Sandville High
By
Kelvin O’Ralph
SEASON 1
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Kelvin O’Ralph
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Sandville High
Copyright © 2014 Kelvin O’Ralph
www.kelvinoralph.net
“It is better to fail after trying, than regret not trying.”
Kelvin O’Ralph
Characters
Ben Michelson – A junior editor in the biggest publishing company in Sandville. .
Sandra Michelson – Ben’s wife.
Jessica Michelson – Sandra’s daughter.
Eric Michelson – Jessica’s twin brother
Ralph Milton – neighbor of the Michelsons
Emma Milton – Ralph’s daughter.
Blair Milton – Emma’s sister.
Stefan King – Eric’s classmate
Julian King – Stefan’s dad and renowned lawyer
Martha King – Julian’s wife and Stefan’s mom
Miguel Rossi – Brad’s colleague and senior partner in the biggest Law Firm in Sandville
Antonio Pedro – Jessica’s boyfriend
Lucas ‘Luke’ Davis – Eric’s best friend
Megan Riley – Jessica’s childhood friend.
Michelle Iris – Ben’s friend and Jessica’s godmother
Mr Cooper – History Teacher
Nicholas ‘Nick’ Andres Gonzalez – Stefan’s friend.
Dr. Pedro – Antonio’s mother.
Sheriff Hunway – the Sheriff of Sandville
Rachel Briggs – Michelle’s cousin
Charles Ditch – Luke’s friend
Dr Thompson – Replacement doctor for Dr Pedro
Jerry O’Connor – Principal of Sandville High
Coach Stevens – Basketball Coach
Dr Fletcher – Head of Pathology Department and Dr Thompson’s friend.
Chapter One
Ben Michelson climbed down the stairs and headed to the kitchen in his grey suit. He reached for the coffee maker that sat on the slab beside the fridge and poured a cup, whilst glancing through his smart phone. He was running late to work and needed to have some caffeine in his system to begin his day. His wife, Sandra, stood a few meters away from him. She was wearing a flowery apron above her sweatshirt, and held a serving spoon in her hand “Honey, are you sure you won’t wait for breakfast?” she asked, sharing an omelet between two plates that lay on the marble slab that was in the middle of the kitchen.
Ben shook his head as he gulped down his coffee. “I’m in a hurry, sweetheart. Next month’s issue is almost ready for print and I have to go through it for the last time. Besides, I have a meeting with the board by 10,” he said.
“Okay. If you insist,” Sandra said. She glanced at the mini clock on the wall opposite her. “Jess, Eric, get down here you two,” she yelled. Then she shared a can of beans between the two plates and motioned to her husband. “I have a couple of books to review today and I don’t even know where to begin.” She sighed, adding, “The life of a blogger.”
“You mean the life of a house wife,” Ben said. Sandra chuckled, shaking her head. This was the only thing he often said to overshadow the qualities of his thirty-eight year old wife. She was as tall as him and possessed the body of a Greek goddess. Her golden brown hair fell perfectly on her shoulders, and she had soft blue eyes. She was able to contribute to the welfare of the house with the income she received from blogging. Though Ben called her a ‘house wife’ every now and then, she preferred to see herself as a ‘blogger’, at least in the 21st century blogging can be considered a profession. Also, being a blogger gave Sandra the time to focus on the upbringing of her children. She made it her sworn duty to keep up with their upbeats.
“Oh my gosh, Jess, Eric, don’t make me climb those stairs,” Sandra yelled. In less than a minute, she heard the stumping of shoes and released a sigh of relief. Then she looked over at Ben; he was almost done with the cup in his hand. “Are we still meeting by 1?” she asked. “You bailed out on me during the last few days. I just need to be certain before I leave the house today.”
“I will definitely make it today, but you have to come up with a better restaurant. I don’t think I can stand Santos again. Their sea food is terrible,” Ben moaned.
