Chapter One: Warming Up

“And may his soul rest in peace.”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. He wasn’t supposed to leave them. He was their pillar of support, their source of happiness. He was always there for them and there had never been a day that Terra Seblanksy could ever imagine Charles Seblanksy leaving them.

Friends and relatives surrounded her and her mother. They were crying, wailing, giving them their condolences or simply, just being stunned. Terra and her mother stood next to each other, both utterly shock by the sudden death. It seemed as though everything was happening so fast that they couldn’t seem to process anything around them.

But her mother was sobbing silently, Terra knew. Her mother was standing right beside her and even though she’d worn a pair of oversized sunglasses, Terra knew that behind those shades were tears. Occasionally, her mother would bring her hand to her eyes and wipe them off quickly as though she didn’t want her to know that she was crying.

Crying, in some ways, was a healthy thing. It was a way to express how people felt but somehow, Terra wasn’t crying.

As the coffin descended into the ground, covered with soil, Terra had simply looked as she listened to countless wails, moans and sympathetic words. She hadn’t moved at all as she stared at the people burying her father. Her eyes were blank, her heart felt empty and she couldn’t help but feel as though her emotions had been drained out. Why wasn’t she crying? Why wasn’t she wailing out loud? She loved him, didn’t she?

Suddenly, she felt a hand slid over her shoulders and she didn’t need to turn to know who it was. She recognized her warmth and her aura.

“Please, Terra. Say something,” she pleaded, her voice tired and her tone soft.

Terra stayed quiet for a while as she stared at the tomb. Then, she tilted her head so that their foreheads touched and she shut her eyes, somehow, for the first time, feeling the pain.

“Don’t ever leave me, mama.”

She never knew that life could be this difficult. It was as though someone had taken away life as she knew it and let her sleep in an eternal nightmare. It was barely a week after the death of her father and she was already struggling to cope with life.

Sometimes at night, she’d think of all the things that she’d done with her father. All the memories would flood her mind and she would clutch her blanket tightly just so she could stop the pain she felt. She knew her mother didn’t have a lot of sleep during the night. She’d see her eyes red and puffy every morning and that hurt her more than ever.

Things weren’t any better in school either. Everyone had that sympathetic look with them every time they saw her including her best friends. She didn’t want their sympathy but for some reason, the more she told people that, the more people seemed to do the direct opposite. School counselors began approaching her and even though she’d declined their offer for a session, they couldn’t seem to just stop bothering her.

And she hated every minute of it.

That was why, when her mother announced that she’d accepted an invitation from an old friend to stay over at their house, Terra felt immediate relief despite the fact that she’d to leave her high school at her very last year.

“Miss Seblanksy, am I correct?”

Terra stopped fiddling with her pen, looked up from her desk and nodded after a few seconds. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’re from London? Is this your first time in San Francisco?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The middle-aged, chubby blonde woman who was her new AP English teacher smiled behind her desk as she flipped through papers absent-mindedly. “How do you like it here so far?”

Terra lifted a shoulder and her brows drew together. “It’s hard to say, ma’am. I’ve only been here for a few hours.”

Everyone in the class tittered but the teacher, Mrs. Luther, didn’t seem to find the statement amusing as she slowly stacked up the papers she was messing with and placed them at the corner of the desk.

She snorted. “Well, I expect you to learn a few things about manners in America. Whatever it is you practice in England, don’t do it here.”

“I’d never try.”

If Terra didn’t feel so tired from the late-hour flight, she’d be delighted to retort the teacher. But she didn’t see the necessity in getting herself a detention slip the very first day. Not that she was here to make a good impression anyway.

It was bizarre though. If this was the old Terra in London, she’d have never talked back to the teacher like this. The old Terra had a reputation to maintain and she’d never be known as someone less than perfect.

Most importantly, she had a father to impress.

But now, who the hell cares? Whom did she want to impress? Nobody even knew her here. So, fuck the reputation.

Her mother’s friend had picked them up from the airport and due to her mother’s request; Terra was sent to school first. She didn’t have time to clean herself, bath or even brush her teeth for that matter. Just how in the sane mind could she not be cranky?

“She’s fucking feisty, dude,” she heard a guy said from behind her. She scowled; what, did they think she was deaf or was all she’d heard about mannerism in America bullshit?

