Manchote

Chapter Four

The next day, I couldn't wait to see Adrien. I didn't know why, but I felt my excitement building the closer it got to the time he and his driver would pick me up after his fencing practice. I found myself pacing the bookstore after school, too impatient to focus on my homework.

The bookstore was almost ready to open. The shelves were lined with books, old and new, and organized by genre. Mémé informed me that there were only small things that needed to be done now, like setting up the displays and fixing the sign outside. I assured her I would also help her set up a website for the shop so more people could access it easily. It was exciting to know that, sooner than later, people would be coming in and out of the store and leaving with new stories.

I wondered if Adrien would like the shop.

I wondered why I had had that thought.

The idea of Adrien appreciating Mémé's bookstore made my heart light up with warmth. It occured to me that he would see at least the exterior of it today when I was picked up, and maybe one day I could invite him over and show him the inside of the shop.

The thought was interrupted by my phone chiming. It was a text from Adrien, letting me know he was outside. I grabbed my purse and called out a goodbye to Mémé before leaving the shop.

Outside the shop there was a sleek silver car. A large man opened the door for me, and I slid into the car to sit beside Adrien.

"Wow," I said, clicking my seat belt after the driver closed the door behind me. "You have your own driver. That's, uh..." I couldn't settle on the right word. Fancy? Extra?

Adrien blushed. "It's my father. He insists that if I go anywhere, I have to be taken by my driver. He doubles as a bodyguard."

"Oh. That's cool."

Adrien sighed. "It is, but it can get a bit overbearing sometimes."

"Oh. Right. I can see why."

"Anyway, what about you? What are your parents like?"

"Oh, um. I wouldn't know. I live with my grandmother." I lowered my eyes. "My dad died when I was a baby, and my mom..." I paused. "She's not around." I was silent. I didn't know how to elaborate. I wasn't sure if I should.

"Hey," Adrien said softly, taking my hand. "My mother died a few years ago. I understand how hard it can be to be without a parent."

I smiled. "Thank you, Adrien."

Before long, we'd made it to Adrien's house. It was enormous, larger than any house I'd been too, in either my old hometown or Paris. I was closed off by a towering gate of intricately patterned metal.

"Looks... safe," I said. Adrien laughed.

"Don't worry. It's not entirely impossible to get in. Or out."

I looked at him in shock. Adrien didn't seem the type to sneak out. Then again, I hadn't known him for long.

The gate swung open and Adrien led me into the house. The inside was just as grand as the outside, with polished white floors and white walls. Directly in front of us was a central staircase and a painted portrait of Adrien and his Father hung above it. The floor had a pattern painted in black in the center.

"Your house is beautiful," I told Adrien.

"Yeah, I guess." He seemed unimpressed. "Come on, I'll show you my room."

Adrien's room wasn't as refined and grandiose as the rest of the house, but it was still elaborate in its own way. There was a staircase to an upper floor, a foosball table, a couch, a TV and arcade games- There was even a basketball hoop hung from one of the walls. It looked more like a recreational center than a bedroom.