Forgot to add an author's note last time. XD
Still a little boring, I know, but it gets better later on, trust me.
Gorillaz belong to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
Chapter Three
"Everything is in order, then," the overseer, a man hardly seen by clients, stated calmly as he, the caretaker woman, and Murdoc waited for the girls to arrive, eyeing the visitor almost hungrily as thoughts of the amount of money that would be coming in swam in his head. He stood as straight as an old gray plank of wood, attempting to stand tall over everyone in the room as some sort of ploy to impress his client. He did not seem to notice that Murdoc hardly looked his way.
"Yes. Make the payment out to David Tusspot. The amount you request will certainly be there," the dark-haired man replied in a seemingly bored tone of voice, his eyes and attention locked onto the closed door that the girls would come barreling through any minute soon. After a few seconds of stagnant silence, Murdoc continued. "Surely that money will go to good use, eh?"
The overseer visibly stiffened at the question, but it quickly shifted back to his stance from before. The caretaker, a frown on her powdered face, looked over to the aging orphanage owner. Eventually he shrugged the matter off, and turned to his awaiting assistant.
"Amanda, would you kindly take care of the paperwork?" The brunette's faded hazel eyes sailed to the floor, and she nodded silently and stepped out of the waiting room and into the office. This left the two men standing alone, the quiet once again hanging over them like a thick fog. Shifting only his eyes, the overseer looked at Murdoc with some sort of contempt, as if he was the only one who knew of the unsavory practices his facility utilizes. "I do hope the Tusspots enjoy their nine little bundles of joy."
And without so much as a second glance, the overseer was gone.
"I'm sure they will, asshole." Murdoc's parting words to the orphanage owner went unheard, but it satisfied him nonetheless. Only seconds after the well-dressed man had spoke, several of the teenagers he had picked out for adoption burst into the lobby, all too eager to get out of the one place they have called home for so long. "Ahhhh, there are those beautiful faces. Is everyone here?"
"Ever'one but Elsie." Imogene replied informatively, taking a glance at the door that she and the others had come through. A few of the adopted girls turned to look at the door as well, as if staring at it would make the religious teenager pick up her pace. After some chatter amongst the group, Elsie at long last made her appearance.
"Geez, you take longer to get ready than Lisa…" Maria mumbled with a sneer, her eyes narrowed at the dark-skinned girl. In turn, Elsie did not appear at all fazed at her comment, perhaps not even hearing it at all.
"Well now, since we're all present and accounted for, let's head off, shall we?" Murdoc paused to hear the girls' responses to his inquiry. Once met with a unanimous and enthusiastic YES, the ten of them stepped out of the orphanage and into the brisk and refreshing September air outside.
Much to their surprise, instead of a vehicle waiting for them, the adopted teenagers were met with an empty parking lot. Seeing that Murdoc was not affected by this turn of events, having begun walking ahead of them, a few decided to voice their concerns on the matter.
"Uh… Mr. Niccals? There doesn't appear to be a car here…" Rosie stated tentatively, shuffling her feet a little as she spoke. There was a low resounding snicker that was heard from somewhere in the group, but before anyone could comment on Rosie's observation, Gwen spoke up first.
"Yeah, did someone jack it?"
"I must apologize, girls. Our limo has broken down in the past few days, and is currently in the shop," the dark-haired man explained after ceasing his walk to look back at them, a faint hint of a sorrowful expression in his rugged features. This news brought mixed reactions from the girls, but they said nothing on it. "Therefore, we will be walking to the mansion."
Most of the girls gave a collected and unified "Aww" in response, not entirely thrilled at the idea of walking to their new home. But when Murdoc began on his trek once again, the small crowd of teenagers grudgingly followed.
. . .
After well over an hour of walking, the group of ten were finally able to spot the mansion's clock tower rising just barely above the tops of the trees surrounding it. Murdoc proudly pointed this fact out, and the relief on the girls' faces were almost tangent. The house that they would be living in was almost a mile away from town, situated in a thick evergreen forest choked with shrubbery and pine.