“And fucking hot too. I call dips on her,” another guy who sat next to her said and winked at her, “Come over to my house later. I’ll show you around, babe.”

Terra tried hard to ignore those idiots. She had no time to fool around with them and she didn’t want to, either.

“Or maybe, I can show you around,” another one of them joined them and this one even placed a hand on her shoulder and that was when she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Get. Your. Fucking. Hand. Off. Me,” she said.

The boys’ eyes widened. Their bodies drew back and a few of them were shaking from trying to restrain their laughter.

“Ms. Seblanksy!” Mrs. Luther was infuriated, “We do not speak foul language in America!”

Terra couldn’t help but snort. That was such a lie; she didn’t know how the teacher could keep such a straight face when she’d said it. “I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s actually possible since your students here couldn’t seem to stop using foul words. I think you might actually need a pair of hearing aids, ma’am. Or perhaps a shrink since obviously you still think you’re living in the eighties, ma’am.”

“Ms. Seblanksy!”

“Why don’t you teach these students of yours something about manners before you start lecturing me?”

“Ms. Seblanksy!”

She rolled her eyes, “I get it. That’s my name. Do you need to repeat that so many times?”

Once again, the students tittered but this time, she could see that Mrs. Luther had had enough.

“Detention, Ms. Seblanksy.”

“Yes, ma’am—“, and then, she stood up, feeling the blood pumping fast throughout her body, and tucked a lock of her red hair as she gathered her books, “—and ma’am, just so you know, I’m going to be out of your class and into the nurses’ office because hell, I think I’m sick of this. I wouldn’t want to be rude and not let you know where I’m going off to, would I?” she shrugged and then, without her teacher’s consent, she sauntered out of the classroom.

“Ms. Seblanksy!” she heard the teacher yelling and Terra rolled her eyes.

“For the last time, ma’am, I know my name.”

Sometimes, Terra didn’t know what to feel.

She’d been relieved to be out of England, to leave that sorrowful place. But now that she was here, she missed England. She missed her school.

But she knew she couldn’t give up that easily. It was stupid. She knew that going back to England wasn’t possible because people wouldn’t treat her same. At least, in America, no one would know that her father had recently died and she wouldn’t need to attend stupid counseling sessions or suffer from those endless sympathetic stares.

The detention room was empty when she came in. The desks were arranged in four rows and columns. The atmosphere in the room was pretty gloomy and she didn’t know why the teacher who was supposed to supervise the session wasn’t even there yet. She chose one of the seat right in the middle of the room and stared at the clock that hung above the white board. It was three in the afternoon and soon enough, her mother was bound to find out that she was stuck in detention if she couldn’t find her.

As she sat in the detention room, she tried hard to repent. Maybe she was wrong to have talked back to the teacher but hey, it wasn’t entirely her fault. If she hadn’t gone on and on about how mannerism mattered when those boys in class had bothered her, she wouldn’t have gone crazy.

She buried her head in her arms on the desk and then, shut her eyes as she sighed. God, how she wished her father was there. Slowly, she began to fall asleep and the next thing she knew; a bunch of guys were surrounding her as soon as she woke up.

The first guy was a blonde; he was staring straight into her eyes, his face leveled with hers on the desk and she jumped up in her seat, surprised at the sight that greeted—no, that accosted her would be the better statement.

“Bro, she doesn’t look so bad when she’s asleep!” she heard someone laughing from her right and Terra turned her head only to see a guy with shoulder-length grey hair and bright blue eyes.

The blonde nodded in approval and said, “Looks angelic if we didn’t know who she is already.”

Terra stared at them both in disbelief for a moment. What the hell were they doing? Were they staring at her while she was asleep? God, she should have known better than to be so vulnerable on her first day in a foreign place.

“Do you mind?” she snarled. “I was trying to sleep here.”

“So sleep,” the blonde said nonchalantly.

“Not with you bastards here, no.”

“We won’t do anything,” the gray-haired guy announced proudly and then, winked at her, “By the way, nice job. I always though Mrs. Luther was a wee bit too irritating.”

Terra rolled her eyes; an action that she seemed to be growing fond of. “I don’t care. Just leave me alone.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. We haven’t even introduced ourselves. I’m Calvin Filray—“, he held his hand out, his smile was friendly and earnest but she didn’t want to accept his friendship. It was still far too early and she didn’t know who these guys were. For all she knew, they might be stalkers.

