W.I.T.C.H.: The Bloody Throne

Part 25

Back on Earth, Cornelia was grinding her teeth at the thought of having to work on a project with Danny. It was just her luck that their Biology teacher gave them this project on the last day of the week and a weekend that she wanted to spend with her Caleb. It was only a minor project; having to build a 3D model of the human skin and label everything, but it still bothered her, and it bothered her that she had to do the project with Danny. She had asked the teacher if she could do the work on her own, but that wasn't an option. Slowly, as though her feet were cased on concrete, the young girl made her way down the winding streets of Heatherfield and watched as her surroundings grew more and more unkempt. She cursed herself for agreeing to meet Danny at her house instead of inviting Danny over as the area began to creep her out even in the bright day-light. Graffiti pained the walls of almost every house, some had their window covered by plywood, grass and weeds had fought their way through the cracks in the sidewalk, and a random abandoned car sat covered in rust in someone's front yard. Then again, Danny had said that she had all the items, a computer, printer, and crafting supplies to make the model and the only working computer at Cornelia's was being occupied by her father at the time. Besides, she didn't quite trust Danny not to steal anything from her house, given the way she dressed and acted. Once again, Cornelia looked at the piece of paper that had Danny's address on it and she had to hiss at the sloppy attempt at cursive that looked more like chicken-scratch than human writing. Still, she could make out the numbers and most of the street name, and there was only one street called Faraway Avenue in Heatherfield. Looking up, Cornelia, again, wanted to turn back and run as she saw the outside of the dilapidated rowhouse that her classmate lived in; then again, when she pictured Danny in her head, the girl fit the house like the dot on the 'I'.

Hesitantly, Cornelia climbed the three steps of the front porch, worried that the flimsy wooden structure would collapse under her. Normally, she would enjoy the sight of vines and weeds reclaiming the land; despite having split from the guardians, she still felt a deep connection with nature, but the sight of vines and weeds attempting to reclaim this house simply didn't seem to fit in her mind.

The moment she ran the doorbell, she heard muffled scuffling and shouts on the other side. Still, she could hear Danny's shrill voice commanding someone to behave and that someone else should go to the bedroom. This made Cornelia wonder how this could be a good place to study if it required someone to give orders like this. Just as Cornelia wanted to turn and walk back home; willing to risk having Danny steal from her than spend a day in chaos, the door to the house opened and Danny stood on the threshold with a crooked smile.

"Hey-o Corndog." Danny's voice was even more irritating as Cornelia remembered from class. "I was about to get worried and think you took the wrong turn at Albuquerque to get to my house. Come in and make yourself at home!" with that, the tomboy pulled Cornelia in and shut the door behind her. Cornelia could only compare the sound of the wooden door shutting behind her to the sound of a crypt shutting.

The inside of the house wasn't much better than the outside. Though she would see that attempts were made to clean it, the carpet was still a disgusting yellow color in some spots, the walls had visible streaks where the tobacco residue hadn't fully come off, the counters in the open-plan kitchen were discolored from the heavy bleach that had been used to clean it, the furniture was old and worn with patches and stuffing sticking out from some corners, and the air reeked of cleaning products and mildew. For a moment, Cornelia felt bad that someone she shared classes with lived in such conditions, but that feeling did not last long as Danny immediately left her side and walked down the hallway; in the distance, the ex-guardian could see the ladder to the attic was down and Danny shouted up to someone that dwelled up there.

"Yoh Sydney and Rodney. I need that computer from you two egg-head!" the way Danny spoke with this Sydney and Rodney made Cornelia think that insults were a common form of communication in this house. From above, she could hear scuffling and then a head popped down from the attic opening and grimaced down at Danny.