"Hey Authur, can you stop over at Dylan's? He has asked to travel with us." Mason told the chauffeur.
Watching him from the rearview mirror, the chauffeur replied, "Okay Mr Scott"
Mason proceeded to call Dylan to tell him that he was almost at his place. When Dylan picked up, he confirmed that he was ready. As they drove into Dylan's family driveway, Mason could see him talking to his mother from the living room window, so he came out of the car to say "hello" to Dylan's mother. He walked to the door and pressed on the doorbell that was opened by the butler who bowed slightly at him.
"Hey Ramsey, how's it going?" He greeted the Butler and slightly tapped the old man on his shoulder.
"Very well, Sir Mason. Thanks for asking"
Mason made way into the living room where Dylan and his mother, Sharon Barns, were talking.
"Hey Mrs Barns" Mason called out as he walked into the living room, interrupting their conversation.
"Oh hey sweetie" Sharon said in her ever almost singing tone. "How's your mum? We are supposed to have lunch together today" She continued, moving in for a hug.
"She's okay" He replied as he hugged her briefly.
"I'll just go get my stuff" Dylan announced and then left for his room.
"Um, Ramsey?" Shirley called the butler.
"Yes, Mrs Barns" Ramsey replied and appeared in less than 5 seconds after he was called.
"Please help Dylan take his bags outside" Then she turned to Mason to continue having a small chat with him. That's when she noticed his shirt.
"That's a weird statement." She said pointing at the inscription on his t-shirt.
"It's a reference from a series I used to watch about two years ago. It's called game of thrones" Mason explained but Sharon still didn't understand why he'd wear that. She would surely bring it up when she will be with his mother later today. Thankfully, Dylan came back and announced to his mother that he was ready.
"Dylan baby, have you seen game of thrones? Mase has a reference from the movie on his shirt that I thought was weird but now I want to see where he got the reference from." She called out to Dylan who was coming back to the living room.
"Er... Yeah, it's a series. Like seven seasons and a couple of episodes." He responded without looking at the inscription on Mason's shirt.
"I think we should see it together someday" she said "I'd say, maybe when you come home for Christmas?" She continued.
"Mum, you want to see game of thrones with me? The series ended years ago." Dylan didn't want to rewatch a series he had already seen but he also did not want to make his mum feel left out so he said, But ermm, how about we discuss this later? I told Mase I'll be ready before he came". He didn't want to continue talking about a series he'd rather not see with his mother. He didn't like the series and he knew his mother wouldn't like it either but it was better her curiosity died a natural death than if he tried to kill it.
"Okay then. I'll miss you boys. Come give me a hug" She stood up and stretched out her hands for a hug from Dylan but she peered at Mason and said, "Uh, Mason, come in here."
The boys gave her a hug and when they were done, she walked them outside the door and watched their ride leave.
Once in the car, Mason asked Dylan, "Are you really gonna rewatch the series you barely even watched"
"Bro, I'm just gonna let this one die." He looked at Mason shirt—noticing it for the first time—and said, "That's a nice shirt by the way. Where did you get it?"
Mason looked at the shirt, shrugged and said, "Yeah, Michael gave it to me for my birthday. It was just laying around and I decided to wear it today."
"That's cool. So, how are your folks?"
"My dad and I got into this stupid fight. He's just really annoying."
"What did he do?"
"Got mad that I called him father instead of dad"
Dylan chuckled dryly and said, "So, that's it?"
"Pretty much. Then he goes on to talk crap about my games. Bro, the man makes me sick but I put up with him because of my mum, she wouldn't leave him even though he's a jerk."
"Crazy. Sometimes, just ignore him"
"Ignore Collins Scott? Even when I do, the man finds a way to just say or do something just to get me all the way pissed."
"Damn. So, what will you do about it?"
"Make him more miserable by being me. He's already sick of me." Mason replied with a smirk. Dylan noticed so he just nudged him and said, "Just ignore him. Atleast he's not trying to be best friends with you. My mum has been trying to be best friends with me all summer."
"What are you? 11?" Mason teased him and starting laughing at Dylan who just sat there shaking his head.
"So, how is the new game coming on? You started working on it last week, right?"
