Tabula Rasa [ON HOLD]

Chapter One

Stepping foot in this new country, I wasn't sure which was louder, the roar of the airplane engine or the pounding of my racing heart. Nervous was a major understatement to how I was feeling right now. Throughout the whole flight, my mind flashed with all the possible scenarios that could take place when I meet my grandma.

You see, it's not that I've never met her before, it's that she's never been my dad's number one fan and I'm honestly not sure how well I would take someone dissing either of my parents, especially now.

It feels so surreal what I'm doing and it still hasn't settled in quite yet. After the accident, family members from all around the world flew in to attend the funeral, even my grandma, and I had meetings with a lot of attorneys and my parents' lawyer to discuss the legal situation of my inheritance, so I still haven't given what happened much thought due to how hectic everything had been. You may think, how heartless can you be not being affected by your parents' recent deaths? Well it's not that. It's just that pretending and acting have always been my forte. I'm so good at them, I've almost got me fooled.

I took in my surroundings as I descended from the plane, the only thing on my mind was how to make a good impression. You see, my oh so dear grandmother, whom I'll be spending the next almost six months with, isn't like most grandmothers. She is prim and proper, so everything I do or say has to be flawless.

"Miss Norah Jacobs?" I was confused as in to how this old, friendly-looking man knew my name. "Don't be surprised dear, I was sent to pick you up by Ms Sullivan. My name's Mr Croft but you can call me Samuel. I will be showing you around the city today." He smiled.

Ha. Of course my grandmother won't be picking me up herself. What was I thinking? That she had time for me? Psh, right.

I didn't know what to say to that and I didn't want to seem bitter so I just smiled. I couldn't see any pity in his eyes which was good. It could also mean that he didn't know about the news yet, which I guess is also good. I hated pity more than anything. It made me feel weak, and that's not my cup of tea if you ask me.

"Let me help you with that dear," Samuel said kindly as he took some of my bags. I left a heap of my belongings back home and only took my necessities and most treasured items, mostly because I was rushed and moving was so last-minute, but also because I'm trying to forget and leave everything behind. I just want a fresh start. A clean slate that I can fill with happier and more joyful memories.

I admired the buildings and the architecture of this new city. I couldn't help it, I've always loved travelling and new experiences and this place didn't seem too bad. Definitely a lot livelier and busier than back home, but I love big cities so that won't be a problem anyway.

Arriving at what I would call home for the next six months, I was shocked to say the least. Standing in front of me is a massive, sleek building that looked more like a skyscraper actually. It looked extremely fancy and I felt so out of place. We had nothing like that back home, that's for sure. As if sensing my discomfort, Samuel smiled warmly and got out of the car to open my door for me. I smiled gratefully thanking him, then watched him as he ushered the security person over to take my bags to my grandmother's flat. Damn, this will definitely need some time getting used to.

"I will be back to pick you up and show you around in an hour ma'am, that okay?" Samuel asked me.

"Yeah that would be good, I just need to freshen up a bit. Also, can you please call me Norah?" I replied.

"Of course, Norah." He added with a smile. What a sweet person. Sigh. As I made my way inside the apartment building, I couldn't help but notice the stares the people gave me. They were probably wondering how someone like me could be related to someone like my grandmother.