Chapter One
I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was really nine years ago. It was a cold and snowy Christmas. All the hustle and bustle of a big city like Chicago can be kind of a scary thing, but never to me. I loved that city like I love my own mother, but things always change sooner or later. I still don't know which one I like better. Sooner or later? Though it doesn't matter, because that day God picked sooner. So when sooner came, I didn't like it. And that is why Christmas is my least favorite day of the year. Some say Christmas is supposed to be filled with joy, presents, and love, but that day I got anything but those three things. I got the death of my father, or should I say murder?
Some said they were sorry for me, some said that they gave me my condolences, and some said nothing to me at all. Ever again, but it wasn't their fault. Nope not there's at all, it was no ones fault, but my mothers. Because the next month we were packed and moved to the next biggest city in America.
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I love the fresh smell of coffee in the morning. Especially when the coffee is made by the coffee shop I live three doors down from in a town I like to call "The Big Apple". Even though I'm only sixteen and I am living in New York City, my mom still trusts me to walk three doors down, go into the shop, wait until my best friend gets off work, and then walk with him to our exclusive boarding school that either only the richest or smartest kids in the area get to go to. So when I walk through the doors to my favorite breakfast place of all time, I'm extremely surprised to see a god to be cleaning one of the tables. I mean he seriously looks like a god. He has dark-brown wavy-ish hair, dazzling blue eyes that would make someone in Jersey stop and stare, AND he shows a hint of perfectly straight, white teeth that probably make your dentist's teeth look like they grew up without any loving parents that wouldn't pay for dental care. I hesitate at the door and just stand and stare at him, my mouth gaping open, and my body totally frozen by the sight him. So when he turns around to look at me apparently the feeling is mutual. We both just stand there looking at each other like complete idiots. So when my best friend in the whole world, who looks a lot like Munro Chambers (and also works at the shop and lets me get some free coffee once in a while [don't tell ANYONE though!]) says, "So Griffin have you met Cammie yet?"
And this is when Griffin says, "No, I don't think we've been properly introduced."
I start to stumble and make noises that sound more like Gibberish instead of the English I have known how to speak since I was one. Asher saves me by saying, "Cam this is Griffin, Griffin this is Cam."
And finally the "words" that I so cleverly thought of a few second ago start to pour out. "Hi, Griffin, um… Did you just move here? When did you start to work here? How come I haven't seen you around here at all? OH! I love the necklace you're wearing. I love the whole surfer dude kind of style. It's quite cute despite what other people say." And I hate to say it, but I just keep rambling on and on about basically nothing and finally I think of the best question so far.
I walk over to the counter where Asher is manning the cash register. Griffin is well out of earshot so I feel comfortably saying, "Why in the world did you not tell me a TOTAL hottie is going to be working here? How could you be such a jerk?"
"Well I don't see the appeal. I certainly don't think he looks 'hot'."
"Of course YOU don't Asher, but trust me if you were a girl you would have been as speechless as I was when I saw him."
"Oh about that, the whole gaping mouth look on you doesn't look too good. Just to let you know."
So just when I'm about to come up with the best comeback in the world, someone says behind me, “Not that I was eavesdropping or anything, but I thought she looked perfectly fine when she walked through those doors."
And when I think this guy couldn't get hotter, he just DID! I'm thinking how in the world is that possible? I mean he just complimented me when I looked HORRIBLE and he's defending me! I just can't help but think we're going to be together forever! I hear a loud CRASH! from right in front of me. The cash register fell off the counter and is now laying just millimeters from my feet. So when I look up I'm not at all surprised to see it's Asher's turn to have the gaping mouth. Instead of bursting out into laughter, which might result in snorting in front of the hottest guy on the planet, I just get a smug little smile, but on the inside I'm beaming. I mean two points for Griffin! He complimented me twice (I don't care what you say but I'm counting when he openly stared at me like I did to him and when he just complimented me.) AND what he made Asher just do. I just wanted to scream I love you! So when Griffin says,” So Cammie may I accompany you and Asher here to school this morning?"
I scream,"YES!" But we also hear someone else scream, "NO!" Guess who it was. The one and only H.H. Asher the Sixth, I mean I can understand that Asher wouldn't want to mess up our routine, but this could be my future soul mate! He can make the sacrifice!
So when I say, “Oh, Griffin, don't mind him. Of course you can come with us! So are you going to our school now? What group are you? I'm in the rich group. So is Asher." OK so you may be thinking how can she be in that group if her father is dead? Or maybe is her mom that successful? The answer to the second question is HECK NO! My mother doesn't work at all. I mean she doesn't even cook or clean. She says that's what the maids and the butlers are for. So if you haven't guessed she is a stay at home mom. The answer to the first question is: My dad is dead, yes, but my mom, once we moved to New York, met this really rich guy who like invented the first working robot or something. And ever since then they have been inseparable.
"Oh really?" Griffin said. "I guess I'm in that group. My dad was the guy who invented the first Microsoft Company."
"OMIGOSH! Your dad is Bill gates?!?!?"
"Oh no, I wish though." Griffin said with one of those smiles that could melt just about any person’s heart. "My dad was one of the guys who HELPED make Microsoft. Billy paid them over a hundred dollars an hour. So when you work over a hundred hours a week, things start to add up."
And before I could say anything else to Griffin, Asher comes up, grabs my elbow, and starts to pull me away. I'm thinking this better be good. Asher says, "Cam, we cannot walk this guy to school. We know nothing about him."
I say, “Well actually we know several things."
"Like what?"
"For starters he has a great smile, he works out, he looks good in that uniform, and his dad works for one of the richest guys in the world !"
"But that’s not enough," says Asher. "We don't really know that much, he could be some axe murder or something!"
"Okay for starters I highly doubt he's an axe murder and second, why would this place higher someone without checking their background first?" I ask. "They checked yours!"
"Well that's different. He said that his dad is really smart and into computers. He could have altered his records or something."
Before I can say anything Griffin comes up behind me, puts his warm hands on my shoulders and talks right next my ear and says, "Hey, you guys ready for school?"
"Oh, yeah! I'll be your guide for the day!" He gives me a wicked smile as if to say I love that idea! which is fine because I loved that idea too.
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