Lily

The Repeated Will Repeat

     "I remember you."

     I replay the terrifying phrase over and over on my way to Clifford's. What did it mean? I wasn't going to his house to ask him that, though; I was going to his house because this situation was getting way out of hand. I had asked Gale if he knew the way, and he led me to my mom's purse and pulled out a business card with his address on it. I thanked him and left the house as soon as I could.

       After a long time walking, I finally found the house that matched his address. A big house, not as big as the mansion, but still big, sat in the middle of a sandy lot, just like my house. It was made mostly of tan bricks and was about two stories tall, with a large, circular stained glass window on the front of the top story. The house part was quite wide, with a shingled roof to add to the old-fashioned fanciness, and on the left side of it, a little segment stretched outward from the house, making room for two garages. The first floor had a small patio that went right to the left edge of the house, and there was a wood door with a small, fancy window at the top at the end of the patio. I noticed two orange cushioned velvet chairs placed next to each other, and in the bottom left corner, a wooden purple rocking chair sat with its back facing me. This dude sure is rich, I thought to myself as I walked up the steps to the patio. I knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing Clifford standing stout as ever in a black tuxedo with brown leather dress shoes.

     "Ms. Calia, is it? How nice it is to see you! Now, what should you be needing at this hour? It's terribly early, you know," he greeted me.

     "Well, then, what are you doing up at this hour?" I asked.

     "I am a real estate agent! Do you have any idea how much paperwork I get every day? It's havoc!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "If I'm lucky, I can get to bed at one o'clock A.M.!"

     "I'm sorry, I didn't know," I apologized.

     "Of course you wouldn't, you haven't even gone through listening to those business people talk about their jobs to your face at your school or anything of that horrendous business," he replied in a huff. Then he looked at me, his face softening a little into a serious look. "So, what has gotten you here at this time of morning?"

     "If I don't talk to someone, I will go crazy," I replied.

     "Oh, well, then, come in immediately," he said, looking alarmed and ushering me inside.

     His living room was probably the most glamorous room I had ever seen. I almost felt like I shouldn't have been in there, considering that the most high-end clothing I had in my wardrobe was probably my new shirt from Popular:culture. And all I was really wearing was the tan plaid jeans and purple t-shirt that I was wearing at dinner. Before I left, I had thrown on my favorite black hoodie that I've had since I was twelve. I wore my favorite Converse sneakers, which were also black, too. So I wasn't really the type to come into a glittering room and instantly feel at home.

     His living room had yellow walls with gold embellishments, two fancy glass windows on the back wall, a large crystal chandelier hanging from the middle of the ceiling. A beautiful velvet rug with gold embroidering sat in the middle of four plum-colored corduroy chairs sitting in a circle around the rug, and there in the middle, a round table with a gold leg and glass tabletop stood with a vase of yellow marigolds sitting in the center. On the left wall, a mirror with a glass frame hung above a fancy gold metal shelf that housed fancy-looking bottles of wine and champagne and what looked, from a distance, like a bottle of expensive vodka. On both sides of the shelf, cabinets that must house plates and stuff that should be in the kitchen or dining room sat in the tan plush pile carpet. My complete and utter awe must have been showing straight through my face, because then Clifford came up beside me and said, "I spent half a fortune decorating this one room. It turned out nicely, hasn't it?" He looked proud. I nodded, still in awe.