Where to Begin

Chapter 12

"Please go call everyone for dinner?" Lillian asked me. I was sitting at the kitchen table helping Noah with the world's smallest jigsaw puzzle. I first went down the corridor on the left and up the secret stairs to call those boys and then headed down our corridor to call the boys who were relaxing in their rooms.

"Connell?" I knocked softly. "Can I come in?"

Seconds later, he opened the door, quite viciously, leaving barely any space between us. "Oh, um – dinner," I said looking at his deep brown eyes. He was slightly taller than me so I had to look up to him.

"Ok," he whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" I whispered back.

"I don't know." He whispered again and we both let out a small laugh.

"Ok, everyone, so on the menu...sloppy Joe!"

All the boys cheered.

"Is it hot?" I quietly asked Aubrey while we waited in the queue, at the island, for dinner.

"No, Lillian doesn't make hers spicy, the boys don't like hot food."

"Oh, nice."

Lillian lobbed a spoonful of the sloppy Joe onto my plate.

"I won't give you a lot, because I know you haven't eaten it before." She winked at me. I smiled my nicest smile.

"So, what did you guys do all day?" She asked us while looking at Jackson.

"Why are you looking at me?" Jackson laughed nervously.

"I'm not, I just wanted to know what you guys did today?"

"We swam and stuff," Chase shrugged.

"Oh, nice. And did you make them lunch?" She asked Connell who had taken the seat opposite me. He nodded. I felt his knee nudge mine under the table and I smiled to myself, not knowing if it was intentional or not.

"Good," she said quietly.

"Connell is The Ringleader's favourite," Calvin whispered next to me. Connell's head immediately turned to us.

"What?" He asked looking at Calvin.

"Oh, nothing," Calvin laughed.

"Calvin?" Connell asked again, more menacingly.

"It was nothing Connell, really." I reassured him, incase he tried hurting Calvin or something.

"So what did you do all day, Lilly?" Aubrey asked, putting down her glass of water.

"Oh, yes!" She turned to me. "You need to chose a desk and dresser online so I can go pick it up at the store,"

"Ms. Booth, you don't have to get me a – ''

"Oh, don't be silly, you need a space to work once you start school and you don't have that much furniture in your room at the moment anyway so of course I would get you a desk and dresser."

"Thank you." I said quietly. The thought of school suddenly dawned on me as I glanced at Connell, who was just moving his food around his plate. I didn't know how long I was going to be staying with the Booths' but I didn't want to think about trying to find a place on my own with hardly any money.

After dinner, Aubrey and I helped Lillian wash the dishes and then I sat with Noah at the island and helped him some more with his puzzle. Sage and Max were sitting in the lounge again, playing with Lego and the rest of the boys had gone to their rooms to wind down.