Alex Rider: Deception

Alex- Chapter 2

Alex

California was nothing like England except for the misty fog that hung over San Francisco most days, and Alex was glad for it. He didn't want to think about England anymore, in fact, he didn't want to do much of anything anymore.

California was nearly four times the size of Great Britain, and each city was unique in its own way. San Francisco might have been most famous for its Bridge, but that was one tiny slice of the city. From Alcatraz to the Painted Ladies, it was one of the most diverse cities in the country. Alex had been given a tour of it when he first arrived, but everything had been blurred.

Alex and the Pleasures lived in the suburbs of San Francisco, just a twenty minute drive from the city, in a town call San Carlos. The house was two stories with a finished basement and attic. The eat in kitchen was large and modern, with clean white granite countertops and a pristine tiled floor. An open floor plan joined the kitchen to a stylish living room. Edward Pleasure's study was located at the back of the house, and there was a separate area for the television set. Sabina's room was located on the second floor, along with the guest bedroom and the master. Alex had the entire attic to himself.

Alex's room was painted a dark grey, but the floor was covered in white carpet. The room was decorated with taste, but somehow lacked the true feel of a teenage boy's room. There was no dirty laundry scattered around, and the walls were bare of any posters. The desk in the corner contained perfectly sharpened pencils, neatly stacked books, and a laptop sitting closed and charging. It would have been extremely hard to tell who lived in the room, because there were very few pictures.

The Pleasures were doing well, and that was largely due to Alex. Almost two years ago, Edward Pleasure was nearly been killed in an explosion in his rented vacation home in Cornwall, France. It was Alex who investigated and exposed the mega-celebrity Damien Cray as the culprit. At the same time, he prevented the decimation of several countries. Edward Pleasure, a journalist, went on to write a book on the true personality of Damien Cray, and the book sold very well.

It had been six months since Egypt, and Alex finally had the life he wanted; he was an ordinary school boy. But Alex felt far from normal. It wasn't because he was the only British kid in school aside from Sabina, he might've been able to adjust under normal circumstances, but that was the problem.

Alex Rider was anything but normal. And these were anything but normal circumstances.

He had saved the world countless times, and saved millions of innocent lives, except the life he cared for most. On his last mission, his best friend and guardian Jack Starbright had been mercilessly murdered before his eyes. And he was only fifteen. He didn't fit in at school, but he wasn't bullied. He was left alone for the most part, and he was content with that. Sabina was becoming more of a sister than a crush, and she tried to be comforting to Alex. He hadn't spoken to any of the Pleasures about Egypt, and he didn't intend to.

It was obvious that something was different about Alex. His eyes held a haunted look, eyes that had seen and been through too much. He missed Chelsea, his hometown in England, but he didn't know if he could stand to be there without Jack; the Pleasures had offered to take him back to see his old friends, but Alex couldn't bring himself to go.

Alex stopped trying to reach out to new people, in truth he was terrified that if he became too close, they would be ripped out of his life. But as bleak as it seemed, he was getting better. Alex didn't notice it, but Edward Pleasure, his legal guardian, did.

Everyday, Alex seemed a little more alert, a little more alive. Each test came back with a little higher score, and Alex was outside kicking a soccer ball around a little longer each day. He had tried to offer Alex a therapist once, but Alex had quietly refused, and Edward never asked again. Edward and his wife Liz had actually gone to a special therapist to try to help Alex by being better guardians, but they weren't sure how well they were doing. The therapist told them the best thing to do was get Alex settled and comfortable. So, by mid-September, life had settled into an even routine.