Chapter 2: Jacob or Jake?

Jonathan Long, heir to Long Enterprises, was publicly known for… not being as publicly known as expected from the heir to a billion-dollar empire. His marriage, for example, had no media coverage, making some conspiracy theorists assume he's not really married. The real reason, however, was harder to believe than anything the tabloids could ever make up: his wife came from a family of dragons.

To convince his father not to invite any business associates to the event, Jonathan, with approval from Susan and Lao Shi, told him about all the dragon stuff. It took some time, but Jonathan's Dad eventually agreed to help with the secrecy. Partly because he could see how much Jonathan and Susan loved each other and partly because of how much he feared what the dragons would do to his family.

Jonathan Long was so secretive that public knowledge of his son's existence was limited to rumors that the boy was named Jacob and nobody had a clue to what he looked like. Not knowing the mother's nationality, most assumed Jacob was a brown-haired Caucasian like his father. Later, when Susan gave birth to a daughter named Haley, the fact went completely unnoticed by the media.

As expected from rich kids, Jacob or Jake as his family and friends liked to call him and Haley had servants. The unexpected part was that those servants were elves. No, they weren't like those third-person unpaid workers from the Harry Potter books who couldn't pass themselves as humans but rather magical creatures who posed as humans and received fair wages for their services. In spite of their privileged lives Jonathan and Susan managed to teach their children not to be arrogant about that.

For sake of protecting the existence of dragons, Jake and Haley never went to school. Instead, they were home-schooled with help from private tutors (some of whom were recommended by the Dragon Council). Jake Long not only knew basic school things but also spoke not only English but also Chinese, French and Korean. Unfortunately, the only kids they could meet and therefore have a chance to befriend were the children of employees trusted to the point of being allowed to know about the Long kids and keep them a secret. Among those kids there's Jake's best friend Arthur P. Spudinski a.k.a. Spud. Spud's Dad worked as an accountant for Long Enterprises.

It was during one of Jake's birthday parties that Spud caused a drastic change in his life: Spud gave him a skateboard. Having never seen one in real life before, Jake was amazed. "What's wrong, Jake? Didn't you like the gift?" Spud asked in worry.

"Oh, it's not that." Jake reassured his friend. "I've never been this close to a skateboard before."

"Don't worry, my friend." Spud replied with a smile while giving a comforting tap on Jake's back. "A few days and the halfpipe will feel like a second home for you. By the way, wanna hit it with me this weekend?"

Jake looked towards his Dad for approval. "Well, assuming all precautions are taken to keep potential kidnappers from knowing who you are…" Jonathan Long said and mentally added 'and you keep your dragon powers in check'.

The next weekend, Jake and Spud were at Spud's favorite halfpipe. With his short jeans, red coat and hair gel, Jake's looks didn't give a rich kid vibe. A few minutes and some bumps later, Spud had this to say. "Wow, you're even better than me during my first time!"

Jake was skeptical. "You're not just saying this because of my Dad, are you?"

Expecting that sort of reaction, Spud showed a photograph of him on a hospital bed, horrifying Jake with his injuries. "That was my first day skateboarding."

"I take it back, Spud." Jake humbly said.

"Yo, Spud." Spud heard another friend call. "Who's your other friend here?"

"Hi, Trixie." Spud greeted. "This is Jake. His Dad works at the same company as mine. Jake, Trixie is my best friend from school."

"Friends for life." Trixie commented.

"Friends for real." She and Spud said together.

"Nice to meet ya, Jakey." She said.

"Same thing to you, Trix." Jake replied.

"Spud and I attend Millard Fillmore Middle School, Jakey." Trixie said. "What about you?"

"I'm homeschooled." Jake explained, not having previously thought of a cover up. He could have made up a school name but was afraid she'd check it out.

"Ooooookay." Trixie reluctantly said. "What's it like not having to go to school?"

"It's great except that the teachers meet my parents practically every day." Jake joked.

After Trixie laughed at the comment, she and the boys resumed their skateboarding.

End chapter.