Greenhill International 1: The First

The heels of my boots clicked as I walked up the paving of my drive way. My step dad stood to the left of me, anxiously waiting for my every reaction as my mom stood at the bottom of the drive way on the phone, a man in a black suit accompanying her. 

"We've only seen the house a few times in person so far since it's all the way out in France, but I know you're gonna love it." Jerad said as we approached the front door, stopping in front of me. "Okay close your eyes, I'll open the door and tell you when you can look.  

Reluctantly, I brought my hands in front of my eyes, waiting as I heard the grand door swing open. Jerad's shoes clomp on the floor as he steps inside. 

A few more seconds pass before he speaks "Alright you can open them!". 

My hands slid off my eyes and I'm greeted by the wide entrance area of the ginormous new home. Jerad has his arms raised to his sides, in a surprise fashion.

"This is supposed to be your vacation home?" I said feeling intimidated by the size of the new home. 

"Our vacation home, dear. We did splurge a bit and got something a bit nicer since we'll be spending more time here then most vacation homes." He explained, pointing his phone camera in my face to preserve the moment. 

"I love it." I turned to face him, putting on my best smile. 

"Well come on, let's take a look around." He said, continuing to film as he took me around the house. 

He showed me all the bedrooms, going first to the barely decorated room that belong to me. 

"We didn't want to add too much so you could do it yourself, I know you have to spend all your weekdays on campus but we wanted to make sure you could personalize it for the time you do spend here." He said, leading me into the open room. 

The room was painted a light off-white, the bedding bringing in a bit off blue color while most of the furniture was basic. A desk with a fancy computer set up sat in the corner next to the door to the balcony. 

"This is so amazing, thank you so much Jerad. I can tell you guys put a lot of thought in to make me happy." I said giving him a big hug. 

At first he was bit put off as to what to do with the phone in his hand, he quickly shoved it in his pocket before melting into the hug, rubbing my back soothingly. 

Once he stepped away he spoke again "I've put some though into this, I think you should call me Pop. It doesn't impede on your dad's right to the title but it's still endearing. I know we've only really been close for a bit but I care about you a lot of kiddo."

"That's a bit old sounding." I responded. 

"It was just an idea alright, I have plenty of years before I'm a grandfather and your kids will be calling me Pop. Or at least I should." He said giving me an accusing look. 

"You don't have to worry about me, you know that Pop. Come on let's go view the rest of the house." I said, stepping out of the bedroom, watching Jeard's face light up as he heard me say his new nickname for the first time. 

We toured the rest of the house, Jarad gave intricate detail about each room, leaving little to the imagination about how each one came to be. Eventually we ended up in the last place, the garage. 

"Do we really even need to look at this, I know what a garage looks like." I explained as he unlocked the door to the garage. 

"You're gonna like what's in here I promise you." He answered, as the mechanical door slowly lifted from the ground 

As the door lifted a bright red motorized scooter appeared in front of me with a big red bow taped on. Mom sat on top, sun glasses stolen from her body guard laid on the bridge of her nose. 

"Hey sugar, like my new ride." She joked, making fake revying noises.

Jerad laughed hard as a let out a little chuckle I approached the brand new vehicle , examining it's features.. She got up, tossing me the keys as she gestured for me to try it out. Holding the keys I gestured to myself with a fake questioning face like I didn't know the cheery red scooter way for me. Accepting her invitation I got on, starting the engine. They both moved out of the way as I put by foot on the gas and blasted off down the driveway. 

"Don't forget your helmet young lady." Jerad joked, running after to me with a white helmet adorned by a cheery emblem. 

"A cheery for my Cheery-Jane" Mom said as I stopped too allow dad to put the helmet on stop my head. He clipped on the safety strap at the bottom, adjusting it so it was secure before backing off. 

"I never really been that much of a Cheery." I said, relaxing on the seat of the scooter. 

"I know CJ, but you've always looked good in cheery red." she said, giving me a satisfied look. 

"Alright, we better get going we have a flight to catch or we're gonna be late going back to D.C. Donny is gonna take you to campus and help you get your stuff in your room, I'm sorry we can't make it sweetie." My mom said giving me a light peck on the cheek. 

