I'm at St. Bart's now. You see: no need to worry about Lil' Greg. Anyway, love you. – Greg
Greg sighed as he sent the text to his mum. She always worried about him. Well, she was his mother and was therefore supposed to worry, but still, sometimes Greg thought she exaggerated. "Don't overwork yourself. Always be polite. Don't talk to strangers. Don't cause too much trouble this year. Call me twice every day. Oh, and text me once you're there, okay?" It was always like that after summer holiday. That usually annoyed Greg, but when he remembered how his mum ruffled his hair and pulled him into a hug earlier today, he couldn't help but smile fondly. She was awesome, after all.
"Okay, young man, time to get out and face the world," Adam said as he looked at Greg through the rearview mirror and smiled encouragingly.
"But I don't wanna," Greg whined dramatically putting on his best puppy-eyes look as he stared back at his father, pouting.
"Aw."Now it was Adam who turned around and ruffled his hair. "Your adorableness will not get you out of this," he added and grinned as Greg sulked, crossing his arms and pouting theatrically. "Now come on, wake your sister. I'll get your baggage out of the trunk." With that, Adam pulled the keys and got out of the car as silently as possible.
While he was his biological father, Greg had never thought of him as a dad. Back in the days when his parents were still married, the three of them used to live together but even back then Adam had rarely ever been at home, always off to other countries for work. For that reason, Greg had never had the chance to build a relationship with him like he did with his mother. For Greg Adam has always been some bloke who occasionally showed up, and at some point he had started to just call him Adam. That had bothered his mum at first but she understood eventually.
Greg unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to Alice who fell asleep a good half hour ago.
"Hey Alice. Am I welcome in Wonderland, or are you willing to come back to me first?" Greg whispered as he stroked her cheek, trying to get her to wake.
Her eyes fluttered open and, after a few seconds, she looked at him and sighed. "Greg, my dream was so exciting! You always have the baddest timing. I'm five years old. I need much sleep and you know that!" She poked his nose lazily and gave him a stern look at which he couldn't help but laugh. Unable to stay mad at him, she smiled then turned her face away to look out of the window, her eyes widening immediately. Oh look! We're here. It's so beautiful! Get me out and show me around, Greg." She grabbed his hand and motioned at her seatbelt.
Grinning, Greg shook his head and did as he was told. He walked around the car to open her door like a proper gentleman.
"Okay Princess, here we go," he said as he lifted her up and closed her door. Holding Alice still in his arms, he walked back to where Adam got his bags out of the trunk. "Thanks Adam. From here on I should be fine. I've just gotta find out which dorm I'm in this year."
"Sure, no problem," Adam responded whilst scratching the back of his neck. Greg frowned a bit at that but let it go as Alice turned in his arms to take in the campus in front of her.
"So that's your school, Greg?" she asked gaping, eyes wide with amazement. He nodded proudly and she swallowed and turned further. "I want a school as beautiful as this one. Can I stay here, Daddy?"
Both Greg and Adam laughed at the little girl as she, more or less, tried to climb up her older brother. "Oh little Princess, I wish I could keep you here with me and let you annoy everyone I don't like. But you know that's not possible." It was no lie; Greg really wished he could keep his little sister with him, for she always lightened his mood. Seeing the sad pout she was giving him, he kissed her temples and whispered, "But you can always call me, you know? You're a very old lady of five years, so you should be able to handle a phone by now, don't you think, Adam?" He raised his voice for the last words to make sure his father actually heard him, but not the context, of his suggestion.
Adam looked up from his phone and gave Greg a confused look but said, "Yeah, of course."
Greg winked at Alice, who giggled and threw her arms around his neck. "You're my favourite person in the whole wide world, you know, Greg?" she mumbled. But Greg understood every word and hugged her even tighter.
"I know, Little Princess, I know. And you will always be my favourite person. Please never forget that, okay?" he whispered again. She shook her head and Greg smiled as he pressed another kiss to her temple.
She then nodded and pulled back slightly to swat his arm. "But I am not an old lady and I am not annoying. I'm Alice." she said with her adorably stern look. Greg was overwhelmed with the love he felt for his little sister, even at these words. But before he could say anything, Greg heard Adam speak up again.