"It's still not ready. I plan on working on it on the flight"
"How far gone are you though?"
"50% work done" Mason looked like he was proud of himself.
"Nice"
The rest of the drive was peaceful as both guys browsed through social media either laughing at a funny meme or just listening to random songs on their phones.
"We're here, Mr Scott" Authur announced as soon as they arrived at the airport.
"Okay, thank you." Turning to Dylan, he nudged him and said, "We're here."
They walked into the private jet terminal and the private jet was ready. They were greeted by the middle age Pilot and the flight attendants who wore a friendly smile welcoming the boys on board.
When they were settled, the Pilot came to introduce himself and inform them of safety procedures as the common practice. He also told them how long the flight was expected to be and assured them of their safety. When he was done, the flight attendants came to see if they wanted anything.
"Nothing for now, we'll let you know if we need y'all" Dylan responded friendly as he picked up the Forbes magazine that was on the glass table in between him and Mason.
Mason brought out his laptop and continued working on the new game he was programming. He connected his airpods to his phone and played his "work" playlist that comprised of different classical music. Classical music helped him concentrate and work better. The flight was for five hours and he needed to make the most out of it.
After every 20 minutes, he would call the flight attendants to get him water or some fruits. When Dylan was done, he started listening to some of his favorite podcasts. After about two hours of listening to podcasts, he was tired. He called on the flight attendant, requested for a blanket and slept for the rest of the flight.
When the pilot announced that they had gotten to their destination, Mason had completed 70% of his new game.
While they got off the plane, they moved to the private jet lounge to wait for their ride. The wait lasted for fifteen minutes but while they waited, Mason called the housing estate agent that had been in charge of providing accommodation for him and his friend throughout their stay in New York while they schooled. She confirmed the location of their new apartment and assured him that she'll be waiting for them at their house to hand them the keys immediately they get there.
The call lasted for five minutes and he stood at a corner making the call when he saw her. He was distracted by how beautiful she was. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail. She wore an oversized sweater which showed off her long and beautiful legs that was in a thigh-high boot. She looked like a runway model with a precised yet graceful strut. She walked in the middle of two other girls but she caught his attention. People were staring but who could blame them, the woman was a goddess and she knew she had that effect on people. I bet she has blue eyes, or green, he thought.
"Okay then, see you soon" he said into the phone. The call had ended but he continued to stare at the blonde girl. He wanted to stop but he couldn't.
Dang it! he thought. She had caught him staring but she was staring back. How is she staring and hasn't tripped? She's definitely a runway model, he thought. He felt the side of his lips curving into a smile. He could swear she smiled back. He was embarrassing himself and also being rude but he didn't stop staring, he couldn't.
Their little stare contest was brought to an end when one of her friends nudged her to talk to her.
Wait, was she distracted too? He thought.
It doesn't matter, her friend saved him for further embarrassing himself. As they left, he turned and walked back to where Dylan sat.
"Why are you smiling?" Dylan asked
"What?" He caught himself smiling and couldn't believe he was still smiling. He was smiling at the thought of distracting her too. Now he had to feign ignorance to his pal. He knew Dylan will see through it.
"You were smiling bro, like you just saw your crush. The last time I ever saw that stupid grin on your face was the time you had a crush on Samantha."
"I wasn't smiling. You don't know what you saw."
"Dude, maybe I don't know what today's date is, but I know that smile because it doesn't come often but when it does, I can immediately recognize it. It wasn't even there with Jessica. Look, whoever she is, I give you my blessings" Dylan said in the most genuine way.
"Dude, you're tripping." Mason replied avoiding his eyes and trying to act cold and ruthless.
Just then, a member of the cabin crew came to them and said, "Mr Williams? We have prepared your ride. Your luggages are being taken to your ride as we speak"
Happy that he no longer has to continue the conversation, Mason replied, "Okay, we're ready", and got up.
"You can't run away from this." Dylan called back as he walked to catch up with him, even though he was moving a little faster to avoid having the conversation.
"Drop it man, it's old news" Mason called back.
When they got to their ride, the chauffeur held the door and welcomed them to New York. They nodded in both acknowledgement and appreciation.