Arrival in a Limo

"We've arrived, sir," was the rude awakening Jeremiah got from his nap. "I must have dozed off..." he thought. Thinking back, he tried to remember where his parents were sending him this time. "It definitely isn't a business meeting. Not after the last fiasco. Tutor? No, but something along those lines..." Unable to come up with a conclusion, Jeremiah decided to ask his long time friend and chauffeur.

"Rodrigo, where have my parents sent me this time?" he asked curtly.

"To the Beata Academy, sir," Rodrigo replied.

"Another boarding school?" Jeremiah groaned, remembering the last five boarding schools he had been sent to. "More like BORING school," he muttered to himself, smirking.

"Actually, sir, you will find the classes here to be quite interesting. Shall I get your bags from the trunk?" Rodrigo asked.

"I'll get them this time. I don't want people to think I can't do anything on my own, that I'm a spoiled, filthy rich brat. Get yourself something nice, and a room in town. I'll probably be expelled from this one within the first couple of weeks too." Jeremiah tossed Rodrigo his wallet, opened the door, and stepped out of the limo. It was nice and sunny out, and the entrance to the Beata Academy was very appealing to Jeremiah's sense of style.

He suddenly felt something tugging on his suit jacket, so he turned around and poked his head inside the limo. "Here you go Cley," he said, extending his left hand as a flat surface for his little golem to climb onto. Bringing his hand to his right shoulder, he waited for Cley to climb off of it and sit on his shoulder. He then went to the back of the limo and fetched his suitcases.

"Rodrigo, if for some odd reason I'm not kicked out, please give my sincerest apologies to the rest of the manor staff that I did not properly say farewell to them," he said as he walked past the driver's side door. He stood in front of the open gate, awaiting the guide he assumed would come to show him around, as was usual for most of the high end boarding schools to which his parents sent him. As Rodrigo pulled away from the academy, Jeremiah sighed and watched the limo recede into the distance until it eventually disappeared.

What a long and boring life Kale was leading. Nothing more to do than sit around at a stupid school with stupid people and stupid lessons. Why had he been sent here? Oh wait, it was because he might kill someone by just looking at them. But what was it accomplishing so far? Absolutely nothing.

Kay sat alone at the entrance to the school, one of the few places no one would dare disturb him. He basked with his face to the sun, a book open in his hands. He had been reading, but he must have dozed off.

The brilliant heat from the sun danced across Kay's face as he lay on the bench next to the open gate, probably getting a brilliant sunburn at that very moment. He didn't tan. Never.

There was a roaring of an engine and Kale jerked awake with a snort and a grumble. New person. Wonderful. The only time someone ever came by the front gate was if they were new or just being weird. Or trying to be alone. Which was what Kale had thought he was a master at. But now there was a new person. And new people were always over friendly. Or over rude. It was annoying and very frustrating. He might have to deal with this person. Unless the didn't see him.

From near the sound of the vehicle came voices and it sounded like someone talking to some other person. Whatever. Kay caught none of it and before he knew it the car he had heard went rolling off.

However, there came no footsteps as the newcomer passed by. There was only silence. Finally, Kale gave in. What on Earth was he waiting for?

Peeking his eyes open, he peered through his sunglasses to the kid standing at the front entrance looking as if he was expecting someone.

"What on Earth are you expecting?" Kay demanded. Man, he'd spoken. Now he would have to talk with the newest nuisance.

"Well, for one that this school has good food. I refuse to eat food that tastes like crap. Oh, you mean right now. I'm awaiting my guide so I can get the tour done and over with so I can get settled in." Jeremiah replied. "How rude. Doesn't he have any manners? He should especially be polite to me, considering... no, no, no, no, no, I am not going there again," he thought. "I assume that would be you," Jeremiah said after a moment of silence in which he analyzed the stranger. "No school uniforms? Just what type of boarding school is this?" he thought aloud.

Gosh, this kid was annoying. Maybe he should have asked what he was waiting for instead. However, the kid eventually got to it. A guide? What kind of school would have a guide to show you around? Kale shook his head with a grumble and turned back around to lay his head back down on the bench. Maybe the kid would leave him alone.

Or not. "Ha!" Kale laughed. "No. I am not your guide and I am pretty sure no one is coming to give you a tour. Look for some friendly stranger, maybe they'll give you one." As soon as there was a new person, everyone jumped to get to show them around. Because apparently making friends was fun. Ick.

Sometimes Kay forgot that Beata was a boarding school. "It's like a high school you never leave." That was probably very literal in Beata's case. Maybe eventually they did leave, like high school, but they didn't go home after everyday. Alright, a high school without uniforms, but he had never been to one, so he left it. "You have been to high school, right?" He said, sitting back up on his elbow and turning to face the kid again.

Curiosity immediately entered Jeremiah's face. Nobody had ever talked to him that way before. Taking out his backup wallet, he considered bribing the stranger to show him around. Deciding against it, he put the wallet back into his pocket.

