Lost Change

Chapter 65

"But moooom, it'll just be an hour, maybe two..."

I lifted my head slightly and perked my ears at Lyzel's muffled voice. She sounded like she was somewhere on the other side of the door, but not too close - maybe somewhere down the hallway.

"No, it will not be, because you have school that you will be going to instead." An unfamiliar voice responded sternly to Lyzel.

"But I wanna see him sing; everybody says it's really neat! My friends are always asking about it, and this is my chance to see it. That means it's educational."

"You will have plenty of chances to see it later. Your Aunt Minna will still be here tonight, and tomorrow, and next week, and next month, I am sure. You may get up early and watch him on a weekend if you really wish to."

"But daddy said she'll only be staying for a day or two. What if he's gone by then?"

"Your father says a lot of things about your aunt that do not turn out to be right. If he is, then I will take you to her new place on the weekend and we can watch it flail around together. Now stop arguing with me and go to school."

There was a dramatic sigh from beyond the door, then a drawn out "O-kay."

I heard the sound of feet stomping away, followed by the new voice muttering something incomprehensible, and then that voice faded away too.

I laid my head back down for a few more minutes but I had slept well during the night and felt quite rested. I slipped carefully down from the blanket and flew over to the dresser. I stretched out my limbs and worked out the stiffness that had accumulated from hours of sleep, then scratched at some of the itchier spots on my body... then I stared back at Minna.

She was still fast asleep.

What time was it? How much longer did I have before the sunrise? If Lyzel was awake it must at least be getting close to morning, but how much more time did we have?

I didn't want to cause Minna to miss out on sleep, but I also didn't want to miss the sunrise. If only this room had windows, then I could at least have an idea of what time it was...

I glided down to the floor by the door and peeked through the crack. There was light on the other side, but it was cold and artificial. There was no way of knowing what time it was just from that.

I rolled onto my side and stared out at the hallway. Every minute that went by made me reconsider waking up Minna, and I was just about to when I saw a pair of feet at the far end of the hallway.

I rolled back to my feet and chirped, hoping to be both loud enough to get their attention and quiet enough to avoid waking Minna. "Hello? Excuse me, can you open the door? Hello?"

The feet stopped moving.

"Open. The. Door." I chirped slower, as if that might magically transcend the language barrier between dragonets and Kymari. And because I knew it wouldn't, I sat up and scratched at the door. I kept my claws in - I just wanted to make the noise, I wasn't trying to dig through the thing.

The feet started moving towards me. Yes! Now I can go check on the sky and let Minna sleep. Win-win!

The footsteps paused outside the door... and then a loud banging echoed through the room, causing me to jump in surprise. "Minna! Your pest is scratching at the door; wake your lazy butt up and take care of it before it rips a hole in the wall!" The banging stopped... then the voice continued, both quieter and kinder. "I made breakfast; there is a plate waiting for you in the kitchen when you are ready."