"You must be Miss Lynette," the woman said in greeting, "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Nancy Owens, the housekeeper."
It took me a second to shake out of my stupor and I quickly greeted her back, "O-Oh yes. Nice to meet you."
She smiled and said, "Unfortunately, your father is out on a business trip at the moment and won't be back until tomorrow so he wasn't able to welcome you."
"Oh. Um, that's fine," I replied unsure how to react. I mean, I wasn't really expecting a grand welcome or anything but I did feel a little sad and maybe awkward that he wasn't here to meet me upon arrival. But then again, he is the CEO of a big company so he's probably a very busy man. I shouldn't be too upset I suppose.
"Why don't I show you around? A small tour? George will bring your suitcase in so don't worry about it," Ms Owens said.
"That would be appreciated," I breathed. With a house this big, a tour was very much needed otherwise I would definitely get lost.
"Wonderful! Let's start with the foyer..." she began saying while walking up the stairs motioning for me to follow her.
The tour lasted roughly forty-five minutes. It would've probably been faster if we were in a rush but we took our time and Ms. Owens made sure to explain what every room was for, whose bedroom was whose, and where I could and couldn't go. The places I couldn't enter were my father's office, his bedroom, and the bedrooms of my brothers which was understandable. Other than that, I was pretty much free to go anywhere I wanted.
Once the tour was finished, she finally took me to where I would be staying; my bedroom.
"And here is your bedroom," she said opening the door.
I looked inside as the door opened and my eyes widened involuntarily.
"It's a little simple but you're free to decorate it however you want," Ms. Owens said.
This was simple?
It was a big bedroom. Way bigger than my previous bedroom back where I used to live in the apartment. The bed was most likely queen-size and it had light grey and white pillows and a duvet. The walls were beige in colour with no decorations and the floor was covered by a grey carpet. There was a small dressing table with a mirror sitting above it by the wall facing the right side of the bed. The wall facing the left side of the bed had a cream-coloured wardrobe and matching dresser. And finally, just a couple of steps away from the door was a small desk and chair with a bookshelf.
"This is perfect," I said honestly. In fact, it was better than perfect.
Ms. Owens seemed pleased, "Well then, I'm glad you like it. You also have access to your own private bathroom as the rest of the family has."
Wow. The rich really live in another world.
The housekeeper said, "Your suitcase is there beside your bed. I believe the rest of your belongings are due to arrive in a couple of days, correct?"
Still in the middle of admiring the place, I took a minute to respond and blinked, "Oh uh that's right. It's just a couple of boxes with some important items from my old apartment. It shouldn't take up that much room."
Surprisingly, she snorted and said, "Dear, have you seen this place? There is far too much room if you ask me."
I couldn't help but smile at her words. She wasn't wrong. This mansion was incredibly big and there was a lot of space to put stuff. Regardless, I didn't want to impose so I had thrown away and donated loads of stuff that wasn't of any importance. I only kept the things that were an important reminder of my mother and some other items I had a sentimental attachment to.
"Right," she clapped her hands together, "I'll go now and leave you to settle in and after that, you can come down to the kitchen for a snack. And before I forget to mention, your brothers won't be home until this evening since they have extracurricular activities after school."
Brothers. Right. I forgot I had them.
The thought of having siblings made me nervous. As if having a wealthy father wasn't enough, I also had a pair of brothers that I have literally zero memories of. I know that they were a set of twins and both older than me by two years but that was about it.
As Ms Owens left the room, I slowly sat down on the mattress on top of the duvet and began contemplating.
'I've heard a lot of nasty stories about rich kids but I don't want to assume that they're the same. I wonder what they'll think of me...what do I do if they don't like me? How should I talk to them?'
Ugh, I'm just getting nauseous thinking about it. Hopefully, everything goes well tonight and I don't make a fool out of myself.
——————[oo]——————
I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking my suitcase and sorting out my clothes. I placed them neatly in the wardrobe and the dresser before I placed my suitcase under the bed; hiding it away. My bathroom necessities like my toothbrush and face wash were placed in the bathroom on the sink and I ended up taking a warm shower at the end of it all. I was feeling icky from the journey so I had a quick shower to freshen up.
Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped myself in an already-prepared fluffy white towel and proceeded to dry myself. After that, I put on some clothes - a baby blue T-shirt and a pair of three-quarter jeans - before brushing my short neck-length hair. As I looked at myself in the mirror, I could see traces of my mother's features.
The brown hair, pointy yet small nose, and heart-shaped face. The only thing I didn't inherit from her were my blue eyes and thin lips.
Seeing my own face in the mirror, my mother's face overlapped with mine and I flinched back before shutting my eyes and taking a breath.
It's only been just over a week since...she died. Although I was in a much better mental state than before, it still pained me to think about her and I doubt this pain will stop anytime soon. I've heard it takes people months to recover from the death of a loved one and I'm inclined to believe so. When someone so close to your heart dies, they take a piece of your heart with them.
"I miss you, Mom," I whispered out loud leaning on the sink, gripping the edges. "Why did you leave me so soon..."
A lone tear fell down the side of my cheek and I sniffled, wrestling against another crying session.
After calming down, I took a deep breath and breathed out through my mouth.
It's fine. It'll be fine. I'm a strong teenage girl that can handle anything.
That was definitely a lie.