She hands the glasses back to the tall bald man, standing by the black BMV door extended for me to enter. 

"I blame your mother, she has some stupid meeting with president Deeny or whatever." Pops said, giving me a brief hug as I still sat up top the scooter. 

Mom rolls her eyes as she steps into the black limo waiting to take them to airport. Pops quickly joins her and they drive off, leaving me with the silent bodyguard. 

"Ms. McChase." He said, gesturing me to slide inside. 

I did as instructed, he shut the door as I put on my seatbelt. He stepped into the drivers seat, turning on the engine

"Is there anything you need to do before we go to campus Ms.McChase?" He asked, a hand resting on the steering wheel as he waited for my answer. 

"I do not believe so." I said talking a nervous breath in as I thought about arriving at campus for the first time. 

With nothing else said he backed out of the drive way and drove off towards the hills where Greenhill International's campus was.  

---

Eventually we arrived at the dorms. Students and families filled the streets and yards carrying boxes and bags from the building, many having helpers do the work for them. Some stood giving sweet goodbyes to parents while others greeted old friends. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in as I watched Donny open the door for me. A girl pointed over to me, whisper to her friend something as I stepped out of the car. 

My long hair swished as I stepped out, shutting the door behind me and adjusting my mini skirt as it threatened to flash the general student body. Walking to the back I went to grab my suitcase when Donny stopped me. "Don't worry Ms. McChase, George and I can handle your belongings from here." He said in the same monotone voice he always uses. 

Another man in an identical black suit to Donny's arrived from another identical black car. Aside on the sidewalk he had already pulled my scooter and a few pieces of furniture from the back of the BMW. 

"I can at least help with something, I don't need you guys to do all the work for me, I'd feel bad." I said reaching for the suitcase in George's hands. 

He lets go of the suitcase and instead grabs the black square lamp and night stand. We walk in together, both standing behind me on either side. We made it up a few flights before arriving at the top floor. Towards the end of the hall I found my room, conjoined with another girl's. Donny grabs the door for me as I eagerly step in. 

Inside a girl with long straight blonde hair and blue piercing eyes gives us a an aggresive smile. 

"Hi, I'm Laylanie your roommate. I'm a senior." She says, extending a hand. 

Her thick European accent caught me off guard, her curls bounced with every move while small freckles dawned her lightly makeup'd face. 

"I'm Cheery-Jane but please call me CJ."I said, grabbing her hand and giving it a firm shake as the two men accompanying me make their way to my bedroom with my things. 

Their were two rooms on each side of the mini-apartment like room while an open kitchen and living room kept the rooms far apart, a small bathroom right next to the kitchen with a cozy shower and toilet completed the room. We stood in the living room next to small gray couch. 

"Wait, Cheery-Jane McChase. Like senator McChase's daughter? From the States?" She asked, looking me up and down taking in my causal outfit. 

"Yup." I responded with a friendly smile. 

"My step mom works with her. It's great to finally put a face to the name everyone has be conspiring about!" She said with an innocent smile. 

"I'm sorry, did you just say conspiring?" I asked as George spilling the suitcase from my grip while Donny was heading down the grab more boxes. 

"It's not every day Greenhill international gets an enigma such as yourself. With your mom running with Deeny for reelection everyone is buzzing to get the news on her secret daughter that is coming here." She explained. 

"I'm not really a secret." I said, digesting the positive attitude that radiated off of Laylanie. 

"Nobody knew she had daughter until suddenly you seemed to appear out of nowhere accompanying her to the Deeny Summer Ball. So tell me, what's the tea on why you had never been seen before." She asked, shifting our conversation to the kitchen taking a seat on a bar stool. 

"It's not much gossip, I just have lived with my dad most of my life." I explained, moving to stand  on the other side of the kitchen counter, leaning as I talked. 

"Why'd you live with him. Big custody battle not go in your mom's favor? Mom abandon you? Abuse you?" She asked, seeking to get excited at all the possibilities. 

"Nothing like that, I just didn't have a way to bounce between houses when my mom moved to Washington D.C to finish her masters degree and they chose my dad to take care of me since he was a little more settled then my mom was at the time." I answered, shutting her down. 