The thought of such isolation brought both wanted and uneasy emotions, but the teens did not state their feelings either way. They were much too tired to.
"What is Mr. Tusspot like, Mr. Niccals? Is he nice?" Evelyn questioned with an eager expression, looking up at Murdoc with a small smile. These inquiries earned her a short, throaty chuckle from the Tusspot family friend, he too placing his dark eyes on her.
"Evelyn, this is the fifth time you've asked!"
"GWEN! Stop kicking rocks at me!" cried Paula from behind them, having turned to glare at the youngest girl of the group. The redhead, barely tired and hardly fazed at the darker haired teen, openly mocked her before heading to the front of the caravan. She slowed her pace once she caught up to Murdoc and Evelyn walking in the front. Paula, much too exhausted to keep up her glare, said nothing more to her.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I'm just too excited, I guess," said Gwen's green-eyed friend, replying to the earlier exclaim from Murdoc. Keeping his gaze straight ahead, the olive-skinned man retained his small grin.
"There's nothin' wrong with that, love."
"Yeah, Eve! We're all excited about this place, right guys?" The youngest looked back over her shoulder at the rest of the girls, who did not appear as enthused as she had hoped. Her own enthusiasm dwindling at the pitiful sight, Gwen turned forward again and readjusted her ponytail drawn up to the left side of her head. "Yup, we're jumping for joy."
"We're almost there. This road will take us right to the mansion," Murdoc stated calmly, holding out his hand to Evelyn. She placed her eyes on it for a moment, as if wondering what the gesture was for. But once seeing the warm and inviting expression on the man's angular face, she placed her hand in his with a smile. Gwen observed this from the other side of Murdoc, a brow raised slightly in apparent bewilderment. "You lucky girls will be in the lap of luxury in no time. Just a little ways more."
His words of encouragement seemed to rejuvenate the spirits of the tired girls once again, their faces brightening at the thought of what lie behind the elegant doors of the Tusspot mansion just ahead. In light of the uplifting vibe, Murdoc looked over at the preteen walking on his other side and held out his other hand.
Gwen, still not knowing what to make of the well-dressed man, declined his offer by shaking her head in refusal. This action brought a questioning look to Murdoc's face, which then shifted to a playful devious expression.
"What's this? NOW you want to be shy?" The redhead gave a small pout at his inquiry, her dark bluish gray eyes narrowed slightly. Murdoc had still kept his hand held out to her, as if expecting her to take it. But before she could take any further action, she was shoved away by an overly eager Paula.
"I'll hold your hand, Mr. Niccals," she said as she clasped her hand in his, looking endearingly up at him. The dark-haired man appeared surprised at first, having not expected her to do that, but it soon ebbed away and he looked ahead once again.
Satisfied with the outcome of her task, Paula looked over her shoulder at Gwen with a smug sneer. The redhead glared back, but was not really bothered at what the bucktoothed teen had done. Instead, she moved farther back in the group to meet up with Rosie, who was trailing behind.
"Hey Rosie, you holdin' up okay?" Gwen asked, a concerned frown in her features. Rosie, her cheeks as red as her namesake, managed an exhausted smile at her friend.
"I'm fine. I'll make it."
"You're out of water…" Gwen noted, pointing to the nearly empty water bottle clasped in the brunette's meaty hand. Along the way, the group had stopped at a store to get everyone a bottle of the life-giving liquid. By this time, most of the girls' bottles had been drained of their contents. Without second thought, the redhead reached into her backpack to pull out hers, which was only half empty. "Here, you can have the rest of mine."
"Aw Gwen, thank you." The rotund brunette gladly accepted the redhead's offer, sucking down the warm clear liquid inside. She saved the last little bit for later, stuffing the bottle into a side pocket in her pack.
