Chapter 1. Meeting Serenity

Lucas drove up to his huge palatial mansion and instructed the guards to allow Alexander inside. He drove through the gigantic gates and parked on the tiled courtyard in front of a sprawling white stone building. A sparkling fountain with a marble statue of Apollo adorned the entrance. With the main building and adjacent buildings nicely interconnected around a large swimming pool, it looked more like a palace than someone's home.

Alexander parked his motorcycle and dismounted. “Are you sure you want me to go inside? I’m not dressed properly,” said Alexander with apprehension.

“Of course I want you to come in with me. It’s okay. It’s just home,” coaxed Lucas, dragging him inside by his arm.

They entered from the backyard door into the main building. His dad, Eric Parker, had just arrived home after a conference to have his lunch. He seemed to discuss something with his mom, Eugene Parker, in the living room while their housekeeper Kathy served lunch. They looked up as Lucas entered, tugging Alexander along with him.

“Mom, Dad, meet my best friend, Alexander Dawson. He saved me from a gruesome attack by some bad boys of the college,” said Lucas, and Alexander smiled, a little embarrassed at all the attention.

“Alex, this is my dad, Eric Parker, and my mom, Eugene Parker,” Lucas introduced.

“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Parker, nice to meet you,” said Alexander, coming forward to shake hands with Lucas’s dad.

Instead, his dad embraced Alexander and said, “Call me uncle Eric.”

Alexander liked him already. No one had ever embraced him like Lucas’s dad. His mom too hugged him. "I’m aunt Eugene," she said and Alexander nodded. “Have lunch with us, Alex,” she invited. He looked at Lucas’s parents longingly, wishing in his heart that he, too, had parents of his own.

“I can’t, aunt Eugene. I have work at 3 o’clock,” he said, looking at the wall clock.

“You’re just eighteen. Where do you work, son?” asked Lucas’s dad.

“At a garage, uncle Eric,” said Alexander, looking down at his feet. He knew how billionaires were. They looked down upon people who were poor.

“What about your parents? Where do they work?” Asked Lucas’s mom.

“I’m an orphan. I’ve never seen my parents, actually. A distant uncle of mine brought me up, but he died last year from excessive drinking. Ever since, I had been escaping from the officials to avoid going to foster homes. This year I’ve turned eighteen and they’ve left me at peace,” said Alexander as everyone listened to him spellbound.

A gasp made Alexander turn around and he saw the most beautiful girl on earth standing and listening to what he said. He felt embarrassed, since he never shared his personal details with anyone. He didn’t know why he talked so much with Lucas and his family. The girl wasn’t over sixteen years of age. Her expressive, stunning blue eyes stared back at him. They touched a chord in his heart. He couldn’t look away, staring at her spellbound.

“Hey Sera, meet my best friend, Alexander,” introduced Lucas. The girl came forward, shyly.

“Alexander, this is my only sister, Serenity. She’s just turned sixteen,” Lucas introduced, drawing Serenity near.

“Hi,” said Serenity, but Alexander was too tongue-tied to speak. He just nodded and a small smile played on his lips.

“There’s a lot of time left. You can have lunch with us, son,” said Lucas’s mom, and she led everyone to the dining room. Liam, his younger brother, rushed inside, and Lucas introduced him to Alexander. They instantly clicked as they shared the same interest in cars.

“My Mercedes is giving me some problems. Don’t know what happened. I’ll take it to the service station soon,” said Lucas’s dad.

“I can check it if you will allow me to,” said Alexander, and Lucas’s dad looked at him with awe.

“Please do. At least tell me what’s wrong with it,” he said, and Alexander nodded. Lunch was served and everyone hungrily tucked into the Hoisin sauce-glazed salmon burgers, smothered pork chops served with potato wedges, Cobb salad, and key lime pie. It was the most delicious food Alexander had ever tasted. He usually skipped his lunch as he hardly got time to prepare anything before his garage duty. With the little money he had, eating out wasn’t even an option for him.

