Mags

"I don't know . . . I was already up. I think it came from the other side of the house, but I thought I'd check on you first." Suddenly Sharpo came running down the hall. "Sharp says everybody needs to come to Mister Sir Sharp III's room right away."

A knock came at her door. "Kandy are you okay?" It's Sharp'i

The night was quiet except for the old house occasionally creaking in the wind. If the sun coming through the windows as it rose didn't wake Kandy, then the loud, piercing scream that followed most certainly did.

"It's . . . only polite." Sharon said, brushing it off. Sharp'i excused himself to go check on Sharpo, and no one really noticed when he slipped out. Sharon herself retired, and Sharp showed Kandy to the hallway full of guest rooms. They ran along the front wall of the house, so each one had large windows with a view of the field. Sharp let her choose which one she'd like to stay in, and then went to bed himself. The maid stopped by to make sure Kandy had everything she needed, and then the whole house was silent for the night.

"Or you could stay here tonight." Sharp offered. "Yes," Sharon said, "As a host, I can't turn you away dear. It's too late to deal with the scammer tonight anyway. This house has plenty of empty guest rooms."

"So . . . someone scammed you out of your house?" Sharp'i asked.

"But didn't you own it? How were you evicted?" "Do you not have a place to stay tonight dear?" Sharon asked, oddly, she seemed a little concerned.

"So . . . you have a house but your not living in it . . . ?"

"Kandy, where do you live?" Sharp'i asked.

"Why do you need to pay for a room?" Sharon asked, genuinely confused. "You're district, aren't you dear?"

"Well my friends," Sharvil said, bringing them back to the conversation. "I think it's time for me to return to my rooms as well. We old folks need to get to bed early if we want to mess around at 3 A.M." He stood without a creak, and hobbled to the door using his cane. The maid followed after him, probably to make sure he didn't fall. "You should be getting home now dear," Sharon said a little too eagerly, turning to Kandy. "It's late evening already and I'm sure your parents wouldn't want you out too long."

"Mum doesn't like anyone." Sharp whispered back. "That'ts not true," Sharp'i interjected, "It just takes a lot for her to warm up to people." Sharp rolled his eyes. "I don't know why you still defend her when your the one she dislikes most." "She doesn't . . ."

"Alright I suppose," He said, ignoring the sharp glares from Sharon. "I'm glad you have a friend Sharp'i, it feels like you don't get out enough." "Yeah, Kandy's really nice." By now, the maid came back to clean up the dishes.

Sharp'i pokes her to keep her awake. When Sharon finally finished her rant, the man who had joined them introduced himself. "You said your name was Kandy? It's nice to meet you, I'm Sharp Mcdonald IV, You can just call me Sharp though." He gave her a reserved smile.

I'm just gonna drop this here for future reference because things are getting confusing and I don't have the brain capacity to retain this information: If you're curious, yes, it's kind of a cult.

"Well, my dear, there are certain things a young person must study to complete their education. Wilhelm's the Turning of Fruition, for example, is an essential read when it comes to becoming a cultured individual . . ." Sharon trailed off as the man at the head of the table stood. "I'm retiring for the night," he said gruffly, and left the room. The younger man stood the second the door clicked closed, and moved over to sit in a seat near Sharp'i. Sharon returned to her speech: "Beginnings of a Mind, by Richard Mico is also irreplaceable in education, in my opinion. It's speculative look on the mood and depth of how . . ." She continued to drone on about one book or another, without stopping for several minutes.

"I see," She seemed disappointed. "What about literature?"

"Oh right, of course," Sharp'i confirmed. That had been close. "So does flight school offer a well rounded education? Or is it just about flying those metal things," Sharon asked, changing the subject.

Oh carp. The conversation at the other end of the table hushed. "You said you were just going to mention flight school not that I . . ." Sharp'i whispered. "No, you always remember that part wrong," He said in a louder voice, "We met when you were on your way home from flight school, isn't that right?"

"It probably won't hurt . . ." Sharp'i said, glancing at Sharon.

Her laughing echo's loudly in the room, and everyone is suddenly aware of how quiet it had been a moment before. Awkward silence radiated from Sharon and the other end of the table, but the old man didn't notice. "You can call me Sharvil, It's wonderful to have someone with personality in this house," The old man said quietly. "How did you meet such a nice girl Sharp'i? You never go outside." "I just . . . met her while running errands, I- I guess." Sharp'i is not good at lying.

Please, please don't tell them what you did before you were a pilot, Sharp'i thought to himself. "Ah that's wonderful dear," The old man said, "Back in my day I was quite skilled in backstreet car racing, now it's not really the same thing but I do understand what you mean about the adrenaline, especially when the police showed u-" Sharon cleared her throat loudly. "Well, it's a good thing all that is in the past now." Sharon patted Kandy's hand, as if consoling her about a past mistake. The two men at the end of the table started up a quiet mumbling conversation of their own, trying to ignore the others.

"I see . . ." Sharon said, a small amount of disapproval leaked through her ever-neutral expression. The old man just nodded kindly. The maid entered, bringing a small cart with the food on it. She served the two men at the end of the table first, and then the old man's group. Dinner was a soup of some kind, too bland to be distinguishable as any specific flavor. "Did you enjoy being a pilot, dear?" The old man asked after a long sip of soup.

"So, what's your name dear?" Sharon asked while rearranging her napkin in her lap.

"Ah . . . as well as someone my age can expect to be doing I suppose." He gestured at his end of the table, inviting her and Sharp'i to sit. Sharon sat down across from the old man, in the other seat furthest away from the other two men. Sharp'i sat with them, but in a seat closer to the tables other end. It was clear he was trying not to pick a side. "Dinner is almost ready," The maid said, leaving the room.