Book One: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (My Remake)

Chapter 4~Exploring the House

"Oh, thank you," said Jacob's dad with a tired grin. He was extensively working on his laptop and had been consuming coffee at a staggering rate, so as I approached him with a fresh pitcher, he barely noticed.

"Will Jacob be heading down, soon?" I asked, glancing at the plate of breakfast sitting in front of an empty seat.

"Not sure," he said, typing something into his laptop, then taking a sip of his coffee. "He's somewhat irritated with me, so he might be waiting until I've left." As he spoke, a distant sadness haunted his expression.

"Is that why he stormed off, last night?" I said, remembering Jacob slamming the door hard.

"Yup, he was mad about me talking ill of his late grandfather."

"That would make it you were talking ill of your father, too, technically," I noted. He took a quick glance at me from his screen and I shied away. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"No no, it's fine. You're completely right." He stopped typing for a moment and sighed. "I guess it's just been a while since I've really thought about the man," he replied, a distant look crossing his face. Then he smirked, facing me with bags under his eyes and wrinkles creasing his forehead. "You're a rather bright young woman, Amber," he commented, resulting in me blushing wildly and bashfully assuring I certainly wasn't.

Before we could continue on with our small talk, a pair of shoes broke through the mellow tone of the pub, racing down the steps with hollow thunks. "Hey," breathed Jacob, passing by me.

"Good morning." As he planted his rear into the chair, a thought seemed to cross his mind, but he let it settle as he chowed down on the plate of breakfast before him. When he was finished, Jacob dabbed at the corners of his mouth impatiently with a napkin then cleared his throat. "So I was thinking, would you like to come with me to the home, again?"

I gave a perplexed look, thinking of Jacob's deflated attitude after looking around the house the other day.

Jacob caught on. "I know what I said, yesterday, but I gave it some thought last night, and well . . . " He bit at the inside of his cheek. "I know there's no one to actually talk to regarding the specifics of my grandfather, but there's still the house itself, and whatever's in there could definitely tell better stories than some old guy in his eighties who can't remember anything. And besides, I'm still here for at least a week, and I should make the most of it." He seemed hopeful, and I wasn't one to crush someone's hopes, but it dawned on me that I needed to work today.

"I'd love to but-"

"Of course you'd love to, hun," came a familiar voice as a hand came slamming down on the table, causing the forks and cups to jump. The noise startled Mr. Portman away from his computer screen for a moment and he took the time to greet Kev who said a good morning back. "Why, going on another adventure with this charming young lad is certainly better than washing a few dishes, isn't it?"

"I suppose but-"

"And on another note, the weather is fairly nice, a rare treat to us on this island. Go out and have some fun," he said with a huge grin and a wink.

"Say, Kev, could I talk to you in the back for a quick moment," I hissed through barred teeth. When I shoved him through the door and turned around, the grin hadn't left his face. "What was that?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"That," I gestured over his shoulder through the door.

"Well, if you aren't going to make some friends, then someone has to. And I'd say you reeled this one in nicely," he sweet talked. "All that matters now is the final tug."