Leandro was livid. He didn't think that he had ever been this livid before. He just thought at that moment he just wanted to come out and tell her she was his and his only. He wanted to shout at her so badly that she should only have one boy on her mind just like how she was the only girl on his mind and ever had been. He didn't want to scare her off. He was in full control of his emotions just like how he was taught to be. But he couldn't let it go. He had to know the names of those boys ... right here, right now. So with every ounce of self control that he had he kept calm even when he was livid on the inside but his tone came out harsh "I have to go. I need to ask my sister some questions. I was going to give you a tour and introduction but that can wait. Why have a brief one now when we can have a detailed introduction later. I will see you later Jean. Your brother is just down the hall. I will see you later." He then gave her a smile while his eyes looked quite livid. He then walked away.
He didn't check if she obeyed him. He didn't need to. The place was safer than anywhere covered with signs showing where to go. She seemed quite taken back by his tone. But he could show him the side he only reserved for her later.
Leandro used some short cuts and suddenly appeared in front of his sister. She was startled as she had come around a bend "You scared me."
Leandro gave her a forced smile as he leaned to the wall and crossed his arms "You should be."
Lavinia raised an eyebrow "Why? What have I done?"
Leandro said "What have you been telling Jean?"
Lavinia didn't like his tone. She sighed "It's jeanelle. Why do you call her jean?... I prefer Janelle."
Leandro said "I don't have to have a reason... Maybe it's unique name that only I use to refer to her or I just prefer her shorter name conveniently. Your time is up." He then turned around to walk away.
Lavinia seemed worried. She quickly walked past him and blocked his path. Not many people dared do that. It was a direct challenge. "Wait. Tell me what I have done before you do anything. You can make my life hell. I know you can ... with a snap of your fingers. But come on... What is going on?"
Leandro looked into his sister's eyes "Get out of my way. Maybe you need to learn the hard way." He tried to walk past her but Lavinia blocked him "Wait. Tell me. What have I been sharing with jean?" She then gulped as she saw the fire of rage in her brother's eyes. She took a step back and instinctively put her hands up "Alright. Wait. Let me think. I talked to her about ... you know ... my problems..."
Leandro asked with a strained voice "What problems? You have no problems?"
She replied "Arcangelo."
Leandro narrowed his eyes "You were talking to her about Arcangelo?"
Lavinia asked "Wasn't I supposed to? So you want this girl to know nothing about me? Is she a threat? But how? You have her in house of alpha so you can keep your eye on her I am guessing. But why? She seems to have a clean record. She is from a farm in the country side. She hasn't had any contact with boys mostly because she was home schooled due to medical conditions. I told her about my so called admirer and she found it interesting. I told her nothing top secret that makes you go mental. She hasn't had that kind of experience before you know the kind we have had in high school. I just told her about my relationship. That's all. I didn't tell her any classified information. I like to think she found it fascinating to know that my big brother allows a crazy individual to date me."
Leandro defended "He is not crazy. He is pretty intelligent. Also I don't need to allow anything. You do it any way if you want it. So the concept of me allowing you do date him is void. I just told him I won't stop him if he asks you out because he has given me no reason to. If he becomes a threat and he hurts you, he does give me a reason to and then he is a dead man. Make no mistake."
Lavinia cringed. When her brother talked with so much passion it was obvious he meant every word it made her shake to the core. He truly meant it. He was going to kill Arcangelo if he hurt her. He took no prisoners at military school. He was trained to kill. She whispered "I know that."
Leandro said "If you know me then you know that. Now back to Jean. I have my reasons to keep her under watch. I don't want her to get hurt and I am watching her. That's all you need to know."
Lavinia breathed "Understood."
Leandro said "What else did you talk to her about?"
Lavinia shrugged "Nothing really. Just boys."
Leandro narrowed his eyes "You do know father will question you if I told him you said that."
Lavinia said "But you won't tell him. You know how old fashioned he is for his age. He will send me to an all girls school if you told him that. He almost did."
