"Yes, Julian Desai. The son of the senator."
"I know who he is. I'm just shocked that of all people to ask about he is the one you do ask for." The security answered Justin as he opened the door for him.
Justin got inside and waited for him to mount as well.
"He is my friend and that's why I ask for him," Justin said all smiley.
"Well, I don't know what to say but good for you." The security officer shrugged as he left the airport parking lot.
"Why is that?"
"Nothing. Just strap in."
Justin fastened his seatbelt still looking at the security. "You never told me where he is."
"The senator is having a shopping spree at the mall with his family."
"You mean with his son, right?!" Justin wanted a bit of clarification.
"His two sons, one daughter, and a nephew of his."
"He has all those!!" Justin was taken aback.
"You didn't know that!! I thought you were a friend of Julian!" The police said.
"I am but he never told me that. All the letters he wrote to me were about school and stuff."
"Letters?! I dunno." The security was shocked to hear that Julian spared his time writing letters for a friend.
"Is there anything wrong with him?" Justin inquired.
"My apologies. He is perfectly fine."
"You are acting weird you know!" Justin told him as he relaxed at the seat.
"Maybe your questions are weirding me out."
They then drove in silence for about two minutes before Justin spoke again.
"Can you take me there?! To the mall?!"
"My orders are to get you home safe and sound, immediately after taking you from the airport." The police said apologetically.
"I guess a little surprise won't hurt," Justin said hopeful but it wasn't enough to convince him.
"You sound like a -"
"Shrewd bastard!" Justin suggested.
"It isn't professional but it relates." The police said.
"You are funny to chat with. What's your name?!"
"Rick. Rick Chainbills."
"Such a sweet name. I do hope you taking me there will be as sweet as your name."
"I'm flattered but no."
"Did they send you on purpose?"
"They just sent me. There was nothing rather than keeping a low profile and get you home safe and sound." Rick replied.
"Okay. I guess I'm not sound then. You rejected what I had asked you off." Justin played with Rick.
"Then it's okay. You can complain to Mr. Desai when we get home."
"You are insufferable."
"You would be as well if it was you with the job to keep," Rick told him watching him through the rearview mirror.
"I understand. I'm just messing with you. I'm sorry if you felt bad or pressured by my actions."
"Don't worry. I do know that you really wanted to go to the mall but everything that came after that was just a joke. And, we are here!"
"Is it this near?!" Justin was amazed.
"It is normally a 20-minute drive from the airport. Plus, the no traffic and the working hours' advantage, we made it in 12."
"But where is the house?" Justin asked looking out the window for any sign of the house of Senator Desai.
"The mansion." Rick corrected. "It is after the left corner we will take. It is a little bit hidden for security reasons."
"Yeah, political shit," Justin said in full knowledge of what the situation was like, especially after the twist Julian dawned on him in his last letter.
"You seem not to get it about the whole being professional thing!!" Rick chuckled.
It was true. Justin would never act professionally. He would either be scared or be him, you know be Justin.
"Is it a problem?!"
"It WILL cause problems. Especially if you are going to live here for a long time."
As Rick said that, the mansion came into view. And holy moly mother of Jolly was it beautiful. It was like a castle in the stories he had heard when he was a little child. The place was heavenly beautiful and marvelous.
A large garden welcomed them as Rick pulled up near the front door. There were about six fancy cars aligned beside the garden. And immediately after Rick switched off the engine, a man who looked like a security guard who wore a black suit opened the double wooden doors from inside and stepped out.
"Good morning, Rick." The man greeted.
"When was the last time you checked your watch?" Rick answered going to the trunk to take out Justin's luggage.
"Ooh right, good afternoon Ricky."
"Stop it, Ethan! Lunch is ready." An elder woman who came from inside the house said.
Rick motioned for Justin to come out. He opened the door and stepped out. He was wearing black jeans, shoes from Liberty company from India, a plain white T-shirt, and a leather jacket in his hand.
"Shoot! I thought you are back for lunch." Ethan said taken aback.
"Yes, I am, because my task is nearly done," Rick answered with mockery in his words.
"Welcome, Sir. My name is Matron. I am the head maid of the Desai family. You must have met the substitute driver Rick and this one here is the son of the Desai butler, Sir. Scar, his name is -"
"Wait! Did they make you memorize that for me or it is the normal thing?!" Justin cut off Matron.
