Garrett laughed at him.
"It is because you are old and you do not keep up with the trends, teenagers these days are not the same as when we were younger. Have you seen the way your cousin behaves?" Garrett told him.
Jessica came in.
"Ethan," She ran and hugged him.
"Jess, how are you? I am way older than you. Do you not think it is awkward to call me by my first name?" He asked her.
Jessica laughed.
"Do not make me laugh, I think I even look older than you," She laughed.
"You should be in class," Ethan brushed her hair.
"I went to use the restroom and I perceived your scent. I missed you so much," She was caught up and she forgot there was another person in the room.
"I will tell the driver that you are ready to go. You must be tired," She smiled.
"Hi, Garrett," She said awkwardly. She had tried to avoid him for a year now since he always gave her cold shoulders. She looked at him from afar but never had the chance to approach him.
"Ethan, I will come over to your place later today. Everyone will be excited to see you," She smiled widely and left.
"I think you should tell her that you are into her before she loses interest in you," Ethan tapped his shoulder and left.
.
.
.
"Hey, where did you go to?" Juliet asked her.
"I went to see someone. What about you?" She asked her.
"Actually, my grandmother wanted me to meet someone. He was very rude and I did not stay to even hear what he had to say. How can a person be so rude in this century and to an elderly person, for a matter of fact?" She blew out air from her mouth.
Jessica laughed.
"I think you should be careful, especially when you do not know someone. He is my cousin and you should not disrespect him. If not, you will really get on everyone's bad side," She gave her some advice.
"How does he think he is?" She asked no one in particular.
"Will you be able to come with me? I need to go shopping, I have loads of stuff to buy from the supermarket," Jessica told her.
"I just met you, and I will be a burden if I have to come. I have security with me everywhere I go," Juliet laughed.
"I know how that feels. Do not worry, we can sneak out during recess. I have a driver. I do not know how to drive yet," She told her.
"Fine, I need a break from all the drama," Juliet let out a sigh of relief.
During break, they went to the cafeteria to have lunch, and everyone surrounded her table.
"Hi, Juliet, my name is Simon. Can I sit with you?" He asked her.
"Nope, the seats are already taken," Glen spoke as the quad sat beside her.
"Juliet, let us sit in another place. These boys are bad news," She smiled, held her, and dragged her up.
"Jess, we are surprised that you are even making friends and more surprised that you do not want to introduce us to your new friend," Kelvin said and sobbed playfully.
"Do you know them? Like, are they your friends?" She asked Jessica.
"No, why would I make friends with such people?" She giggled.
"Do not lie. Introduce them to me, I am new, I need to make friends," She smiled and nudged Jessica's shoulder.
"Alright. Meet Glen, Kelvin, Jack, and Joe. They are my childhood friends. We grew up together but I do not like staying with them because they can be very embarrassing at times," Jessica said.
"Nice to meet you. I am Juliet Lance," She smiled and shook them.
They sat down and ate their food. The boys had double portions.
"Why do you always give four of them double portions? Others ask for even an extra spoon and we are rejected! What is the essence of paying this much fees when we cannot even have a reasonable amount of food during lunch?" Another guy who was standing in the line was having a fit.
There were cafeterias for every class and this was for the final year.
"If you have a problem, you can go to the director's office and make your complaint," the lunch lady shouted.
"I will involve my father in this case. Do you know who I am?" The boy yelled.
"He has a valid point. Why do the four of you have double portions?" Juliet laughed.
"We have our way with lunch ladies, I guess," Joe laughed.
It was a secret rule in the school that in the fifth year, the wolves feeding portion was to be doubled by whatever the other kids had, most especially male wolves. They spent half of their day in school and some of them did not eat because of the early time they left home.
Ethan made sure they were provided for even when they were not home. Wolves had to be strong and if they were malnourished they were not going to be able to protect themselves or the pack if they were in danger. The female wolves always wanted to preserve their figure, so they worked harder to be able to do as much as their male counterparts.
"Do not worry, this is not the first time that an argument has happened because of food. It is the norm here," Glen said. He had almost finished his food.
"Do you want mine?" She asked.
"If you do not mind," he replied. He took her plate. She had not eaten anything yet.
"Jessica, let's go," Juliet held her hand as they went together.