Leandro said "Well, don't talk to boys about jean or I will hear about it..."
Lavinia said almost in a sarcastic tone "Anything else?"
Leandro said "Yes, actually. Arcangelo sends you his regards. He said he will see you around sooner than you think."
Lavinia said "He won't make threats that he can't carry... He won't show up here. Would he? Military school has curfew."
Leandro shrugged "And he has enough credit to break curfew and graduate. My bet is you don't have to wait long."
Lavinia gasped "What is wrong with you? Other brothers get protective when their sisters are spoken for. It's like you have no backbone."
Leandro said "Oh I have backbone. But Arcangelo believes in the bible way you see. He won't do anything but the fellowshipping way of dating. I don't even call it dating. It's fellowshipping. But if he gets too close he will see my backbone. But if you want to see my backbone for you all you have to do is ask. I will have an excuse to say Lavinia asked for special delivery. I am taking orders right now from you. What would you like? Broken jaw or black eye?"
Lavinia shook her head "I will never like that. You don't get it. I just want you to show some dissatisfaction rather than indifference. You didn't help me fight him off at the camp that night he ambushed me. I don't like losing."
Leandro said "It's funny. He said he doesn't like losing his heart but he has to lose it... Don't be sad... You won his heart. He lost. You won. Those are what he said more or less to me."
It was Lavinia's turn to become livid. She narrowed her eyes "You never get it. When you get yourself a girl, I will the one joking too..." She then walked away.
Leandro called after her "I will ask him to stay away longer at that camp." He then shook his head and walked away. He saw nothing wrong with Arcangelo. He was harmless to his sister. He was honourable. He couldn't see any fault there.
As he was walking away his breath caught in his throat as he watched Jean walking with his brother. She looked so stunning in every way. Her brother was giving her pieces of paper that he recognised as the program of the night. Their initiation was different for girls compared to boys. He watched as her brother wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked with her. He did feel jealousy in every way. He wanted to be the one to walk with her but he had principles to follow. As much as he wanted to follow them, grab Jacob's hand and twist it behind his back painfully he didn't. It was tempting to go to him and beat him up. But Jacob was jean's brother. It was going to upset her. It was a good thing that initiations were coming up. He was going to make sure he was satisfied with making others suffer. He had no problem showing self restraint. He was taught to have control over his emotions but it bothered him to see jean with anyone else. Even he didn't like her brother with her. He saw more of her that he did. That angered him. He was human afterall.
Jacob walked his sister to the girls camp. The title initiation looked more fun. He could smell roasted marshmallows and candy floss. They had an outdoor camp set up and it's borders were tall trees. He chuckled "I wish I was a girl."
Lavinia heard him as she was walking past "Wow. Never heard a man say that."
Jacob looked in her direction.
Lavinia smiled as she stood next to jeanelle and looked at her with a smile. "You will have fun."
Jacob said "I bet she will."
Lavinia turned to him "The boys camp isn't so bad. It's fun too. My brother, Leandro has some dark humour with his ideas but our school is not about torture. It's about fun and studying." She then turned to Jeanelle "Let's go."
Jacob asked "Can I come? I can wear a dress."
Lavinia chuckled "No. You can't. You are crazy. Don't you think the guys will give you a hard time if you ever dressed as a girl?"
Jacob said "For my sister I will do anything. I am trying to decide if I trust you fully or not. Jeanelle thinks I should take my chances with you... She said you are very nice."
Lavinia rolled her eyes "Are you another protective brother? Well, if it was Leandro he would take the threatening approach. You can threaten people to not cross your sister. But don't worry. She is not on my brothers hit list. He read your files and has found nothing so far to make you worried. But be careful." She then let the words linger and turned to Jeanelle "You ready?"
Jeanelle was distracted looking in a different direction "What's that?" She pointed her finger into a distance. "It's called A & L Turf..."
