BOOK ONE || the city lights series
Adina Ricci is the daughter of two of the most famous people on the planet. She grew up in the spotlight and she never once felt ungrateful for what she had been given. But, right before her fourteenth birthday, he...
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AFTER GOING BACK outside and meeting up with Kat, we all made our way to the boarding house, with Kat taking her car and us in ours.
Once the car rolls to a stop, I'm met with a large red brick building, looking like a slightly smaller version of the building we were just in. The moss and flowers covering some spots of the house make me giddy inside, excited to go inside and see if the building is as pretty as it is on the outside.
The house we pulled into is one of six identical buildings that surround us, all making up their own neighborhood. I quickly assume they are all a part of the school, one of them probably being Apollo House.
We bring all of my luggage inside and into the small foyer, where Kat begins to call people down.
"Everyone! Come down, I want you to meet someone!"
Loud stomps come from what seems like every direction until eight new faces are standing in front of me with welcoming grins.
"Guys, this is Ad-"
"Adina Ricci," A blonde girl around my age whispers to herself in disbelief, her eyes wide and lips parted, cutting Kat off mid-sentence.
"Yes, Summer," Kat smiles, amusedly. "She's going to be boarding here with us. Sawyer, she'll be rooming with you." Kat informs everyone, facing the five girls I assume are also boarding at Artemis House. "Let me introduce you to everyone," she begins, "This is Summer..."
Kat gestures to the girl who had interrupted her. She has gorgeous, green eyes with thick blonde hair, the strands so long they almost touch her waist. She looks at me with a kind smile, lifting her hand to wave excitedly, making me smile.
"Beatrice," Kat points to a girl beside Summer, my eyes wandering to her next.
She is much smaller compared to the rest of the girls, probably only reaching their shoulders. She's Asian, with long dark black hair as well as equally dark doe eyes that make her look like an innocent school girl, her shy smile further implementing that thought into my mind. Her pale, glass-like skin shines from the infiltrating light coming from the windows above. She's so cute.
"You can call me Bea," The girl informs me quietly, to which I nod.
"Sawyer..."
Sawyer has similar coloring to me, with equally as lanky limbs, although she is slightly shorter and has a bit more muscle on her than I do. From her sports kit that she's wearing, a baggy pair of white shorts and a black athletic top, I can tell she's the athletic one out of the girls.
She has light brown hair with blonde highlights that have been put up in a messy, high ponytail, a few strands pulled out to frame her slim face.
Sawyer gives me a short wave, saying hi before Kat moves on to the next girl.
"Eris..."
A beautiful, bronze-skinned goddess begins to smile at me in the same friendly manner that the others had. Confidence oozes out of her, making me think that she could be a model. Perhaps an aspiring one. She's taller than me, and considering I'm 5,10, that's pretty impressive. Her long dark hair cascades down her back and reaches just above her waist.
"...and Teagan."
Another small girl turns to look directly at me. How the fuck are all these girls so pretty?
Teagan has dark brown hair with a few natural blonde highlights, which is hard to see since her hair has been styled into a messy braid. She has bright blue eyes that pop out against her tan, freckled skin.
"These are your roommates," Kat finishes introducing me to the girls, gesturing to three other people who came into the room too. "And this is my husband, James. He's a teacher at Caldwell."
A tall man with short dark hair and equally as dark eyes shakes Dad's hand in greeting. Although at first glance he could be described as intimidating, he smiles down at me with a friendly twinkle in his eyes.
"And our kids; Flora, who's nine. And our son, Gray, who's five." The two children look at us with differing expressions.
Where Gray is confident, Flora is quite shy and only gives us a small smile, which I make sure to return. They're so adorable. I give them both a little wave and say hello to them.
Flora looks a lot like her mother, the only difference being her pitch-black hair, which I can assume she has gotten from her father. Whereas Gray is a lot like his father, only sharing the same deep hazel eye color as his sister and mother.
After being introduced to everyone, Kat begins to explain the house rules to me, which aren't too bad.
First, there is a curfew, ten on weekdays and eleven on weekends. We must get all our homework done on time, which Kat says she will be checking. And, lastly, no boys over without permission and if they are up in our rooms, another one of the girls has to be present and the door has to be open.
Fair enough.
"I'm sure you want to be heading off soon, Mr. Ricci, so we'll leave you guys to say goodbye," Kat tells us, guiding everyone to a room on our left.
I walk him out of Artemis House, the sun setting beyond the growing trees in the yard. We turn to each other once we've come up to the car, where he embraces me in a warm hug, rubbing a hand between my shoulder blades, and kissing my head.
"I'm gonna miss you so much, Bambina," Dad tells me, emotion clogging his voice.
"I'm gonna miss you, too."
"If only you weren't so like me." He laughs into my hair, making me smile. "Maybe we wouldn't be here right now."
"We'll see each other soon, right?" I question him, hoping he says yes.
"Of course," his face splits into a grin. "The boys have already been begging to visit this weekend, but we probably won't see you for the next three weeks or so," Dad tells me as we pull apart and look at each other. "I've got a few business trips, so we'll see you in the first week of April."
I nod, "I understand."
"I love you, Tesoro," he gives me another kiss, this time on the cheek, "don't forget that." He says, tucking a strand of hair behind my hair.
"I know, Dad. I love you too," I assure him, tears starting to burn at the back of my eyes. "Tell the boys that I miss them already."
"I will. And don't forget to call or text me, Adina, I'll see you very soon." I nod as he climbs into the back of the car.
As it speeds away, I wave at the distancing car as my Dad leaves me here, in this unfamiliar place.
After sighing in a huge breath of fresh air, calming my nerves, I head back inside, ready to begin this new life of mine.
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hope you guys are enjoying the story so far :) see you next time
