Just For a Day Pt. 01

Chapter One

Another car was speeding past when I opened my eyes again. I pulled up my wrist to check the time. Nearly one in the morning. I felt the bus shake a bit as we drove over what must have been a small rock. Everyone around me was sleeping. I opened the curtain for the window a little more to try and see where we were. Nothing. It was completely dark except for car lights moving around us. I pulled the blanket I had over my legs higher towards my chest as I felt a cold shiver run over me. My mom was sitting next to me with her head tilted backwards. She was sleeping.

We must have been on the road for almost a nearly two days now. I felt the familiar feeling of dread wash over me again. A new city, a new school, the new kid again. I really didn't want to leave everything behind and move to a new place. I just got used to the lights and large city of Seattle and now we are off again. Duluth Minnesota. I have never even heard of it until my mom told me about her new work last week. My mom is basically a Butler's right-hand maid. She cleans and runs the household, makes sure the other cleaning staff do their work and attends to any other needs the butler of the house may require her to do.

I have never been shy of what she was or of our poor stature. My mom has always tried to provide me with the things I need, but we had gone through some rough patches. I was usually mocked for either being poor or my mom being a maid. I have no idea who my father is. My mom never talks about him and only said he left when I was a baby. So, it's just been us my whole life. I felt my mom stir next to me as she moved her body more upwards to be more comfortable. I noticed another grey hair caught the light of a moving car passing us. My mom was still beautiful in my eyes.

My grandmother was white, and my grandad was a Latino she fell in love with during her early years being a nurse. My mom told me that my father was also white and that made me one part three Latino. I had a light caramel skin; brown semi curly hair and I was about five foot seven tall. The only thing that made me look different than my mom was the fact that I had piercing dark blue greenish eyes. I was rather athletic also as I used to like going for a run in the park where we stayed in Seattle. I was never really into sports as I changed schools regularly. Now I am off to my senior year. I was really hoping to go to college once I'm done this year. I have a passion for drawing and all things art.

My mom was saving up some money each month for me to go to New York and study at the Art School there, but I'm not sure my dream would ever turn into a reality. The bus continued to hum as we drove down the freeway. I think we would reach Duluth some time in the morning if I remembered correctly what the driver said a few hours ago. I moved my legs closer to the seat and pulled my jumper tighter against me. Since we don't have much money, the bus we were driving in was relatively cheap and only the front side was any warmer. I reached down towards my small travel back and pulled out a small flask of coffee my mom made a few hours ago. It was still warm. I felt myself heat up a bit as I took a few sips from it. I placed the flask back inside my back and pulled the blanket higher. I turned my head towards the window and closed my eyes.

"Lucian Honey... Wake up. We are here." My mom was shaking me on the shoulder.

I opened my eyes. It was morning and the bus stopped. People were getting up and taking their bags out from the overheads. My mom was smiling at me as I rubbed my eyes.

"Did you sleep ok?" she asked as she was folding up the blanket, she had over her.

"Bit sore... Are we at the last stop?" I asked as I got up.

"Yup. We are taking a cab from here to the Robertson's."

I picked up my bag and placed the blanket inside. I had just a moments glimpse of my sketch book before I zipped the bag closed. I always travel with a book to sketch wherever I go. Inspiration can strike you anywhere.

We waited for more people to get off the bus as we were sitting quite at the back. After a few minutes I walked off and felt the cool air hit my face. Winter was almost here. I walked with my mom to the small stand next to the stop. The seat was cold when I sat down and felt the sting go right through the sweat pants I was wearing. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. Ten past nine.

We waited for about thirty minutes before a cab pulled up. My mom greeted the driver as he took our luggage and load it into the back. Ten minutes later we were on our way again. My butt now severely cold from the metal bus seat.

Chapter Two

The road was relatively short, but it seems the Robertson's didn't like neighbours. The house and "house" were a strong word as it looked more like a mansion, was located next to a small hill overlooking Lake Superior. There were no other buildings in sight. The cab pulled in and drove through the open gate towards the entrance. There was a man wearing a black suit waiting at the steps for us. I looked up towards the three-story mansion and tried guessing how many rooms it would have.

