Loose Appearances, Stuck Personalities

Chapter 2: Meeting Strangers and Lots of Walking

"Barnes! Your back again I see, Couldn't get enough of us?" It was the pudgy one who spoke out. While he did so, he pushed his glasses from the tip of his nose to the bridge. I was appalled by the rudeness toward the driver. For a second, I thought about saying something back to him, but quickly realized the better of the situation. They were probably friends. Yes, friends. This noodle haired piglet is just playing, not being a slob. I glanced up to see Barnes' face. It certainly showed irritation, but he held his composure well. Looking back, the taller one opened his sunshine grin to speak.

"Oh, hush George. Mr. Barnes isn't fond of this part house, remember?" Even his speech was proper and eloquent. His posture was as noticeable as Barnes'. However, the "bull in a china shop" was not shy of an uncleaned loo with a slouch that matched Quasimoto's. I wondered what the relationship was between the Shining Boy and the Raw Bones in front of Barnes (I stood a little bit behind him). "So, how may we help you Mr. Barnes?" polite and to the point. I saw Barnes' shoulders relax, yet tense as he motioned my way. I tensed as the boys' eyes laid upon my figure. The two remained in the states they had when they had open the door. Yet the light in them had... shattered for some reason. The one with the smile briefly looked near the top of my head for a split second before returning his gaze. I clutched my fishbowl tighter.

"I'm here to drop off a new student, Lockwood. To do that, I need to go through the house." Barnes spoke in an aggrieved tone of voice. Something changed then. That sentence. I stood stiff, not wanting to move from the place I was now finding quite comfortable, clutching the edge of my fishbowl. Silently, the boys turned to each other with pained faces and nodded. They moved to the side and let us pass. Barnes went inside first while I followed suit.

As I passed the two boys, I felt a hand tap on my back. A shiver crawled up my skin. If there was one thing I hated almost as much as liars, it was people touching me. I pivoted on my heel, flinching away at the contact and immediately backing away. I glared at the two boys. The chubby one, George, I believed, had his arm extended, his eyes hidden beneath the glare in his glasses. I assumed he was the one who dared to touch me. His face looked all the more slappable in that instant. The tall one, however, who I assumed was Lockwood, stood with his hands in his coat pocket. His eyes darker than when he had opened the door. He gave me a small smile and mouthed the words 'good luck'. My facial expression changed from annoyed to confused. I paused a moment, staring at them before following Barnes once again.

These two were just pulling my chain. Although I doubt I'll enjoy my time here, it still can't be too bad. I hoped I was right as I moved like a duckling. After moving through a long, velvet covered hallway with several different passages on the sides, we came up to another set of large doors. As Barnes' opened them, immediate nausea and dizziness followed. I couldn't understand why, since I hardly ever got nervous. I closed my eyes and began to slow. I don't remember if I kept moving, or stopped completely, but I was taken out of my thoughts as my name was said.

"Miss Carlyle, are you alright? You look as if you've seen a ghost." Barnes looked concerned. I found that phrase oddly funny. If I was to see a ghost here, my face would not have been pale, I thought. I visibly relaxed my body before responding in a calm tone.

"Yes, quite." I looked up at him as I spoke. There was a small flash as if a spark had gone off inside his brown eyes. Shaking my head for the second time, I walked out with Barnes into what I believed to be the courtyard. And I can say one thing I remember for sure. If this was a courtyard, then the yard I grew up in was a flower pot.

And I had lived on an acre of land.

The grass was a luscious green and the several garden patches held vibrant colors. The grew tall, trees, bushes, vines wrapped around wooden frames to make verandas, it was all so breathtaking. It was odd that they had bloomed so grandly, but these thoughts were far from my mind as I looked around. There were several buildings on the outside of the yard, all smaller than the one I had come out of, but nonetheless, they were very large. Two of them seemed to rival in height, spanning almost half of that of the castle. Kids my age and younger still could be seen in front of the buildings and from the windows. As Barnes' and I traveled down the main road, I looked around at all of the kids. There were so many it was hard to count. There were even some young adults lounging around the place. All of them so different, yet probably here for the same reason. I counted about 5 to 6 large buildings along the sides and one smaller building at the end of the path. I assumed that's where we were heading.