Somewhere Only We Know

XXIX - Welcome to the Family!

7:38 a.m.

The four of us stepped into the elevator, the soft hum reminding me of the tune I hummed in my sleep as we descended. Micaela immediately tried to butt in about Kai again, but Jesse and Kai were deep in conversation, talking about an upcoming fashion week and the buzz it was generating. "So, are you gonna tell me if you two are an item or not?"

Suddenly, the elevator jolted to a stop on the second floor. The doors slid open, and Edward stepped in, also dressed in a suit. Jesse exhaled loudly, annoyed at the situation. "Where the hell is Chase?" Just then, the elevator doors opened again, and Chase appeared, clearly out of breath.

Edward laughed and smirked. "We had a bet—who'd get to the first floor first: Chase, who took the stairs, or me, who rode the elevator?" Chase, still catching his breath, shot Edward a glare. "I definitely won that," he said as he stepped into the elevator. "Hi, baby," he greeted Mica as he gave her a peck on the cheek before looking ahead. "What the fuck are we doing?" I asked, glancing at everyone else.

"Oh, shit, right!" Chase said, finally realizing we were already on the ground floor. "My bad, guys," he continued, leading the group to the lobby.

As we walked near the doors, the sound of our shoes hitting the tiles echoed, causing the concierge to look up from behind her desk. "I see you're all up early today!" Cindy said as she stood up to gain a better view. Micaela quickly rushed to her, her heels clicking on the tiles. "Hi, Cindy. I was wondering if you guys had any mattresses to spare, cause—" she paused as Chase pulled her aside.

I then walked to the desk, pulling my keys out of my pocket. "Sup, Cin. We'll be back in a bit," I said as I placed the keys on the surface. "Of course. What's the celebration? I see you're wearing your uniform quite clean today," she asked, picking up the keys and then hanging them on the rack behind her. "Oh, you know. I have to accept a bunch of awards," I said smugly, making her chuckle.

Before I could say anything else, the sharp honk of a fancy limousine outside cut me off. We all exchanged glances, then headed out the door. Stepping outside, we looked up to see Mom and her husband, Jeorg, peeking out from the skylight. Their faces showed a mix of uncertainty and amusement, clearly scared to push any more of my many, many buttons. "Hi, Miss Yu!" Chase greeted, waving his hand like a child eager to be noticed.

I felt a little annoyed at the whole situation, but pushed it aside as everyone piled into the limousine. The drive to school was thick with awkward silence. No one spoke; each was lost in their own bubble. As usual, Jesse was on his phone, his shades bringing glare into the car. Next to him were Kai and Edward, who were both giggling while sharing videos on their phones with each other, across them were Mom and Jeorg, playfully whispering in each other's ears, making me want to vomit. Micaela and Chase were sitting next to me, cuddling with each other as they napped.

I looked around the limousine and finally found what would give me the confidence for the event ahead of us: a bottle of champagne. "Shall we celebrate my success, family?" I said, emphasizing the sarcasm in the word "family" as I opened a window, directing the neck of the bottle at it, then popped it open.

Mom and Jeorg exchanged glances, ready to stop me, but before they could, everyone else cheered, caught up in the moment. Jesse, however, quickly shushed them, his attention snapping back to his call as the lively energy was gently subdued once more. 

"Since I'm the youngest, I'll pour the drinks for everyone." I reached into the side compartments of the limousine and handed out glasses to the group. Chase and Mica shared one glass since the glasses were short, and Mom and Jeorg politely declined to drink, making me shrug.

Jesse held his glass, fidgeting with it as he spoke softly. Just as the group was about to clink their glasses, I unexpectedly chugged mine down and immediately poured another, sparking worried looks from everyone. "You sure you wanna get drunk for this event, kid?" Micaela chimed in, glancing at the others. Like, please, I'm not a drunk. It's champagne anyway.

With a sly grin, I said, "Oh, please, this one's for Jesse." But I only said it after the glass was already filled. When Jesse refused it, I just shrugged and said, "More for me then," before chugging the second glass as the rest of the group scrambled to stop me. "Christ, Max. You'll reek of champagne once we arrive," Edward said, chuckling to alleviate the already tense situation.

I felt everyone glaring at me. "Alright, alright. That was my last one, anyway!" I said, raising both my hands as a sign of defeat.

7:52 a.m.

The limousine finally pulled up to the academy entrance. Only a few people remained scattered around, but all their heads turned instantly at the sight of the flashy car, whispers quickly filling the air. I sank deeper into my seat, a wave of embarrassment washing over me.

One by one, they stepped out of the car, the crowd's curiosity growing louder as they watched the well-known faces emerge, murmuring and guessing who they might be with. The attention was overwhelming, all eyes on us as we made our way toward the event. Sure, they're probably used to the attention, but I sure as hell wasn't. And then, finally, it was my turn to step out, feeling every gaze fixed on me as I walked forward. I then finally saw a familiar face; Jackson had just arrived as well, about to enter through the main door along with a few of his friends and a woman, making me raise an eyebrow.

As if the situation wasn't already fucked on my part, a group of paparazzi emerged from the greenery layout of the campus, rushing toward us. Thank God for the fencing, by the way. I watched as the others each walked forward in pairs, my mother and Jeorg at the front, Micaela and Chase behind them, holding each other's hands, Edward and Kai suddenly wearing shades, like professional paparazzi victims, and then finally Jesse and me. He tugged on my sleeve. "You okay? I'm sorry about the limo; I swear I didn't know, kid," he said with reassurance. I nodded before exhaling loudly and slipping my arm into his. As we walked forward, the flashing lights made me wince. "My God, she looks awfully young to be with a bloke like that," a paparazzi whispered loud enough for us to hear.

But before I could even react, negatively, of course, Jesse pulled out his phone, Instagram already open. The camera caught all of us as he did a full 360, and the murmurs from the handful of people at the entrance grew louder. Paparazzi whispers floated through the crisp air, things like, "Jesse has sisters?" and "That young lady is related to all these people?" A few locals whispered excitedly, piecing it all together under their breath.

Jesse grinned and continued, "Good morning, everyone. If you've been wondering why I've been MIA for the past days, I'm here at my hometown to celebrate this little salutatorian here." He pointed the camera at me, the lens zooming in as I tried to hide my blush.

"Ahead of us are your favorites, Kai and Edward." Both turned to the camera, waving warmly as they lowered their shades. Chase and Mica caught Jesse's glance and waved as well, with Chase suddenly striking a goofy pose that made Micaela laugh, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"And over there is my sister Mica and her boyfriend Chase, also a good friend of mine," Jesse added. "And at the front is my mother and her husband." Mom smiled brightly at the camera, flashing her wedding ring as if to say, "We're official." Then all of us called out, "Welcome to the family, Jeorg!" Their voices joined in a chorus, echoing softly around the small crowd and making me want to die almost—but for some reason, it was comforting too. "Anyway, everybody congratulate my baby sister, Maxie, for her triumph! Officially out of high school by 6 PM tomorrow. Only here at Columbus St. Agnes Academy!" he concluded as he pressed the post button. 

Despite all the shit, we make a pretty good family, don't you think?

shorter chapter since the last one was quite long. :-D

word count is 1446.