Lavinia said "That's a car racing pitch believe it or not. It looks like a stadium. It's a very interesting racing place. A stands for Arcangelo and L for Leandro. That's where they hung out in summer time last year. It's out of bounds to everyone unless they take people in. It's built for seniors or so they say but who follows the rules around here? Let's go". She then took Jean inside.
Jacob gave her a wave "Have fun." He then sighed and walked away. For some reason he felt his sister was safe with Lavinia. There was something about her that put your mind at ease. Maybe it was her sincerity and compassion. She found her to be very like his sister.
Jacob made it to the boys camp and entered. He didn't think he had ever seen an atmosphere like this. It was like a club but much wilder. Much much wilder. He saw Leo in the corner and waved at him but he wasn't looking up.
Leo was looking at his watch. He was conscious of the time and here he was stuck in the initiation ritual ceremony that he didn't care for that day. He had been to too many already. He was bored. It was predictable and these kids threw up or cried way too early for his taste. This year's intake weren't that enduring and athletic. His father had set up the school to be academically selective mostly so he could not expect much. That kid Jacob was the only one who actually could hold his own. Leo wanted to find out more about him.
Leo noticed Jacob from far. He must have been awe struck. He looked confused. He smiled as he worked out Jacob was muttering "What is this place?" as he was looking around.
Jacob was watching his surroundings with surprise. He could not believe this place. He was walking around the dimly lit club where there were various initiation ceremonies going on at same time and the place was packed. This was one crazy place. The place was dimly lit and it was like waking through a crowd at a concert as the attendees were cheering while student chiefs were pushing around the new students. But the alpha house badge seemed to deter them from talking to him. They took one look at the badge and moved on with annoyed faces. It seemed like a party right now but a crazy one. Music was loud too. He rolled his eyes at the choice of music here. He was used to country music. He walked to one stage that was set up near to the spot he was standing where as all the latest victims were drinking pints of milk in one go on the stage as the crowd were cheering them on.
Leo stood next to him "Hey. Are you all right man? You look a bit ... lost... going from stand to stand..."
Jacob turned to him "City kids are wilder than I could ever imagine. What is this? What kind of religious school is this?"
Leo looked around "Man. Don't let me catch you insult the school. My father set it up. He owns it. That actually a demerit if a student chief sees you..."
Jacob said "Aren't you one? You seem quite authoritative."
Leo said " I am one yes. But I don't have time for this. I am waiting to go see my girl play music with her band at my brothers youth club tonight but I have to watch these people burning up instead."
Jacob looked to stage "These guys are anything but burning up. They are drinking milk."
Leo said "Oh Wait for it. Only if these guys knew what was coming next."
Jacob gasped as he heard the next task being announced. This was a cruel ritual. The next task was to eat chilli raw. The irony of it was that if they had chilli, the milk could sooth the burn but they drank the cure before the spicy monstrous chillis were going to go down. He wasn't disappointed at the horrified expressions of the participants. All were looking for a escape route when there was none.
Jacob shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest "Is this even legal?"
Leo shrugged "Probably not. Are you going to report it?" He sounded amused. "You could try. Call the police and see what happens."
Jacob noted the amusement in his voice "I won't call the police... but I won't to put up with it." He then walked up to the stage. "Stop now. What kind of ritual is this?"
Leo gasped "Jacob. Don't cause a scene." He followed him. "This is optional. No one has to do any of this. They can pull out. Why can't you understand what fun means?"
Jacob turned "Fun? You call this fun?"
Leo shrugged "Its the closest we can get I guess to fun. This is a highly academically tough school. It's mostly books, learning, tests, pushing yourself to the limit and of course going to church. These are the principles. But most important principle we have is respecting each other's choices. Look they all pulled out. No harm done."
Jacob turned to Jacob "Why don't you join this so called fun?"
Leo said "It's not so fun when you know what happens next. I prefer to go see my girl."
Jacob said "Then why don't you?"
