The World Outside My Window

Chapter 2

"So what does your room look like?" I asked.

William and I parted and I gestured for him to help me move the mattress.

"I don't know," he replied. He easily towed the heavy mattress toward the door and started shoving it down the stairs. "I came straight up here when I arrived." He wriggled the mattress around the first bend of the spiral staircase.

"Wait!" I yelled anxiously at him, attempting to pull the mattress back. "That's not safe."

But he was already sliding the mattress over the side of the railing. It slipped from my hands and dropped to the floor below with a tremendous thud.

"You were saying?" he smirked, staring at the mattress now one floor below him. His big blue eyes, like shiny orbs of water, glittered with amusement.

I sighed and shook my head. "Whatever. Anyway, want to tour the house? I need a break."

"Sure. Help me grab my bags real quick and we'll go adventuring!"

William tramped with heavy steps down the rocking staircase and I followed cautiously behind. Apparently, I was the only person in this family with any sense of the dangers lurking in our new home. No one else seemed to take notice of the rusting stairs or rotting wood. Crazy people!

We went out to the car and grabbed his bags- the ones we'd all packed with basic necessities of underwear, socks, a few outfits, and our toiletries. He tossed me his sleeping bag and pillow and we went back inside in search of his room.

We met dad in the hall and he excitedly explained that Will's room was at the end of the hallway on the second floor. So off we went, up a set of cracked marble steps and to the second floor.

The second floor hallway was lined with doors. As we traversed down the hall we peeked our heads into the various rooms, most of which contained a mixture of dilapidated furniture and expensive looking antiques all covered in thick layers of dust and cobwebs. On one side of the hall there was only one door that lead into a huge ballroom with a dusty hardwood floor and a faded yellow-and-crystal chandelier. At the end of the hall, on the complete opposite side of the house from my room, we found Will's room.

"I'm surprised your room doesn't open on to the second floor," Will observed as he pushed open his door. It slid open easily and then jutted forward. There was a high-pitched squeak as the hinges ripped apart and the door fell to the floor with a loud whump! Will turned and looked at me with the doorknob still in hand.

"Well then!" He smirked. "Welcome to mi casa!"

I envied Will for his ability to laugh in troublesome situations. He wasn't going to be able to shut his door until he bought new hinges and put it back up properly and it could be days before that happened. But he didn't seem to mind. So I laughed.

"Ah. How very suave," I complimented as he gestured for me to go in.

His room was empty save for one dresser standing statuesquely against the center of the far wall. It looked like an exact replica of mine; Oriental, sturdy, dusty mahogany.

"Well, look at that. A little sweeping, a new set of hinges and maybe even a new door and I'll be ready to move everything in. Ha! Easy as pie," William gloated, making a sweeping arm gesture toward the expanse of his nearly empty room.

It didn't seem fair or even possible that he could get away with doing so little so I started looking around. The floor, or what I could see through years of collected dust, looked fine. The windows didn't look damaged. I went over to one and tried to wrestle it open. Nothing. William pushed me lightly to the side and took over.