John had spent the last half hour smiling and nodding as people he barely
knew (and some who were complete strangers) congratulated him. He made sure
that Nell stuck close by the whole time, and she found the whole ordeal
rather amusing. He was getting ready to politely excuse himself to
somewhere he could hide for the duration of the event, when he heard the
prim and piercing voice of his mother.
He winced, and threw a sidelong look at Nell. She looked angry already. But John put on a fake smile and turned around. "Hello mother," he said. Jack was standing silently next to her. "Hello Dad," he added.
"Hi," Jack replied with a smile. "We're so sorry we couldn't be here for the ceremony, son. There was some bad weather over the Caribbean." John said nothing. Jack turned his attention to Nell. "My goodness it's been a while since I've seen you, Nell. Give your old man a hug."
Nell couldn't help but genuinely smile at her father, who had always tried his hardest to be kind, behind his meek persona. "It's good to see you, too, Dad," she said as she hugged him.
Eleanor Carter looked briefly and tersely at her daughter, but said nothing. She focused her attentions instead on her son. "John," she said with a smile that was too kind. He braced himself for whatever it was she was going to ask, or demand, next. "Millicent tells me you've decided to go to college here in the city. I think that's wonderful."
"Yeah," he said shortly, suspicious. "And?"
"And what? I can't just comment that I think it's nice that you'll be staying here?" she said in a melodramatic hurt tone.
"Well here in Chicago."
"Well if you're going to be in the city you might as well stay here at the house, too."
Nell shot John a warning glance. He nodded slightly at her, then turned his eyes to his mother. "Well actually I was going to stay at the college."
Eleanor's eyes widened in horror. "In a dorm?"
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" John said a little more forcefully than he'd planned. Nell smiled with pride.
"Well, I," Eleanor seemed at a loss for words. "I just thought that your grandparents might be lonely here in the house all alone."
"They have Elliot," John said in an overly bright tone. "And Alger, and the rest of the staff."
"There's no need to be snippy," Eleanor scolded.
Jack spoke up, "Eleanor, I think that John is 18 years old and he should be able to decide for himself where he wants to live." That brought on a sharp look from his wife. "Well, I mean, he can always change his mind and come back here if he wants," he amended.
Eleanor was fuming, but managed to contain herself from an outburst. "Well," she said shortly, "I'm sure it will be an eye opening experience for you, John." With that she turned and walked toward a crowd. Jack shrugged apologetically and turned to follow her.
Nell patted her younger brother on the shoulder. "Well Scrub, I'm proud of you," she said.
"I learned it from the best of them," he replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, my little brother's growing up to be a rebel just like me," Nell joked. She grabbed two glasses off a tray that a caterer was carrying as he went by, and handed one to John. He stared at it with a slack jaw. "Don't look so shocked, Scrub. If you're going to be a rebel you've got to break the rules some more."
John stared at his glass of champagne for a moment, then he relaxed and smiled at Nell. "Well, here's to college life."
The two siblings raised their glasses in a toast. Nell smiled and said, "Cheers."
John immediately began to sputter and cough. "Geez," he screeched. "That tastes terrible! People actually drink this stuff?"
Nell laughed at him. "Good luck in college!"
**************************************************************************** ****
3 months later.
John tried to keep a positive attitude as he made his way through the small and crowded hallway. There were guys everywhere moving their personal items into their dorm rooms, and he kept having to say "Excuse me" as he stepped around them. Room 237 was his, along with whoever his roommate happened to be. John was dragging a large duffle bag behind himself and held one of his suits in a bag over his shoulder. He had carried them all the way across the campus, and was becoming a little uncomfortable. Gamma had insisted that he let Elliot carry them for him, but he didn't really want his butler along.
He finally reached the room he was looking for, and turned the doorknob. Inside, the room was extremely small. It had only enough room for its two beds, two desks, and single closet. The bathroom was down the hall and was shared by everyone on the floor, and there was only one television in the dorm, down in the lobby.
A young man with fiery red hair and freckles was lying on the bed when John walked in. He turned his head toward the door at the sound, smiled, and sprang to his feet. "Gram Kieran O'Neill," the boy offered his full name as he stuck out his hand.