“All right, I’ll find someplace else,” she replied. She reached for the toaster and prepared some slices of toast bread and shared it between the two plates.
Eric walked into the kitchen and pressed his lips against Sandra’s left cheek. “Morning mom,” he said. He glanced at his dad and greeted him as well. “What’s for breakfast,” he asked, staring at the two plates of food in front of him.
“It’s right in front of you,” Ben cried. He seemed disappointed at the obvious question his son asked. He picked up his phone and headed for the front door. On his way, he bumped into his daughter Jessica who was focused on the blackberry phone in her hand. “Can’t you just do the right thing at the right time sweetheart? How can you see what’s in front of you and what’s on that phone of yours at the same time?” he asked.
“Sorry dad.” She smiled and joined her twin on the dining table. Jessica took her looks from her father; his black hair, pointy nose and green eyes were the first things one would notice when looking at her. Her twin, Eric, resembled his sister and was an inch taller than her. He took his mother’s bleached eyes, and his father’s black hair. People who came across the twins could tell they were born on the same day.
Jessica greeted her mom and returned to her phone without waiting for a response. Ben shook his head again. If it wasn’t the weird questions his boy asked, it was his daughter’s carefree attitude that mostly concerned him. He jumped in his car and drove to work; he had more pressing issues to handle that day.
Eric finished his breakfast, but his sister had barely touched hers. She was too busy chatting with her friends on her phone to care about the fundamental necessity of a ritual like breakfast. “Jess, no fun time for you if you don’t finish your breakfast,” Sandra informed.
“Mom, has it gotten to that?” She ate a portion of toast and gulped down a glass of juice. “Is this okay now?” she asked.
“Your plate isn’t empty, is it?” Sandra replied.
“Ugh,” she grumbled, as she forced herself to eat the rest of her meal. She knew her mother wasn’t bluffing and decided to play it safe. She couldn’t even bear the thought of staying at home all weekend. A weekend without Antonio would certainly drive her insane. Her mom smiled as Jessica placed her empty plate in the kitchen sink and headed to meet her brother who had already pecked his mom before heading to the front door. “Bye mom,” she said.
“Huh?”
“Er, I meant see you soon mom,” Jessica replied and ran to meet her brother.
As they arrived outside the house, they saw two girls walking out of the four bedroom house opposite theirs and towards the school bus that sat at the edge of the street. One of the girls had dark brown hair that fell on her shoulders and a ruddy complexion, whilst the other was blonde and looked somewhat pale. They were both taller than the average girl of 17.
“I think they’re the new neighbors,” Eric said. Jessica glanced at the girls and returned to her phone; she didn’t seem concerned or excited to have neighbors that attended her school. Whoever she was chatting with on her phone was clearly more important than any person around her. They climbed into the bus and sat behind the two girls. Jessica continued playing with her phone, but Eric decided to introduce himself to the girls. “Hey ladies, my name’s Eric and I live across the road,” he said.
The brunette glanced at him. “Oh hi, my name’s Emma and this is my sister
Blair. It’s nice to meet you, Eric. Your parents stopped by our house a few days ago to welcome our family to the neighborhood. They were really nice. Your mom baked cookies.” Emma glanced at Jessica. “Is she your sister?”
“Yeah.” He frowned at his sister. “Hey Jess, say hi to our new neighbors, Emma and Blair.”
Jessica looked up at the two girls and grinned. “Hi,” she said, and returned to her phone.
“Don’t worry about her, she’s practically engaged to her cell phone. Anyways, it was nice meeting you. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.” Eric said, as he rested his back on the chair. He was excited his parents had made a good impression. He needed a friend in his neighborhood as most of his neighbors’ children were below the age of 10 and there wasn’t much he could discuss with them. He began to sense the beginning of an eventful autumn with the two girls.
