Episode 2: [English Mansion]

New EnglandJanuary

The drive had been no different from the one from her varsity to home. A murky scene of large forest trees blanketed in fog.

Kacey's family had organized for her a personal chauffeur to drive to and from the mansion. She usually would have chosen to get around herself, most definitely got lost along the way although enjoying her way of site seeing.

"Miss Troy, we have arrived," prompted the Englishman driver in a firm tone. She had been sitting in the backseat all this time and couldn't get a look at the man. His black and silver hair had been sleeked back in a low ponytail, and black thick sunglasses hooded the rest of his features.

Kacey got out to mist hovering around the house and lightly begun to clear up and revealing a massive, almost thirty-story high mansion. A décor exterior of antique late 1800s English building, large windows leading up to a single balcony on the highest floor. An off-white colour painting walls mingled in-between greenery vines latched against it. Her sneakers meeting the clashing of rock and stone, crunching beneath her as she walked on.

She walked up to the concrete stairs with the sound of her suitcases trailing behind her by the chauffeur. The sound echoing into the surrounding trees that almost seemed to guard the house.

The tall forest trees had been the only scenery from which could be seen out each window. All except the highest floor a balcony was on.

She awkwardly approached the huge door, not sure where to knock, as it was embedded with white crystal like stone and intricate carvings of rose patterns. A silver thick chain hung above, but before she could grab hold of it the door creaked opened, slightly ajar. It only revealed a silt of the home inside before shutting again.

The next time, the door proceeded to open slightly further, however slowly shutting one more. Kacey, not sure what to make of this, put her hand on the door and halted it. The door was far heavier than she imagined. She found herself leaning against it to stop it from closing.

She turned to her side to beckon the chauffeur to aid her, but her seemed to have driven away after dropping her luggage on the stairs in front of her.

"Hey, can you push a little harder!" muffled a soft voice beneath her. Doing as the voice commanded, she put all her weight onto it and managed to completely open the door.

"Thanks," he said, and she looked down to meet a little boy aged seven or eight, she thought. It seemed he had been struggling to open the door, hence it was opening and shutting closed in before her.

"Aniki, is upstairs in the shower" he then told her and somewhat answering her mindful question of why he was opening the door for her.

The boy half her height stood in front of her, amidst what seemed to be a front desk from a luxury hotel behind him. In his accent and usage of the word 'aniki', Kacey related to Japanese.

She remembered working on an article based in Japan for one of her journalism classes, Aniki being a term used for an older brother or superior. His brown tinted hair lay a mess of a bowl cut, some parts waved and others straight under a rosy cheek face. He wore a striped line blue and white shirt and black jeans, with only white socks on his feet.

"Sincerest apologies, Miss Troy" a panting front desk worker said while rushed behind the front desk and adjusting himself. A young man maybe a year or two older than her wore a green suit and his flushed pink face dabbed with a napkin from his front pocket. He stared quizzically at her up and down, before scrambling over into the rows of draws behind them.

The front desk's interior had been lit up by orange hues of fluorescent bulbs hung from the ceiling. A large emerald green couch seat to one side and gold embedded frame of a mirror to on the other side of the room.

Kacey looked into the mirror, eyeing herself in red sneaker shoes, dark blue denim jeans and white long sleeved top. She left her messy caramel curls that framed her face. Realizing the man's judgement of herself, was as her fashion that clashed with the regal name of the Troy's.

Choosing to ignore his remark, she walked up to the desk and asked for the room's key.

A crashing sound interrupted them, both stare at the scene of the boy laying covered in black and purple suitcases. Kacey turned to face the man, looked at his gold nameplate on the pocket of his chest.

"Junior Pilloweather, do you mind helping me with luggage?" she asked with a flashed grin. He nodded a nervous 'yes', rounded the desk, and both headed over to help the boy.

"Little sir, Harada, where is your brother?" Junior asked through seethed teeth in annoyance, while gripping his forearm.

"I told you to call me, Jiro!" he responded, angry, and tried to free himself from the bellboy's grip.

"Well, uhh- Jiro thanks for trying to help me" noticing the silver key on the desk, Kacey grabs hold of it and walks back over to their quarrelling. She dangled the keys and Junior, distracted, rushed to her.

"Uhm- yes Miss Troy, that would be the keys to your suite, and I'll be taking you there in a minute" he rambled and attempted to pick up her luggage, heading to the elevator gate behind him. He seemed to be roughly the same height and build as Kacey, as he walks beside her.

Both him and Jiro, followed along with luggage in hand, and step into the elevator. All three inside, the lights flickered on and off once as the creaky elevator gate closed in front of them.

"So that's the go ahead, huh?" she asked, interpreting the lights a signal to when the elevator ride starts.

"No, Miss Troy, that never happens" he began nervously and added "I'll be sure to contact the head office for a double check on the routine maintenance."

Kacey noted his reaction as one of employer and employee, which she reminded herself that she was indeed the new owner.

"Yeah, thanks" she replied awkwardly.

Before arriving to New England, Kacey got a call from Aunt Elizabeth explaining the mansion's current situation.

In order to, generate funds after her late grandfather's retirement. He turned his mansion home into a flat- style complex. Interestingly enough, not many people had wanted to make the home of the luxury mansion, as it was far from most civilization and inconvenience for getting around to and from the building. After much waiting, a few residential families moved in and Jiro Harada had been one of them so far.

After a long wait riding up, they reached a long hallway stretching up to a grand double door.

"Welcome to Newman Heights,"

bellboy, Junior Pilloweather, cheered and his voice alongside the falling of Kacey's luggage echoed throughout the passage.