John shook hands with him. "Jonathan Truman Carter the third," he said, smiling. He noticed right away that Gram had a ring in his eyebrow, but he tried to ignore it. "I hope you're my roommate or I might have to call security."
Gram laughed a little too boisterously. "That's some name you got there, Carter." He walked back to his bed and plopped down on it.
Carter dragged his bag into the room and opened the closet. Gram had thrown his bag on his side of the closet, neglecting to hang anything up or put any clothing on the shelves. He had, however, unpacked a radio, which he now decided to turn on to some obnoxious loud rock. Ignoring it, Carter set to unpacking his clothes and hanging them up or shelving them. He started with his suit.
Gram sat up on his bed and stared at his new roommate. "Dude, you brought a suit?"
"I thought I might need it sometime," Carter said. "I only brought one," he added. He thought that might help.
Cackling, Gram settled against the wall. "I've never even owned a suit. What are you, some kind of millionaire."
"Something like that," Carter replied carefully as he finished putting his clothing away. He then turned toward Gram with a smile. He had decided a while ago that he was going to get to know something about whoever his roommate was, so he decided to start now. Clearing his throat he asked, "Hey, mind if I turn the music down for a minute?" Gram gave him a confused look. "I just wanted to chat for a while, get to know each other," he added.
Gram shrugged. "Sure, sounds cool," he said nonchalantly.
Carter decided on turning the music completely off instead. He sat down in his desk chair. He hadn't had time to put his sheets on his bed yet, and who would want to sit on that dirty mattress? Although it didn't seem to be bothering Gram too much; he hadn't put his sheets on yet either.
"So, uh," Carter began. "You from Chicago."
"Nah," Gram said, "So-Cal."
"Huh?" Carter asked in confusion.
Smiling, Gram clarified, "Southern California. Ever been there?"
"Oh," Carter said. "Yeah, I have."
"Yeah, but I bet you've never been anywhere with the real Californians."
"Guess not," Carter said, though he hadn't really any idea what Gram meant. "Why did you come to Chicago?"
"I didn't want to," Gram said frankly. "But I got a scholarship here, and so my parents made me come here."
"What kind of scholarship?"
"Basketball," Gram said. "You play any sports?"
"Uh, not really," Carter said. He didn't think that horseback riding really counted, and he had quit baseball after only a year of playing as a Freshman. He wasn't that bad, but he'd decided sports just weren't for him. "So what are you studying?"
Gram shrugged. "Dunno," he answered. "You?"
"Pre-med," Carter said.
"Figures," Gram said. "You one of those trust fund nerds, huh?"
Carter tried not to get annoyed. "Well, you know." he trailed off.
"Got any siblings? Especially sisters?" Gram added with a wink.
"Yeah, I have an older sister named Nell."
"Nice," Gram said with a grin.
"She's in Europe now, though."
Gram snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Ah, well, there are plenty of girls here anyway."
Carter nodded because he couldn't think of anything to say in response to that. He hadn't really been giving much thought to relationships since he and Ebony had broken up, amicably. "So do you have any siblings?"
"Yeah, older brother. Be glad you don't have one, Carter, because they are a pain."
"Yeah," Carter said simply, trying to halt the twinge he felt rising in his stomach.
Without warning, the door swung open and a tall, well-built student with a dark complexion and dark hair appeared. "Hey, Gram!" he said. "This your roommate?"
"Yeah," Gram said. "Carter, this is Cory. He's on the basketball team. He's a junior."
Carter shook hands with Cory, noticing how firm the giant's shake was. "Nice to meet you," Carter said with a smile.
"Same. Hey, you guys want to head down to the bar. A bunch of guys are coming. Carter would get to know some people."
"Sure!" Gram said. "What about it, Carter?"
"Uh," Carter said. "I don't think I'll go right now."
"I get it, you don't drink," Gram said with a roll of his eyes.
"No, I do," Carter interjected quickly, though it wasn't really true. One swallow of champagne didn't really qualify, but how would they know the difference. "I just want to put my stuff away."
Cory looked at Gram and shrugged. "Ok. Later, then."
"Yeah, yeah. Later," Carter assured.
