PHILLIPS ACADEMY: THREE HEIRS ONE HEART

2

Loud. Obnoxious. Spoiled. Those are the few negative things that come to mind while talking to Jenna. It had only been minutes, yet I felt like she already told me everything about her. She’s a rich child, the daughter of an engineer. She may be the type to talk too much, but it’s clear to me that she’s smart.

How do I describe her? Well, she dresses like an idol. With purple hair and a bunny-like smile, amber eyes, average height, a few inches taller than me, this girl could turn heads to. Comparing her to me, I’m way below average – and I like it that way. I have black eyes; I’m five feet and four inches; and I have stale fashion sense – just give me a plain shirt and denim jeans, I’m good. I’m not self-conscious.

In spite of her negative traits, I can see that Jenna has that genuine aura. I think it’s not going to kill me if I actually befriend her. Am I gaslighting myself? I’m new to socializing – or should I say, I suck at socializing. I have to admit, I’m kind of jealous of Jenna’s social butterfly charm.

Anyway, Jenna has already told me about the background of the Phillips Heirs. On top of being popular and good-looking, they all have separate charms. Apparently, Alvin is the oldest – that explains his maturity. He has the same personality spectrum as my roommate, Jenna. The only difference? Well, at least I don’t find Alvin obnoxious. The second heir is Sid. According to Jenna, Sid has established a problematic behavior. He’s a playboy, dominant, and violent. I don’t know, but it is safe to assume that he falls into the rebellious rich kid archetype. I don’t really want to be biased or anything. I haven’t met him, so. I don’t know if his reputation matches who he truly is. The youngest heir is Karl. According to Jenna, he’s the type to be overshadowed by his siblings. He’s never really the center of attention most of the time, as he is the type to be low-key and shy most of the time. But, just like his brothers, he could not escape the popularity and privilege associated with his last name. And that’s it, that’s all I heard from Jenna.

As I was about to finish fixing my stuff before going to my first class, something fell from one of my bag’s pocket.

“What’s that?” Jenna asked as she rushed to pick up my dad’s letter for me. “Ooh…Gayle’s got a letter.” She teased me and slowly opened it.

She’s so annoying, “Don’t! That’s mine. Give it back!”

“Girl chill,” Jenna said before giving me the letter. “You don’t have to be mad at me. I’m sorry.” Jenna said with teary eyes.

“It’s okay. I’m not mad,” I said to her. I have to admit I dislike it when people cry because of me. Ugh! Jenna’s like a child.

“What’s that letter, anyway?”

“It’s from my dad.”

“Your dad’s old school, huh? Can’t he just email you?”

“No, he can’t,” I put the letter back in the bag. “He’s dead.”

I felt guilt upon seeing Jenna’s reaction. I have to admit, that was insensitive of her, but, she immediately gave me a hug and said, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” We faced each other, I smiled at her. “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

I’m not the type to victimize myself over things that are happening to everyone. Death happens to everyone anyway, so why cry about it? My dad knew I was tough, and he made sure to teach me the value of optimism whenever I felt down. But I have to be honest; despite being ready to face anything in life right now, there’s an exception. I’m not ready to read the letter he wrote to me before he died. I don’t know why. That’s why I’m keeping his letter. I’m going to wait until my courage is enough to read his letter.

Both Jenna and I got back to what we were doing after that. She’s aspiring to be an actress while I’m aspiring to be a filmmaker, so we have different courses to attend.

I brought my leather sling bag with my laptop inside. I then decided to leave first. Jenna and I just stared at each other while she was giving me a sweet smile.

“See you later, roomie.” She spoke. I just smiled back at her and then left.

My mind’s empty. I was walking down the hallway to reach my first class on time. I suddenly heard loud screams from girls in the school entrance. I could not help but look, out of curiosity. I saw a limo – with open side-windows - that was familiar to me. Wait! Is that Ms. Josephine? Ms. Josephine is my father’s close friend – at least that is how she introduced herself to me when I met her a month ago in front of my father’s grave.

Oh my God! Who is that man? Chiseled jaws, black hair, pale skinned, purple eyes, proportioned like a demi-god. Wait! That gaze, he reminds me of Alvin. He waved at the girls lined up at the side of the gates, they then went to act like squirrels shrieking over a pile of nuts. Who’s that!? Aside from Ms. Josephine and the pretty man saw one more guy. I can’t see it clearly, but he has ash-blonde hair. Oh my! Could they be the other heirs? Oh god! The limo is going in my direction.

I have no choice. I have to go now. I turned back from them and went rushing down the hallway. I only had a few minutes before my first class anyway.

My first subject today is Cinematography, Room 202. Shoot! There it is!

“Hey!” a voice from behind stopped me. Who could this be?

I turned around and saw a girl in a student intern shirt – the same shirt Alvin was wearing. Her eyes are so dark. She was looking at me so blank. She’s tall, wears glasses, kind-of-pretty, well-proportioned, yet, weird at the same time. I assume she’s a student here too. “Excuse me, Do I know you? My class will start in a few minutes,” I said to her.

“I know you…Gayle…You don’t know me.” She said with her voice so dark and gentle-sounding at the same time. How did she know my name? She’s now slowly walking towards me. She’s creeping out, not going to lie.

“Uhm…I’m sorry, you are kind of freaking me out right now. I really have to go.”

As I was about to rush away from her, she then grabbed me by my right wrist. I felt the strong grip of her left hand. Gosh! Why is she so pale? She’s both attractive and mainly spooky at the same time, I’m so confused. “Freaking you out is the point of me doing this…Gayle,” she said to me.

“Uhm…I’m confused. I don’t know you. It’s my first day here.”

“I know…and I don’t care.”

“If you don’t care, then can you please let go of me now?”

“No! I am not letting you go until you tell me what you think of Alvin Phillips.”

I knew it! One of Alvin’s delusional fans saw me earlier with him. I wanted to laugh so hard. “I don’t know your relationship with Alvin or anything, but I assume you saw him helping me with my bags earlier.” I said before flicking her hand on my wrist. “He just helped me and that’s it. Please let me go now! I have no time for this nonsense! Have a nice day!” I said as I turned my back on her.

She yelled, “The name’s Edith! And I will be watching you, Gayle!”

I yelled back, “I don’t care!”

It’s crazy how delusional some people can get! How dare she grab my wrist so hard like that? Bad for her! My father taught me the importance of fighting back when necessary. If someone hates me for no reason, do you think I will adjust? No freaking way! I’m not going to ask them ‘what’s the problem?’ and offer them my friendship? No! If they can hate me for no reason, I will give them a reason to hate me more. A reason bad enough to cause them aneurysms, so stay mad! What about it?

Anyway, that’s just one of the few sides of me that I don’t get to reveal more often. There’s more to me than a simple girl. My father’s right. I think this academy will really help me unleash my full colors. It’s barely the first day of school and a lot of things have already happened. I’m stoked!

Looking back, aside from that weird Edith that tried to confront me, I still have a lot of questions in my head. What was Ms. Josephine doing in that limo? Why is she associated with those men? I guess I just have to ask her about it later. For now, what I need is to go to my first class.

-TO BE CONTINUED-