"Alright well I'm gonna go unpack and set up, once you've settled in let me take you to orientation." Laylanie offered, walking into her room and shutting the door. 

When I walked into my room, George and Donny worked opening each box and arranging furniture. 

"I got it from here guys, thank you." I said. 

"I'll be back to pick you up at 5 so you can greet the house staff." Donny said, shaking my hand before walking out of the room. 

"It was great to be of service to you, Ms. McChase." George shook my hand too as he spoke. 

George followed Donny out leaving me to start unpacking. Reaching for my phone out of my pocket, I sat down on the newly made bed. I went on to Spotify, turning on a R&B playlist before I sat my phone down on the nightstand. I grabbed the scissors Donny and George left and opened the rest of the boxes, starting to set up my room. Eventually a knock on my door interrupted  the process. 

"Let's go senator, we're running late." Laylanie voice boomed in the apartment as she left my bedroom door open, walking back into the living room. 

"What do you mean we're running late, and why are you calling me senator?" I asked, following her out. 

"Well I have a schedule that I'm following and that you're following to since I'm supposed to show you around as your new roommate. Also you totally have a senator vibe, you remind me of your mom." Laylanie said, slipping on her Vans. 

I sighed thinking about my mom. "Let's just go." I said  annoyed, shaking my head dismisive of the nickname as I went to the front door. 

We headed out, going down the stairs and out the main door, dodging groups of people bringing in boxes. Once we were out she started walking down towards the main buildings. 

"All around here are all the the houses. We live in the houses of music, as you probably know. Athletic houses are down there, science house is in the back next to math house, and the art house is next to us." She said pointing in different ways as she continued to walk. 

"You have to live in an athletic house if you decide to join a sport by the way, except cheer and dance I believe. Too many of their members aren't athletic focused, like me." Laylanie explained, following the concrete path that lead us to the main building.

"Why do they make us focus on just one thing anyways, don't they want us to be well rounded students?" I asked. 

"They just want us to be able to focus early on our passions, so we can breed our talent into success. Plus they tailor your schedule, study groups, dorm room, basically everything to keep you surrounded by the music kids to keep you focused. Which is why everybody knows everything about everybody in their house." Laylanie explained. 

"That sounds delightful." I said, the root of my voice being sarcasm. 

"There's some cool people in the house of music, you already have the coolest person as your roommate, it won't be so bad." She clarified, stopping at the doors of a giant building. 

"This right here is the main building, It has the cafe, the offices, auditorium for school wide assemblies, the main library, basically everything you'd expect the main building to have. It has three stories, and part of the library is on each story." She said, holding the door open. 

Inside just past the doors were tables set up in the beautiful atrium. The sky light shinned on the middle of the room where the registration tables were set up, people filled the room viewing their schedules and speaking to the administration. Pausing for a second to take in the view off the overwhelming entrance, Layanie snapped me out of it. 

"Come in McChase, you have plenty of time this year to stand around view this place, let's get in line and get your newbie stuff before the lines start piling up with lost freshman.

"Don't you have to get your schedule too?" I asked. 

"Nope, only first years have to come here, everyone else does orientation at their houses, which we're gonna be late for if won't don't stop dilly-daddling around. The music house always starts orientation early, and this year we have a fantastic key speaker, so chop-chop." She said, pushing me forward into the music line.

It only took a few minutes to get to the front of the line, we were greeted by two young women with bright fake smilies, wearing special uniforms. 

"Hi there, last name." The one on the left said, ready to search through the sections of papers in baskets that matched the gold and blue school colors. 

"McChase." I stated, watching the blonde dig through the basket. 

"Here you are, Cheery-Jane right?" She asked, pulling out a yellow packet with my name on it. 

"Yup." I said with a smile, taking the folder from her hand. 

As I started to turn the one on the right spoke up "Wait? Cheery-Jane McChase. Tori, this is the senators daughter I was talking about, she's a junior first year." 

"Omgosh it's so great to meet you, I heard you mom is a pretty big deal." The blonde on the left said. 

"Thanks?" I said with sass in my voice, turning around to walk out. 

"You need to be more careful about what you're doing. That was Tori Lansher and Jenny Righton, they're president and vice president of the house of music for the student council. If you give them the wrong impression you give the whole house of music the wrong impression." She said as I walked out the door. 