These people must be beyond rich I thought to myself as I looked upwards to try and see into one of the windows. The cab came to a halt and I opened my door to get out.

"Good Morning Miss Bardon." The guy in the suit said as he walked towards my mother with his hand out.

"Morning Mr. Robertson" She polity replied.

"Oh! No, my dear. My name is Mr Berkley. I am the Butler of this fine estate. Mr Robertson and his wife will arrive this evening back from Spain." He amusingly replied while gesturing for her to move upwards the steps.

I had the distinct feeling he was not aware I was there next to the car or maybe thought I was the cab unpacker. I melt myself get a little warm around the cheeks. My mom however would not have it.

"Wait... My son Lucian." She said as she turned around towards my direction.

I felt his eyes fall on me and lingered on my curly brown hair that must have been waiving each in its own direction.

"Hi." Was all I could say as I picked up my bag the driver took out the car.

"Mmm... Yes, Good Morning Mr Lucian." He said and quickly turned around to face the house.

"Please follow me." As he started climbing the stairs with a walk of importance.

We climbed the steps in silence all the way up towards a massive wooden door. It was carved with spirals and large shapes. Beautifully varnished with some sort of dark oil or something. As we entered the main door, I felt my jaw drop open. Every part of the main entrance hall was covered in white marble. From the floors, the walls and even the grand staircase leading up. A massive crystal chandelier was hanging in the middle, sparkling like thousands of diamonds.

"It's a beautiful house." My mom said as she looked up towards the chandelier.

"Yes. Mrs Robertson takes great pride in it. She designed it herself you know. Fourteen Bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two kitchens." Mr Berkley replied looking as if he just announced the Queen's arrival.

I noticed the echo immediately after he spoke. It sounded like a great hall where musicians would perform.

"You will both be staying in the servant's quarters at the back of the house. Mr Randall will show you." and almost immediately a short old man with grey hair came through one of the doors in the back

"Good morning Miss Bardon. If you will please follow me." Mr Randall said while giving my mom a small bow.

We greeted the much friendlier looking Mr Randall and followed suit. We walked through the door he just came from which leaded to a long hallway. I felt a feeling of shame when Mr Berkley announced we would be staying in the servant's quarters.

"You can call me Bill. I am the caretaker of the yard and pretty much the handy man around here." Mr Randall said as we walked.

"I'm Miranda and this is Lucian." My mom replied and pointed towards me.

"Please to meet you. You will have to excuse Mr Berkley. He thinks rather highly of himself. Very good at what he does though." Bill said as he opened the door at the end of the passage for us to pass through.

We entered what appeared to be the main kitchen. Large slabs of marble decorated the wooden cabinets of the work spaces and white marble all over the floor. I was for a moment unsure where he was leading us, but he gestured for us to walk towards the back door of the kitchen.

"Your rooms are at the back of the yard and not connected to the house." He said as he led us outside.

A massive yard welcomed us with a green patch of lawn any rugby team would love to practice on. The edges of the yard were closed from any outside view by massive trees all planted in a row. To the side of the grass was an Olympic sized swimming pool surrounded by huge rock art formations.

As we reached the quarters where we would be staying, I realised it was more of a very small house than just a room. There was a large tree in front of the small house that hid it from view from the main mansion. I felt almost at home.

"Thank you so much Mr Randall... I mean Bill." My mom said and smiled.

Mr Randall bowed again and walked back towards the garden.

"Well... What do you think?" My mom asked as she turned towards me.

I looked back at the small house.

"Looks really cosy." I replied as we both walked towards the door of our new home.

Chapter Three

The following morning, I woke up with the sound of birds singing outside my window. I lifted myself up from bed and looked around my room again. I was staying in the smallest room the house. My mom took the larger one only after she offered it to me and me refusing to take it. I pulled my socks over my feet and felt a cold nip in the air as I got out the bed. The ceiling was low ad I only had one window looking out towards the side of the garden. I couldn't see the mansion at all. It was a Saturday.

