------------------------ Flashback ------------------------
Agt 30, 14 years ago.
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An anxious woman marched into her daughter's room barefooted, followed by TungTung, an old slobbery Cocker Spaniel. Brigitte was 44 years old, but thanks to her skin-care routine, most people would guess she was in her late 20s. However, her daughter might soon put some crow's feet on her face with how often Renata drove her up the wall. Such as this morning, for example, she was on her wits end seeing her daughter was still sound asleep when Renata knew better what an important day it was.
Brigitte opened the curtain and window to let fresh air in. TungTung was busy parting the curtain of Renata's canopy bed as he wagged his tail. She was just earning a groan when she yanked away the blanket that was covering Renata's body.
This time, Brigitte pulled a pillow under Renata's head. "Come on, Renata. Wake up.... or you are going to be late. TungTung, help me wake her up..." TungTung, licking and slobbering on Renata's face, obeying Brigitte's order.
Groaning, Renata turned her head. " 5 more minutes, mom." Soon her steady breathing was heard.
Brigitte sat on the edge of the bed. "Oh no you don't. You've been saying that since half an hour ago. You won't make it there on time, silly bear." Her mom shook her hard this time, unrelenting.
"What time is this, anyway?" Renata barely opened her eyes, too sleepy to do anything.
"It's already 6 a.m. Your registration will begin in 3,5 hours. From here to your new school needs more than 3 hours, and you still need to dress up. "
"Shit!!!" Renata sobered instantly and ran to her bathroom, throwing all her pajamas off.
"Language, Young Lady!!! I didn't raise a biker girl." Brigitte caressed her forehead as she picked up those pajamas off the floor.
"Sowwrryy...... but Mo~m, why didn't you wake me up earlier??? I can't be late today....."
"I have been yelling forever and you keep telling me another 5 minutes. Now you hurry, silly bear, or your father will roar at you." She left Renata to get ready by herself.
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Brigitte showered her only beloved daughter with kisses and hugs."Now you be a good girl, OK? Please save me from your school teachers, I couldn't stand listening to their boring chanting about your behavior. I felt my soul was drifting off my body."
The three of them were standing on the porch of their Colonial-style home as Brigitte said her goodbye to Renata. Patrick didn't have the heart to stop his wife from being overly dramatic; their daughter would come back at least once a month, not forever gone. Frank was busy loading his little master's two huge suitcases before he sat on the driver seat of the deep-sea blue BMW 5 series.
"Mo~m, stop it... I'm a big girl now, so embarrassing....." Renata wiped her face while squirming to escape from her mom's embrace.
"OK, you two. Renata will be late if you don't release her, honey." Her father kissed her mom romantically, which made Renata run off to the back seats. Frank had to have been waiting for her a long time ago. For Renata, this would be her first time riding the one-month-old car. The only thing she disliked was the black leather; it made her mood gloomy. Patrick finally threw their old car, a Le Mans Blue BMW E39 M5, after Renata's non-stop pestering.
"See you later, Gigi." Patrick finally let Brigitte go and sat next to Renata. "Morning, Frank." Her father politely greeted him. "Morning too, sir. Shall we?" Her father answered with a simple nod.
Renata prepared herself for a good nap; her mom's breakfast waffle could wait. Wished she could wake up earlier so she could eat at home instead of on her way to Connecticut. However, her father had another plan. "Gummybear, you better listen carefully. This is the first time we send you to a boarding school this far."
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"It's just 3 hours away, Dad." Her eyes were lost in the back of her head.
"4 hours. Just listen, will you? Where were we? Ah, right, so you need to be extra careful." Renata rolled her eyes. "If anything happens to you, we will need time to reach you. Are you even listening, babybear?"
"Yes, my dear daddy...." Could this be even more boring?
"So, what I'm going to say is-" He drew a deep breath several times as if he was about to dive. "Oh, God, I have a feeling I will instantly regret this-" Patrick pinched his nose bridge in frustration. Soon, he reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a box.
"What is this, Daddy?" Renata scrunched her face, lifting the carton box's lid cover. There are 2 things in it, a card and a new blackberry curve. Renata couldn't hold back her glee and squeal. "Daddy, I love you the most!!!!"
"This is your new phone and the other is your new credit card." Renata hugged him like a monkey before he could explain anything.
"Sit down and pay attention, or I will take them back. OK, good. This credit card limit is $500, you can only use this in an emergency situation. Do you understand? ONly EMergency."
"Yes, Daddy..."
"And I'm giving you this BlackBerry so you can contact us anytime. I have it all set up, there are my contact, your mom's, and I also made our family group chat, just the 3 of us. Now promise that you will use this phone and card wisely? You will contact us anytime you're free. "
"I promise, Daddy. Phone for chat or call often and card for an emergency. Got it..."
"If you need anything inside the school, you can use your student account deposit. This is $200, I already split it into $5 and $10 bills. Try not to spend it wantonly, OK?" Patrick handed her an envelope to put in her backpack safely.