"Greg," he interrupted, "We gotta," Adam said as he cocked his head towards the car.
Greg sighed and tried to put his sister down, but she wouldn't let go of his neck and began grabbing even harder. "Hey. Alice," Greg said as he pulled back and tried to look at her. "Come on. Let me go, please."
Reluctantly, she let go of him and looked at the ground. Greg crouched in front of her and placed a finger under her chin, lifting it up and forcing her to look at him. There were tears in her eyes.
"I don't want to leave you again," she said with a hoarse voice. "It's boring when you're not there and I'm alone without you. Do I really have to leave you again?"
Her words broke Greg's heart a little. He knew Adam tried his best to care for her. He had a house, enough money to pay for Greg's education at St. Bart's Public School, and even a new girlfriend to take care of Alice when he himself couldn't. But Greg knew that if Alice lived with him and his mum, she would be happier. In the neighbourhood Greg was from, there were many children around Alice's age with whom she could play, the primary school wasn't very far from Greg's home had quite a good reputation, and the relationship between his mum and Alice was much better.
However, when his parents got divorced, they agreed that Greg would stay with Valérie and Alice would grow up at Adam's. Greg didn't like that decision back then but now that Alice and Greg grew closer every day, it was even harder now to part again and again, not knowing when they'd meet each other again. Alice really suffered from this situation, but Greg knew she would never speak up. So he would have to talk to his parents, which he promised her with one last honest glance.
"I'm so sorry we always have to say goodbye like this, little Princess. I'll talk to Mummy and Daddy and you'll tell me exactly what it is that you want when you call me next time, alright?" He smiled encouragingly.
She nodded and sniffed, but Greg knew she understood completely. His sister was smart. He pulled her into another hug and whispered into her ear, "Alice Lestrade, I love you very much and I don't want you to ever be sad. Understand?"
At that, she giggled a bit and nodded against his neck. This time she was ready to let go of him. He stood and held the car door open, waiting until she sat securely. Then he closed the door and walked up to Adam hesitantly.
"Um, thanks for driving me here, Adam. You didn't have to do that."
Adam scratched the back of his neck again and looked at Greg, smiling. "No problem, really. I'm glad to help when I can. Do you need anything else?"
Greg shook his head, looking at his baggage. "No, I'm fine. Thanks."
"Okay. Look, I'm really sorry be leaving you again so soon, but-"
"No, no, don't be sorry. It's fine. Honest." Greg managed an encouraging smile. "Off you go then," he said winking.
Adam let out a relieved sigh and flashed the typical lopsided smile he passed on to Greg. "I'm glad you understand," he breathed out as the pulled Greg into a hug, patting his back like he always did.
They both pulled back and Adam walked to the driver's door while Greg knocked against Alice's window and waved, smiling slightly. But Alice didn't wave back, only placed her small hand against the window, waiting for Greg to place his over hers. Greg took the hint and did as he was expected, making her smile now in return.
However, that moment didn't last long since Adam started the car and slowly drove away. Knowing that Alice would somehow manage to spin in her seat and look back at him, Greg stood there and didn't move until the car was out of sight.
Then he turned around and looked at his baggage and couldn't suppress the loud sigh that followed. He didn't lie earlier; he really didn't want to go through another year at St. Bart's Boarding School. Last year he had caused a fair share of trouble and could really do without that this year; but who knew what, or maybe even who, would come at him.
He hid his face in his hands for a moment, allowing himself to breathe and to compose himself. It wasn't going to be that bad again, he thought. Although he was a far cry from being calm, he shouldered his bag and grabbed the other two, moving toward the huge billboard that was right beside the gate. At the beginning of a new school year, all the information one needed regarding a student's dorms allocations could be found at that exact billboard. And as far as Greg was concerned, this was the only time it was needed.
Greg went through the list of names until he reached 'L' and saw that he was sorted into a single bedroom, unlike last year when he shared a room with Philip Anderson. He snorted and rolled his eyes, clearly seeing the intention behind that decision. Just because he was gay didn't mean he would ravish any bloke he'd be with in a room. Although when he thought about it, it was probably better to not make anyone feel uncomfortable. He wouldn't want that. He also wouldn't want any more bullying, so he just shrugged and accepted the fact that he'd have a room to himself this year. Things could be worse, anyway.
