Recluse Island

Chapter 17

September 2013

"Millie what is that dog doing here? It's going to shed all over my bed!"

            "Oh, calm down control freak, it's just a little fur and how can you be mad at this face?

            Millie dragged the golden retriever's face closer to Nelson. The dog Howard belonged to Winston Higgerdod the proprietor of the Smithy Shop, but Winston at nearly seventy tended to forget to close the door to his quarters and Howard would inevitably wander out. He would then traverse the halls of the compound until he reached the Sunshine House where after scratching long enough to come inside the matron of the house Miss Agatha Chappey would let him in and shoo him over to where Millie was sleeping. Howard was quite taken with Millie though Nelson suspected this was only because of the food she circumspectly fed him and not his deep affection for her as Millie seemed to believe.

            "Eck keep him away!" cried Nelson scooting over to the side of the bed, though there wasn't much space to move on the narrow bunk bed the two currently sat on. "And if you think that would change my mind you really don't know me at all."

             "Why do you hate animals so much?" asked Millie, annoyed.

At thirteen Millie was known primarily for two things. One bossing Nelson around and two was her excellent memory. This worked out well since Nelson could never seem to remember anything, but it was also why Mille could so often be found ordering him about.

            Nelson had known Millie Harper nearly all his life, ever since he was five years old when he arrived in the Sunshine House. His family was gone, as in left the compound not dead as some mistakenly believed when he told them this. Even now it's still a bit hazy for him when he tries to remember the day his mother, father and older brother left. He was supposed to go with them of course but at the time he hadn't understood what was happening. Nelson had been confused and frightened, so he had locked himself in a storage closet (the future office of Harb Dillon) and refused to come out. After all, he was only five. So as much as it had panged his parents, they had to leave him behind.

How they escaped was still a mystery to Nelson, the investigation afterward proved to be a dead end. Of course, he didn't believe the explanation that they died of food poisoning. So now Millie was all he had. The two shared an interest in guessing games, all things chocolate and gossiping whenever possible. Although despite this he still hasn't revealed the truth about his parents, she believes they died. She also didn't know he had a brother. It just seemed easier for her to draw her own conclusions as Nelson didn't have much of an explanation for her anyway.

             Millie was short for her age, Nelson figured she always would be. She had honey-gold hair that was slightly curly at the ends and big brown eyes. Tonight, she wore a sleeveless cotton nightgown, tied in front with a blue ribbon. Nelson on the other hand wore plaid pajama bottoms and a navy-blue T-shirt. His curly light brown hair was rumpled while his equally light brown eyes remained heavy with sleep.

            "I don't I just -

            "Hey, I'm sleeping here!" Sheldon Kingston grumbled from the top bunk peering below. His blue eyes glowed in the darkness while his blond hair was a rumpled mess, sticking up at odd angles making his rather oval shaped head appear even more irregular. "Keep it down."

            "See Millie you woke up Sheldon," said Nelson accusingly.

            "Why do you assume it was me?" Millie asked, clearly offended.

            "Because you're the loud one," said Sheldon going back to bed.

            "I'm not that loud," whispered Millie.