Ethan burst out in laughter and Rick tried to suppress his.
"I like this boy already!" Matron appreciated with a chuckle. "I am Matron, the head maid."
"That's better. I'm Justin from India. And it is nice meeting you, ma'am!" Justin flashed Matron a million dollars smile going to shake her hand.
"Oh my God!" Matron was surprised as to how disciplined Justin was.
"So, it is proved. Angels exist." Another maid who looked younger than all of the servants of the Desai family spoke from behind Matron. She seemed of the same age as Justin.
"And you must be?!" Justin asked with amusement.
"Alysa. A maid."
"Just a maid!" Justin asked.
"Isn't it enough?" Alysa replied in a flirting manner.
"I thought there was something more."
"She is unpredictable. And if you would excuse me, I have this luggage to deliver." Rick spoke up after seeing what the two were doing.
"First floor, the room beside Kenneth's." Alysa directed Rick.
"I thought-" Rick wanted to speak but Matron cut him off. "Change of plans. Off you go."
"Should I be worried that you know my room?! Cause I'm feeling butterflies already." Justin said to Alysa.
"My curfew is 10. Don't worry that much." Alysa said with a wink.
"The food is ready. Will you have lunch first or you are going to wash up?" Matron asked him.
"I don't think I smell that bad. And besides, I'm starving, SHOW ME THE FOOD!" Justin replied shouting the last part.
¶
Later that day, when it was nearly 6 pm, Justin felt a tap on his shoulder while he was asleep. He thought Dhamini was disturbing him but before he said anything he could regret, a certain realization crept up his mind. He wasn't in Karanpur. He wasn't in India. He was in Jacksonville, Florida. He was in the United States of America. He was at Julian's house.
He shot up with a horror-filled face.
"Hey, what's up buddy?!" A boy nearly his age asked.
"Cool. How are you?" He didn't know what to say and so he said what came to his mouth but regretted it soon after the words were said.
The boy chuckled, "You are a flower. It will be fun to tease you from time to time."
"Stop it, Julian."
"Julian!! No, I'm Kenneth. Julian's cousin." Kenneth shook Justin's hand.
"Oops! My bad. So, you are the guy next door!" Justin said as he remembered what Alysa had said earlier.
"Great! Dinner is in 10. Hurry up!" Kenneth said and started to go away but Justin stopped him. "Wait! Is Julian here?!"
Kenneth stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Justin. He watched him for about ten seconds before he went to his bed again. It was a queen-sized bed with deep blue-green sheets. Kenneth sat down this time and faced Justin who seemed so innocent.
"I don't know how you two had contacted each other and such, but you shouldn't get your hopes up high. He isn't the person you are thinking he is. I'm telling this to you because you seem like a great person according to Matron."
"What do you mean? And why is everybody seeming like they despise him?" Justin was shocked.
"We don't have time now but we can chat after dinner. And a tip for the dinner we are going to have, don't act desperate. And if you are desperate, then don't show it. They might manipulate you." Kenneth finished and motioned for Justin to follow him.
Justin was going to dinner with his pajamas but Kenneth stopped him. "You are not having dinner with that, right?!"
Justin took a look at himself and understood what Kenneth meant. He changed into a tracksuit he was gifted on his graduation and canvases he bought for Karan but wouldn't fit him.
"That's great. Dinner, we are coming!"
They strode down to the dining hall and found four people already there. A grown-up man, a girl, and two boys. The girl and the boys seemed in their teens. One boy looked older than the other who was just Justin's age. They must have been Julian and his brother. He took it the younger one was Julian and the girl who was the youngest their little sister.
"Hello everyone!" Kenneth greeted.
"Hey, Kenya!" The little girl said stifling a laugh.
"That's not good Celine!" A voice loomed from behind them.
Justin turned around to see a middle-aged man nearly fifty if not in his early fifties. He was wearing a button-up lavender shirt with black trousers. He looked handsome for a person his age but he was the Senator, sometimes in politics, good looks mattered.
"Hello, Mr. Desai." Justin greeted politely.
Upon hearing his voice, everybody at the table turned to see who that person was. And God, was he handsome that Celine had to whistle.
"Celine! What was that for?!" The older boy said to Celine.
"Hello, son. You must be Justin, right?!" The senator said.
"Yes, sir."
"Justin is here already?! Wasn't he coming next week?!" Julian asked surprisingly.
