Gifted Connections 1

“Come on, Romeo,” Jemmy called as she removed some of our bags from the rear of the vehicle. “These bags aren’t going to unload themselves.”

“Yeah, come on,” Noah said. “After we help you with your bags we’ll give you the grand tour.” He said to me as he grabbed some bags as well.

“I’ll leave you to that,” Will said as he shifted Ella in his arms. “Good night, everyone.”

“Good night,” we all chorused back.

I grabbed some of the bags and followed Jemmy into the house.

We entered a huge, tiled mudroom from the garage. Some shoes were neatly placed in cubbies and winter coats hung by hooks. Everyone took off their shoes, so I followed suit.

“Sue comes in four times a week to clean. She’s Asian and hates for us to wear shoes in the house. She’s been with us twelve years, so she’s more family than our domestic help,” Jax explained. “I think she’s the only one that takes Dad to task, without fear,” he added with a grin.

I nodded as I took that information in and continued to follow Jemmy through the next door that boasted a large chef’s kitchen. The appliances were made of black stainless steel. The cabinets were dark, but the countertops contrasted nicely; they looked like they were made of concrete slabs, and the floor was made of a light neutral colored tile. A large island with a built-in sink, dishwasher, and gas range stove dominated the middle of the room, and a raised bar was attached to it with eight barstools next to it. You could comfortably eat in here or walk twenty feet to the dining room to the left. It boasted a large circular table that comfortably sat twelve people.

Jemmy led me through the dining room and we entered the front foyer. The staircase separated the foyer from the dining room and living room. I briefly looked into the living room that you had to step down into; it had a large fireplace, numerous windows, several seating options, and beautiful dark hardwood floors. A large pure white area rug made of plush faux fur looked welcoming in the middle of the floor. I looked up and saw that the top of the stairs looked down over the foyer and living room.

“Pops, J

ace, Remy, and Troy have rooms down there,” Jemmy explained to me, pointing to the right as we got to the top landing.

She led me to the left where I had a better view of the living room and passed two doors and lightly tapped on the third one. “This is my room, next to yours,” she smiled widely. She opened the fourth door and spun in a circle, bags in hand. “This is your room.”

It was beyond huge; our whole trailer could have fit in this one room. I gaped at the king size bed that dominated the middle of the room. Double doors to the right of the room looked like they led to outside.

“Walk-in closet,” Jemmy opened the door to the left, and then she opened the door to the right of the double French doors. “Bathroom, you have to share it with Ella,” she grimaced. “But we figured you guys might not mind, and that’s her room through that door.”

I barely registered Ella’s door as I noticed the huge jacuzzi tub and large walk-in shower. Whoever decorated these spaces had an elegant, modern touch, and I felt like I may have been dreaming. Never did I think I would ever stay in a place like this. “I don’t mind. I’d much rather have it that way.”

I wished I could sink into a bath right then and there, but I knew it was also a stalling tactic. Somewhere in this house Drake and Rose were here. Eventually, I would have to meet her since I was connected to the man she loved.

Will had suggested that we refrain from coming out and telling people about our connections, but we knew it was only a matter of time before people figured it out. At first, I’m sure people will think I was just added to the Bell clan. It wasn’t unheard of, although, it had been years since Will personally took an ‘orphan’ in. He had other gifted families that volunteered for that now.

We decided to keep as many people in the dark as possible, for now. Even the board was unaware of my real purpose here. There were some people Will had known since the institute days; people that followed him here and helped him set up a more conducive and nurturing environment for the gifted. They even branched out to accept all children. Most of the younger children that attended this prestigious school had no connections to the gifted at all. Their parents sent them to a boarding school that was known for its strong academics, sports, and music program. They liked the fact that their children weren’t held back or expected to catch up with their peers. Each child had a program designed specifically for them. Thus, the reason why I was now attending two college classes and hoped to get into the college music program. On the other hand, I would probably be surrounded by people much younger than me for my gifts training.

“Come on, let’s get some of your things put away before the boys come back,” Jemmy bade from my room.

“Okay,” I shrugged as I followed her into the walk-in closet attached to my bedroom. I gaped. “It’s bigger than the room Ella and I use to share.”

Jemmy giggled. “It’s nice to know this waits for us on the weekends. Our dorms aren’t so lavish. When I first moved in here, I couldn’t understand how six people could live in such a huge house. Sue cleans the main parts of the house, but our rooms and bathrooms are our responsibility to keep clean.”

I nodded. “That’s no problem. Why can’t we stay here during the week since we are so close to the school?”

Jemmy sighed, clearly this was a sore subject with her. “Pops doesn’t want us to receive any special treatment. Thus, the reason why I have a horrible roommate at school, but all the board members’ children stay in the school until they graduate. Some of them stay until they graduate college, they love it so much.”

I started to unpack my shopping bags, pleased to see my trunk had made it to my closet. Jemmy made short work of hanging, folding, and putting my purchases away. I noticed that I already had several blazers, blouses, polos, and skirts hung up. I assumed the grey, powder blue, and white clothing was my uniforms.

I held up one of my skirts, looking at it. “Uniforms?” I asked with my eyebrows raised.

“Yes,” Jemmy confirmed for me. “No pants for females. Will and the founders were extremely traditional when they founded the school. Your dorm room will have your gym uniforms and more school uniforms waiting for you. It’s not all that bad,” she said at my look of skepticism. “I try to jazz it up with accessories, tights, knee-highs, thigh-highs, shoes, and I even ‘borrow’ the guys’ ties on occasion.”

It was what it was, and there was no use stressing over it. I stepped out into my room to find Noah and Jax reclining on the bed and pulling items out of a bag.

I was mortified that they had found my bag of unmentionables. I wasn’t normally into unfunctional underwear and bra’s, but I couldn’t resist getting the cute, lacy underthings that Jemmy favored so much. She didn’t need to convince me too hard to get some cute bra and underwear sets. Although, I had gotten some functional underwear as well.

I snatched the bras and underwear from their hands. I wish my foot hadn’t caught the edge of the rug at that time because I was unceremoniously dumped into their laps. “What are you doing?” I huffed breathlessly.

Jax chuckled as he readjusted me on their laps. “We thought we could help you unpack.”