"Where are you guys going to?" Kelvin asked.
"Nowhere, cover-up for us if we are not back early," Jessica smiled and left.
.
.
.
"Where are you going to, ladies?" The driver asked.
"Gabby mall," Jessica replied.
"That is my favorite supermarket," Juliet smiled.
"You did not have anything to eat, so we can have lunch when we get there," She smiled.
"I will pay for lunch," Juliet replied.
"Okay,"
They reached the supermarket.
"I will be here to pick you up by 3 PM," The driver told them and left.
They went inside the supermarket, to the sanitary supply area.
"I think I should get the boys deodorant. They stink like hell," Jessica said and put four sprays in her cart.
Juliet followed her silently, admiring the jewelry area. She thought of buying something for her nanny. She had never given her a gift.
"How is this?" She picked up a necklace that had the write-up 'A mother's love' on it.
"It is beautiful. Who is it for?" Jessica asked,
"My nanny, she has always been there for me and I realized that I have never given her anything," She smiled.
"Hold my bag, you can go and pay for your stuff. I will meet you at the counter. I want to pick cereals, I have been craving rice crispy," She said and gave her bag.
She went to the counter and gave her a credit card.
"Are you not a student? Are you sure you will be able to afford this necklace? It is very expensive," the sales lady smiled.
She was quiet.
"The card has been blocked," the lady said.
"It is not possible, how is the card blocked?" She asked.
"Try it again," She said and dropped her bags to remove the other credit cards she had.
"We have tried all of them and they are all blocked," the sales lady said.
"That sneaky old fox! How could she do this to me?" She stumped her foot on the floor.
"I will pay for it, but you will pay me later," Jessica said, and added it to her card.
Juliet nodded. They finished and were about to leave.
"These are the people. I saw drugs in both of their bags, arrest them," A man came up to them with police officers.
"Excuse me, what are you talking about?" She asked.
"Search them and see for yourself if I am telling a lie. I saw drugs in both their bags. How do you think they were able to get this kind of money to pay for all these things? They are drug dealers disguised as schoolgirls!" The man was serious.
"Sir, I think you are mistaken," Juliet spoke up.
"Sir, we have found the drugs, they were really on them," The officer said after he checked the bags.
"This is not true, this is a setup," Jessica shouted. She was losing control and she would have broken free that very moment.
"Where is your means of identification?" The officer asked.
"I did not bring mine along," Jessica responded.
"I did not bring mine either," Juliet said, almost in tears.
"Then you will need to come with us to the police station, then we will have to call your parents or guardians," The officer told them and handcuffed them.
Juliet started crying.
"This is bad, my old woman will kill me," she stamped her feet on the floor in annoyance.
They took them to the police station.
"How come the drugs were in our bags? Did you drop them down earlier?" Jessica asked Juliet as they reached the station. They were kept behind the counter.
Juliet thought about this.
"I wanted to remove my card from my jacket. That is why I kept the bags down, but I only did it for a brief moment," Juliet said.
"If your parents do not come, you will have to stay behind bars," the police officer said.
"Whose number did you give them?" Jess asked her.
"I did not give any numbers, my grandmother would kill me. I prefer to stay here," Juliet replied.
"Jessica Arnold," The officer called her name.
"Yes sir," She stood up.
"Your cousin is here to pick you up," the man said, and told Ethan to sign some papers.
"Ethan," She ran and hugged him but behaved herself when she saw Garrett coming in with Juliet's grandmother.
"Who are you here for?" She asked.
"My granddaughter, Juliet," she responded.
"You will need to sign some papers, we saw them with drugs and you need to look after them better," the police officer said.
"I will," she responded.
She turned to Ethan.
"Thank you, sir, for informing me about this. She refused to call me even when she was in this much trouble," Mrs. Lance sighed.
"It is fine, May," Ethan responded.
"Juliet Lance," the officer called.
"Oh no. Excuse me sir, but I did not give you a number," She panicked.
"Your grandmother is here to pick you up," the officer replied.
Juliet wanted to go back to the counter, but the police officer dragged her back.
"Juliet," her grandmother called out.
"Good evening, grandmother," She lowered her voice.
"Are you aware of what you have done?" Mrs. Lance asked her.