"He would be if this was last week or at least 18th century," Kenneth said as Mr. Desai was taking his seat at the dinner table. Everybody erupted into laughter.
"I guess you have met Webster already. He is my late sister's son. And here we have Martin, my first son, he is in university, a sophomore." Mr. Desai said motioning to the one that Justin thought would be Julian's brother.
"A second-year student," Justin added shaking his hand.
"You are already catching up with your business, that's good. And this one here is your pen-pal Julian. I think you have met him already. And that is my only little girl, Celine."
"Dad! I'm not little anymore. I'm thirteen." Celine argued.
"Yes, you are!" Justin defended Mr. Desai. "And in fact, you should be happy when he addresses you as his little girl."
"Why should I when I'm not little?!" Celine asked.
Kenneth was mouthing something to Justin but he didn't quite catch that and so he continued with what he was doing.
"Because whenever he calls you little, it reminds him of the times when he used to carry you when you were so tiny and beautiful. Those moments are the first memories of yours with his. He still sees you as the same little child he used to sing to sleep-"
"Geez! My dad can't even sing!" Celine criticized cutting Justin off.
"He can't now but he used to, isn't it Mr. Desai?" Justin asked him in a tone that explained itself.
"Yep! And I, I, I, I will always love you. I will always love my little girl." The senator took on Justin's offer and managed a chorus of I will always love you. Little it was but God did he sound awesome.
"What!! Dad can sing!! I didn't even know and I'm 13!" It sounded more like a series of questions than amazement.
"What can I say, I know the hearts of fathers. And especially good-looking ones. And another thing, who hates their children? No one! And that should mean he loves you and he calls you his little girl out of love. And for the record, a daughter is a father's best friend, and for the way you act it seems you are the best of those best friends out there, isn't it Celine?!"
Everybody looked attentive at Justin and from there, they got to believe that miracles happen.
"Can we eat already?!" Celine said.
"Wait first! Does that mean- ohoho ohoho." Martin was a laughing mess. "Much respect buddy." Martin saluted Justin and stood from his seat and went to crush him into a hug.
"This boy is something else. Where had you find him, Julian?!" The older man who was seated there asked with much appreciation.
"From what I see, it's more like Julian was the one who was found," Kenneth said with bile but managed a little laughter at the end of it to make it look like a joke.
"We can eat my little girl." Mr. Desai said to make Celine blush.
They ate their dinner peacefully with little jokes from Kenneth and Justin. And the way Kenneth was acting, made Justin feel like Kenneth was the Julian he had been writing to all that time.
When they finished, Mr. Desai excused himself as he needed to retire early for his meeting of 9 am the next day, but he promised to talk with Justin that following day after lunch.
¶
Later that night at nearly 10 pm, Justin was shuffling on his bed as he couldn't sleep because of three things. Firstly, he had slept for about 4 hours that afternoon. Second, he was hungry AF. And lastly, well... He had been wondering about Julian, and what Kenneth had told him. And an important note to make was why Kenneth was more the Julian of the letter than Julian himself was. Well, it was a puzzle for him to solve but for that time, he needed to find a beautiful sleep in that heaven palace.
Not long before he closed his eyes as he heard his door opening.
"Alysa, is that you?!"
"So, you've got a date already." Kenneth's sound came up. "Though she's a nice girl, uncle Blake won't allow it."
"It's you." Justin acknowledged Kenneth.
"Yeah, it's me!"
"Ok, what are you doing here?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you the same?"
"But it is my room."
"And you are hungry in the room, you are in the room hungry." Kenneth tried to tell him that he was hungry but he was having a hard time with a choice of words.
Justin managed a laugh and scooted over to give Kenneth space.
"So, have you ever seen any of Julian's letters that he had sent me?" Justin asked in hope of answering his third reason for not being able to sleep.
"I haven't because there was none. And even if there was one, I still would never get close to him." Kenneth seemed to get angrier by the minute.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing. I just don't wanna talk about him." Kenneth said uninterested.
"There seems to be a lot of bad blood between you two." Justin pried.
"As much as I would like to be a great host but I don't wanna discuss this. And according to my watch, it's 10 already so we're gonna hit the kitchen."
"You mean like-"
"You know exactly what I mean Justin. We are gonna raid the kitchen. And don't put the innocent act when I'm around."
Justin didn't have to answer to that as he was already taking off. What he did was follow him.