The two basketball players walked out and closed the door behind them. Carter sat there for a moment, looking around the crowded room. Then he slammed his hand down on Gram's radio and turned it off. "This should be interesting," he said with a sigh.
He winced, and threw a sidelong look at Nell. She looked angry already. But John put on a fake smile and turned around. "Hello mother," he said. Jack was standing silently next to her. "Hello Dad," he added.
"Hi," Jack replied with a smile. "We're so sorry we couldn't be here for the ceremony, son. There was some bad weather over the Caribbean." John said nothing. Jack turned his attention to Nell. "My goodness it's been a while since I've seen you, Nell. Give your old man a hug."
Nell couldn't help but genuinely smile at her father, who had always tried his hardest to be kind, behind his meek persona. "It's good to see you, too, Dad," she said as she hugged him.
Eleanor Carter looked briefly and tersely at her daughter, but said nothing. She focused her attentions instead on her son. "John," she said with a smile that was too kind. He braced himself for whatever it was she was going to ask, or demand, next. "Millicent tells me you've decided to go to college here in the city. I think that's wonderful."
"Yeah," he said shortly, suspicious. "And?"
"And what? I can't just comment that I think it's nice that you'll be staying here?" she said in a melodramatic hurt tone.
"Well here in Chicago."
"Well if you're going to be in the city you might as well stay here at the house, too."
Nell shot John a warning glance. He nodded slightly at her, then turned his eyes to his mother. "Well actually I was going to stay at the college."
Eleanor's eyes widened in horror. "In a dorm?"
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" John said a little more forcefully than he'd planned. Nell smiled with pride.
"Well, I," Eleanor seemed at a loss for words. "I just thought that your grandparents might be lonely here in the house all alone."
"They have Elliot," John said in an overly bright tone. "And Alger, and the rest of the staff."
"There's no need to be snippy," Eleanor scolded.
Jack spoke up, "Eleanor, I think that John is 18 years old and he should be able to decide for himself where he wants to live." That brought on a sharp look from his wife. "Well, I mean, he can always change his mind and come back here if he wants," he amended.
Eleanor was fuming, but managed to contain herself from an outburst. "Well," she said shortly, "I'm sure it will be an eye opening experience for you, John." With that she turned and walked toward a crowd. Jack shrugged apologetically and turned to follow her.
Nell patted her younger brother on the shoulder. "Well Scrub, I'm proud of you," she said.
"I learned it from the best of them," he replied with a smirk.
"Yeah, my little brother's growing up to be a rebel just like me," Nell joked. She grabbed two glasses off a tray that a caterer was carrying as he went by, and handed one to John. He stared at it with a slack jaw. "Don't look so shocked, Scrub. If you're going to be a rebel you've got to break the rules some more."
John stared at his glass of champagne for a moment, then he relaxed and smiled at Nell. "Well, here's to college life."
The two siblings raised their glasses in a toast. Nell smiled and said, "Cheers."
John immediately began to sputter and cough. "Geez," he screeched. "That tastes terrible! People actually drink this stuff?"
Nell laughed at him. "Good luck in college!"
**************************************************************************** ****
3 months later.
John tried to keep a positive attitude as he made his way through the small and crowded hallway. There were guys everywhere moving their personal items into their dorm rooms, and he kept having to say "Excuse me" as he stepped around them. Room 237 was his, along with whoever his roommate happened to be. John was dragging a large duffle bag behind himself and held one of his suits in a bag over his shoulder. He had carried them all the way across the campus, and was becoming a little uncomfortable. Gamma had insisted that he let Elliot carry them for him, but he didn't really want his butler along.
He finally reached the room he was looking for, and turned the doorknob. Inside, the room was extremely small. It had only enough room for its two beds, two desks, and single closet. The bathroom was down the hall and was shared by everyone on the floor, and there was only one television in the dorm, down in the lobby.
A young man with fiery red hair and freckles was lying on the bed when John walked in. He turned his head toward the door at the sound, smiled, and sprang to his feet. "Gram Kieran O'Neill," the boy offered his full name as he stuck out his hand.
John shook hands with him. "Jonathan Truman Carter the third," he said, smiling. He noticed right away that Gram had a ring in his eyebrow, but he tried to ignore it. "I hope you're my roommate or I might have to call security."