It was not too long after this incident when they at long last arrived at the mansion, its height easily towering over everything in the area. Lining the smooth paved road in which they were walking were lavishing and decorative gardens, showcasing countless amounts of flowers and shrubs. Butterflies and bees fluttered and hovered around the colorful plants, adding to the tranquil and beautiful sight. The newly adopted teenagers were stricken with awe and astonishment.
"And here we are. About time, eh?" Murdoc prodded with a chuckle, spotting the amazed looks on the girls' faces. All they could do was nod in agreement.
Evelyn could never have imagined she would be staying in a structure such as this mansion. Looking at it, she was reminded of the castles in the fairytales she had been told as a child. It stood three stories tall, and stretched almost as far as a football field. The chocolate brown coloring it sported seemed to make it blend in with the woods, allowing it to hide well within the earth toned area.
The most striking feature about this mansion, however, was the clock tower located near the front of the mansion. This tower stood taller than the rest of the house, seemingly able to touch the sky. The oldest of the adopted daughters wondered what purpose a clock tower as grand as this one was needed. Perhaps the old mansion was once a church of some kind?
"You girls look exhausted. Let's go inside and rest up." Murdoc's voice suddenly cut through Evelyn's thoughts, drawing her attention to him. His suggestion did not go ignored by the teen girls; most of them cheered and hurried through the elegant and well crafted front doors, all too eager to see the inside. The only ones that seemed to linger were Elsie and Gwen, one being apprehensive about the building, the other eyeing Murdoc and Evelyn, who were walking calmly towards them.
The black-haired teenager took in the sights around her at her own pace, an amazed smile planted firmly on her ghostly face. She saw Gwen up ahead waiting for them, and began walking a little faster. She too was eager to see the interior of her new home, leaving Murdoc behind in her excitement. As she approached, Evelyn noticed someone hunched over in the garden to her left.
Once she came closer, she saw that he was a gardener, quite heavy in build. His dark skin glistened with sweat in the sunlight, his face hidden by the shadow created by the bill of his hat. He did not seem to pay any mind to Murdoc's or the girls' presence, his focus entirely on pulling weeds from the ground. Seeing that he did not want to be bothered, Evelyn continued on toward the front doors.
She eventually met up with Gwen, and they both looked to Elsie, who stared up at the looming clock tower above them. She looked worried and uneasy, seemingly frozen in fear. Seeing this, Evelyn and Gwen approached her.
"Elsie, what's wrong?" the oldest of them asked, her expression mirroring the religious girl's. Hearing her question, Elsie slowly looked over at them, her eyes glazed over and fearful.
"God speaks to me… He doesn't like this place, and neither do I." Her soft spoken voice trembled as she poured her feelings out to her fellow adopted teens; she looked as if she was about to shed tears at any moment. Seeing their perplexed reactions, Elsie looked back up at the clock tower. "I don't like it… I don't like it…"
"You're just nervous, Elsie. It's a whole new life you're stepping into. In fact, I think most of the others are nervous as well," Evelyn stated calmly, softening her eyes at the slightly younger teen.
"Precisely. It's perfectly reasonable to be afraid of change," Murdoc spoke up as he finally caught up with the three, his hands tucked behind his back and a blank expression in his features. His gruff voice had grabbed the attentions of the teens; they turned to him with mixed reactions of their own. The well-dressed man then bent down to Elsie's level with an inviting smile. "All will be fine. You'll see."
"I accept your judgment for now, Mr. Niccals. I'm sorry for creating a scene."
"No harm done. Now, let us meet up with your new sisters so I may show you all around." Murdoc stood straight again after he had spoke, still keeping a faint grin. With all of them in agreement, he guided the two dark-haired girls inside. It was just as he was about to step in when he realized that they were forgetting someone. Glancing back at the front porch, Murdoc spotted Gwen looking out to the gardens nearby. She appeared to be watching the burly gardener currently working in them.
The Tusspot family friend made his way over to the redhead, addressed her, and gently brought her inside via holding her hand. A pout was clearly seen on the thirteen-year-old's face.