If Calvin was offended by her coldness, he didn’t show it. Instead, his smile grew broader as he pointed at his friend. “The loudmouth here is Moses Alfred.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t care? Leave me alone.” She scowled and folded her arms across her shoulder.

Calvin ignored her and continued to babble, “We’re all in the football team! You should come and watch us practice one day. Then, we’ll show you around!” he said deliriously.

She snorted. “You’re just like those boys from class.”

Once again, Calvin didn’t seem to be listening to Terra and she was beginning to get tired of him. Sure they were all a little cute and if she was the old Terra, she’d have no problem talking to them and entertaining them for a moment. They were school athletes after all and hell, a whole lot of girls would like to be in her shoes. But she didn’t care. She didn’t want to care. To hell with their pretty faces. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone?

“Oh, we could all get together after this and go for a drink,” Calvin proposed and just when he was going to open his mouth again, Terra interjected.

“Look. Calvin, right? I’m not interested. So, can you kindly take your friend and leave me alone?”

She could see that Calvin was going to protest but then, before he could do so, someone else spoke up.

“Cal, she’s a bitch, man.”

Stunned by the sudden comment, Terra turned around, wondering who the hell had such a nerve to call her a bitch so publicly. And right behind her was a guy with hazel brown hair, dark blue eyes and a very handsome face. One look was all it took for her to be instantly taken by his appearance. Even though he was sitting down, Terra could sense that he was taller than Calvin due to his long, lean legs stretching out from under the desk. He also had the most perfect body that was toned in the right places.

Even so, it was wrong for him to have called her a bitch and so, that was why there was no way that sparks could even be ignited between them now.

“Excuse me?” she raised a brow, rage building up in her chest, “Did you say something?”

“Do you want me to repeat it?”

“Did you just call me a bitch?”

“Yes,” he said brusquely with a slight nod.

Calvin laughed nervously as he tried to appease Terra’s obvious rage. “Terra, this is our football captain, O-”

“Who the hell gave you the right to call me a bitch?” she spat angrily.

He shrugged with aplomb. “You are one, aren’t you?”

“I don’t need you to tell me that.”

He snorted and leaned forward, a lock of his hair covered a part of his eye as he propped his head with an elbow. He wore a lazy gaze and drawled, “Oh. Now, you’re acting all innocent?”

“That’s none of your business, jerk.”

“Jerk? Warming up to me already? Now, that was easier than I thought.”

She laughed mirthlessly. “You’re trying too hard, boy.”

He cocked his head. “Oh. Am I? Or are you?”

Suddenly, they all heard a loud slam and it drew their attentions to the front temporarily ending the crossfire between Terra and the guy.

A round, merry male teacher wearing a checked-shirt and a pair of slacks entered the room, smiled at them and said as he rubbed his tummy, “I sure hope I didn’t miss a single thing.”

“Mr. Ohio!” Calvin stood up, eager to greet his teacher. Or maybe he was just glad that Terra and the so-called-football-captain had stopped arguing.

Mr. Ohio laughed, “Calvin, you’ve got to stop calling me that.” Then, he narrowed his eyes at Terra, “Oh? I see we have a new face today. What’s your name, young lady?”

“Terra Seblanksy,” Moses answered for her without her permission and Terra was starting to think that the boys in Pentrose High really didn’t have a lot of respect for manners or privacy for that matter. Moses shrugged, “She’s not the sugary type, Mr. O, and so, I suggest you look out for those claws of hers.”

Mr. Ohio guffawed and placed a hand on his round belly as though he was seven-months pregnant. “Hello, Ms. Seblanksy. I’m Mr. Orellie. They call me Mr. Ohio—“, he laughed, “—you may wonder why they call me that but it seems as though I look like one of the Mr. Ohios back in the late seventies.”

Terra couldn’t help but smile at Mr. Ohio’s nonchalant kindness and cheeriness.

“Lord, am I dreaming? Could she be actually smiling?” Moses grinned and pretended to faint, “I actually see the light. Hold me, Cal.”

Calvin smirked, “See, bro? I told you she wasn’t so bad.”

The acclaimed football captain snorted. “We’ll have to see about that. The ice-queen might have a weird attraction for chubby little mubby guys like our Mr. O.”

Terra shook her head. “Have some respect for your teacher, jerk.”

“And that coming from you is just a plain surprise.”

