The Blackblood Series

I am Oliver Santino. People knew me as a naughty boy, just as my mother would call me. She never believed I was a full-grown up, although I was twenty-three. At college, my friends called me a Playboy. Girls were crazy about me. They liked my masculine body. My phone was always busy—phone calls and social media messages. To help myself, I used a private number. I had lucky genes because dating all girls in a row at once wasn't hard for me. However, I didn't want all that with girls because there was too much pressure associated with it. Some people in the college were furious when they laid eyes on me. They thought I was living the best life while it was a frustrating one for me. It was easy for girls to come and whisper their phone numbers to my ears. Obviously, I wouldn't have disappointed any girl. I was calling them the right way.

It didn't take long before my pride vanished. I felt so naked in the crowd when Rockline College expelled me. The girls fought each other for me, and the dean didn't give my explanation a chance on top of the written warning I had had. I watched him write an expulsion letter with his red ink. Fear struck me—it was embarrassing to explain it to my parents. I knew my dad was going to kill me. My enemies became as joyous as someone who just won freedom from the arena ring. When I received the letter from the dean, it all stopped to click like a dream in my head. It was reality. My last year at college was a mess.

When I reached home, my dad was busy trimming his long white hair, which made people call him a wizard—a rare type of hair he had. He also had white eyebrows arching his blue eyes, and his rich black complexion made his jaws appear hard and big. When he heard me breathing behind him, he looked at my reflection in the mirror. His eyes widened up, and he nodded. I watched him washing his hair.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, drying up his hair.

I removed the letter from my blazer and handed it to him. My hand was shaking, and my heart was pounding. My dad could see I was afraid. He sighed and took the letter. We walked to the living room and sat on the sofa. He didn't even open the letter, but said, "Son, you need to change."

After that, he stood and went outside the house, leaving me cowed on the sofa. His reaction surprised me. I knew he was a quiet man, but I expected him to raise his voice at me. I remained on the sofa as I took in his words. For sure, I was supposed to change. He came back into the house and took his bag, which he usually takes when going to the restaurant. Thereafter, he drove away.

My mom didn't care that much when I showed her the letter. She only said my dad was going to make a plan for me. She looked like a loving mom, though I never felt that deep fondness with her. I barely chatted with her. I didn't know the reason. Maybe it's because she was always busy at the restaurant or the college life created a rift since I only visited home during holidays.

I waited for my dad to come back until it was at night. However, he didn't show up. My mother told me he went to the city. I knew he was going to get me a place at a new college. There was only one college in the city—Skyling College. It was a dream college for many students, excluding me. To be frank, schooling wasn't my number one thing—it always bored me. If my dad had given me a chance to choose before everything; definitely, I was going to be his sideman in the restaurant. However, it was unlikely for me to choose. My dad was always pushing me to school since I was young, so I was struggling to get my diploma in anatomy and make him proud despite my nature of being a playboy.

I couldn't really tell the state of my life because, on the one hand, it was my craziness, and on the other were my parents struggling to educate me. The money from their restaurant wasn't enough to pay for my college. So, getting a writing scholarship relieved my parents from financial burden. Sometimes, I wondered what could have happened if I didn't get that writing scholarship. My school life was going to be doomed. Maybe I was going to be at a restaurant with my parents.

When my dad came back the next day, he gave me an admission letter and told me to pack. I thought I was going to witness a smile on his face, but he looked me in the eye without even squinting, awaiting my reaction. Without thinking about it, I jumped at him and promised to make him proud. He nodded, hugged me, and told me that was his farewell to me. He had arranged everything ready for me to start my day at Skyling College on the day, which was following. He helped me to pack and told me to be careful in the city. Thereafter, he went to the restaurant when I was ready to go. I called my mom and alerted her of my journey, and she wished me safe travels. I assumed she was busy at the restaurant, which was why she felt comfortable wishing me a safe journey over the phone instead of by hugs.

In no time, the van was already outside, waiting for me. I put on my red cap and shook hands with the driver, Mr. Solo. He helped me put my bags in the van. After that, we got inside a van and drove away. It was a goodbye to Rockline City. I was going to miss my friends, mostly the dramas from the college.

The Skyling College was about a hundred kilometers away from home. With a van, it wasn't far. Only that the road was a thousand years old, with potholes in every lane. The driver was used to it, so he was gently pressing the gears to drive safely.

I was sitting on a front seat, leaning against a window. The music from the car was so lullaby. It made my mind to drift back to the memories of my high school friend, Chris Daniel. He was crazier like I was, but the teachers liked him because he was very intelligent. Outside the classroom, he was my friend in crimes. I thought about naughty things I did with him during high school, and it made me wonder why my parents were sending me back to be with him after they had forbidden me. It didn't make sense to me.

I couldn't dive much into my thoughts because Mr. Solo woke me when he parked the van in front of the ice-cream shops. He told me to relieve myself in the restrooms while he headed inside the shops. I didn't feel like using the restrooms, so I remained in the van. Within a minute, Mr. Solo came back holding two plastics of ice cream and a box of pizza. He gave me the pizza and the ice cream. I almost asked him the reason for the treat, but I remained quiet when I realised he also saw me as a minor. I wondered why everyone liked to treat me as if I were a small boy. However, I guessed the reason was my calmness and my fondness with elders. They didn't know I was too unpredictable.

The weather suddenly changed as the wind blew up with dust as the grey ripples of clouds wore the sky. I was so certain that it was going to rain. Mr. Solo started the engine. He pressed the gear heavily and sped up without caring about the potholes. We didn't even stop until we crossed a river, which had no proper bridge. It was when I realized he was rushing to cross the river. Luckily, we crossed the river before it rained, and it had little water. After crossing the river, the wind was then calm, and the sky remained covered by the dense clouds.

When I looked in the front, I saw a post sign navigating the directions to Skyling College. I smiled as we were a few kilometers to the city. We took the turn and drove curving, following an extremely inclined road. I felt like the van was going to slide backward. The road was very wide and well surfaced. When we entered the city, the skyscrapers welcomed us. They touched the heavens, blocking the pathway for birds. The air density became different in my nostrils, and the beauty of the city became the best sight to me. Everything seemed different and new.

It was long since I visited the city, even though my parents owned a house. They opted to stay in Rockline City. My dad was born there. He inherited a house from his old man. My mom, on the other side, was from the Skyling City. She moved to live with my dad after they got married. They wanted a simple life rather than a life in a busy city like Skyling.

When we reached the entrance gate at Skyling College, Mr. Solo helped me to remove my bags from his van. After that, he said his goodbyes and left. I then dragged with my bags, heading to the admission office. They gave me my room number and the direction to the dorms. I reached the dorms and walked up the stairs, heading to my room after checking my room number from my admission papers. It was a long way up the stairs, and my bags were burning all of my calories. When I took a turn on the stairs, I met Chris without expecting him.

"Chris!" I screamed, looking so surprised.

"Oh man! Is this you? I can't believe it," Chris excited, jumping at me.

"This is going to be a big time. We finally met, bro!" I said, hugging him.

"We should enjoy like we did during high school," Chris said.

"Bro, I am happy to see you. The Rockline College expelled me, so this is my second chance to get grades. I should be serious and make my dad proud and get over with this diploma thing," I informed him as we released our hugs.

"No way, this is season finale, our last year. We need to make it epic for the last, bro. Anyway, what's your room number?" he asked, looking at the paper in my hand.

Before I could respond to him, he jumped at me again. We were going to share a room. He helped me carry my bags as we proceeded to our room.