Leo said "Because Leandro must take me. My girl is performing at his club. The security people at the door know not to let me in because I crashed his business last time over there. I am kind of banned from that club unless he lets me in..."
Jacob was taken back "What kind of sibling relationship do you have with him?"
Leo shrugged "The Rosario kind." He then spotted his brother in a corner "Let's see if he lets me go." He then walked to Leandro.
Leo stood next to his brother who was standing on an elevated platform instructing his people. Leo whispered "Can you end this please? Enough is done. It's not like there is anything you haven't done before. Leave it and let's go.
Leandro looked at him. "I will extend my time here if you push it."
Leo sighed "Come On. Haven't you had enough for one night. You proved your point. You can lengthen this till midnight so I won't see my girl perform. I am sorry Leandro. How many times do I have to apologise for the last time I came to the club. You are doing this to prove your point. Your point is taken. You win." His brother didn't reply and walked away.
Leo looked at his watch and sighed again. Then he went for a walk around the club. Then he noticed someone whistling at him. He turned and gasped seeing his sister in a corner "What the hell? You are breaking protocol. Leandro will roast you for coming here..."
Lavinia was standing behind a curtain at a stage. He could see her through a gap "Let's go. I found a way into the club. Do you want to sneak in or not? There is a way. I found the key to the back door in his room. Let's go."
Leo shook his head as he went behind the curtain "Are you mad? He will kill both of us."
Lavinia said "No he won't."
Leo shook his head and gasped as he saw Jeanelle there standing behind his sister "What are you thinking? Why have you brought an innocent bystander into this?"
Lavinia turned to her and smiled "Ah. Why does everyone think you are innocent?" She then turned to Leo "She is a country girl. She is my new bestie. She plays the piano... And likes art. And she never says no. I asked for volunteers for sneaking out Only she volunteered."
Leo shook his head "No. we can't do this Lavinia. Leandro will find out."
Just then the curtain moved to the side and the figure of Leandro appeared "I will find out what?" His eyes then met his sister's who was breaking the rules by being there. He was annoyed with her rebellion. He narrowed his eyes "You?..."
Lavinia have out a nervous chuckle "Ah. Hi...."
Leo protectively stood in front of Laviana. "Hold on a minute... Before you order a sanction, let's discuss this..."
Leandro was about to speak but then looked past his sister and noticed Jean. He took a deep breath. It was as though breathing was much easier now. He said "Of course. If Lavinia wants to party with us, she can ... with her friend. I should show hospitality to our sister and whoever guest she brings in."
Lavinia bit her lip "Ah. I think we like to leave."
Leandro said "Why so soon?"
Lavinia sighed "We came to see if you know we could make it to your club tonight... Jean knows how to play the piano. I wanted to have a duo with her tonight..."
Lavinia expected her brother to any minute go into serious mode from the safe mode. He must have used sarcasm by saying he wanted to show hospitality. She could be dead next... But she was going to protect Jeanelle. However she couldn't believe his next words "we can leave in 5 minutes after I am done with giving instructions... We don't want to miss your piano performance with jean. Do we?"
As Leandro walked away and left, the siblings looked at each other. Lavinia said "What just happened?"
Leo Said "Who cares? You made him give up the chance to attack your girl camp for your bold move. He said he would ..." He then turned to jean "You keep escaping my brothers wrath. It's just your luck you meet him when he is annoyed and you don't get hurt. Lucky you. She is a lucky charm clover I guess. Are you Irish by any chance?"
Lavinia rolled her eyes "Her family bake is Neuer. She is German American."
Leo smiled at Jeanelle "Well, I am going to call her lucky charm from now on."
It was way too overwhelming for jeanelle to even react to any of this. The way Leandro looked at her made her nervous and she didn't know why she felt safe around him even though he was intimidating. She felt strange. He was handsome but deadly. He was safe but he was harsh. She had conflicted feelings about her new school and her meetings with Leandro. Either way. She felt like they had a lucky escape.