I smile. “Surprise me.” I email my list of classes and my extracurricular choice to the school, requesting an appointment with the guidance counsellor.
The food gets delivered about 20 minutes later, right to Zander’s office. I sit on a chair across from the desk and bring it closer to use as a counter. He ordered two cheeseburgers, two fries, and two chocolate shakes. We dig in as Zander tells me about the big wedding they’re providing security for this weekend. Zander’s team will cover the entrance and grounds, be stationed around the property, and patrol the air to prevent paparazzi from flying overhead. It sounds like a big deal. Some celebrity is getting married at a house on the Isle of Palms. The boys are going to be helping, minus Alex, who is away.
“Would you be interested in going up in the helicopter with me, Summer?” Zander asks after swallowing a huge bite of his burger.
“You should definitely take him up on that, Sunshine,” Seb answers before I can, coming back into the room. He sits in the chair beside me, grabs my chocolate shake, and takes a drink. “I love flying. Unless you get motion sickness?”
I glance over at him, pointedly staring at my milkshake. “Sharing is caring, Sunshine.” He sets the shake back on the desk and grabs some fries, eyebrows raised.
“No, no motion sickness.” I look over at Zander. “That sounds fun. If you don’t think I’ll be in the way?”
“You won’t be. It’ll just be you and me in the chopper up in the skies,” he replies excitedly.
“Okay.” Looking back at Seb, I ask, “aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?”
“Yeah, but it’s stuff I already know about, so I snuck out,” he waves.
We finish eating lunch with the help of Seb. Zander goes back to his paperwork as Seb fills me in on the high school. It’s a newer school built only 5 years ago to replace two older high schools. Sports are a big deal, with basketball being really popular. I thought football would be the big sport since we are in the South, but Seb informs me there’s a big high school in Charleston with a good football team. There’s a mix of students from lower income to ultra-rich that attend. It sounds like there are the typical cliques you find everywhere.
Troy joins us a while later, flopping down on one of the side chairs. “This family is going to be the death of me,” he groans. “I’ve had five messages already today from them.”
Zander laughs. “That’s why you get paid the big bucks, brother.”
“I think you need to call these people Z. They keep changing their minds on everything.” He rubs his hands down his face, looking frustrated.
Zander looks over at me. “I was only planning on being here for an hour or two this morning, Troy. Summer and I are goinghome.”
That’s not right. We don’t have any pressing plans. After he was so gracious with his time coming to Virginia, his work should be a priority. “I don’t want to interrupt your job, Zander,” I tell him. “Do what you have to do.”
He looks between me and Troy. Troy is begging silently with his hands, which causes Zander to roll his eyes. “Grab what you need and follow us back to the house. We can work from the office there.”
“Yes!” Seb pumps his fist in the air. “I get to spend the day with Sunshine.”
“Seb,” Troy reprimands, trying to rein him in, “you weren’t invited.”
“Sunshine wants to hang out with me today. I know she does.” Seb vehemently nods his head.
Zander looks over at me. “Your choice, Summer.”
I see how excited Seb is, and I can’t say no. Having a friend at school will be good. I honestly miss having friends my age. I was never someone who had a large group of friends, choosing only a few to let close. “Sure, I guess.”
“Alright Sunshine. See you in a few. I’ve gotta get my stuff.” Seb rushes back out the door. He reminds me of the cartoon Tasmanian Devil. I can’t help but grin internally. Seb is going to keep me on my toes for sure.
Troy and Seb follow us back to the house in the same SUV from the airport. Troy heads into the office as soon as Zander unlocks the front door, talking on his phone. Zander motions for Seb and me to follow him to the garage. After unlocking the side door, we follow him inside. “Seb, Summer and I were planning on digging through my grandma’s gardening stuff. Perhaps you could help her do that, so I can figure out this wedding with Troy?”
“Can do Z. We’ve got this. You go help Troy.” He’s already stepping forward, looking through everything.
Zander looks over at me, checking to make sure I’m on board. I give him a smile and nod. “Okay, we’ll be in the office if you need us.”
Zander heads out as Seb unlocks both garage doors and opens them. “Gotta get some airflow in here, Sunshine, or we’ll pass out. Now, where is the gardening stuff?”
“Zander said it’s up in the loft. The boxes are labelled.”
“Let’s go.” He bounds over to the stairs, full of energy, climbing up. I follow him up the steps and look around. There’s two lights hanging from the rafters, so I find the switch by the stairs and flick it on. On the left wall, there are shovels, rakes, and hoes, as well as a rototiller, with boxes lining the right wall. Seb hauls some boxes into the center of the room as I join him.
“There’s a lot of boxes up here, Sunshine. What exactly are we looking for?”
“Mara, my great grandmother was a gardener. Zander said I can search through her belongings here to find anything still usable. I, uh, like plants and wanted to get the yard back in shape and maybe start a vegetable garden.”