They went to the kitchen and the lights were off meaning nobody was in there. Kenneth proceeded to the fridge and got a can of ice cream out and then another one of strawberries and another of chocolate chip cookies and put them on the counter.
Justin was just watching him as he went to open another fridge that seemed to have drinks and took out two cans of red bull and a Coca-Cola bottle with a bag of ice.
"Will you help me carry them or should I carry you along with them?"
"Aaah sorry. I thought we were eating in here."
"Yeah, right here so when anyone gets in here, they should find us savoring what was put for another day."
Justin understood what Kenneth meant and so he took the red bull cans, the strawberries, and the cookies. He then followed him upstairs.
Midway to their rooms, Kenneth took a turn and opened another door that led them to the first-floor balcony and he heard an ooh sound from his partner in crime. He settled the things he was carrying on the table and motioned for Justin to do the same.
"Isn't this energy drink? Cause I can read the caffeine it gives!" Justin asked after they sat down.
"It might be... But never mind, I'll have them both."
"No, I think you have enough reason to make me drink this. Mind if I know what it is?" Justin was playing on Kenneth's good side trying to get to know him. And Jesus it worked because he responded just what he thought he would.
"I thought maybe we could bond on the first night of yours in wonderful hell. And remind me to give you a tour of this place tomorrow."
And like that, they stayed late that night discussing this and that and trying to get to know each other better.
That night, Justin learned that Kenneth's parents died in an accident just outside the mansion near the town center. Matron was the nanny of Baby, Julian's mom and that Scar who had dinner with them that evening was Ethan's dad and the butler of senator Blake Desai's father who was a businessman.
He also learned a lot about Alysa and her lost sister, Anna, Julian's relationship with Alysa, and the mystery Banana who was Celine's crush, and well, the one who brought Martin together with his girlfriend Stacy.
¶
The following morning, Justin went to the dining at exactly 5 minutes to 7 just as Kenneth had told him the other night, and found no one or any food at the table.
He was having a mixture of feelings and questions in his mind but he was saved by Alysa who happened to walk by.
"It's early, flirt with me from 9," Alysa said to him.
"Hello to you too missus of the house. And I was wondering if I'm late for breakfast or it's not yet ready?!"
"Always by 0630, the breakfast is ready. Tables are served right after and if you are hungry enough, at 0645 you can have your breakfast." Alysa flirted with him when she replied.
"But I-"
"Ooh right. The first-floor dining is the venue for breakfasts and movie nights' dinners." Alysa told him what he was missing from the information he had.
"Okay, so-"
"Don't worry. I'm going there myself. Just follow me."
"You know I could follow you to hell," Justin added while following Alysa upstairs till they reached the door to the dining room and crazy enough, it was the door beside Kenneth's room.
"The Mister of the occasion and his mistress," Kenneth announced as they entered the room.
Julian snorted and made a despise sound as if saying 'dude, are you serious at all?'
"Thank you, Lord Webster. It was a pleasure having milady escort me here." Justin answered mimicking a British accent taking Alysa's hand and kissed it.
"Wow! That's cute!" Celine cooed.
"Shut up what's cute there! He kisses a maid's hand." Julian snapped.
"And what's wrong with that? Are you by any means against it?!" Mr. Desai who appeared from another door apart from the one Alysa and Justin used asked?
"No, it's just... he doesn't know if her hands are clean, or if even she has taken a shower!" Julian defended himself.
"Did you?"
"Mmmh?" He didn't quite catch what his father was asking.
"Did you take a shower before coming here? And tell me one normal day that you took a shower before breakfast." Mr. Desai pondered.
"Even though, you can't just kiss a person who got you to a place you are needed to be."
"Son, did you have a struggle finding your way here?" Blake asked turning the question to Justin who was still standing.
"Kind of."
"I'm sorry about that. There are four dining rooms in this house." Blake told Justin.
"I've figured that much. We have three dining rooms at home and so I thought there might be more in this house apart from the one we used yesterday. I went downstairs to find someone who could take me through it all." He replied looking at Alysa.
"That was so nice of you Alysa. Maybe after breakfast, Julian will show you the house." Blake said.
"I'm busy. Celine can do that and she knows the place more than anyone." Julian said not lifting his eyes from Alysa and Justin.
"But he isn't my friend!" Celine snapped at Julian. She didn't want another embarrassment after what happened the other day.