* * *
Julian King ambled into his office and began to pace around as he pondered away. He was a tall and hunky man in his early forties, with high cheekbones and a shade of green eyes. His tie was unknotted and his shirt unbuttoned. The beads of sweat trickling down his face were mixed with the tears dripping down his cheeks. As he paced, Miguel Rossi, his colleague, walked into his office. He wasn’t as tall or handsome as Julian, but he kept an attractive haircut and spoke with a tinge of Italian accent. “I got your message. What seems to be the problem?” he asked.
“I think I’m in a big mess and I don’t think there’s any getting out of this one,” he replied.
“What is it this time?” Miguel asked.
“You remember Angelita?” Julian asked.
“Hmm, no, not really. Why?”
“Come on, have you forgotten Angelita, my Brazilian housemaid,” he said, as he walked over to the front of his desk and sat down.
“Oh yeah, I remember her. What about her?” Miguel questioned.
“Martha walked in on us having sex,” Julian said in a low voice. He looked down at his shoes as he couldn’t gather up the courage to look into his friend’s eyes whilst he mentioned such a degrading act.
“You mean your wife walked in on you having sex with the maid,” Miguel said. “You must be joking. Come on, how could you? I mean, what drove you to sleep with her in your house. There are several motels in the city.”
“I don’t know what came over me. This has never happened before. I have never brought another woman into my home before, maybe because Angelita lives with us. I don’t know. Still, Martha hasn’t spoken to me ever since the incident. I have been spending my last few nights in one of the guest rooms, and it’s getting worse every single day. Stefan doesn’t even know what’s happening; he just believes we’re having our usual fights.”
“I can understand how she feels Julian. You have been married for over sixteen years. It’s just wrong. What do you plan to do about this situation? I mean, you need to make her believe it was a mistake and it will never happen again,” Miguel said.
“I think it’s already too late. There’s little or nothing that can be done to change the way she feels about me. You know my wife Martha,” Julian said. As he stood up from his desk, a lady in a red gown shuffled into the office. She had a low haircut and no trace of makeup on her face. Still, she was beautiful. Like Julian, she had tears running down her cheeks. He froze as he saw her; his heart racing out of his chest. “Angelita, what’s the matter?” he asked.
“There’s something I need to tell you, sir” she said.
“I’m listening,” Julian replied. Angelita glanced at Miguel, who stood patiently waiting for her next words. She seemed reluctant to say a word because of the third party in the room, but Julian assured her. “You can say anything in front of him.”
She took in a deep breath and glared at Julian’s nature-green eyes. “I’m pregnant,” she said. And just like that, the little hope he had of keeping his marriage was lost. He fell back to his desk placing his hands over his head.
Chapter Two
Sandra Michelson stared at the screen of her kindle as she relaxed in her living room; a notepad, pen and glass of wine sat on the stool beside her. This was her preferred ritual whenever she was reading one of her writer’s books. She had become a talked-about reviewer to the extent she now charged for her services, because of the enormous backlog she encountered when she offered her services for free. Most readers loved her reviews because she was honest and not biased about any book. Even when she gave a book 5 out of 5 stars which wasn’t often, she would pick out some flaws in the plot or structure of the book.
As she continued reading, the sound of the door bell broke her concentration and she stood up and strolled to the front door. Opening the door, she met Raphael Milton, her new neighbor and the father of Emma and Blair. She shuddered and remained still as her eyes inspected every bit of Raphael’s body. He was a tall blonde with a gym instructor’s physique. His face was chiseled to perfection and his eyes were glowing sapphires. She felt chills run up her arms and down her spine as she stared at him. “Good day Sandra,” he said.
“How can I help you?” she asked.
“The girls are in school and I was a bit bored, so I decided to pay a visit to my neighbors. I know your husband’s at work therefore I decided to start with you.” He reached for her arm and kissed the back of her palm.
“Stop it,” she warned, even though the deed had already been done. “Why are you here Raphael? You know it was only a mistake, a night never to be remembered. I beg of you, please stay away from me and my family.”
Raphael grinned as he inched closer, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t tell lies you know. What we have is special. And I know you feel the same, or can you look into my eyes and tell me you feel nothing for me?” he asked.