I heard my mom in the house busy with something. As I got up to pull a sweatshirt over my naked chest the smell of toast fills my nose. Mom was making breakfast it seems. I pulled on a pair of black slippers and left my room.

"Morning." I said as I entered lounge.

The house had only two small rooms with an open plan kitchen lounge.

"Hi sweetie. Are you hungry?" My mom asked as he kissed me on the cheek.

"Not that much. I would kill for some water though." I replied and pulled a glass out the cupboard.

"Listen, I have to go to the main house as Mr Berkley wants to introduce me to the Robertson's, show me the interior of the house and teach me the rules." My mom said as she placed two slices of toast on a plate and handed it to me.

"Oh ok." I replied and started on the first slice.

A few minutes later I found myself alone sitting on the couch. There was no TV and no radio. I could hear a leaf blower far in the distance and the sound of a few birds outside. I had no idea what to do. I was in a strange new place, new environment and I wasn't even sure if I could walk in the garden. At least in Seattle we stayed in a small apartment and I was free to go where I wanted to. I decided I could at least sit under the tree outside and view everything that goes on.

I brushed my teeth and pulled on a pair of sneakers. I walked outside and felt the sun on my skin as I walked around the house towards the massive tree. I had my sketch book in my hand with my favourite pencil. I wanted to see if I could get a good view of the mansion.

I sat down with my back against the tree, opened a new page and started drawing. The back of the mansion was almost just impressive as the front. Large windows and statues adorned the walls and roof. I must have been drawing for about two hours when a sudden voice behind me jumped me out of my skin.

"Wow that's really good." A young guy about my age said whilst looking down at my sketch.

"Jesus!" I yelled out loud and quickly got up.

"Sorry man!" He quickly apologised and held out his hand.

"My names Brandon and I didn't mean to scare you." He smiled at me.

"Lucian and you didn't scare me..." I replied feeling myself blush.

"Ok... I like your drawing by the way. You seem really talented." He said as he tried to look at my half finished drawing of the mansion.

I held out the sketch book for him to look at al the while still feeling my heart pound in my chest.

"Sorry... I'm not entirely sure who you are." I said while looking at him.

He had dark golden blonde hair with a brown tanned skin and blue green eyes similar to mine. He was about a few inches taller than I was with a larger build body. He looked like he must have played football or something.

"Oh Sorry. I'm Brandon Robertson. My parents own the house." He said giving me a toothy smile and pointing towards the mansion.

"Oh...Erm Hi..." I felt immediately awkward. The shame of who I was and what my mom was, was washing over me.

I am used to rich guys like him always bullying me for being poor. He must have sensed it as well.

"Your mom seems really nice and I like her already." He said looking at me with another smile.

"Thanks... She is a nice person yeah..." Feeling myself getting red in the face.

"You should come look at my secret hobby. Nobody knows about it." He quickly said while looking me in the eyes.

It made me feel a bit weird. I've never really had friends before in my life let alone someone look at me like that.

"Erm ok... But I'm not sure if I'm allowed inside the house?" I nervously asked.

"You're kidding, right??" Brandon asked while looking at me shocked.

"Of course, you are! Why wouldn't you be?" He yelled out loud, but I could tell he has never asked "the help's children" in the house before and I felt myself getting angry again for thinking about myself in that way.

"Come! Ill show you my room and we can play some PlayStation as well. You like Devil May Cry?" He asked excitedly as if he has never had a friend over before.

Five minutes later I found myself entering a large room every boy would do anything to live in. Action figures was on every shelf. All of them in sealed boxes. There was a massive plasma TV against the one wall with every PlayStation game you can think of in shelfs pack around it. The one shelf was completely covered in comic books. He had a desk in the corner with the most beautiful gaming PC I have ever seen. Brandon was a rich good-looking jock that played video games. That was a first for me.

"What do you think?" He excitedly asks.

"Wow... I have never seen so many games in one location before." I replied looking at his extensive PS4 game collection.

"Really? I always think I need more and feel like I have barely anything to play." He said while pulling his face into a thinking look.

