|| 𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘 || ~𝐉𝐉𝐊

Chapter :- 02

Y/N POV :-

I let my eyes travel up the large columns of the porch and up to the red peaked roof.
I wanted to shrink back from this ancient goliath.

"No, they sure don't." I whispered, thinking that maybe that was a good thing.

Dad opened the back of the Car back and started pulling out my suitcase and boxes,

"I got this. Why don't you go on in and have a look around?"

Inside was no different. Where our townhouse smelled of whatever scented candles we were burning, this massive place smelled of wood, leather, andsome attic-library-like scent that I couldn't name.
Standing in the enterway, I inhaled the musty air with a chocking cough as I looked up at the grand staircase.

If that wasn't imposing enough, far above my head hung a dusty crystal chandelier so high against the dark ceiling it seemed misty and far away.
I took a few more steps forward, not feeling that this was my home at all.

Through an arched doorway to my right stood the grand piano that my Dad ordered a few weeks back, looking too shiny and new for its surroundings.

A glance to the left and through another bended opening showed a flat screen television and a contemporary sofa set that looked just as out of place as the piano.

A door under the staircase revealed a tiny bathroom with a sloping ceiling tucked away like an afterthought.

I rationalized by the advent of indoor plumbing, it was the only available area on the first floor that wouldn't compromise the original layout.

Shutting the bathroom door, I turned my attention to the wide hall behind me. It was large enough to park a car in and at the end was a set of heavy double doors. Walking down it, to my left was a curved doorway to the dining room and to the right another opening to the room with the piano.

The double doors at the end were heavy, paneled in rich wood, and almost reached the ceiling.

The black metal knobs almost seemed too weak open them, but one good pull and the doors opened to an empty library twinkling with dust particles catching the light.

The room glowed orange with the light of the setting sun coming through the windows as I stepped inside. The arched empty shelves cried out to be filled with books, looking abandoned and forgotten.

I inhaled deeply noting the rich scent of cigars seemed to cling to the freshly painted walls.
I stepped around the boxes from Dad's little home office at the townhouse and went across the room to the windows where the garden trees and shrubs fluttered in the breeze. The wind tore random leaves loose to blow over the patio just outside the French doors. As I was leaving, a large area of the floor caught my eye where the wood floor had faded nearly white.
The splotchy pattern at first made me think a careless worker had spilled paint, but when I got down on my knees to examine it closer, I could see it was in the wood trapped under the varnish.

What would cause that? I reached out to touch the peculiar stain. As my finger touched the slick surface of the wood, a vibrating electric shock traveled up my hand and into my arm. My eyes instantly began to water and my ears rang.

I pulled my hand back and clutched it to me. I was too shocked to even cryout.

What was that?

Jumping to my feet, I looked down at the spot on the floor and backed away.

A chill ran up my spine and I broke out in a clammy sweat. Eventhough it was silly, I backed out of the library and closed the doors.

I heard Dad outside on the porch talking to some random neighbor about the stability of the foundation as I sneaked back around and went up the staircase.

Each riser gave a loud creak and pop as I went up to the second floor.

When I got to the top of the staircase I turned to the left and walked back toward the front of the house where my room looked out into one of The Ginkgo Tree front yard.

My bed sat under that window with its new mattress a glaring bare white.
All the boxes from our old-house with my name on them were stacked near my dresser by the door, but I hesitated to unpack anything.

I went over to the window that looked out over the sprawling yard and narrow drive.

It was the perfect example of how life moved at a different pace here.

It might be nice to visit a place so charmingly out of step with the rest of the world, but it just wasn't normal to live in such a travesty.

I turned away from the window and took in my new surroundings.

There was nothing familiar about this room. It held other people's memories in its plastered walls. How long would it take for this room to seem like it really belonged to me?

Downstairs my Dad came in, the sound of the front door opening and closing vibrated up the walls to the second floor, I listened for the sound of his steps on the staircase, but it never came. He went to the left where the flat screen waited, no doubt much more tempting than a conversation with his pouting daughter.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I loved my Dad and knew that he thought he was doing what was best for us, but I just wasn't in the mood to pretend anymore.

I could sit on the edge of my bed and let a few tears escape from the corners of my eyes.

I sat there, listening to the distant chatter of the television and the house creaking, trying not to think about school tomorrow.

Each time its crossedmy mind, I got a hollow and sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Deep down I just knew it was going to be awful.

Even though it was the start of the new school year and tomorrow would be everyone's first day, I felt at a definite disadvantage.

I almost regretted that I didn't come here with Dad at least a few times over the summer to where maybe I could have met at least one or two people before starting school.

International School Of Busan was the one and only high school in this area.

The other students had known each other since grade school; everyone would know everyone, except me.

In my school back in Daejeon, I saw how everyone treated new students. They were a curiosity for about a weeks.

I didn't hold out much hope for myself.

At seventeen, I didn't have what it took to be popular. I wasn't blond,

I wasn't the genius type, and I wasn't the sporty athlete. What chance did I have?

I was only me, somewhat pale, and while not ugly, I was far from a vision of teenage perfection.

In my opinion, my hair was just a long black, sadly isn't?

I was plain and forgettable; no one would even notice me.

That empty sick feeling came over me again. In a big school it was easy to fade into the background, but I didn't know if that would be possible here. I tried not to think about it anymore.

_⸝֎🌼⚘🏵🌹🌷🌸🌻✿֍⸜_