𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞

1.

hola! how's everyone doing?🦋i hope you all are having a marvelous and productive day ㋛

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"I don't understand why we had to move." Zuri groaned from the backseat of the family truck. She had her air pods stuffed in her ear but she still could hear.

"Look, we already discussed this. We know what's best for y'all. Just sit back and enjoy the ride." Her father Paul said peeking at through the rearview mirror.

Zuri rolled her hazel orbs as soon as her father tore his gaze from her. She was so uncomfortable with the fact that her mother and father decided at the last minute that they wanted to move. It was summertime and she planned on spending it with her friends and her current boyfriend Badrick.

"Cheer up Zuri. Just think of it as a permanent vacation." Her mother Chandice joked laughing as her husband joined in. Zuri huffed, clicking the buttons on the side of her cellular device she no longer wanted to hear the petty remarks from her parents.

In no time the Joebridges pulled up to the driveway of the home Chandice and Paul found on the website. Zuri shook her two older brothers awake.

"Ar'mon, Shiloh, look at this," Zuri whispered yelled. Ar'mon furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden shine of light, only because his jacket draped across his face. Shiloh just flicked his eyes open. He sighed brushing his hand down his face.

"Yo, you got to be fucking kidding." Ar'mon said looking at the back of the seat of his dad's chair and then at his mother's side profile.

Paul swiftly turned around slapping his son across the back of the head. "Watch 'yo damn mouth boy." Paul grunted with knitted eyebrows.

Ar'mon grabbed the back of his head as a hiss escaped his lips. He despised his father when he made such an action. Zuri rubbed the back of her brothers head. Ar'mon only swatted her hand away and slouched into the seat.

"Sit up, Ar'mon." Chandice said. Ar'mon sighed repositioning his body the correct way.

The front door of the house opened an a man stepped out. He was much older to be a real estate agent. The old man had a fringe of grey-white hair around his balding, mottled scalp. He had a wizened face and a back slightly hunched. With each movement there was the creak of old bones. He had the resigned look of one who knows that at his age life has stopped giving and only takes away.

"Damn he's old." Shiloh said making Zuri crack a laugh. With each slow step down the stairs seemed to hurt his joints. The man held a face of sadness and irritation.

"Come on y'all." Chandice spoke as she clicked her seatbelt lose. Everyone followed suit then Paul had beeped the car for security that no one would steal their vehicle while they checked out their soon to be house.

"Hello." The man greeted with a smile. "I'm Randall Shulkwits, I'll be showing you the house today." Paul extended his hand for Randall to shake. Randall looked at his head momentarily before shaking.

"I'm Paul, and this is my wife Chandice." He greeted.

"These are our children. Shiloh, Zuri, and Ar'mon." Chandice spoke up extending her hand for him to shake, as so he did.

"Nice to meet you all. Let's get to it, shall we?" Chandice and Paul agreed while the children stayed quiet. Everyone followed closely behind him as he lead them into the house.

The old man had long since forgotten what it felt like to have joints that moved freely, without pain. His aches were his constant companions, not friends, but always with him.

"This is the dining room." Randall announced as he led the family through the vacant house.

Though the exterior of the house had suffered many winters and storm seasons, the old wooden floor had been sheltered inside. It still bared the characteristic hues of American walnut, dull, but in a way more beautiful than any engineered product could be.

"Everything looks, so worn down," Zuri remarked looking around the room. The curtains looked old and washout. As for the window that sat behind the curtains, it was covered in dust, stains, and dirt.

Suddenly there was a foul smell as if something had died. "What the fuck?" Shiloh muffled into his hand as he covered his nose in disgust. So did Zuri and Ar'mon.

"What is that smell?" Zuri shrieked with her eyebrows knitted together firmly.

Randall turned around looking at the kids. He didn't like how they were talking about the house at all. It was upsetting him but soon enough they'd learn to keep their rude comments to themselves.

"I don't smell anything, Paul. Do you?" Paul shook his head without a doubt in his mind.

"Y'all go outside. Y'all are messing up that tour." All three siblings smacked their lips and without a second remark they headed to the front door.

"Follow me," Randall said breaking the silence. Paul and Chandice trailed behind him as he leads the couple to the kitchen.

The kitchen didn't look too bad, there granite counters, stainless steel appliances, spotless, scrubbed, well equipped, utensils on hooks, matching cups, uncluttered, clean folded tea towel, gentle swish from the dishwasher, the efficient hum of a refrigerator, professional knife block, dried flowers hung from beams, nothing superfluous, minimalistic, uncluttered, and ceramic floor tiles all looked up to date and spotless.

"Now, I know you won't be able to stay out of here." Paul remakes sarcastically. Chandice blushed to flick her husband's nose.

Zuri, Ar'mon, and Shiloh walked around the big backyard. The grass crunching underneath their shoes as they walked. The yard was spacious but the grass was in definite need of cutting. It was so tall no telling what was hiding in between.

"Is that a treehouse and a playset?" Ar'mon scowled looking ahead of them.

"Why yes, it is, my dear." A feminine voice answered behind them. Startled, they turned around.

"Who are you?" Zuri asked addled.

𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜

-𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎?
-𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚗 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗?
-𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚝?
-𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍 𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖?
-𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚠𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚜𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚣𝚞𝚛𝚒 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍?

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