Mr. Ohio laughed again as he took a seat in the all-too-cramped space between the wall and the teacher’s table. Terra felt suffocated just by looking at him and how hard he had to squeeze himself into that small area. It sure was a surprise that he could actually fit into it.

“Now, now, children. Remember, this is detention. I expect a little cooperation from the four of you. I hope there’s no else today though. Anymore delinquent and I might not be able to handle you guys. Can you guys just cooperate with me?”

Moses patted his chest, “No problem, Mr. O.”

Mr. Ohio nodded and smiled at Moses, “Thank you, Mr. Alfred. I appreciate you cooperativeness.” Then, as though trying to settle the fight between Terra and the football captain, he looked at them both, “Ms. Seblanksy?”

Terra wanted to rebel. She wanted to declare war but hell, when she looked at that chubby old merry man who looked exactly like Santa except for the beard, she couldn’t help nodding her head.

“Thank you, Ms. Seblanksy. And you?”

“Yes, Mr. O.”

Mr. Ohio glowed and clapped his hands together, “That’s more like it! Now, let detention begin!”

After a few minutes, Calvin suddenly leaned towards Terra and whispered, “Hey, Terra, I’m sure we’ll all be great friends. Don’t you think?” he winked before returning to his original posture.

Terra stared at the clock ahead of her which pointed to exactly three-thirty. She snorted, “I’m sure we would.”

“I can’t believe you got detention on your first day here!” Terra’s mother almost screamed at her when she got off the cab with her. She was tired, for God’s sake. It wasn’t exactly the best day of her life today and she was in no mood to fight with her mother.

“I’m sorry but the teacher was just being mean.”

“And so, you talked back? What’s happening to you, Terra? You never use to get detention and you got detention your first day here?” her mother said as they walked side by side.

“Mama, I’m sorry, alright? I promise you there’s no second time.”

“You’ve angered the teacher, for Pete’s sake. She’s bound to have a bad impression on you!”

“What do you want me to do then? Kneel and beg for her forgiveness, mama? If I do that, would you leave me alone?” Terra hissed at her mother.

“Terra!” her mother gasped and stopped in her pace.

Terra sighed and then, shut her eyes tightly before spinning around to apologize to her mother. “Sorry, mama. I’m just—“, she held a hand out and flicked her wrist, “—I’m tired, mama.”

Mrs. Seblanksy kept quiet for a moment and then, she walked towards Terra and hugged her. “Sorry, Terra. I shouldn’t have been so harsh on you. I know everything happening so quickly. I know you miss him, Terra.”

“Mama, please—“, she pleaded, “—let’s just go home.”

Her mother stroked her back and nodded. Then, they continued to walk to her mother’s friend’s house. Terra wondered how the house would look like and for some reason, she knew she should be excited but she wasn’t. From the way she’d looked when she came to pick them up; the brunette who was in her early forties had to be someone wealthy. She wore an expensive pink Armani suit, pearl accessories and she had a very young face despite her age.

Before she knew it, she was standing right in front of a huge white mansion. It was located in an isolated area and there were no neighbours around. It was just a single standing white mansion. They walked through the gates and Terra’s eyes strayed over at the three cars parked in the garage; a black SUV, a silver Honda CR-V and a fiery red Ferrari. She was proved to be right; the family was wealthy.

“Petra!”

Terra tore her gaze away from the captivating cars and her brown eyes instantly landed on a woman with red hair wearing a pair of sweatpants and a blue blouse that somehow seemed to match her dark blue eyes. Terra and her mother walked towards the opened twin door where the woman was standing and she smiled enthusiastically at them.

“Petra!” she threw her hands around Terra’s mother and gave her a tight squeeze. “If you didn’t come home soon, I’d have the entire FBI searching for you—“, she turned around so that she could yodel for her husband, “Darling! Petra and her daughter are here!”

From behind, Terra could see a handsome looking man with hazel brown hair who appeared to look nothing like his age if Terra guessed it correctly. For a man who was supposed to be older or the same age as her mother, he was definitely far too handsome for it.

He smiled at them with a warm fatherly smile; a smile Terra missed. And as he approached them at the door, she saw a young boy about the age of three hiding behind his father’s legs. Terra smiled and saw the resemblance of his father in him. He had hazel brown hair and gray eyes like his father’s.

“Hello, Pet. It’s been too long,” he smiled and reached out to give her mother a hug.