Being both a bit curious and concerned, he went through various names again until he found the name 'Holmes'. When he saw that there wasn't just a 'Sherlock Holmes' but also a 'Mycroft Holmes' listed there, he frowned. Was this Mycroft related to Sherlock? The name was just as weird and as unique as Sherlock's, so that seemed to make sense. Since Sherlock never told him he had a brother, Greg's frown deepened. He narrowed his eyes as he saw that this Mycroft bloke was in the same dorm as he. Also a single room then, Greg figured.
Well, maybe that's better, Greg thought as he remembered how annoying Sherlock was sometimes. No, he corrected his own thoughts. Not sometimes. All the time. If this Mycroft was anything like his brother, things could become very hard to handle this year. Of that much he was sure. Yes, Sherlock was a genius, caused Greg's jaw drop more than once, and always made Greg desire to punch him in the face.
Greg sighed again and shook his head; he shouldn't worry about that right now. All he should be worrying about now is bringing his things to his room and getting used to the fact that the new school year would start tomorrow.
Looking at his watch, he noticed that it was only 8 o'clock. Much too early in his opinion, but it also meant that only few people had already arrived, so it was pleasantly quiet at the campus. A small smile tugged at his lips as he turned to face the area around him; there was one thing he had to admit: St. Bart's School's campus was one of the most beautiful ones he had ever seen and looking at it in the morning with the bright blue summer-sky made him feel a little better. At least the private school was worth its money. As he breathed in the fresh air and closed his eyes at the sun, he felt calm for the first time this morning. Not knowing how long it would last this time, he grabbed his bags again and made his way toward Elliot Hall, one of the boys' dorms.
St. Bart's School, often referred to as SBS by the students, was composed of 4 dorms, a huge library, and buildings ( centres for science, humanities, arts including acting and dancing, and languages) in which classes took place. All were brick buildings and beautiful to look at. Next to these were a chapel, a dining hall and cafeteria, teachers' houses, and the school's infirmary. But the thing that made the school's campus so beautiful was the river, crossed with bridges, that flowed right through it and emptied out into a quite huge lake. Adding to that, there were wide green meadows and trees to provide shade in summer. It was like the founders built SBS right in the most beautiful part of the county. At St. Bart's, you could find whatever you were looking for on a huge campus.
All of the buildings had names: the girls' dorms were 'Elizabeth Hall' and 'Jane Hall', the boys' were 'Elliot Hall' and 'Neville Hall'. Who had thought of these names, Greg didn't know, but everyone knew what one meant when one said 'I live in Elliot', as odd as that may sound for outsiders.
Entering his dorm, Elliot Hall, Greg found a note pinned to the door.
Hello everyone,
We hope you had enjoyable summer holidays and wish you a very successful new year. Good luck to every single one of you.
Should there be any problem, feel free to tell us so we can look for a solution together.
Make St. Bartholomew's School your new home and focus on what is most important:
Your education.
Sincerely, the teaching staff
These were the same words as every year. Greg wondered if they kept all the notes in a drawer at the Principal's House and took them out after the summer holiday. He grinned and made his way to the black board where everyone's room number was listed.
Greg sighed in relief when he saw that he didn't have to walk too many stairs to get to his room.
109 – first floor, room 09. That should be manageable with all his bags, he figured as he made his way up the stairs. When he reached his room, Greg kicked the door open, letting it slam against the wall. He dropped his bags and let out a loud, melodramatic sigh.
"Fucking hell," he murmured as he let himself fall onto the bed. He was so tired he could spend the whole day there. In fact, he tried that at home over the holidays, but Alice decided she was bored and that it was the right time to use his bed as a bouncy castle. She jumped onto Greg's limbs more than once and more than accidentally until Greg grabbed her and tickled her until she seemed to choke on laughter. Greg smiled at the memory and regained his strength. It was a beautiful day after all and he would take advantage of that as long as it was still all quiet at the campus.