“This is fantastic, aunt Eugene. Thank you. The best food I’ve ever had,” he said, and Lucas’s mom smiled at him.

Alexander was extremely aware of Serenity from across the table. She took in his conversations with avid interest, her stunning blue eyes taking in everything, although she spoke little. Their eyes met frequently and Alexander felt his heart thump loudly in his chest. It never happened to him before, and he was confused.

After lunch, Lucas’s dad took him to his garage, where there were many expensive cars parked. Lucas too followed them along with Liam.

“This is a beauty, uncle Eric,” said Alexander, running his fingers along the smooth body of the car. “What’s the problem that you’re facing?” he asked.

“Well, the engine is stalling suddenly and refusing to start again. The carriage is vibrating while speeding down,” said Lucas’s dad. Alexander nodded and inspected the car while the others looked on.

“There is a little damage to the engine harness wire insulation, uncle Eric. It needs to be replaced,” said Alexander. “I don’t have the parts or the tools to do it now.”

“Thank you, son. I’ll get it done from the service center, but it’s better to know beforehand else they’d slap extra charges for doing nothing,” said Lucas’s dad, and everyone agreed.

Alexander looked up and got lost again in Serenity’s stunning eyes as she stood near the garage entrance, watching them silently. He was getting impatient for a chance to speak to her, to hear her sweet voice, to see her plump lips call his name. But he was getting late for his garage duty.

“I’ll have to leave now, uncle Eric,” he said, and Lucas’s dad patted his shoulder.

“Come tomorrow again, son. I’ll show you another car,” he said with a wink and left to go into the house. Liam fist-bumped with Alexander and left, too. Lucas held him by the shoulders and led him out of the garage. Alexander turned and saw Serenity walking towards the pool. He longed to be with her, but with Lucas around, he didn’t get any chance to.

He climbed onto his bike and his eyes searched for Serenity while Lucas chatted about college and Miss Wilkerson. He spotted her sitting at the edge of the swimming pool; her legs dipped into the water. Their eyes met, and she smiled shyly. It bowled Alexander over. He was mesmerized by her smile. He smiled back and fixed his helmet, his eyes not leaving hers as he held her gaze. A shiver of excitement coursed through him. He saw her creamy bare legs from the short sundress dipped into the water. What he would give to be able to sit beside her!

“See you at college then, dude,” said Lucas, and Alexander came out of his hypnotic state and nodded.

“Yeah, see you,” he said and started his motorcycle and rode away.

All the way to the garage, Alexander only thought about Serenity. He had never noticed any girl before, like he noticed Serenity. He felt an attraction towards her, which he couldn’t fathom.

All his life, he had been alone, lonely, and unloved. His mom had died giving birth to him and his dad left him with a distant cousin of his before committing suicide. He didn’t have any photographs of them. His dad’s distant cousin, Frank Boyer, was an alcoholic. He made Alexander work for him since childhood and abused him to no end. Alexander had a hard time trying to please his uncle and earn some money doing minor jobs.

But Alexander never complained, as uncle Frank’s house was better than being in a foster home or in an orphanage. He worked hard and studied on his own, borrowing books from his neighbor’s son, Seth, who was a year older than him.

Alexander appeared for an entrance examination and received a full scholarship for his schooling at Seth’s school because of his brilliant performance. He studied hard and graduated from school and, being the class valedictorian, received a 100% free scholarship for his further studies.

His uncle expired because of renal failure and he was free.

Alexander sighed and finished his work at the garage. It was already 9 o’clock at night and he returned to his small, one-room shabby home on the outskirts of Vegas. It was all he was left with after his uncle’s death. He took a refreshing shower and ate some bread for dinner, swallowing it down with water.

He lay down on his rickety bed and thought about his day. He thought about Lucas. He thought about Lucas’s wonderful family. Then he thought about Serenity, smiling to himself. He fell asleep dreaming about Serenity as a smile lingered on his lips.