Disclaimer: I do not own the 39 clues. Sadly. That would be awesome.
Andrew glanced at his younger sister, Dannie. He had forced himself to stop calling her little, because no matter how hard he tried, he could only see her as she was when she was small. When Grace was alive. They look so similar, Dannie and Grace. Dannie bounced on the balls of her feet, eyes ahead, looking rather eager for the Cobras to arrive. Andrew knew that look, and it didn't bode well for anyone.
Calls had been received a few days prior. The Starlings had some sort of Ekat science convention that they wanted to go to for the past ever, the Holts were on a mountain somewhere, probably training, and quickly going deaf, and Jonah had a promotional tour for 'so you wanna be a gangsta, the next level'.
This time it was just Nellie, the Cahills and Cobras. And that, my dear readers, is how Dannie got a hayday with the two of them, at least as far as pranks were concerned. Honestly, that's just about all that concerned her at this point.
Dannie was already planning things for this reunion. Andrew, on the other hand, had no idea what he was going to do. (Nellie was thinking about dinner.) They were going to be there any minute. The family was coming to Cahill Manor for yet another of Fiske's 'surprise' reunions. Everyone from the gauntlet was supposed to be there, but no one was available. The only people who were coming were the ones Andrew was most worried about. The only people Andrew was truly worried about were the snakes. Everyone else got along, for the most part, but the Kabras were always instigating. Dannie was always more than happy to retaliate in the most embarrassing ways she could think of.
As the (still) new head of the family, he had to at least try to keep order. He was in Grace's library, his frantic steps echoing off the walls. For the first time in who knows how long he couldn't be comforted by the walls of books that surrounded him. Andrew couldn't stop pacing around the comfortable space that he had come to love. When he did finally stop and sit down, he couldn't stop fidgeting, so he went back to pacing.
He almost stopped when he saw the stringy blond hair of his sister disappear behind the door of the library. He knew his sister was infamous for the trouble she caused. Complete strangers at important meetings avoided her because of an incident with an apple pie. There was always a barely hidden hint of mischief in her eyes, and with it came a promise of trouble, though for who, he couldn't be sure. Andrew just hoped it wouldn't be for him.
Dannie chose that moment to wander into the library. She usually avoided the space because of her overbearing brother, but it was a prime spot for that very reason. No one would see it coming. It was a perfect spot for tricks. Especially since Nathaniel's older sister loved spending time in the library, particularly because a certain book loving red-head spent most of his time in there. Dannie, of course, knew that her brother would kill her if she was caught setting pranks in Grace's Library, so she left the way she came. Silently. She closed the door quietly, hoping that her noticeably high strung brother hadn't spotted her, and slipped into the hallway. Dannie curled a long strand of dirty blond hair around her finger, thinking of pranks to pull around the house where the Cobras would be sure to get caught in them.
Although you could never get her to admit it, she was also nervous about the Kabras coming, but for an entirely different reason. She would run about the house in a way that almost seemed frantic as she stashed pranks in every nook and cranny she could find. Dannie was planning on this being an unforgettable reunion, especially for the Cobras. It was only a matter of time before she stopped in front of the rooms saved for the Cobra siblings.
Isabella was nervous, but couldn't quite tell why. The reunion excited her more than usual. It was also not too long ago that Isabella realized she felt something towards Andrew that was definitely FLO (for losers only). She was told that love was for losers since she was small, and she still heard it on occasion from her brother, Nathaniel. Now that she knew what she felt for the shy, stuttering bookworm she couldn't help but feel happy about seeing him again, even though the rest of the gauntlet was coming as well.
Now as Isabella sat in the car next to her brother she wondered about his feelings, and dared to hope they were the same. She had dreamt up several possible scenarios where Andrew would welcome her, and tell her how much he thought of her. There were only two possibilities that she refused to think of; a) Andrew loved someone who she couldn't get rid of without him hating her forever, or b) he already did. She also spent about half the drive over thinking of the library that Andrew so loved, and spent so much time in.
Then there was that little pranking git, Dannie, she had to worry about. Dannie always ruined everything. At the last family reunion she had ruined Isabella's favorite blouse that she had brought along to wear for Andrew, but that is a different story.
She would just have to be more careful this time.
That pranking American cousin of ours is going to pay, Nathaniel thought. We got out of the car, and went up the stairs into the mansion. The Cahills were there waiting to greet us, as they did at every family reunion. Andrew smiled, trying to hide the nerves that he always had. Dannie was trying to look bored out of her mind, but couldn't keep the excited look out of her eyes. Nellie was between them, headphones on and blaring. Why didn't she turn that racket she called music down? Personally, I think she is trying to fill the silence that had settled between the two siblings.
To say that Nathaniel was disappointed was an understatement. After showing them to their rooms, Andrew left saying that dinner was at seven. Nathaniel was sure he went to find a book. Isabella had wandered off soon after that. Dannie on the other hand had vanished shortly after their arrival. Isabella was shut in her room, no doubt looking at her favorite picture of Andrew. Nathaniel went into the bathroom to see what was in there.
Dannie was in the one place that she had all to herself, and that was what she liked to call 'the secret floor'. Really, it was just the floor above the floor the Cobras usually used. Andrew and Nellie didn't mind that she had taken that space. What they didn't know was that Dannie also had her 'Secret Ninja Base' somewhere on that floor as well. Dannie took great pains to keep it that way.
Nellie Gomez, the only adult in the house, thought dinner was a great success. She had found some old recipes for steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy. She also found one for green beans. The kids on the other hand were silent as Nellie did her best to strike up a conversation. Andrew was immersed in a new volume that was about as large as a tome, if not bigger.
Not even halfway through the meal, food was flying everywhere. Somehow he managed to avoid getting any food on it as he turned the pages. Dannie was using her spoon as a catapult for her potatoes as she flung them into Nathaniel's hair. She laughed as the gravy proceeded to drip down his face. Nathaniel was so enraged that he could only shake, and glare at her as she made fun of him. Isabella was trying to focus on eating, but kept glancing at Andrew, who was sitting across from her. Andrew sometimes caught her glances. He grew red in the face, and hurriedly went back to his book. Nellie knew that it was getting to him, because she was sure that Andrew hadn't turned a page in the last five minutes or so. Isabella excused herself from the table, and Nathaniel did the same. The three ate the rest of their meal in silence.
Nathaniel caught Isabella outside her room.
"I know how you look at him."
Isabella froze. "And?"
"Mother would not approve."
"That woman is not our mother, Nathaniel." Isabella said, "she tried to kill us, she tried to kill Andrew and Dannie. She was so obsessed with the clues that we almost died."
"Fine then, Elizabeth would not approve."
"I don't care. I love him, and there is nothing you can do about it."
"That's FLO, and you know it." Nathaniel said, cocking a hip.
But by the time he had finished, his sister was already in her room, the door shut and locked tightly.
Nathaniel shrugged and went into his room to take a shower, trying his best not to think of long, dirty blond hair, and gleaming jade eyes. To distract himself from the troublemaker who had all but ruined dinner, he turned his attention to washing his hair.
