Spring had just arrived and that meant only one thing. Spring effing Cleaning.
Bollo was the one that forced Naboo, Vince and Howard to help with spring cleaning. He cleaned the apartment and shop everyday by himself but did he really clean it? No, he did not. There was a lot of junk around which could be thrown out and to tell the truth, it was just taking up too much space. After nagging, bribery and a bit of blackmail, the three characters got dragged into cleaning up.
Their idea for cleaning was quite different to most people but of course, they were different people. Instead of working on one room at the time, they just got all of the junk together in one pile before sorting it out. Bollo didn't have many items for himself so decided that while the humans (and shaman) sorted out their mess, he would do all the dusting and washing everything else. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Then again, they weren't known for having the greatest ideas.
"Vince, are you really keeping all of these" Howard asked for the hundredth time, gesturing towards the pile of clothes that took up nearly a third of the room. As they had so much junk in the apartment, not all of it could fit in one room. They could only put all the stuff from the bedrooms there and once that was cleaned they would work on the other rooms. They were trying to avoid the bathroom for as long as possible.
"Of course. You have no idea how much they cost me. I'm not going to get rid of them so quickly" Vince quickly responded, defending his clothes. The only thing they were able to get rid off from Noels clothes selection was a pair of hot pink shorts. Even that took them half an hour of convincing.
"But you never wear half of it" Howard complained. "You buy it, wear it and then throw it into that wardrobe of yours never seeing it again. I still can't believe Naboo got you that stupid wardrobe" Vince smirked a little along with Naboo. For Christmas the previous year, Naboo got Vince a closet that looked the same as a normal one but the inside had unlimited space. All Howard got was a pack of tic tacs.
"I wear them more then you think" Vince replied absent mindedly as he picked up another book that belonged to Naboo. He threw it in a small pile that contained all of Naboos spellbooks. Howard rolled his eyes and continued cleaning up. It was amazing what they actually possessed. So far they found a hula hoop, pom poms, bow and arrow and a laser gun. They just guessed Vince was the one that bought them, as he was more likely to want them then anyone else,
"Don't see why we can't just use one of your spells to clean everything" Howard muttered for the hundredth time. Sometimes Naboo would use his magic for pointless things but then when it was appropriate, he never seemed to use it. Naboo never answered to why he wouldn't use his magic so they thought it was a mythical reason behind it. The real reason was because Bollo told him not to. It was time he learned how to do things the mortal way. Since the Olympics accident of 2004, Bollo had been trying to control Naboos magic. No one else knew of this though. It was just a secret between a shaman and his familiar.
It went quiet again for another several minutes. There was nothing interesting besides a pair of high heels that Naboo found and of course, it belonged to Vince. He just laughed about it and said that they could sell it if they wanted. One thing that did spark Howards interest was a small golden circular case. It looked very familiar but he must not have seen it in years. Picking it up, he felt all the craftsmanship of it, little parts sticking out which was poking against the skin but Howard didn't mind. It was the size of Howards palm as it sat firmly. There was a part of the side which was smooth, compared the rest of the sharp edges. Naturally, he pressed his long stubby fingers against it and opened it to reveal a small photo.
There was a young girl smiling back at Howard. She looked fairly young, no older then 18. She had pale silky skin and short black messy hair. The familiar blue eyes that were looking at him with mischief. It had been more then half a life since he last saw the girl but Howard instantly recognised her.
"Amelia" he muttered to himself.
"Don't, I look hideous" Amelia cried, putting her hand infront of her face. A younger Howard chuckled at his lovers reaction of her taking a photo of her while they were sitting on swings in a park. Jokingly, he put on a cheesy French accent.
"But ma belle, do not say that. You look exquisite" he said cheerfully. "The light makes you look like a goddess" Howard complimented. Amelia let out a small smile as she laughed, giving Howard the perfect opportunity to take a shot of his girlfriend.
"You're going to have to give that to me" she replied, getting up from the swing. "Do you not trust me?" Howard asked, also getting up from his swing, protecting his camera. As Amelia got closer to him, he let it out of reach by putting it up high as she was very short.
"Not with photos" she reminded, standing up on her tippy toes.
"If you insist so much, you can keep it" Howard replied leaning down to kiss her.
It was Vince that snapped Howard back into reality.
"That's mine" Vince shouted, reaching out and attempting to grab the photograph. Howard pulled it just a little bit out reach and looked at Vince a little confused. He looked like the little gold case was a secret.
"You know this woman?" he asked, slightly confused. Vince growled a little, something Howard hardly ever saw since he was eight years old. It only happened when Vince was truly angry
"Yeah. It's my mum"