“The last time I saw you, you were drunk like a pig,” her mother said and laughed.

He chuckled and nodded. “It was my wedding. How could I not be?” and then, his eyes caught sight of Terra and he smiled at her, “Your daughter, Pet?”

Her mother turned around and put both hands on her shoulder, “Yes. Maxwell, Anna, this is Terra, my daughter. Terra, meet Mr. and Mrs. Seymour.”

Terra nodded, “Mr. and Mrs. Seymour.”

“Oh, Terra!” Mrs. Seymour squealed, “You have no idea how much I wanted a daughter!”

Terra smiled out of courtesy. She wasn’t in any mood to entertain people but since manners were important in this country like her teacher had pressed on, she knew just where she stood in this household and she knew, they were already indebted with them the minute they arrived here.

“She’s very beautiful, isn’t she, Matthew?” Mr. Seymour patted his son’s head and Matthew stared at her as he nodded.

Terra bent down and smiled at the young boy. “Hello, I’m Terra.”

Matthew braved himself and took a step forward as though trying to inspect her and then, after a certain nod of approval, he smiled, “Hello, Tewa. I’m Matt.”

Mrs. Seymour laughed. “Matthew, it’s Terra not Tewa. Oh, what are we doing standing here? We should talk inside, come on.”

Mr. and Mrs. Seymour ushered them both inside and as Terra stepped into the mansion, she couldn’t help but notice the difference between this mansion and her own house. The house seemed to shine with glamour under the light of the expensive chandelier. It was furnished with red velvet sofas, plasma TVs and mahogany furniture. It had a very sophisticated look and Terra couldn’t help but be awed by it.

“Wow,” Terra gasped.

Mrs. Seymour laughed. “I assume that you like the house?”

Terra nodded as her eyes wandered off, doing a little tour of its own. “Yes. It’s very beautiful.”

Mr. Seymour guffawed and for some reason, his guffaw sounded like Mr. Ohio’s. “You’d have to thank Anna for that. She refurnished the whole house just so you two would like it. I’d say that she’d done a very good job since I seem to be rather attached to this arrangement.”

“Oh Anna, you shouldn’t have.”

“Pet, it’s the least I can do.”

And then, the two grown women embraced each other in a hug once again.

Terra shook her head and laughed silently at those two. It’d been so long since she saw her mother smile that she was rather genuinely happy for her to have found a friend. They ambled towards the living hall and she took a seat on the two-seater red velvet sofa. Matthew had voluntary jumped up next to her and sat, smiling up at her.

“You’re pretty,” he announced his affection suddenly.

Terra chuckled. “Thank you, Matthew.”

“I think my bwother would like you.”

She raised a brow, “Your brother?”

As though Mrs. Seymour had been listening onto their conversation, she’d suddenly butted in. “Ah, yes. You haven’t met Ocean. I should have told him you were going to their school today, then, he’d have looked out for you.”

“Ocean?” Terra asked, dumbfounded. There was another son?

“Yes. He’s the same age as you,” Mr. Seymour explained. “Is he home yet?”

“I think he is. Wait, just let me call him down. Ocean!”

Her mother smiled and shrugged, “Is he sleeping? It’s okay. We can meet him anytime.”

Mrs. Seymour looked horrified, “No. That’s absolutely rude. He knows that we’re having guests today, how could he go to sleep like that?” and then, she raised her voice, “Ocean Edmund Seymour!”

“What’s with all the commotion? Can’t a man get his sleep around here?”

All heads turned towards the stairs’ direction and at first glance, Terra took in his appearance. He was wearing a ragged T-shirt and a pair of breeches. His hazel brown hair was tousled and he gazed at them with a pair of tired dark blue eyes. And even though he looked slightly different from when he did in school, Terra knew exactly who he was.

“Jerk?” she said out loud unconsciously as her eyes widened.

“Terra!” her mother gasped but Terra was far too bemused by the whole situation than to listen to her mother.

Ocean stared at her as he cocked a brow and inclined his head towards the side. He wore a smirk and propped his head with his elbow on the railing as he stared at her lazily.

“Well, well. Warming up to me already?”

A/N: Just So You Know is on a test-run. I'll have to see how this appeals to you guys to know if I should continue on. The plot is pretty hazy but I've got the whole thing set. So, it depends on you guys! :) Enjoy.