"All this would not have happened if you had not blocked my credit cards!" She raised her voice.
"Juliet, watch your manners," Her grandmother lifted her stick to hit her and she ran out.
Garrett turned and looked at Ethan.
"My goodness, do not tell me you were the one who ordered her credit cards to be blocked," Jessica yelled at him.
"It was to teach her a lesson," Ethan replied.
"You are such a big baby. Why would you do such a thing? I do not even know how you manage to hide your immaturity when you are in the pack," Jessica vented her anger.
"Are you going to keep blaming me? Should I call up your mother?" He asked.
"No, I am sorry. What you did was very mature of you. Do not call mom up," She held his hand.
"Fine. Have you had dinner yet?" Mrs. Lance asked them when they went outside.
"No," Jessica replied.
"I happened to prepare dinner. Do you mind joining us, sir?" Mrs. Lance smiled.
"Please say yes. This is the first time I will have a classmate coming over to my house," She held Jessica's hand and Jessica turned to look at Ethan.
"We would not mind," Ethan answered.
They arrive at the Lance family mansion. Nothing has changed in the past hundred years. The mansion still looked beautiful but still kept up with the modern trends.
Ethan came here when he was younger with his father. He came here to learn how the accounts were managed and how the money was disbursed.
The Lance family were very truthful in their dealings and till now none of them had betrayed their pack, which is why they were able to afford the life they were living. When Ethan took over as Alpha, he handed the school over to the Lance family to thank them for their hard work and dedication.
"Welcome into my humble home," Mrs. Lance welcomed them in.
"I will change up quickly and come out," Juliet told Jessica.
Ethan went to the study to speak with Mrs. Lance.
"Have you started finalizing everything?" He asked her.
"Yes, sir. I have started working on the accounts, I have been balancing them," She replied.
"Is there any other thing, May? You look as if you still have something to say", he asked her.
"Sir, Juliet is still a child and is not yet mature. She may argue over petty things and cause trouble, but she is a sweet child when you get to know her. I know that this arrangement had been made for years even before she was born. I cannot reject it because I know how much help we have received from your entire clan. I only ask that you be patient with her. She will learn everything she needs to know over time. You had to come back because of my disease and everything had to be rushed ahead of the proposed time. Juliet may not see how much love I have for her now, but she will realize it later and will only be able to trust you in the future," She said with tears in her eyes.
"I knew that you were sick but I do not understand why you needed to rush everything," Ethan said.
"The doctors told me that I have three months to live and they have not seen anyone with an extreme case of heart disease living more than three months. I needed to make sure that everything is well settled before I go. I know that you were reluctant to take another wife because you still love your dead wife, but all I ask is that you should not blame Juliet after the wedding. We have made many enemies over the centuries and they will come for her since I am not there anymore…" Mrs. Lance went on.
"It is okay, I will try my best to treat her well," Ethan said.
"You should open up to her and tell her the situation, let her know so that she will not regret her past actions later. Tell her about your sickness," He tapped her shoulder and left.
Mrs. May sighed and sat down on the chair. She did not want to ever have to tell Juliet the truth about her disease, but she understood Ethan. Juliet would definitely blame herself for being the cause of her death later on.
Garrett met Jessica on the balcony.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Garrett asked.
"What does it look like?" Jessica replied.
"I am only trying to start a conversation," he said.
"Well, I do not think I am interested," She left.
Jessica felt that Garrett had disregarded her feelings and kept her waiting without an answer. She could not stop loving him even if she tried.
He had hurt her unknowingly and even if he was far older than her he should not have treated her this way, disregarding her feelings because he felt she was too young.
"Jessica," He called her back.
She went back to the dining table.
Juliet saw Ethan coming out of her grandmother's study, the same study no one was allowed to enter and she was letting a stranger enter it. Something was wrong.
"What are you doing here? Why were you in grandmother's study?" She confronted him.
"Do you know anything about being polite?" He asked her.
"I am only wondering why you would be allowed to enter the same place I was never allowed to enter," She raised her voice.
"Do not raise your voice at me little girl, do you not have any manners?" he asked.
"Did your parents ever teach you manners? Why are you so disrespectful?" She raised her voice again.
Ethan growled and pushed her against the wall with his hands on her shoulder.