Gram laughed a little too boisterously. "That's some name you got there, Carter." He walked back to his bed and plopped down on it.
Carter dragged his bag into the room and opened the closet. Gram had thrown his bag on his side of the closet, neglecting to hang anything up or put any clothing on the shelves. He had, however, unpacked a radio, which he now decided to turn on to some obnoxious loud rock. Ignoring it, Carter set to unpacking his clothes and hanging them up or shelving them. He started with his suit.
Gram sat up on his bed and stared at his new roommate. "Dude, you brought a suit?"
"I thought I might need it sometime," Carter said. "I only brought one," he added. He thought that might help.
Cackling, Gram settled against the wall. "I've never even owned a suit. What are you, some kind of millionaire."
"Something like that," Carter replied carefully as he finished putting his clothing away. He then turned toward Gram with a smile. He had decided a while ago that he was going to get to know something about whoever his roommate was, so he decided to start now. Clearing his throat he asked, "Hey, mind if I turn the music down for a minute?" Gram gave him a confused look. "I just wanted to chat for a while, get to know each other," he added.
Gram shrugged. "Sure, sounds cool," he said nonchalantly.
Carter decided on turning the music completely off instead. He sat down in his desk chair. He hadn't had time to put his sheets on his bed yet, and who would want to sit on that dirty mattress? Although it didn't seem to be bothering Gram too much; he hadn't put his sheets on yet either.
"So, uh," Carter began. "You from Chicago."
"Nah," Gram said, "So-Cal."
"Huh?" Carter asked in confusion.
Smiling, Gram clarified, "Southern California. Ever been there?"
"Oh," Carter said. "Yeah, I have."
"Yeah, but I bet you've never been anywhere with the real Californians."
"Guess not," Carter said, though he hadn't really any idea what Gram meant. "Why did you come to Chicago?"
"I didn't want to," Gram said frankly. "But I got a scholarship here, and so my parents made me come here."
"What kind of scholarship?"
"Basketball," Gram said. "You play any sports?"
"Uh, not really," Carter said. He didn't think that horseback riding really counted, and he had quit baseball after only a year of playing as a Freshman. He wasn't that bad, but he'd decided sports just weren't for him. "So what are you studying?"
Gram shrugged. "Dunno," he answered. "You?"
"Pre-med," Carter said.
"Figures," Gram said. "You one of those trust fund nerds, huh?"
Carter tried not to get annoyed. "Well, you know." he trailed off.
"Got any siblings? Especially sisters?" Gram added with a wink.
"Yeah, I have an older sister named Nell."
"Nice," Gram said with a grin.
"She's in Europe now, though."
Gram snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Ah, well, there are plenty of girls here anyway."
Carter nodded because he couldn't think of anything to say in response to that. He hadn't really been giving much thought to relationships since he and Ebony had broken up, amicably. "So do you have any siblings?"
"Yeah, older brother. Be glad you don't have one, Carter, because they are a pain."
"Yeah," Carter said simply, trying to halt the twinge he felt rising in his stomach.
Without warning, the door swung open and a tall, well-built student with a dark complexion and dark hair appeared. "Hey, Gram!" he said. "This your roommate?"
"Yeah," Gram said. "Carter, this is Cory. He's on the basketball team. He's a junior."
Carter shook hands with Cory, noticing how firm the giant's shake was. "Nice to meet you," Carter said with a smile.
"Same. Hey, you guys want to head down to the bar. A bunch of guys are coming. Carter would get to know some people."
"Sure!" Gram said. "What about it, Carter?"
"Uh," Carter said. "I don't think I'll go right now."
"I get it, you don't drink," Gram said with a roll of his eyes.
"No, I do," Carter interjected quickly, though it wasn't really true. One swallow of champagne didn't really qualify, but how would they know the difference. "I just want to put my stuff away."
Cory looked at Gram and shrugged. "Ok. Later, then."
"Yeah, yeah. Later," Carter assured.
The two basketball players walked out and closed the door behind them. Carter sat there for a moment, looking around the crowded room. Then he slammed his hand down on Gram's radio and turned it off. "This should be interesting," he said with a sigh.
