I woke up that morning with the worst hangover, only to come to the realization that I had two more hours until the first day at Cromwell Heights actually began. My nanny for this year was Lily, and she already had my clothes folded neatly by my bed. She came in my room shortly after and made sure I was awake. I had to say she was probably my favorite nanny to date. She reminded me of my grandma and she always called me her grandson which made me feel good inside.

I yawned and it echoed throughout my room and my mom walked in afterwards. “Nice to see you’re awake.” She walked closer to my bed and laughed as she saw an empty bottle of liquor on the floor. “Drank yourself to sleep last night?” She placed two pills on my dresser and then left the room without a sound.

I sat up slowly, and waited for the blood to stop rushing to my head. I popped the pills in my mouth and stretched my arms out in front of me. I wished I could go back to Chadwick and honestly I would do anything to do so, but after many meetings and arguments, no one agreed on my re-admittance to the academy. I did the usual morning routine; took a shower, brushed my teeth, fixed my hair and then got dressed.

Lily walked in and smiled at me. “I figured jeans would be a better choice than your dress pants. I order some more for you and they should be shipped here soon.”

I laughed, “I think you’re right! Seems to be a perfect fit.” Along with the jeans, I wore a navy blue button down unbuttoned and a white t-shirt underneath. “I never expected I would ever go to school dressed like this…”

“Well, public school is different than Chadwick Academy. You won’t get away with just anything and you cannot flash your money around.” She started to fix my bed and then her eyes rolled onto the bottle. She picked it up and shook her head. “Don’t let me catch this again!”

“I’m sorry. I was stressed out with everything that happened. I promise I won’t do it again. “ I hugged her and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry grandma!”

She smiled and walked out of the room. I gathered my books and put them in my book bag, which went from an expensive laptop case to a twenty dollar k-mart backpack. I grabbed my car keys and left my room, locking it before I left. I trudged down the stairs and disappeared out the front door. I got behind the wheel of the new Koenigsegg CCXR, courtesy of my parents who wanted to get me a ‘first day of school’ gift, and drove to my new jail cell.



As if arriving in a ridiculously expensive car wasn’t flashy enough, word got around school of my Chadwick business and my popularity grew quicker than I ever thought. Who knew all these kids were in desperate need as well? I gave anyone who wanted questions my business email and phone number to give each of them more details on the possibility of expanding my business to their school.

For lunch, I decided to check out how developed the library was and I came to the conclusion that I would invest my money into getting a better one. I sat alone, reading various books on business management and the logistics behind the operation, even though I knew the main key points. I saw a group of girls sitting at the table across from me, with one girl who kept her attention on me for most of their conversation.

After a few minutes, her friends walked on ahead and she appeared in front of my table. “So, you’re the rich boy?” Her voice, which was definitely attracting enough for any man of my age to fall into her trap, captured my full attention. It was rich, and full of curiosity, yet it was also full of a strong hatred of the world around her. “Do you speak?” Her laugh, different from anything I could have expected, made me immediately smile with her melodic tone.

“I’m guessing you’ve heard of me?” I kept my cool as she sat down in the empty chair next to me. She was wearing a mini skirt, huge emphasis on mini, and a low cut red and black shirt. My first impression of her was that she was like Adrianna, but there was something peculiar about her presence that altered my perception of her completely. “My name is-“

“Darien, I know.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder, which was a light shade of honey blonde with curls that never seemed to end. Her eyes ran over me once and then again until she finally locked her eyes with mine. They were dark brown and beautiful, but a hidden secret lay beneath their expression. “I’m Minerva. My friends call me Mini for short.”

It amazed me by how such little time has passed and I was already intrigued to hear more about her. “My friends called me Dare.” I flashed her the famous pretty boy smile, which I’ve yet to use, and she responded just as I thought.

We must have spent the rest of next period talking about my life. Her interest in the story of the young and the rich, made me fall deeper into the trap I knew I was getting myself into. It was obvious the physical attraction was there for the both of us, but I wasn’t going to rush into anything on the first day. I barely knew anything about her, except her name, her classes, and her birthday, for us to base anything more than a friendship on, and I definitely wanted to know more.

“What are you doing after school?” She took my arm and wrote a phone number on my arm. “Call me after your last class and I’ll meet you at your car.” She grabbed her purse and book bag from the table. She ran her finger slowly across the number and whispered, “Don’t forget about me.” She disappeared without a sound, leaving me there in a situation I had to relieve myself of.



Surprisingly, it was actually her number and she was already waiting for me by my car. “I can’t believe you thought that was the wrong number! Do I really look like that kind of girl?” She winked at me and laughed as she opened the door.

“Well, do you want the honest answer?” I started the car and looked at her. She had a different expression on her face from before. When I first met her she had this vibrant aura to her, like there was no place she could have been happier to be than right there. Now, though she tried her hardest to hide it, I could see the pain in her eyes.

We didn’t exactly talk, except a few sentences here and there, but it was the peaceful kind of quiet. She didn’t tell me where we were going exactly, but the drive there was one of the best rides I went on. I couldn’t help but look at her as I drove and the way the sunlight beamed down and shined on her was enough to make anyone feel mesmerized by her beauty. She was definitely beautiful.

“Mini, are you okay?” I decided to break the silence and pull over to the side of the road. “You look a little tense…” I rubbed her hand gently and smiled at her. “You know, a beautiful girl like you shouldn’t be sad.”

She cracked a slight smile and snatched her hand away. “Is this the part where you try to make a move and kiss me?” She stuck her tongue out teasingly.

“No…this is the part where I make you laugh!” And it worked, she laughed pretty hard without me even trying. I was beginning to break through the wall she had surrounding herself, but I knew it was going to be a little while before I tore it down completely. “See, I told you I could make you laugh.”

“You’re different, and I like that a lot.” She lit a cigarette and opened the window. “You mind?” She took a drag and somehow when she blew the smoke out, it was more attracting. I think she could tell. “Calm down, rich boy.”

She told me to pull up to a Victorian style house with dark green vinyl siding. I turned off the car and she got out almost immediately. “Thanks for the ride, Dare.” She winked and blew a kiss at me as she walked away.

“I thought we were going to hang out?” I didn’t want to leave her just yet. Even a few more hours with her would give me a better chance to break through the exterior shell she placed herself behind. “Mini?”

“Next time, I’ve got work.” She disappeared through the fence on the side of the house and into the back. I waited a few extra minutes to see if she was going to come back and tell me it was a joke, but when she didn’t I turned the car back on and drove home. I couldn’t get that smile of hers out of my head, but there was nothing wrong with that thought. She was definitely something special.