Sixth Grade Beginnings

Chapter 40

The moment Arnold opened up the doors to the Sunset Arms, the flood of various animals pushed him to the side, as they charged up the stoop and into the house, with Abner following as the tail.

"Hey, boy." He greeted his faithful pet with a stroke to the hind quarters, a pleasant aroma of dinner wafting his way. It didn't smell unique or foreign, but rather... normal, for a change. Maybe it was just baked chicken, or some sort of roast? It was hard for his nose to discern, but the one thing he was sure about, was that his stomach was ready for whatever it was. "You smell it too, huh?" He asked his pig, who gleefully squealed back at him, before rushing towards the kitchen.

"I'm home!" The young boy shouted out as he hung up his jacket. He could hear voices in the distance, and assumed that no one had noticed his arrival, giving him time to get settled before entering the dining room area.

Arnold ran up the stairs and headed straight to the dangling string to his destination. With a sturdy pull, he lowered the old wooden stairs to his bedroom and eagerly climbed up and into the refreshing scenery of his domain. He took in a deep breath, smiled, and set his backpack down besides the door after shutting it. He took off his shoes, placed them out of the way and gave himself a moment of reprieve. There was just that certain something about finally getting to a space that was only meant for you, that gave a feeling of belonging, security, and a source of calm, similar to that of a mother's love. Arnold embraced his private sanctum for a few treasured minutes, before coming to terms with the fact he needed to go down to dinner and then embrace the chaos that awaited him.

There was a certain excitement to knowing every dinner would be different. Not just the food, but the conversations, fights and even news being spread around the table as well. With that in mind, Arnold left his bedroom, raced down the stairs and made his way to the dining room.

"Sorry if I'm late!" He hurried to announce as he rushed in and took a seat at the table. "I got caught up helping Gerald with something..."

"Oh, you're not the one late." Ernie corrected with his usual gruff dissatisfaction. "It's little miss Suzy Homemaker that's taking up all our precious time!"

"Huh?" Arnold looked around, confused. He could see that Suzy was nowhere in sight, so why would Ernie say something like that? "What do you mean?" He asked, before being distracted by the absence of another familiar face. "Where's Mr. Hyunh?"

Phil moseyed on into the dining room, a wash cloth in hand. "Something about a work conference." He informed, still taking care to make wipe off each hand individually before pausing for a moment in thought. "Although, I don't know why making tacos would call for a conference... but to each their own!" He brushed off with a laugh, before sitting at his self-assigned seat. "Pookie!" He shouted to his wife. "Are you trying to starve us all?! What's taking so long?"

"Just a minute!" They heard her sing from behind the doors.

Oscar looked sadly at his stomach. "You hear that? My stomach is crying..."

"Which one, Kokoschka?" asked Ernie with a snide look. "You have to have at least two, since no matter how much you eat, you're always complaining how hungry you are!"

"I have a fast metabolism!" Oskar shouted back. "It's not my fault! I eat and I eat, and my body craves more!"

The two began to argue back and forth, before a loud crash startled everyone in the room, followed by a very loud female voice, cursing "Criminy!"

At first, Arnold wasn't sure if he had heard correctly. Although he hadn't seen her yet, he considered she still might be in her room. The kitchen was the last place he expected her to be.