"Oh well! We can definitely play some if you want? Or are you hungry? I haven't eaten breakfast yet now that I think about it." He answered himself without giving me time to reply.

He walked over to a small white box on the wall of his room.

"Berkley. I am hungry and would like some breakfast taken up to my room please." Brandon said friendly into the speaker.

"Very well Mr Brandon. I will bring some immediately." Came the reply from the speaker.

"Actually wait. I have a friend over and we will come down to eat." Brandon quickly said into the speaker after looking at me.

I felt a weird feeling in my gut build up in me. What will Mr Berkley say when he seems me with Brandon?

"Very Well." Me Berkley replied on the speaker again.

"Come on. Let's go down to get some food." Brandon quickly said and beckoned me to follow him.

We made our way downstairs to a large dining room with a table that could easily seat twenty people. As we entered the room Mr Berkley was busy setting up the table with two kitchen staff I haven't seen before. He lifted his head as we walked closer.

"Good morning Mr Brandon. Aah... I see you met Mr Lucian as well. How nice of you two to get along." He said flatly as we both grabbed a chair opposite each other.

"Yeah. Think I made a new best buddy actually." Brandon replied and winked at me.

I felt a weird flutter in my stomach but said nothing.

We ate Bacon, Ham, toast, eggs and sausages that was delivered in large bowls to the table. The weirdest think I have experienced from the whole thing was the fact that the cutlery was all silver. I have never held and silverware before. Such wealth.

After breakfast both me and Brandon went back up to his room again to check out some of his games for the PlayStation. We tried his favourite first - Devil May Cry. Me been having never played on a PlayStation before meant I sucked terribly. After a few hours and about twelve different other games, we decided to just chill and talk.

I learned a lot about Brandon. He really is one of the most laid-back guys I've ever met. He if very popular in school as his parents are extremely wealthy. He is however unlike any popular guy I've ever met. He never lets his parent's wealth go to his head and always tries to be humble. None knows about his secret game passion though and no one is allowed to go to his room. So, he keeps some part of his life secret from his friends. He had a girlfriend as well, but he broke up with her and won't say too much about why. I think she was just the wrong girl or something.

I have never had a relationship before, and no girl has ever come up to me out of the blue to say hi. It was midday when he asked me.

"Want to go see what Duluth looks like?" He asked.

"Erm ok. Yeah... Maybe you can show me where I will be going to school from Monday." I replied as we both got up from the couch in his room.

Brandon led me down to the garage. My mouth fell open and he just stared at me. I was looking at the most beautiful Chevrolet Camaro I've ever seen. I had the sudden sense of familiarity to it.

"Is this..." I asked but he replied before I could finish.

"Yup! I really loved the movies and just had to have the car. So, I asked my parents for it on my eighteenth birthday."

"Wow! Can't say I've ever seen Bumblebee in real life before. Does it transform also?" I asked laughing.

"I wish! HAHA!" He replied also laughing.

We drove around for hours. He showed me all the hangout spots, the school, the mall and all his favourite places. We were sitting by the pier just looking out when he spoke again.

"Thanks for coming with me today Lucian."

"Wait? What?" I quickly asked back.

"I am the one to say thank you! This was really a fun day and can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed myself so much."

He gave me a sly smile.

"Don't worry about it! I had just as fun. It's really cool to be myself towards someone who doesn't judge me or expect anything from me. You really are an awesome guy." Brandon said while looking at me and giving me a weird feeling in my stomach again.

"Do you want to go back?" He asked as he got up from the bench we were sitting on.

"Er sure..." I replied.

Chapter Four

We pulled in by the mansion again about thirty minutes later. I noticed a black Mercedes being there that wasn't when we left.

"I think my parents are home. Do you want to meet them?" Brandon asks as he closed the car door behind him and looking at me.

I wasn't sure what to say. I felt awkward and a bit scared at meeting them. There was no time however to reflect on what my emotions were as the next moment the side door that connects the house and the garage door opened. A tall man with light hair and a stern face entered.

"Hi dad, welcome back." Brandon said and his face light up.

"Who is this?" Mr Robertson asked looking at me and not blinking.