Having Two Mates {2017}

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE:

[Newport, Oregon Present Day]

"First day of school," My mom smiled. "Are you excited?"

We were following behind my new school's principal. He was busy explaining the school's history and giving the traditional welcoming speech, the principal is supposed to give when bringing in a new student, that new student being me.

"Mom," I groaned. "You already know how I feel about this."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm sure you will be fine."

I thought otherwise considering she never really gave me a straight answer for why we moved. To her, it was important that we did and that was the end of it. It wasn't like moving to a port city in the middle of the school year wasn't suspicious at all. Not to mention the fact that it apparently wasn't job related.

"Yeah, right." I replied.

The principal stopped to face us. We had reached the front office again.

"I reviewed your transcripts personally and I have to say, you're far more advanced than most of our students here." He chuckled. "Both physically and mentally." He adds.

"Physically?" I questioned.

That was quite an odd compliment.

"Apologies, that must not have come out the way it should have." He says. "Shall we go finalize some paperwork?"

My mother was about to reply when her phone rang. She looked down at the caller I.D. and left to answer it, leaving me to sit awkwardly in the front office with a suspicious principal. I wondered who could be calling her right now considering she hasn't mentioned anyone at her new location for work. If it wasn't anyone from work, it had to be a family member—which was a handful of people.

My aunt Claire could've been one but she lived further north and only called around birthdays and holidays; there was my brother, Jared, who was off at college at the moment; there were a few cousins and close friends as well. All that was left was my dad.

However, that would be the last person I'd think would be calling since my parents are still going through their divorce.

"Lucas, you promised." I heard my mother say.

She was definitely talking to my dad now but what about?

"She's getting to that age where it all changes," My mom told him. She looked over her shoulder to see if I was listening. Luckily, I ducked out of sight before she saw me.

"I know, Helen." I could hear my dad say. My mom always had a bad habit of having the volume turned all the way up. "I'm trying."

"Try harder, Lucas." She said, fear lacing her voice.

I sat wondering why my parents were talking so vaguely. It obviously had something to do with me considering I'm the only one they really had to worry about at the moment.

The conversation had ended long before I had gotten the chance to get anything out of it. My mother came into the office and I tried my best to play off the fact I had been eavesdropping but like all mothers, it seemed, she noticed I had.

"We'll talk about it later." She tells me.

I huffed, "Curiosity got the better of me."

She gave me a disbelieving look.