Shipped Off... to English Boarding School!

1. Exciting Opportunity

"I have an exiting opportunity for you!" Alex's mom came into his room one afternoon saying. It was late in the summer. The Claremonts (Alex and June had to essuently act like Leo was their dad and not mention Oscar Diaz) had spent the last few months on the campaign trail. His mother was currently leading in the polls to be elected the next President of the United States in three months. They had been all across America during his time off between junior and senior year of high school, with a few international trips as well. They had just returned from the Summer Olympics in Rio, which were incredible to see in-person.

Ellen Claremont sat down on his bed. Alex was working on some early studying for his AP courses that would be starting in a few days, book scattered around him. He looked up at his mom, there was a glint of something in her eyes that he couldn't quite read, but it made him suspicious.

"What's that, mom?" he said closing the book to give her his full attention.

"How would you feel about going abroad  this semester?"

"Going abroad? Isn't that something people usually do in college?"

"Yes, but kids do exchange programs in high school too, it be just like that."

"And where, exactly, would I be going, considering school starts in just a few days and it could take that long to get to some places abroad," he said mockingly to his mom. This had to be a joke, but even though she was trying to keep her tone light,  Alex could read in her eyes that this was not a joke.

"England!"

"England?"

"Yes, England."

"Does that even count as abroad? If you want me to get worldly experience or whatever, shouldn't I go somewhere like Singapore or at least Australia– same accent but further away."

"Well I don't have any connections to Singapore or Australia, but I do know someone who was willing to pull some strings to get you into Callerton, a very elite boarding school in northern England. It's supposed to be one of the best schools in the entire world. And England is still a different country, across an ocean, with a different culture and different perspective on the world, which are valuable things to learn."

"Ok, yeah, but I don't want to go to England. I just want to finish high school, here, in Texas. It's my senior year, mom."

"Oh like you care about prom and all that senior stuff. I bet you weren't even planning on going to prom."

"You can't prove that."

"Were you?"

"If I go to prom, can I stay in Texas?"

"You can go to England for the first semester and still come back and go to prom!"

"Mommmmm, I said I don't want to, ok?"

"I don't want you here during the election."

"But mom, why not? Haven't I helped? I loved being on the campaign trail and getting to learn more about the world I want be be a part of after college, the world that I'm going to be apart of of even sooner you are elected in a few months. How can I not be here to see my mom be elected President of the United States?"

"You can come back for election night. I just don't want you here, in the states at all, as it gets closer. The press is really started to breathe down our necks and diving into not just me but our whole family. You're only 17, and it's your senior year of high school. I don't want all that distracting you. You have college applications to do and six AP classes, I want you to focus on school, focus on preparing for your future, not mine."

"My career in politics will always be affected by yours mom, you know that. Let me stay, let me learn from experience instead of textbooks."

"You've already been on the campaign trail all summer. This will be another, different, learning opportunity."

"Are you sending June out of the country?"

"June is in the middle of her degree at UT Austin, I'm not going to ask her to switch out of her top choice school–"

"But you're ok with asking me to leave all my friends behind? What about Liam?" Liam was Alex's best friend since, like, forever. And really only friend. They did everything together: school work, lacrosse, even the occasional make-out or mutual masturbation session. Not that Alex was queer, it was just they were close bros. It didn't mean anything, to either of them.

"There's another reason I want you to go to England. A political one." Now she was speaking his language. "Callerton is where Prince Henry goes to school. You've met him this summer, now I want you get to know him, if you can. It would be really good for international relations if I get the Presidency to have my son be friends with a member of the Royal family. It could even strengthen the relationship of our two countries and help me with the trade deal I have promised I would make with England." Her eyebrows went up, she knew she had peaked his interest by giving him a way to help with her campaign.

"But mom, he was so rude to me in Rio. He's not going to want to be friends with me."

"Oh son, you have a gift for making people like you. Use that natural charm, that definitely comes from me and not your father." She smirks at him. "Do this for me. Please, baby."