Sandra took a step forward, her eyes staring right into his. “I feel nothing for you, Raphael. Please, stay away from me,” she repeated. She stepped back into the house, and slammed the door against his face. She knew the moment he’d moved into the neighborhood he would want to jeopardize all the years she’d been faithful to her husband. What happened a few years ago was a mistake and she wanted issues of the past to remain where they belonged. However, Raphael didn’t see it that way. The smile he wore on his face as he strolled back to his house was cheek stretching. To him, it was just the beginning.
* * *
Stefan King folded a piece of paper in his hand and passed it to Nick Gonzalez, his friend, who then monitored the teacher’s movement and waited for the right time to slip the note to one of the new girls in the class – Blair Milton. She picked up the paper from the top of her desk and turned back to see the sender. Her eyes found Stefan’s and he smiled at her with a lustful wink. Stefan took his looks from his dad; his high cheek bones, black hair and jaw dimples were spitting features of his father. Blair took a glimpse at the paper in her hand, and then over at her sister who sat beside her. Emma smiled at her, which could only mean one thing – open the paper Blair. However, Blair looked down at the paper and tore it into shreds. She didn’t even turn back to look at Stefan. She simply wasn’t interested. Emma shook her head repeatedly at her sister’s rude behavior. As for Stefan, he wore a smirk on his face. He loved challenges, and Blair posed to be a big one.
Meanwhile, Eric had noticed the incident between Stefan and Blair but decided to remain calm. Why would Stefan disturb her on her first day? he thought as he pretended to listen to the History teacher, Mr. Cooper. Eric was conversant with the numerous tricks Stefan used to get a girl to like him. He didn’t want Blair to be on the list of Stefan’s girls. Though he seemed pleased that Blair had torn the paper into shreds, he was still concerned about the future. Stefan always got what he wanted, especially when it came to the ladies.
A few desks away, Jessica kept glancing at the clock beside the white board. Her boyfriend, Antonio wasn’t offering History as an elective so she couldn’t wait to leave the classroom. Her childhood friend, Megan Riley sat beside her and often brought her
back to the class whenever her mind had wondered away. She was one of the few reasons Sandra didn’t send her daughter to boarding school. Megan was a good student and most of all, a better friend. She often covered for Jessica whenever she ran off to be with Antonio. Eric usually called her a selfless girl. He knew what she went through all because of his twin sister. There was a time she was almost suspended for an offence Jessica committed. She was that good a friend to Jessica.
As the class ended, Jessica and Megan rushed out of the room without even saying a few words to Eric. He was already used to it. He approached Emma as she packed her books into her bag. “Hope you enjoyed the class?” he asked.
“Yeah, it was good. I’ll definitely remember the effects of the civil war even without studying,” she replied.
Eric smiled and glanced at Blair. “I hope you’re okay. Stefan can be such a douche-bag sometimes,” he said. “I was impressed to see you tear his note. No girl has ever embarrassed him like that, especially in the midst of other students.”
“I’m glad I was the first, and it felt good. There’s something about him that repels me,” Blair said, picking up her schoolbook from the desk. Eric and the two sisters left the classroom and headed to the cafeteria. They found Eric’s friend, Luke Davis in the cafeteria; he had reserved a table for them. He was the same height as Jessica, but blonde.
Emma and Blair didn’t hesitate to join the table with the two boys. Eric and his twin were the only familiar faces in the school and they wanted to play it safe. Sandville High was a private owned high school and they administered the middle and upper class teenagers of the city. It was either you had money or you were exceptionally brilliant.
Eric introduced the girls to Luke and the four teenagers moved over to the counter to collect their meals. “So I hear you girls recently moved into town,” Luke said. It sounded more like a statement than a question. Still, Emma nodded as she chewed on a slice of potato wedges. “Oh, that’s really good. Are you from around here or you just moved in for the first time?” he asked.