The Murray Mansion Floorboards

J. Q. King II

RICK and ROY

Roy elbowed his friend in the ribs. "Look, he's done." The boys watched as J. Q. King returned to where he had been standing.

"You know," Rick said. "I don't understand what's up with that guy. He looks harmless enough, but I'm still pretty scared of him."

Roy nodded in agreement."I think he knows something that he's not telling us."

"Maybe."

They both paused in their conversation when J. Q. King lifted his hand for silence. "Now that we all know each other, you may take your belongings and follow me to your rooms."

Roy groaned. "I left my bags near the front door."

"Don't worry, I'll wait for you."

Rick watched his friend push through the line of students who were joining their host in the middle of the room with their luggage. He recalled what J. Q. King had said to him and to Roy and shuddered.

"You two are good friends?" the man had asked.

"Yes," they had replied in unison.

Rick remembered how he had chuckled as he studied both their faces with an odd intensity. "You have more in common than you realize," he had muttered almost inaudibly before walking away.

Rick sighed and shuffled his feet. He didn't know if he could take it. June to August! It hadn't seemed long when first reading the invitation, but now that he was at the mansion with all the other students and J. Q. King, he realized it was longer than he would have wished. What have Roy and I gotten ourselves into this time?

The group of students was starting to follow their host down the hall when Roy finally came back. "Wow," he gasped. "That was harder than I expected. That Star girl hit me over the head with her makeup bag!"

"Why in the world would she do that?"

Roy laughed. "I tripped over someone's duffel bag and stepped on her foot."

Rick snickered. He realized how much harder the summer would be if his friend wasn't there to cheer him up.

"Come on," Roy said when they were done laughing. "We'd better not fall behind."

And so they ran down the hall to catch up to the others.

STEWART

The hallway that J. Q. King had chosen was dark and quiet, besides the occasional oil lamp hanging from the wall and the excited whisper of the students.

Stewart walked silently by himself. He was the last student to follow besides Rick and Roy, who were still catching up.

He didn't know what else to do but walk and study his surroundings. The hall was wide, decorated with wooden tables covered in lace doilies and antique porcelain figures. Every now and then they would pass a large vase filled with bouquets of red flowers of all types, or see a tall, card tower that matched the ones on the lawn. The walls were adorned with old wallpaper riddled with patterns of intricate red and yellow hearts. The carpet under their feet was red.

Ahead of the group of students walked J. Q. King and three maids. As far as Stewart could tell from behind, their uniforms were exactly the same. Even their hair was identical.

The hallway went on without end for some distance, but soon they came to a place where there were doors in the walls to either side of the group. J. Q. King pointed them out as he passed. "That is the library," he said, gesturing to a pair of wide double doors. "There you will find all that you need for research. There are no computers in this mansion, so all the information you will find as text."