THE LANDLADY by Jay Jay.

SISSY and MEGAN.

Sissy and Megan were friends from a very young age, and had always done EVERYTHING together. Thus, after a false start, when Megan had unwisely moved in with her then boy-friend at the age of 16, much to her mother's disgust, a long story, all gone badly, tell you about it later, she had contacted Sissy and had suggested they get somewhere to live together. Sissy, meantime, had had a HUGE argument with her alcoholic mother and been told to move out and stay out. Which Sissy was only too glad to do. Trouble was, the flats they looked at were all expensive or miles away from the action, and they were just thinking about packing up and moving to another town, when Megan spotted a poster at University when she was there with one of her boy-friends, and well, here they were. 

Megan had cautioned Sissy to tone it down a bit, whilst they were at the 'interview.' After all, Siss and Meg were slightly younger than these geeks they were trying to get in with. They didn't want to come across as too immature.

Sissy had pointed out that the two of them had probably done more, seen more, had a much more adventurous time than any of these snotty-nosed University kids, so that made them more mature.

Megan responded with it was perception that counted. They were younger in years. Play it cool.

They needn't have worried. Rent day was coming up and it had been several weeks and no-one else had answered the advert. Although the rent was affordable, they were all on limited incomes and reducing the money was adventageous for them all.

Audrey had voiced some mis-givings in a whispered conversation in the kitchen.

"They're very young," she said, "I don't trust them."

"We are all very young, except Len," Raewyn hissed back. "Give them a chance!"

Sissy and Megan happened to come along whilst the house was in a quiet stage. No creepy happenings, no things unexpectantly out of place, no feeling like someone watching over one's shoulder. Thus, everyone was relaxed, sure original misgivings had all been imaginary. It was, after all, a very old house. Every horror movie they had ever seen took place in very old, creepy houses. This one was renovated to look modern, but still had original features. There were the carved heads half-way down the hall, watching you as you walked by. There were the wood panelled walls and old-fashioned stair-case, heavy wooden doors, wrought-iron gates out to the garden. Statues of strange people and fantastic animals on the garden walks. Enough to give anyone the willies. 

But all nonsense, really, in the light of a sunny day.

The two girls were shown the spare rooms, were happy to move in. Sissy had brought her dog with her, the ugliest thing that Audrey had ever set eyes on. "Topsy is a pomeranian-shitzu-chiuaua cross," Sissy said proudly, as the little devil snapped and snarled at Buddy. Buddy looked at the little creature with disdain, and the flatmates agreed that one more dog was O.K.

"Does he shed a lot?" Audrey asked, the only one still not totally on board.

"Not really," Sissy said, hastily balling a clump of Topsy's hair into her hand and putting it out of sight under a cushion. "Thanks, guys, it's sooooo hard to find a flat that will take dogs!"

Siss and Meg wasted no time in moving in. They arrived with a bunch of young men eager to help them move in furniture. After a noisy start, the two girls disappeared. They didn't reappear for two days.

"It was soooo AWKWARD explaining to my ex-boyfriend that I wasn't going to live there anymore," Megan told Darren, as they walked their dogs around the garden together. "He was all, like, who's going to help me pay the rent, and I said, that's his problem, and he called me a bitch, can you believe that? Then he said that I couldn't have any furniture, because it was all his. So I pointed out that I paid for some of it, and he got really mad, like, I think I should have some of it. So I waited till he was at work, then I got some of my stuff and hid it with Matt. He'll be mad, but who cares, he doesn't know WHERE I went. TOPSY! Leave that statue alone! Oh, he's pissed on it!" She giggled. "Anyway, I've had it with him, he's gone, I've found someone better."

"That guy that helped you move in?"

"Matt? Oh, he's nice, he's useful too, he has a van. I went out with him, AGES ago. He hangs around, he wants more, I think. Sissy likes him. She can have him. Sloppy seconds," she sniggered.

Darren was not sure he liked this conversation. "Lets go see Dean," he said. "He lives behind that marble building, over the lake."

"The one that looks like it came from a fancy cemetry?" Megan said.

"Yeah, that's it. DEAN! YOU THERE?"

"Here!" Dean appeared, dressed in the grey robes.

"Come over for a beer," Darren suggested.

Dean had become a regular visitor to the house in the last few days, as the flatmates had all warmed up to him. Dean had been a careful drinker, not wanting to fall back into bad habits, but had been grateful for the company. Megan watched Dean with great curiosity as he rowed the short distance to them. The three returned to the house. Megan suddenly seemed a bit subdued in the older guy's company. Darren felt grateful, he was already tired of the drama. Megan was probably going to cause trouble, but at the moment the two girls were a solution to a minor problem. He gave a wry grin to himself. If Megan was a user, she was being used. Then he felt ashamed, Megan and Sissy were younger, don't put them down like that.

"Going to be a cold night," Dean remarked. 

"Those stars are so sharp," Darren said.

"I never really look at stars," Megan said. "They are pretty."

Suddenly Darren felt protective. Megan looked so innocent, staring up at the stars with wide eyes.

They were met by a small white dog, a foxy type that barked and barked.

"Oh, this is Sissy's other dog," Megan said. "Meet Buster."

Darren groaned. Topsy was not house-trained. He bet this little horror wasn't either. 

"I think we have training to do," he said to Buddy, and the big dog growled as if in agreement.

They went inside.

The night was quiet. Very quiet.

The house was still, well behaved.

Waiting.