building up his small empire. He therefore enlisted the help of his sister Olivia, whom my sister was so proudly named after.
She was a widow and childless and as a result a very lonely woman. After a series of failed suicide attempts she finally found happiness being a surrogate mother to my dad. She also adored him and spent the rest of her days tending to his every need. They were inseparable, like two peas in a pod as my dad had described them both in all of his stories. So when she had died it had been like losing a mother all over again, only this time one that he knew.
My Grandfather however had sold his businesses for a small fortune knowing that my dad wasn’t really interested in running them. He then retired and moved abroad living out the rest of his days in the sunshine. My father hadn’t realised how much money he had saved over the years until the reading of the Will. Of course it had all gone to my dad as there was no other family left. My mother had told me that he had nearly had a heart attack when he found out the amount.
He split it three ways, putting mine and Libby’s into a savings account. My parents bought a bigger house with their share, where they still lived today. And the house my Grandfather had in Spain, they kept as a holiday home.
My sister Libby had already used some of her money emigrating here and remodelling the house Frank had inherited. Our parents had paid for their wedding being only too eager to get her hitched and “on her way” as my dad had joked. He also told Frank there were no refunds available. In other words “Best of luck and no bringing her back!” We had all laughed at this part of my father’s speech at the wedding.
“Earth to Kaz, is anyone reading me?” What, oh RJ was staring at me with a confused look in her eyes. I had been daydreaming again!
“Sorry, I was in my own little world, this place is amazing.” She shrugged as if she was used to eating breakfast at the Taj Mahal!
We walked up the mass of steps towards the main building which was swarming with students. There were tables everywhere topped with banners all advertising different clubs and sororities. People buzzed around like clones in matching t-shirts and sweaters. There were so many people shouting, all the voices seemed to merge into one. The odd “Try-out” and “Wildcats” could be separated from the rest.
Not surprisingly no-one flagged us down, one look at RJ sporting her usual Gothic attire and they quickly looked away. I grinned to myself realizing what a perfect match we were. She dressed this way to be noticed and to stand out. I did the complete opposite, shying away from any form of attention. What was funny however is that we both did each other a favour. I didn’t draw any attention away from her and she was scary enough that she didn’t bring any attention my way. Granted it was more in my favour than hers but I was still happy about it. Jack however was a different story. He stood out from the crowd and for all the right reasons. With every step his long legs took he was admired… or envied. Girls winked and giggled in silly girl fashion and guys nodded in respect, some even used coded hand gestures which were all foreign to me.
He was extremely popular, but he had been here for two years. He also seemed perfectly at ease showing us around despite the funny looks me and RJ were both getting. I suppose he was used to it with RJ being a heavy Goth, but it didn’t stop him introducing us to his friends when they stopped him. He even put his arm around my shoulders in a playful manner when introducing me to a group of his friends. For this I received evil looks from the girls but wicked smiles from the boys.
I couldn’t quite understand it, it was as if he was proud but I was at a loss to know why. I must have looked even plainer and boring compared to the living billboard model that stood next to me. My cheeks would flame every time he introduced me while RJ just nodded looking bored. She played ice queen very well... I, on the other hand, was not so