You mentioned that you play sports.' He said implying that he wanted me to expand on that.'
'Tennis mainly, but I play football and basketball too.'
'Your active I see.' He figured. 'I noticed you have an accent, whereabouts in London did you live?' The questions just kept on coming, and it was sweet that he was trying to keep the dying conversation alive. I should have accepted his offer and just slept.
'I lived in Croydon.' I retorted back to him in a polite manner.
'I have been to London many times, but I have never come across Croydon.' He spoke in a proper manner.
'Yeah I wouldn't recommend it.' I mumbled, but he must of heard me because he asked me why not.
'Well some of the areas are nice, there are some parts you just wouldn't want to walk in to.'
The rest of the drive was filled with small talk here and there, with the radio filling the background noise. The music played here is nothing like what I listen to, if I am lucky, I may be able to get my brothers into typical UK rap and grime.
'Ok, we are here now.' I heard as he pulled up to a very large gate. I saw him type in a code, which he didn't cover very well despite the effort to, and saw the gate open. He drove up a long pathway, which was basically a tree tunnel, through the gap in the trees I could see large areas of rich, healthy grass, and carefully trimmed oval shaped bushes.
We turned a small corner and pulled into quite the extravagant driveway, there was a white stone fountain in the middle, matching the exterior of the house standing in front of me. The property alone probably stood the height of Big Ben and spread across vast amounts of land, it was truly exquisite. There was a balcony right above the grand front door leading you to the entrance, and different shaped windows all over the house fitting together like a puzzle. This house seemed way to familiar for my liking so I said the only words that I could form right now.
'Holy shit.' I almost whispered, not quite a whisper as Armani heard me.
'Language.' He said sternly.
'My apologies.' I said mockingly, in my poshest Londoner accent. I saw his lips curve into a smile.
'Welcome to our humble abode. Now your humble abode too.'
'Humble?' I scoffed, 'You live in a castle mate.' I said my London style showing in my speech. I don't speak rough how you would expect, some would even argue I sound posh, It's because I have much experience with people, perks of working in a café, your voice naturally matures as you speak to someone.
'An estate, the term castle is outdated.' I followed not appreciating the slander. He opened the door and revealed an entry way like non other I had seen before. There were two staircase either side of a balcony leading up in an elegant way. Underneath that was a round table with a vase filled with beautiful white roses, my favourite flowers, as a centrepiece. I couldn't see much further beyond the vase as it was all too big.
'Come on lets get you to your room, its late.' Armani said quietly.
As we walked up the stairs, Armani mentioned to me that my room is the same one that I had when I was a baby, he also told me the order of all the room down the hall, there were some extra rooms which were spare rooms according to Armani. The order of the rooms went Vincent, Me, Romeo, Armani, Lorenzo then Dante, of course these names meant nothing to me because I didn't know much about them at all.
When we stopped outside of my room, I saw 'Alessa' written in cursive on the door in silver, Armani opened the door and what I saw next made me gasp. An overly spacious room, a king size bed in the middle with grey and black detailed sheets, the walls were painted white and the decorations around all matching the different accents featured in the room.
'Wow.' I breathed out.
'Do you like it? We can change anything you want.' Armani spoke in a hopeful voice.
'Its all so beautiful.' I whispered as I walked further into the room, I heard Armani following close behind. 'I've never had this before.' I said waving my hand in front of me.
'What? A room to yourself, Really?' He asked utterly confused.
'No a bed.' I said quietly still in awe, I hadn't even realised I said that out loud until I turned around and saw Armani's eyebrows ruffle in concern and his once smile had turned into a frown. 'It's been a long day, ignore what I just said.' I asked silently praying that he would leave.
'Yeah. Yeah sure I will let you get settled, we will talk in the morning, goodnight Alessa.' He said before walking to the door and shutting it behind him.
I put my head in my hands frustrated, and let out a long, quiet sigh. I got up and did my nightly routine whilst exploring the rest of my room. I put my laptop and phone on charge on the bedside table, and got under the covers. I turned the lights off and went to sleep for the first time in my new home, not knowing that tomorrow, more would be revealed than I thought.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments, I will be reading them all :))
Have an amazing day. Hugs to all of you!
TikTok- 'Elegance with Expense'