Chapter 14: Some Ground Rules
Jessica quickly listed out her rules. Which was pretty basic. "Rule Number 1, and the most important. That the East wing of the penthouse is off limits to the boys. The penalty is expulsion from school grounds. The only exception is Kaden."
"Rule Number 2 The refrigerator in the kitchen was for general use. No one was to complain if they left food in that fridge and someone else ate it. If people want they could go buy a personal fridge for their room."
"Rule Number 3 everybody had to keep the public areas clean. Even though there were clean bots. No big messes were to be left unclean. If a person was found creating a big mess that broke the bots they would have to pay for it."
"Rule Number 4, The penthouse belongs to both Jessica and Kaden; the other dorms rent go instead to them. The 75% discount still applies."
"Rule Number 5, Nobody except Kaden is to call Jessica by her first name when they are outside the house. Jessica's reputation as the Vice Dean is not to be questioned. Violators will be spacedock."
A perk of living in the penthouse was they did not have to spend too much on food now. Ash, Hinata, and Jessica worked out a meal plan and told the boys that the big jar on the kitchen counter would be where they put the money for groceries and that everybody should put about two hundred and fifty in it a month. That was more than enough money pooled to pay for the food. Enough for them to eat like kings.
The fridge was a huge double-door professional refrigerator. Ones used in high-end restaurants and hotels. As for cooking, the kitchen had a service bot. Two mechanical arms would deploy down from the ceiling. The robot could cook anything that the group desired. As long as the ingredients were placed in the refrigerator. The technology that they had access to was hundreds of years more advanced than what was on earth. Also, the rules were much more relaxed than if they stayed in the dorm. Curfew was now out the window. They did not have to worry about the dorm leader checking in on them in the middle of the night.
The exception made for Kaden was justifiable. The east wing of the penthouse was where the master bedroom, four larger bedrooms, and the study were. Besides two large bathrooms. Everybody knew that if Kaden was denied access to the study he would cry like a baby. He had already laid claim to that room the second they saw it.
So the girls would occupy the east wing and Kaden would have access to the study. The master bedroom was still up for debate on who owned it. But Jessica shattered everybody's minds when she said it was both Kaden's and her room. Hinata and Ash had the two adjacent rooms to it. Beelzebub also had ownership of one of the east side rooms.
The boys could just pick out any room they wanted in the west wing. The eight rooms were up for grabs for those who wanted them. The eight rooms were arguably smaller than the master bedroom and the four east side rooms. Even the study was larger than those rooms. The chaos of arguments was settled with Ash. She stated that even though the rooms on the west side were smaller. They were still a lot bigger than the dorm's rooms. Kaden quickly said he could convert the study into his bedroom. He would feel more comfortable surrounded by books. He had a bad habit of sleeping in his family's private library.
The boys were left speechless yet again. What kind of family has a private library and one large enough to sleep in? Hinata had instant gratification at Kaden's decision. Ash just called him a weirdo and was glad it all worked out. The matter of paying rent was a no-brainer. They rather give the funds they had to spend to their friend than the school. It was also logical as the place still had bills to be paid for. With the extra tenets, it made it so Kaden and Jessica could save their own money on onboarding.
Their friend felt sorry for them. Jessica's monthly paycheck was the same pitiful amount Kaden received. Kaden could not help but wonder how their families thought. Ash and the rest of the team had no complaints about the arrangements. In the end, they would be saving 225 credits a month on just food alone. That extra cash gave them plenty of money to spend on other non-school-related things.
Kaden himself would have over six hundred credits left over a month because of having roommates. Jessica would earn about the same. But now she was freed from the cost of paying utilities. She did not have tuition or other fees to worry about. In total, she would clear 5,250 credits a month. That was money she could blow on whatever she took fancy to.
Beelzebub was Jessica's biggest expense. She bought the cat tons of food each month. Besides toys, litter, and other cat goods. But still, she would only spend about half her paychecks on him. She was saving her money so she could spend it on Kaden when they went out together. As the heiress of the richest family. She had a hard lesson these past three months. Budging was something new for her. Not having enough money was a hard lesson for her. The only saving grace was she was not one to just buy things for herself. Jessica rather buys things for others. For herself, she needed very little.
The only one she knew well enough to spoil was Bee. So she took to buying the cat things it did not need. There was a room in the east wing labeled "Beelzebub Room, Do Not Enter". She even had a cat door installed for him. Jessica knew he hated transforming into a human. She preferred he did not do that as well. Cats were cute but a human Beelzebub looked like a creepy old man.
It was currently just Hinata, Jessica, and Ash in the living room sitting on the couch. The boys had long ago gone to watch sports in the big screen room. Tom thought the theater room sounded too formal so he changed it.
"Jess, you think Uncle can get us those new cell phones? Being surrounded by so much advanced technology and us still using a flip phone seems kind of, I don't know dumb." Ash said as she waved her cell phone about in her hand.
"I'll ask, but if you asked him it might get done faster," Jessica said after thinking about it. The ice-cold act she put on when she was walking around the school ground was long ago shattered by her cousin's antics.
"No, I just used my once-a-month favor. If my mom finds out I bugged uncle about this and still asked for more she will kill me," Ash said as a shiver went down her spine.
"Ah ah, Auntie is the best after all, way better than my stingy dad. Did you know he is only paying me five thousand credits a month to be the Vice Dean of this school? Apparently, Bee gets paid in food vouchers." Jessica said with a smile.
"Haha, that loathsome cat getting the short end of the stick, haha," Kaden had walked in on time to hear about Beelezbub's salary and could not help but start laughing at the cat's misfortune. He stopped laughing as he saw Jessica start to get upset.
"He is super stingy with his wealth. I'm sure that fat cat's a lot wealthier than your family Jessica. That damn baster rules an entire plane of existence." Kaden explained. "I am curious why this penthouse carries my granddad's name on it?" He followed through with a question that had been bugging him.
"Kaden do you remember what we promised that old man and mine when we were five," Jessica asks with a glint in her eyes. That look screamed to Kaden that he better remember. Hinata perked up as she heard Jessica bring up their childhood. (Formidable, as I expect my rival to be,) Hinata thought as she eyed Kaden for his response.
"When we were five. Hmm, we spent three whole years together and grandpa Lee took us around Asia. We promised both those old crooks a bunch of things." Kaden gave an answer he knew she did not want to hear.
"Hmm, You are sleeping on the couch till you can remember the promise," Jessica said as she stormed off to the master bedroom. Ash was laughing her ass off whereas Hinata was turning red at Jessica's implications.
"Why does she get to have the master bedroom when this place was bought by my granddad?" Kaden asked out loud to nobody in particular as Ash just continued to laugh.
Kaden knew the promise Jessica was talking about. He just did not want to admit it in front of Hinata. He thought she had feelings for him. He was still unsure how he felt. Besides, Ash was sure to make fun of him for it. It also was a reminder of the reason his grandmother left the old man. That old man had sold all the family assets to buy this place. The reason he bought the place without telling his grandma anything was simple. It had everything to do with the promise made between two five-year-old kids. "Everybody is so damn Eccentric" Kaden could not help lament and wished he could meet somebody that was not just flat-out weird.
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