"I know you've never used a BlackBerry before, so let me teach you the basics. You can ask your friend if you don't understand........"
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Despite her throbbing feet, Renata kept dragging her 2 large suitcases in each hand. 'Holy smolley, this school is sooooo big. I've been walking forever and still haven't found the Socrates Quadrangle. There are so many quadrangles here. This map is practically useless.'
She felt she had already passed this particular red brick building, but she could be wrong since all the buildings almost looked alike. No matter where she looked, all the buildings were surrounded by trees. She wondered if the school was built in the middle of the woods. If her feet weren't screaming at her at the moment, Renata might have admired the fan-shaped cobblestone road.
Renata stopped walking as she heard someone calling her. "Hey, pretty.... Where are you going? Are you lost?" A tall boy shouted at her while giggling with three other boys. If she wasn't sure that he was a human boy, he could be a teenage son of some Greek god.
It didn't mean that the other boys had no good appearance; they did, but this particular boy was strikingly contrasted with the rest. He's super tall, like ten feet tall, and will undoubtedly have a square jaw when he grows up. An adorable dimple, not just on the cheek but on his chin too. Luscious blonde hair with captivating deep blue eyes. How could god be so unfair? Aside from his good looks, he also had a ripped body. If only he let loose those pitiful stretched buttons, she could take a glance at his chest.
"Dude, she's smitten...." One of the boys with curly light brown hair laughed.
"You and your sinful face... " Another boy with brown hair chimed in.
"Little Qing doll, have you attracted to me already?" Cardiac arrest, she had one at that moment because of his smile, and this boy would be her undoing.
"I....." Renata tried to breathe, but her brain was frozen. Making a complete sentence seemed like quite an impossible task.
"Lyle, is there any problem? What are you guys doing there?" So this Greek god's son's name was Lyle; she made sure to remember it. Another boy was walking toward them. His voice pulled her from her frozen state. When she got a good look at him, she noticed that he was a mixed breed, probably Asian with Caucasian. Why did all the boys she had met so far have pretty faces and good bodies? Was she still in dreamland?
Lyle grinned at him, "This little one is lost, we were just wanna help her. What is a student president like you doing here, Wilson?"
"Mr. Danes is looking for you guys. You all should go to him. He's waiting at his office. You there, come with me. " The guy named Wilson pointed at her and walked back to where she came from.
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Renata's legs were sore and painful, and her overweight and oversized baggage felt heavier as the minutes passed. As she got slower, her distance from Wilson grew wider. "Hey, wait up. You walk too fast....." Wilson stopped and waited for her.
"Can you walk .....hah hah.... slower? In case you didn't realize ..... hah hah..... you have much longer legs than mine. And I have been walking around for half an hour with these heavy trunks... hah hah..... so.... my legs hurt....." He just deadpan stared at her.
Renata could be mistaken, but he seemed a little angry. At her? Why? They barely even talked. "I don't care how genius you are, but kids are still kids. Many kids other than you also jumped classes, but they still act their age. Please dress accordingly, especially in the school area. Should a little kid like you wear boots, a sleeveless top, and a short skirt, not to mention make-up? Whom are you trying to entice? People won't see you as a mature woman, but a kid forcing herself to be an adult. "
"Kid? I'm 15, you overgrown ape!!!!" She admitted she looked like a kid but did he have to rub it on her nose? She regretted taking off her denim jacket, but she was sweaty.
"You don't need to lie. It's impossible that you are 15. I'd believe you if you said you are 10 years old, even with your goop on. "
"......." Well, she did lie a little. "I'm turning 15 this November and I'm not trying to entice anyone. Can a girl look good for herself?"
"So you're indeed not 15. My advice for you is to dress modestly. A woman is respected because she covers her skin, not because she bares her skin for anyone to see." He walked off before Renata could rebuke him; she was fuming.
Forcing her legs to walk again, she got closer to Wilson. " Hey you lumberjack. Do you think this is 1850? If someone disrespects others, the one at fault should be the assaulter, not the victim."
"You are not living in a utopian society, kid. Don't give them more reason to justify their act of disrespecting you. Instead of wasting money on your looks, invest in brain supplements. You couldn't even read a simple map, yet you worry about your appearance. " They had already arrived at a busy quadrangle just before he finished speaking, drawing attention to them.
When Wilson turned to her, Renata's tears were free-flowing, biting her lower lips so hard, clenching her hands until her knuckles were white. "You Are So Far Up Your Own Ass ..." Everyone near them was gasping, although Wilson didn't seem affected by any of this and just went away.
One of the girls behind the desk quickly approached and lead Renata to her desk. "Hello, my name is Kimberly, you can call me Kim. You must be tired, come sit here. You should have the confirmation letter for the registration.... bla bla bla bla bla" Renata wiped her tears and snot with her hands, still enraged by Wilson.