Hello, Drudel…Run!

EPISODE ONE: SOMEONE IS WATCHING “Atheia, would you at least join us in making pancakes?” Layla asks, raising her hands in mock frustration. She just does not understand why Atheia does not fancy anything that has to do with the kitchen. “Layla, I don’t know why you bother yourself about her. She won’t change.” Kayla says with a smile. Atheia rolls her eyes, “Don’t you know that it is better that I watch and learn?” Kayla chuckles, “Yeah right. Just confess that you don’t want to get your hands dirty with flour.” They all burst into laughter. Soon, breakfast is ready, and Atheia joins her parents and Kai, her brother, at the table. Layla and Kayla serve them and the food, as always, is delicious. “Atheia, your birthday is on the way; what do you have planned?” Her dad asks, and everyone’s gaze turns to her. Atheia will be eighteen in three weeks, and she has given her plans for that day a lot of thought. She really hopes that her parents would agree with what she has in mind. Atheia coughs. “Er…I was thinking of throwing a party here….I will invite most of the people at school…” As she speaks, she can see the disapproval in her parents’ eyes. “Atheia, there is something we need to tell you,” Her mother begins. “What’s that, Mom?” Atheia asks. “We will be moving very soon.” She says. At first, Atheia does not understand what her mother is saying. Her parents, Donald and Rhea Jenkins are aeronautic engineers, and although they travel a lot, the family has never had to move, at least, not for as long as she can remember. Why are they moving now? “Why are we moving?” Atheia asks, her brows knitted with worry. “Darling, work has taken us to Vienna. Your Mom and I will be helping Ryanair build more planes, and it is going to be a long term project.” Donald explains. “Can we at least stay till my birthday?” Atheia suggests. “We could move the day after. It will give me enough time to say goodbye to my friends.” “No, Darling.” Rhea answers. “We need to leave within two weeks, so it is better that you start saying goodbye to your friends. “But….” Atheia begins, but her father raises his hands, a sure sign that he is done talking. “Atheia, why don’t you go to your room to prepare for school. As you can see, Kai is ready.” Rhea says. “Fine.” She responds and then goes upstairs into her room. All her life, she has always wondered why her parents are so protective of her. She has never gone anywhere without Kai and Soren, their chauffeur, taking her and staying with her till she is back home. She is never invited to rave parties at school because everyone at school knows that she would never attend. And now, she is going to be eighteen, but she cannot celebrate it like a normal girl! Gosh, she is so freaking pissed! She shuts the door behind her and walks into her closet to pick her school uniform. After, she undresses and steps into the bathroom. If not that she is going to be late for school, she would have soaked herself in the bathtub for at least an hour in an attempt to relieve herself of the stress her parents are putting her through. Later, not now. Just as Atheia walks towards the shower, she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and notices something strange about her skin. It is glowing in an unusual manner, as if she rubbed golden confetti on her body. She can’t remember doing anything like that. She assumes it is the weather and quickly showers. Within ten minutes, she is ready for school. Upon getting downstairs, she realizes that her parents have left the house for work. She remembers what happened at breakfast and sighs deeply before saying goodbye to Layla and Kayla. “Take care, Atheia. What would you want for lunch?” Layla asks. “Anything is fine.” Atheia responds. She is just not in the mood. She gets to the car and Soren opens the door for her. He has the same blank look on his face. Soren is a tall, built guy, and for what it is worth, he is dashingly handsome. No wonder all the girls at school have a crush on him. “Good morning, Miss Jenkins. We will leave once Master Jenkins arrives.” He says and she nods her head. Atheia has asked him to only refer to her by her first name, but he never does. At this point, she has given up. Soren looks at her and asks if she is okay. “I am just tired of Dad and Mom’s overprotectiveness, Soren. They just informed me that we are moving, and that was after I told them that I wanted to host my birthday party here at the house.” Atheia complains. Soren’s eyes dart towards the house as if he is looking at something. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can, Kai appears from nowhere. “Let’s get this show on the road!” Kai says as he gets in the car beside Soren, as always. He turns to look at his sister, “Atheia, are you still sulking because of what Mom and Dad said?” Atheia, seething, looks at him but says nothing. “Come on, it is just a birthday party, and you can always celebrate it in Vienna.” Kai says. “Leave me alone, Kai. You are not the one who is always caged by Mom and Dad.” Atheia responds, trying her best not to flare up. Kai and Soren share a look but say nothing. They get to school and Soren stops the car right in front of the building. Just as expected, students start trooping out to look at the car. The thing is, Atheia’s parents are so wealthy that a new car brings her and her brother to school every week, and today, it is an AMG, 2023 model, customized just for the Jenkins. Another reason for which they are staring is because of Soren. Atheia can see her coursemates swoon at the sight of Soren. She wonders why. Yeah, he is hot, but that’s about it. Atheia is used to being stared at, but today, she has this creepy feeling as she steps out of the car and walks into the school building. She looks at her arms and spots the goosebumps on her skin; it feels like her skin is crawling. She cannot shake off the feeling. Someone is watching her.