James looked over at his younger sibling, whom was resting his head against the finger-printed window of the bus. The boy looked absolutely exhausted. There was no doubt as to why. They had just completed an extensive duration of travel. It consisted of a several hour-long flight from West Virginia to Oregon. To make matters worse, they were forced to travel on land by a rather crowded bus liner. However, it was much cheaper than a cab, which would have cost them far more. Thankfully, the bus station was only a few miles from their destination. From there, they would call for a taxi. James was eager to finally rest for a day. This journey had become highly exhausting, and it had began to wear on the young man's nerves. Thankfully, they had a few weeks to prepare for the upcoming school days since they had to get themselves situated first. The vehicle passed by the endless trees of the interstate, and it soon began to become a repetitive blur. How he wished he could entertain himself somehow. On long rides like this his mind raced. That was the downside of being a freakish genius. He began to pass the time by identifying the material that other people's travel bags were made of. He had odd habits like that, but it was better than nothing. The bus must have hit a pothole or some other obstacle, for it made a noticeable lurch. His brother stirred, and slowly rose his head. The younger boy said, "James? Are we there yet?" James merely grunted, saying, "Go back to sleep short-stop. We aren't there yet." The younger boy rose his blanket up to his chin. It was slightly chilly on the bus, and the younger boy was using their only blanket. James said, "It should not be much longer until we reach the bus station." The younger boy looked up and said, "Aren't you cold?" James merely shook his head, saying, "Winter weather doesn't really get to me that much short-stop. You should know this." His younger brother said, "Can't you just call me Elijah?" James didn't answer. Elijah put his head on a pillow he had, and they sat in silence for some time. The city of Ashland came into view on the horizon, and it wasn't long before they entered the city. James looked around, admiring the various architectures of the buildings. It certainly was much different than West Virginia.

Elijah tugged at his sleeve, and James turned towards him, eyebrow raised. The younger boy pointed at something out of the window, and the bus station soon became visible. The massive machine turned into the garage, engulfing the aisles and seats in darkness. Several of the passengers had become restless and were beginning to stir from their sleep. The vehicle rolled up to a pair of doors on a curb, and came to a complete stop. A monotonous droning voice spoke on the PA, telling the passengers to disembark off of the bus. James was glad they didn't bring much with them. Not that they had much. They were able to place their luggage in the overhead storage compartment they had so little. Elijah rolled up his pillow and blanket, placing them inside of his suitcase. The two brothers rose from their seats, and shuffled along with the sleepy crowd out from the warmth of the bus and into the cold of the winter air. They walked inside the doors to the administration area,where they proceeded to get their hands and feet warm. Elijah looked tired. He definitely wanted to sleep. James was tired as well. Elijah said, "Can we go get some food?" James shook his head. Elijah groaned softly, and James said, "We are low on money, you whining runt. Silence yourself." Elijah stopped talking, not wanting to incite his brother's wrath. James said to Elijah, "Stay here, don't move, and remain quiet. I am going to go use a phone to get a cab. We are lucky we got here when we did. The land-lady told us she would have a key waiting for us under the stairs in an envelope." Elijah nodded, and remained silent. James rose from his chair and went to the nearby pay phone. Dialing the number, he managed to get a hold of the taxi service, and the man over the phone told him it would be ten minutes. Putting down the receiver, he returned to Elijah, grabbing his wrist. James said, "Come on. We have ten minutes before they get here." The brothers walked outside with their bags, waiting for the driver.

When one is waiting for the taxi in decent weather, time goes by normally. When waiting for it in very cold weather, time drags by. The two brothers stood there, getting increasingly cold as the minutes passed. Elijah had wrapped the blanket around himself again, trying to shield his frigid body from the frosty air. It had started to snow, and that only made matters worse. Even James had began to feel the effects, when the cab chugged into view. The driver pulled up and asked, "You rang?" James nodded, and Elijah proceeded to get in the back seat, while James placed their luggage into the trunk. James placed himself in the front passenger side, and the driver pulled off the curb. The drive was rather silent, nobody saying anything for the majority of the drive. The driver coughed once then said, "You know, the place you're going to is really old. It's one of the older buildings in this city. It's sort of on the outskirts, kind of rural." James nodded and said, "Oh really?" The driver said,"Yeah. I don't really know much about it, but apparently it was originally a single, massive house. Technically, it was a mansion in it's prime." James nodded again. He then said, "Interesting. I like historical facts. Good to know it is still there." The driver said, "Apparently, it's slightly banged up, but still holds strong."James laughed. The conversation was brought short when the driver pulled up to a rather old looking stone path. James and Elijah could see their destination. James said, "So...This is the Pink Palace Apartments?" The driver said, "Yes indeed. Looks more grey than pink I think." Elijah seemed a bit stunned. He didn't really like the way it looked. It looked old and boring. James said to the driver, "Thank you sir. Here's your funding." He passed the money to the driver and exited the vehicle. The two brothers grabbed their belongings and the cab pulled off.

James trudged up the path, and gazed at the area surrounding the house. It was massive. A dilapidated barn/shed stood at one end, and what looked like a garden was on the other side. The building itself was in moderate disrepair, but it did have an air of comfort. They made their way up to the door, and there was a multi-directional signpost, each with different names on it. The signpost read three family names. Jones, Bobinsky, and Miriam/Forcible. Apparently, their flat was opposite the Jones' on the rear side of the house. The two brothers walked around the side of it in silence, taking in the scenery. It actually wasn't too bad. It was just...aged. Arriving to their flat, James looked around for the key, and proceeded to find it in the exact place where the land-lady said it would be. They entered through the door threshold, and were slightly taken aback. The flat was definitely much larger than they had expected. It was only single-story, but was indeed spacious. The kitchen was near the entrance, directly to the right. There was a sitting room to the left, and further down the hall to the right was the bathroom. At the end of the hall, was a room to the left and right, which James guessed were the bedrooms.

James calculated inside of his head and came to the conclusion that, in terms of space, the only flat smaller than the one they were in was the attic. However, it still possessed more than enough space for the two of them. Elijah took to the restroom immediately and James began to unpack. Thank goodness it didn't take long. James took a seat in the kitchen, looking around. The flat was clean, and it smelled nice. But everything inside was indeed old and worn. Elijah came out of the bathroom and said, "This place is so dull. But at least it is clean." James nodded in agreement. It was rather early in the morning still, and dawn was only beginning to break over the tree-line of the nearby woods. Elijah said, "Well, what do we do on our first day?" James merely sighed and said, "I'm not too sure. We don't have a television or anything of that sort here right now. It is very cold outside, and we have quite a bit of work to do around here." Elijah said, "Like what?" James scratched his chin and said, "Well, we have to get several forms of paperwork together. We can rest for a bit but within the next month we should be seeking getting back to school. I don't start my job for another two weeks. Money is going to be very tight until then. At the moment, we have enough to sustain our food needs until the job starts. There doesn't appear to be a washing machine or dryer here either, so we may have to rely on a laundromat." Elijah moaned like a child, not liking the sound of it. James merely gave him a glare, and Elijah shrank back. James said, "Regardless, I say we use today to rest up. Since we didn't bring much, it didn't take long to unpack." Elijah nodded in agreement. Elijah took the pillow and blanket, and lied down in the bedroom he claimed. James grabbed his black turnout coat and observed it, the white stripes reflecting the dim light from outside. It was the only item he had left from his grandfather, whom had passed away years earlier. He loved that coat. He put it on and went to lie down in his bed, across the hallway from Elijah's room, and drifted off.