Sebastian awoke with a jolt, the obtrusive sunlight offending his tentatively half-open green eyes. Groaning, he turned over and buried himself under his pillow, trying to recall the last vestiges of sleep, and the wonderful dream he had been having. It wasn't as though he had to be anywhere in a hurry. His parents were likely still at breakfast, and his sister was probably with aunt Esther in the library (as she had been every morning this week).
He rolled himself out of bed, stumbling slightly over his own legs, hair sticking up in every direction. The morning chill caused him to shudder, goosebumps pricking up across his bare torso, Sebastian surveyed his room.
He'd been going for a Mediterranean theme, to remind him of his last vacation to Costa Del Sol. The pale colours and translucent drapes were quite sexy and the beachy decor quite soothing and very him, however... Sebastian turned his head to face the window. The prospect from his window removed the feeling, somewhat. Outside was an extremely dense canopy of trees, which thankfully, the room peaked above, to provide plenty of light, but looking outside was like peering out at a sea of green with nary a beachgoer in sight.
It wasn't only outside, but inside too that was overrun with plantlife. His sister, was unusually interested in botany compared to the average twelve year old, and had filled his room with an array of exotic houseplants, and Sebastian could refuse a lot of things, but never her. And therein lay the problem. He had agreed to keep a striking looking indoor palm leaf tree- it had added to his room aesthetic. He had ended up housing various wall climbers, several potted cacti, and a bookcase full of glass terrariums. He picked a few fallen leaves off his slippers, disgruntled at the state of his life.
Izzie's own room was far worse though. Sebastian snorted, brushing aside vines that had grown over the doors of his wardrobe. It was just lucky that nobody in this family had allergies. He stretched and dressed moodily for breakfast.
When he arrived downstairs, his mom and dad were placidly discussing more building renovations over coffee and toast. Sebastian helped himself to a croissant and ignored them.
Sebastian's father was as eccentric as they came, Sebastian was very aware of that detail. Why else would he move way out here into a forest in Ohio removed from all of civilisation? Sebastian hoped it was eccentricity and not anything untoward... like cannibalism. No. His father was a vegan so he could rule that one out.
His dad looked at him strangely as if he had heard his thoughts.
"Anything planned today, kiddo?" Mr. Smythe asked, beaming at him.
Sebastian rolled his eyes and shoved a piece of toast crust into his mouth.
"Warbler rehearsals." He said, chewing thickly. He checked the time on his phone.
"At 1500"
His fathers smile, which had fallen a fraction at the news of a "choirboys anonymous meeting" as he called them, snapped back in place immediately.
"Perfect!" He looked eagerly towards his wife.
"Honey, that's hours from now." His Mother chided from behind a newspaper.
"Help your father this morning, and then he can give you a ride to your school. Why those boys don't have down time during the holidays... I will never fathom."
Sebastian snorted into his disgustingly un-irished coffee and shrugged.
"Sure... whatever." He stretched luxuriously, not at all bothered by this turn of events. His mother, busily engrossed in The Westerville Post, and his father in the middle of washing dishes now, didn't notice the chinking sound of a small congac bottle as Sebastian knocked it deftly from a nearby shelf into his sleeve as he stretched.
If he was going to be helping his dad and Izzie, he'd need something to numb the boredom.
Sebastian studied his parents. They were a picture of domestic bliss. They were so comfortable with each other. They worked together like clockwork and had built their empire here from scratch. Sebastian was not blind to the comfort he and his sister enjoyed and he didn't plan to take that for granted. Sebastian almost wanted what they had. The only thing was that clocks were so damn predictable.
Sebastian tossed and caught an apple on his way out of the kitchen.
Xxx
Sebastian strode past the threshold of Dalton Academy later that day, dressed impeccably in his school uniform. The student body parted usually before him to let him through, but the school populous was decimated this week. The only remnants were the kids who came here from abroad or seniors cramming for the mock exam. He found it weird how some of the teachers stayed over break, didn't they have lives outside of this place?
Nick was spewing pastry flakes next to him, as he stuffed a haphazard lunch down his neck as the group of warblers swarmed him and ushered him down to the choir room. Sebastian brushed crumbs from his blazer lapels, pinning Nick with a death glare. Nick merely shrugged and grinned at him.
