Matthew and the Chimney Sweeps: Book One (Completed, Editing)

Chapter Two: On The Dance Floor With Miss Thorn

Bordash Manor came alive in the daytime. The halls echoed with noise. And more so in the summer, for the old residents had an extra spring in their steps. There was constant shuffling of feet, chatter and sounds from all the activities. Matthew heard all of this from below. All muffled, of course. He always tried to concentrate to see if he could pick up a conversation between residents, but his hearing wasn't super-hero hearing, able to penetrate the cellar's thick walls.

Matthew just wanted to hear a voice that wasn't Miss Thorn's or anyone from her staff. He wanted to hear normal people talking about normal things. He wanted the other children back.

There was no warning the day Julia, Trevor, and the others were taken. They were all sleeping down in the cellar when Miss Thorn came with six men Matthew had never seen before. The men, all giants with bald heads and wearing filthy overalls, each grabbed a child and left as quickly as they came, never coming back.

He found out the reason why they were taken some time later. He had overheard, while doing some nightly cleaning, the end of a conversation between the manor's nurses. Miss Adams was telling Miss Warren, having just seen a resident who wasn't feeling well, that the children were getting too old. 'In no time, they'd be too hard to control. That's what Miss Thorn told me.'

Miss Adams and Miss Warren were like everyone else on Miss Thorn's staff. Not nice. They weren't only the nurses for the old residents, but the children too. 'A child too ill to counterfeit money was no good,' Miss Thorn would always say before Matthew and the others had their monthly checkups.

Matthew could not forget the first time he was so ill he could barely work. It was nearing Christmas time and he had a terrible cold. He had a fever, coughed up a storm, couldn't eat, and the mucus and snot that came out of everywhere was uncontrollable. So as to not spread what he had to the others, Miss Thorn had made him wear a surgical mask at all times while he still worked. And the cold syrup Miss Adams had given him was nearly as bad as Miss Thorn's foot lotion.

During that time, and many others, living down in the cellar was more unbearable than usual. But what made Matthew and the others get through them was each other. Whenever something bad happened to one of the children, the others would always try and make them feel better. Now, there was nobody to make Matthew feel better. He felt utterly lonely.

Well, that was all about to change. First, Matthew was to get a taste of what was to come.

Once in a blue moon Miss Thorn would send a child upstairs to interact with the residents. Matthew had never done it before. It happened in the wintertime when the residents needed some other distraction when outside activities were no longer available, or when potential new residents were coming to have a look around. Miss Thorn thought that some youth would persuade them to make Bordash Manor their home. And it was all under the ruse that the children were there to do some community service.

It was during Matthew's morning counterfeiting session when Miss Thorn came down to get him for this purpose.

'Stop what you're doing,' Miss Thorn demanded the instant she came into the cellar.

Matthew didn't know what was happening, but knew something was up. His first thought was he was going to be taken away, but no men followed Miss Thorn down. Matthew then noticed that Miss Thorn was wearing a different dress than the one she wore at breakfast time. It also looked as if she had freshened up. She wanted to impress someone today, he thought.

'I said, stop what your doing.'

Matthew ceased feeding a gigantic sheet of paper into his printing press, about ready to print a large amount of fifty dollar bills.