Chapter Text
As summer faded away and the leaves began to brown, Todd Anderson packed the last of his belongings into his car and took one last look at the house he had grownup in. The mountainous spires perched atop no longer seemed so enormous , and the large oak trees which shaded the drive up to this grand house Were no longer towers to try climb.
For the first time in his life , Todd had a choice. He could stay with his family for the new school term, study at the local and prestigious Balincrest university and stay overshadowed by his older brother Jeff’s legacy for ever, or he could leave. He could pack his stuff , leave his home town where his name was but an extension of his brothers ( he was only ever known as Jeff’s little brother) and study at the very far away university , Welton. It took little thought for Todd to decide to take the second option.
Earlier that morning he had packed away his stuff into cardboard boxes and prepared to make his first steps towards independence. Todd was not outgoing by Anny stretch of the imagination, infact part of the reason he was known as ‘Jeff’s brother’ was simply because no one really knew much else about him , alas the pressures of his parents to be more like his brother only ever added to the anxiety he had struggled with so much through his life. With the combination of these two factors , todd never felt much reason to try push past his anxiety, he knew even if he did he would fail to live up to everyone’s expectations.
while good at soccer, he had never felt the same passion for the sport as his brother and although he did well enough at school he never quite seemed to be able to reach the same grades as his perfect brother. His brother excelled in chemistry and mathematics ,while he was more suited to English and history. Despite the pressures imposed on Todd, he actually got on pretty well with his brother, though they were no where near as close as they were when they were younger.
His brother was truly the only thing he would miss about living here. His father was harsh on him and always seemed to be disappointed in him. His mother was lovely however she was too afraid to cross her husband and while Todd could understand where she was coming from, he had always held onto a snippet of resentment for his mother who would not defend him. He had no girlfriend plan his future with , no friends to miss him ,nothing tying him to this old place.
Jeff was already away at university, preparing to start his third year at Harvard law school before and his parents had left two days prior for away minute holiday, Providing only a quick ‘ good luck at school , make the family proud’ before rushing out the door to catch their plane . With no one left to say goodbye to him , Todd turned back to his car and hopped in. Quickly he turned on the cd player ( starman by David Bowie started playing) and began to drive away.