Amy Flemming | After the Flames

2

The rental car that was borrowed by Uncle John drives through the gates of Meadowwick. After a few minutes the car comes to a stop in front of the school where this all began: Hemmingway Boarding School. School starts tomorrow so the field is empty for now. The only people that are there are the gardeners fixing the grass before the students arrive. When I have taken my suitcase and bags  from the boot, I look at the massive building that is right in front of me. "You ready?" Uncle John asks me as he walks up next to me. I take a deep breath. "Yes." I say with a smile.

I knock on the big wooden doors and suddenly feel like it is the first time of me coming here again. "Amy, it is so good to see you again." Kate says as she opens the doors before she lets us inside of the house. The house still feels the same as when I saw it for the last time. "How are you, darling?" She asks me with  a smile on her face. "I am fine thank you." I look in to the direction of the living room. "Are the others-" Kate smiles brightly before escorting us to the living room where Valerie, Chester and Ethan are sitting. "AMY!" Valerie exclaims with a smile as she sees me. She runs over to me before embracing me into a tight hug before Ethan and Chester join us. "It is so good to see you again."  Valerie exclaims. Kate smiles at us. "We will be in my office." Kate tells us before Uncle John follows her to her office. Chester and I give each other a kiss before we join Valerie and Ethan on the couch.

Uncle John is about to leave again after talking to Kate. "I will let you know, when we arrive back in Madrid." He tells me as he embraces me into a hug. "I'm going to miss you." I tell him as I wrap my arms around him. "You will be okay." Uncle John tells me. We hear Kate's high heels click on the tiled floor approaching us. "Amy, always remember to stay safe. Trust your intuition and don't always trust everybody." He whispers in my ear before ending the hug. He gives me a kiss on the forehead before saying his goodbye to Kate and my friends before walking towards the door. "Bye, Amy." He waves before walking out of the house. A tear rolls down my cheek before Kate comes to comfort me. "You will be safe here." She tells me as she lays a hand on my shoulder. I smile at her before we hear the door open again.

"Hello! Here I am." We turn our heads to the door and see a large black hat covering the persons face. A hand with perfectly manicured nails, reaches for the hat and we smile at it reveals Heather. "It is so good to see you again, Heather." Kate says with a smile. "It is good to be back here." Heather says with a smile before the taxi driver sets down the last two suitcases next to her. She pays the driver before he leaves the house. "How was your flight back from your trip to the the United States?" Kate asks her as we walk to the living room. "Good." She says with a smile as she sees the others in the living room.

We all catch up. "Hello." Paige and Lucy call out from the hall. They apparently travel together since they live close to each other. They walk in and smile when they see us. We greet each other before they sit down on the couch. Kate comes with a tray full of drinks and snacks for us to take. We talk about out Christmas break and how our New Year's Eve all were spend.

"Oh my goodness!" Is what we hear coming from to hallway followed by a faint laughter. We smile. "Prepare yourself." Heather tells me. "The first days back here are filled with pranks." Kate and Elijah walk inside. Kate is still holding her chest, probably still trying to recover from the scare that Elijah gave her.

"It is so good to see you, Elijah. How is your arm?" Kate asks him. "It is still attached to my body, sort of, but I am fine." I look at him. Uncle John told me that he had broken his arm and needed surgery. Apparently, he fell backwards while protecting us from the fire. He wanted to break the fall with his hand but broke his arm while doing so. He looks at me before quickly shifting his gaze and takes a seat on the other couch.

"Hi!" A familiar voice says as she walks into the room. "Brooke!" Heather runs towards her and gives her a tight hug as she greets her. "I am so happy to share a room again after all these weeks. I didn't really miss your spiritual quotes and speeches but those are always better than my little brothers screaming." Brooke sits down next to us before we start some new conversations.

"Where is Mason?" Brooke asks Lucy who is a little quiet. "He is still on Winter Sports Camp." Lucy answers. "When is he coming back?" Elijah asks her. "Tomorrow evening." She replies. "Is anybody hungry Kate asks us. "Yes." Elijah says as he smiles at Kate. The table is filled with stuffings for wraps. We all sit down in our seats. I fill Chester's glass with water before pouring some in for myself. Kate sets a platter down on the table which is filled with wraps before we all begin to fill the wrap with the things we want.

"What did you all do during the break?" Kate asks us as she sits in one of the empty chairs. "My family and I went to our house in California like always. Dad had work to do." Heather replies. "Was it fun?" Kate asks her. Heather nods with a big smile before continuing to eat. "And you, Valerie?" Kate asks her. "My parents are renovating the Bed & Breakfast. This Christmas we didn't have any guests so it was a good time to do it." Valerie answers her question. "What did you do, Chester?" Kate asks Chester when he was about to start with his second wrap. "I went to Italy, with my parents and my sister,  to celebrate Christmas with our Italian family." We talk a little bit about his trip before he decides to eat his wrap. Ethan begins to tell about his trip. "My brothers and I went to travel around Ireland. We came back before Christmas where I spent the last few days with my parents before coming back here." Kate smiles at him before looking at Paige. "My parents were at work a lot of the time so I spent a lot of time at my grandparents' house." Paige answers. "My brother and I went to Australia to visit our parents there." Brooke tells us. Kate smiles at her as she explains how it was to see her parents again after a long time. 

Kate looks over at me. She knows that for the most of it, I was recovering in hospital. "I got out of the hospital on my birthday so I got to spend it at home." Kate nods and lets me continue. "I wasn't allowed to do a lot so we celebrated Christmas with just us three but I liked it that way." I finish. "I am happy that you are okay now." Kate smiles at me. Elijah looks a little uncomfortable when he is asked what he has got up to in his break. "Well, after I came out of the hospital a few weeks ago, my father let me meet his new girlfriend." He tells. "Oh, is she nice?" I asks him. "I think so. I don't trust her." Elijah says like he isn't bothered about it. Heather changes the subject, clearly seeing that he doesn't want to continue on this topic. "What did you do, Kate?" Heather asks her. "I have stayed here for a long while, I needed to be here during the renovations." She explains. "It took a little longer than Mr. Rutherford and I expected it to. But the workers completed it in time. I am happy the school is finished." Kate smiles. "What about Christmas?" Valerie asks her. "I went home to family." Kate quickly tells us. "The next wraps are ready." She says, standing up, when the timer goes off. 

After dinner, we drink some tea and catch up. I talk with Chester about school starting again. "Are you nervous?" He asks me. "A little bit." I confess. "I understand." He tells me with a supportive smile. "I am pretty tired. I am going to go to bed." I tell him. I say good night to the others. "Good night, Amy." They say. I give Chester a kiss before leaving to the stairs. "Are you going to bed?" Kate asks me as she walks out of the corridor where her office is located. "Yes, I am tired from the ride back here." I tell her with a smile. "It is good to have you all back here, Amy." She tells me with a smile. "Good night." Kate tells me. "I will see you tomorrow." She tells me. "Good night, Kate." I say before going up the stairs.