"Look, if I'm gonna spend my whole year being my mother's daughter and not myself then I don't care what people think of me, and I'm not gonna be cordial and fake for a reputation, I'm gonna be myself." I explained, following her back to the house as I started to go through my pile of papers. 

"I'm just looking out for you hun, your my first year after all." She said with a smile. 

Once we got back to the music hall she took me into the performance auditorium, where music students were taking their seats. Laylanie took my hand and dragged me towards the front, where a group of obnoxious kids sat. 

"Guy, this is Cheery-Jane McChase, my first year. She goes by CJ." She introduced me with a braggy. 

"Hi." I akwardly said, giving a brief wave as I stared at the imtimadating group. 

"Where have I heard that name before?" A handsome looking boy with fluffy brown hair said with a thick British accent, looking me up and down. 

"You may have heard it as the most highly anticipated first year. Just the the U.S Senator McChase's daughter, y'know the senator who's running to be vice president with president Deeny?" She said, a fake overtly casual tone in her voice to brag to her friends. 

"Shit I knew I've seen that face somewhere, my father works with your mom, I'm Garret it's great to meet you CJ." Another boy, blond with a sharp jawline said. 

"Everyone introduce yourself." Laylanie said, gesturing like it was expected for them to do so. 

They go down the line by where they're sitting, introducing themself one by one. 

"I'm Rihanna, I'm from London and my dad produces the voice." She introduced herself, twisting a long lock of her dark hair in her fingers. 

"I'm Jace, I'm the drummer in High Expectations, from the U.S like you." The handsome guy from before says. 

"I'm Garret, as you know, also from the U.S and I play bass in High Expectations." He said, running his hand through his short hair. 

"I'm Ari, I'm the president of the jazz choir here, which I believe you're signed up for." She said, with a sly smile. 

"I'm Jake, I play guitar and usually sing back up vocals for High Expectations, I've been singing lead since one of our members graduated last year, we're all juniors though." He said, Layanie grabbed the seat next to him as their was one last person to introduce. 

"I'm Jason,I'm Jace's twin, we met before at that music conference in connetucuit.." He said, his dreads bouncing on his face as he turned to talk to me. 

"Oh yeah, great to see you again." I greeted him, sitting next to the familiar face. 

"Question for you McChase, was that video floating around of you singing rumored to be you really you?" Jace asked. 

"The one of me singing Take me to Church?" I asked. 

"Yes." He said his eyes lighting up, he whispered something to Garret before turning back to me. 

"You're auditioning for High Expectations and that's final." He demanded. 

"I'm not even sure what High Expectations is." I said, confused, looking around to gage the rest of the groups reactions. 

"We're Greenhill's premier band and we're looking for a new lead singer, and you're the kind of voice we're looking for." Jace said. 

"Okay Jace, you won't even let me audition but you're already scouting the first year." Ari scoffed. 

"Ari it's not that you have a bad voice, it's just your voice isn't really what we're looking for." Garret clarified. 

"Plus you're my annoying little sister, I really can't stand you more then I have to." Jace said. 

"She hasn't even said if she's interested yet, do you want to audition new girl?" Rihanna asked, getting the attention back to me. 

"Sure, I was in a band back home but we didn't really get much of anywhere, I wouldn't mind joining a new one though." I answered, watching Jace, Garret and Jake's faces light up. 

"You're audition is tomorrow at 2pm, come prepared with a song." Garret said, handing me a flyer with the information for the audition. 

"This says auditions are on Wednesday." I stated, confused. 

"We know most of everyone's voices around here, so the auditions are more a formality. But we want to audition you first since you're new." Jace explained. 

"Basically what they're saying is they only really care about how your audition goes since you're their best hope. Who would've thunk my roomie and new best friend would be so talented High Expectations is scouting her." Laylanie said, giving me a loving pat. 

"We just met like two hours ago." I said. 

"A lot can happen in two hours, roomie." 

Thanks for reading. The story may seem a bit uneventful right now but I'm just setting up the plot now, I promise things get a lot more interesting! Also for the first few chapters the novel don't really live up to it's 16+ rating but it gets more mature later in the story so just be aware of that as you read!