"I can feel you, Celine. I'll show him around." Martin offered.
"No, Martin I can do that." Kenneth rejected Martin's offer on behalf of Justin.
"I thought so. You seemed great together last night." Martin commented.
"You two were together?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, we had late-night snacks together," Kenneth answered.
"That's good," Blake said and started the breakfast.
They stayed surprisingly quiet and had their breakfast. At some point, Julian would look at Alysa who stood beside their father, and found her giving a thumbs up to Justin or mouthing something to him which made him smile and mouth back occasionally.
He felt anger and jealous washing over him and so he got up and started to leave.
"Where the hell do you think you are going, Julian Patrick Desai?" Blake asked full of anger.
"I'm not hungry."
"So, if you're not hungry, you can just storm off from the table without a little as a statement?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not hungry and I don't feel like being here. Can you excuse me?" Julian said anger flowing all over him.
"You better learn your manners. You are dismissed." Blake said in a full PG mode.
"Alysa bring me some coffee in my room," Julian said.
"Call downstairs and have Matron send someone with it," Blake said.
"But-" He wanted to speak more but he couldn't. " Ugh fine." He then went to his room without another word.
"Mr. Desai, what's wrong with him?" Justin asked at last after noticing weird acts of Julian from when he arrived, to that moment. And truth be told, it hadn't been even 24 hours.
"I think you should ask him yourself. He might provide more reasonable answers." Blake replied.
And like that, they went on having their breakfast and it was over before they knew it. Everybody went back to whatever their schedule said and Justin went to his room with Kenneth trailing behind him. They went into Justin's room together and a little bit after, Alysa came in.
"Alysa! What brings you here?!" Justin asked her.
"I called her here," Kenneth told him and they all sat at the sofas beside the bed.
"Kenneth, I can't be here. You know how much Julian detests the idea of me being at the same place with you."
"I don't need a fuck toy to get back on him. I can avenge them myself." Kenneth said.
"I'm not a fuck toy Kenneth. I am just a girl looking for a possible way to get my sister back to me!" Alysa snapped at Kenneth.
"And how is that working out for you?"
"Still in progress but I know-" Alysa was cut off by Kenneth.
"Progress my ass! He is using you, Alysa! He won't ever help you!"
"How can you if he won't?!"
"Hey, hey, hey, hey. What am I missing here?" Justin decided to cut in.
They both looked at him and decided to quiet down.
"Julian is the reason his parents died in that accident." Alysa finally spoke.
It was like time had stopped when he heard that. He turned to look at Kenneth who found something else to look at instead of Justin.
"It explains why you hate him so much," Justin stated.
"He fucking killed them and blamed it on Anna making her run away because nobody would ever take her side when the senator's son was concerned."
"You are not even sure of that!" Alysa snapped.
"Ooh, then why would a 12 years old run away? You can't be serious defending him right now. Is it because you are fucking him?!" Kenneth shot back.
"I was 10 at that moment. How would I have known when she wasn't ready to speak." Alysa broke down at instant.
"So, you want to tell me that nobody knows why she ran away?" Justin asked them and they nodded.
"That and the fact that Julian had taken part in both, her runaway and my parents' accident."
"That's fucked up. How long has it been since she went away?" Justin asked.
"Five years. Five fucking years without my parents and five fucking years without Anna."
"So, she is 17 now and you are 15?" It sounded more of a realization than a question but Alysa understood him.
"Yes."
"And you've been having sex with Julian for how long?"
"How does it concern you?! It's my life and my choice, leave it the way it is." Alysa angrily told Justin.
"I didn't mean to pry but I wanted to make sure you understand that you are a minor and that could be judged as sexual abuse whether you consent to it or not."
"And who would take your word against his? You are nothing rather than a worthless prick from a poor country who is trying to look for a possible way of feeding your family by taking advantage of other people who are more successful than getting your ass at work and earn it yourself." Alysa snapped and said disrespectful things to Justin in a rude way that Justin had to clench his fists to keep his calm.
"Alysa! That's rude and so childish." Kenneth warned her and made her stay quiet and turn away from both of them.
Justin ran out of words just after Alysa said those words. He had never seen such disrespect and snide remark in all of the 17 years he had lived. Alysa was making things hard for him in just a second day of his life in America. He wanted to answer her but before he could, the door was opened, and in walked Julian.
"What the fuck are you doing here Alysa?" Julian asked.