"No," Jeremiah replied somberly. "I haven't been to high school before. My entire life has been home schooling and boarding school. My parents always expected me to become a businessman like them. My mom deals in real estate, and my dad is the head and owner of a large corporation. I never had what you would consider a generic childhood." Jeremiah sat down on the ground, his head bowed in sadness. Cley tugged on his hair, trying to get his attention and cheer him up.

Kale completely ignored the fact that the kid had pulled out his wallet. For all he knew he was just looking at something. Maybe he thought he was at the wrong school. Ha! That would be hilarious.

When the guy got all upset on him Kale simply sneered. Not a generic childhood? Who cared? His life was way better than Kale's would ever be. "Yeah, whatever. Who cares if yours wasn't generic, at least it wasn't mine." He muttered, laying back down and deciding he should just ignore the kid.

Cley continued trying to cheer up Jeremiah a little longer, but to no avail. Seeing that the stranger had somehow upset his owner, Cley walked over to him and started hitting his calf in an attempt to force him to cheer up Jeremiah. His fists, tiny and soft, were too ineffective to actually do anything, though.

"You don't understand. Nobody ever does. I have both of my parents, yet they treat me as an object, as an asset. They don't even love me: the only time they acknowledge my existence is when its beneficial to them. Even if I've done something wrong, it has never been one of them to rebuke me. Its always been Rodrigo, or one of the other manor staff. I don't have any real friends: the closest thing I have to a friend is Cley. And he can't even talk." Jeremiah sighed. Tears started streaming down his face and onto his suit, and he didn't even care enough to do anything about it.

"All the money you could ever need is worth nothing when it comes at the cost of having a real family and real friends."

Great. He was spilling his life story. All this blah blah nonsense about his parents not paying attention to him and the only people rebuking him being the staff of the manor. Manor? He was right, this kid was rich. And yet, he was here. At Beata. Deep down Kay wondered what the kids power was that it took them so long to get him here.

What was that? Kale looked down his body to see some weird little creature attempting to beat him. Okay...that was odd. Ignoring the little thing he swung his legs over it and onto the ground, sitting up and looking over to where the kid was spouting the waterworks.

"You at least have someone who cares. This...eh, Rodrigo? Someone only yells at you about something if they care enough to want you to do it better." Did that makes sense? "At least you have parents." Now he had said too much.

Sure, he had names written on the paper when he had registered for Beata, but those were only his birth parents names. He only knew them from the orphanage he had stayed at when he was younger. They had told him thinking he would forget eventually. But he never would. The address and other things pertaining to his location were all from his most recent foster home. Which he would have been moved out of if he hadn't come to Beata anyway.

Jeremiah continued to cry silently for about a minute, thinking. "I'm sorry to hear that you don't have parents. That really puts things into perspective. I must look the fool, crying because I'm rich. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own problems that I forget other people have their own to deal with."

Getting up and dusting himself off, he walked over to the stranger and extended his hand. "I assume you only said your problem so I would shut up. Despite my intense curiosity, I respect that it is your story to share and will not pursue more information. My name is Jeremiah. Pleased to meet your acquaintance. The golem who is miserably failing at beating you up is Cley, and HE KNOWS BETTER THAN TO ATTEMPT TO BEAT UP NONTHREATENING STRANGERS."

Upon hearing the rebuke, Cley stopped hitting the stranger's calf and instead hid behind it, nervous and afraid.

Wow, this kid was odd. Kale had problems, and this kid had some, yeah, but Kale didn't sit and cry about them. He was suddenly thinking that maybe he shouldn't have sat by the entrance. When the guy finished talking, Kale just nodded, as if agreeing. Whatever, man.

When Jeremiah offered his hand, Kale took it warily and shook a little and then let go. He sounded so polite. It was creepy. "Kale." The dude didn't need anymore. He was not 'pleased to meet his acquaintance.' He just wished he could be left alone.

Cley? Alright, that was just...odd. Probably just a part of the kids power. Like how making human Popsicle was part of his. Ugh.

Seeing Kale's reluctance to pursue further conversation, Jeremiah finally made a decision. He took out his wallet, retrieved from it two one hundred dollar bills, and placed them in the hand of his new acquaintance.

"Still sure about that tour?" he asked. He didn't really like this 'Kale', but he found tours to be much more efficient when the tour guide isn't being talkative the entire time.

Kale looked down at the money in awe. He had never seen a one hundred before. But this kid was insane. Sure, he could probably use these to get something good down in Rosebury, but still. He really didn't want to take the kids bribe, but he probably wasn't going to stop handing him money until he said yes. Or he would just take what he had given and go find someone else to give him and tour. So he took it.

"Yes, but I don't want anymore." He said, pointing to the kids wallet. "I have never given a tour of this place and was sort of hoping I never needed to, but I'll certainly try." He mumbled, heading toward the courtyard just beyond the entrance.

Jeremiah grinned as he put away his wallet. He picked up Cley and put him on his shoulder, then grabbed his bags and ran after Kale.

"Is there anywhere I can put my bags before we start the tour?" he asked politely when he caught up.