Norah walked down stairs. Her eyes twinkled with curiosity as she heard whispers from the kitchen. She stepped softly so as not to give away her arrival and tilted her head as she peered inside. Two younger boys along with an older girl Norah had not yet met before stood huddled in a corner. They were to buzy looking inside the cupboard to notice someone behind them.
"What about this?" One of the boys whispered, no older then six, as he held out a jar of jam.
The other boy, about nine, shoved him. "Wha' good is that? We got no bread at 'ome." His British accent heavily smothering his words.
"Knock it off," the girl, around twelve, snarled as she pulled down a two loaves of bread and handed it to the boy with the jam. "Here. There you go."
"Well I don't like jam," the boy protested as the other boy received the loaves merrily. "Bread neither."
"Hush. It isn't for just you, you know." The girl replied as she pushed a couple of cans into his hands.
The boy grumbled as the boy with the jam nodded his head with vigor.
Norah sat silently by the door, surprise momentarily written on her face. How they had not yet noticed her presence astonished her. Or even that they made so much noise and she hadn't heard it until making her way downstairs.
The girl scavenged the cupboard longingly as she handed down a few more items to both boys. When their hands were stacked with goodies, she spoke quietly to them. "Go straight home now. Be careful not to drop any. Henry, do you have that? I can get you something to put it in."
"No, I'm okay Emily." The boy with jam, Henry, spoke as he spun around only to spot Norah. "Oh no." He cried dropping the bread and jam. The small boy tried snatching them before it ended up hitting the ground, but it failed. He winced as the bottle busted open spilling all the contents on the floor. Purple jam exploded onto the woodened floor with a beckoning of stains never to be released. "I didn't mean nothing' by it." Henry wailed as his eyes began to well-up with tears.
The other boy and the older girl spun around and froze.
"Nice goin' Henry." The boy snapped as he hit the crying boy lightly over the head.
"James, knock it off." Emily said doing the same motion to James that he had did to Henry. "Don't touch that. I'll get it." She then slowly made her way off the counter and curtsied with her stained dress and shoeless feet. "I'm sorry, ma'am, if we awoke you."
Norah stepped closer to take a better look at the three. Henry was the only one whom had the comforts of shoes. They were all filthy both in body and for their clothing. Mostly from them running wildly in the streets without any mothers or fathers to take care of them, Norah reckoned. And the orphanage, if Gabriel had spoke the complete truth, was no safe haven either.
"We don't want your pity."
James was the one who spoke, noticing that look cross her face. He hated those who gave him that look while he passed them on the street. It wasn't right that they thought of him and all the others like him as nothing more then something to be pitied. After all none of them would actually do something to help. Like to bring them home to a warm bed, a roof over the head, supper, or even new clothes.
Emily smacked him over the head as Henry hid behind the older two before she spoke to Norah. "I apologize to him, ma'am. We didn't mean to break in to your beautiful ho-"
"Emma, you don't have to apologize," spoke not Norah, but Gabriel who suddenly appeared from the door behind Norah. His eyes glanced only for a moment at the floor. "I know why you are here."
"We had a key." Henry piped up as he ran over to Gabriel, suddenly not so shy as he waved a bronze metal in the air, "So we wasn't really breakin' in."
"Oh, I know. I believe you." Gabriel said with a laugh as he swiped Henry up. "Boy you are getting heavy. What do you got in those shoes of yours? Bricks?
"Nooo," Henry said giggling and smiling as he shook his head. Then his face grew serious. "Sorry about your floor Gabriel..." He looked down.
"He's such a klutz." James muttered annoyed.
Gabriel put Henry down and studied James for a moment. "Be nice to your little brother. He didn't know any better."
James sighed loudly. "Everybody always says that."
"Doesn't mean you have to be cruel to him, James." Emily replied as she proceeded to glare at the boy. He however was not intimidated by her tactics and glared back.
"You must be hungry. All of you. Sit. I'll fix you up something to bring back with you." Gabriel spoke as he waddled around the mess. "Anything in particular?"
"Anything is fine," Emily murmured as she walked over to Henry and sat him down one one of the chairs. James huffed as he too sat and he watched Emily crouch down at the mess and began to pick up the shards of glass.
"Here let me help," Norah said, bending down to help but recived a slap on the hand.
Emily looked at her with darkened eyes. "I got it. If you want to help you can stay out of my way."
Ouch! Though Norah, flinching as she pulled her hand away.
"Emily doesn't like people helping'." Henry chimed as a hurt look crossed Norah's face. "It's not you." The young boy swayed his feet back and forth as he hummed lightly to himself.
James looked over at Norah, un-amused. "If you really want to help you can get towels." He then looked over at Gabriel. "So what you making. Nothing gross, I hope."
"Do I ever make anything gross?"
"There was the one time you gave us worm sandwiches." Emily muttered, suddenly peering up at Gabriel.
Henry laughed as if the sandwiches were suddenly in front of him. Apparently he was the only one of the three whom found that funny in any way."
Gabriel laughed along with Henry. "That was just an April fool's joke, Emma."
"Tell that to Rosemary."
Gabriel just laughed louder and grinned amused.
