CHAPTER 2

Quinn's POV

After two hours of apologising and begging Amie, I was finally on my way back home. I sat down in the car tiredly, almost dozing off. The time I spent with Amie wasn't funny at all, but, by the way, all she said was true. I tried to make her understand, but no, she stood her ground. I expected it anyway; I expected it to be hard.

"Miss Quinn?"

"Yes

"Do you want to go home straight or...

"Yes, of course, I'm going home straight." I heard him say, "Ohhh."

"Why did you ask? '' I mean, he has never asked me any questions before, like he's so good at his job, always following whatever instructions you give, which makes me wonder where this one came from. I know he's not the chatty type but a hard worker; I remember he told me his story before. His name is Joshua, and he is an orphan who has a younger brother. He lived a very tough life.

"Nothing, just asking."

"Ohhh, okay then," I said, still wondering why the question was. Probably it's because of my mood, right? I shook my head and closed my eyes, resting my head on the seat again. Maybe it's because of tomorrow's event; I mean, that's why I'm brooding over every single thing, even irrelevant ones.

I felt the car stop moving, and I opened my eyes to see that we were already in front of my house. I didn't even notice when the gate was opened. I got out of the car slowly. I took my time to stare at the building in front of me. I remembered the day he brought us here; it was too good to be true. It felt like we were dreaming even now. Why did he choose to help us in the first place? I sighed deeply again. I guess I will know very soon.

As soon as I stepped inside the house, I realised Jayden's friends were still there. I could hear their voices coming from the kitchen. I turned towards the kitchen, wondering why they were laughing so hard there. "Ohh, Ohhh'' was the only thing I could say before bursting into laughter too, and that announced my presence.

I now get the reason for their laughter. Apparently one of them was learning how to cook from Granny, and what? He looked like he was dying. He was technically crying because of the onions he was slicing. I stayed with them, and we all ended up cooking the food together, and then eating afterwards.

It's late already. Jayden's friends decided to sleep over; the five of them had been friends since we were on the street. We hustled together. That made me remember my conversation with Amie. I sighed again. I wasn't able to convince her. I just hope she's going to keep her promise and come see me tomorrow before I leave.

After thinking for about an hour, I took my phone and dialled the number he gave me; to my surprise, he picked it up almost immediately and even spoke first.

"Yes?"

"Uhm, I want to know more about this trip." Okay, that was a very stupid thing for me to say; he was clear enough the last time. I will know everything once I get there.

I heard him laugh from the other side and say, "You know you're just wasting your time, right?" I don't know what to say; he's right. I knew the conditions before signing the contract.

Before I could reply, he said, "What exactly did you call for? I'm very busy."

"I was hoping I would at least know the name of the school. Because.....my grandmother said she wouldn't let me go unless I told her." I couldn't help but lie, but it's fair if I know it, right?

"Okay, I don't care if your grandmother will let you come or not." What? I'm speechless right now.

"Ohhhh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasted your time." I think he was too harsh earlier, but what was I expecting anyway?

"Bye," I said, and I was about to hang up when he said, "Stars College."

"What did you say?" I asked to be sure I wasn't just hearing things.

"That's the name of the school," he said immediately.

I was surprised, Stars? I haven't heard of it before. I browsed on my phone, and here are the results. It's a school owned by one of America's wealthiest businessmen, billionaire William Moore.

"WOW" is all I could say after reading about William Moore, a man in his late seventies who has achieved a lot. He has four sons and two daughters, but surprisingly, he didn't announce any one of them as his heir.

He's the CEO of The Best Company, which is the most famous entertainment industry and record label in America.

He has some other companies in other countries as well; Stars College was one of them. The school was named after his youngest grandson, and rumours have it that Star is going to be the next CEO of The Best Company, but William hasn't said anything yet.

Another thing about Stars College is that the management is generous; even though the owner is a billionaire, they accept students from the middle class and even give out scholarships often. Their fees are quite affordable.

Now the question I keep asking myself is: Why am I going there?

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard someone knocking on my door. "Come in," I said.

"My baby," it was Granny. She came in carrying a tray of some dessert, and I stood to help her with it. Granny is getting old already; she's in her late sixties now, so she needs to be taken care of. We both sat on the sofa in my room, placing the tray on the small table in front of it.

"Grandma, why are you not asleep by now?"

"You know why, Quinn," she said. I get what she meant.

"Honestly, you don't know how difficult this is for me. Your mother only told me she was going to see a friend for help, but she left and never returned, letting you go too. It's... Granny has already burst into tears.

I almost almost told my grandmother about everything—the deal and everything else. I felt so emotional and disappointed in my mother; she should have stayed with us. It took everything in me to stop myself.

I hugged Granny; we both cried to our satisfaction, and I fell asleep afterwards.