Robb slammed the boot shut and ran after the others, bags in hand. Grey Wind loped alongside him barking loudly.
"Shh! You don't want them to dislike us before we even get through the door,"
"Come on Robb!" Theon shouted from the porch. He was balancing Inky and his little tank on his knee, holding the door open for his friend. Once inside, the three of them were ushered into the lounge and stood, gazing in awe at the room around them. The walls were covered in posters, some political, others revolutionary and some just depicting bands such as The Wildlings (Jon's favourite). Every boy who had ever lived in the house had scribbled his name on the wall and house photos dating back to the 1900's hung in uniformed lines. Perhaps the best thing was the projector. Instead of a TV, a giant image shone on a plain wall, which at the moment showed a power point stating 'Welcome to Stormlands House, enter as a boy, leave as a man.'
"Jon!"
Samwell Tarly was jogging down the stairs, a usual pace for him, Grenn in tow. He embraced Jon in a squishy bear hug. Grenn preferred to just shake hands.
"Mate, how are you?"
Sam blushed "I've got some news… I um… Well… Over the holidays…"
Grenn clapped him on the back "What he's trying to say is that he's going out with Gilly,"
Now this did surprise Jon. Sam hardly had the courage to go to the toilet in the middle of the night, let alone ask a girl out. All the same, he was pleased for him.
"Have you been anywhere with her yet" Robb asked.
"No, not yet. But I'm planning to take her out to Lemonwood on Saturday night."
Lemonwood? Thought Jon. Ah yes, how like Sam. Lemonwood was the cosy new restaurant that had opened in Putney over summer. Most boys would probably have taken their date on a night out to Castamere, or the Trident, the local clubs. But not Sam, he was more… courteous.
"Welcome!" the boys turned to see a short man with one green eye and one blue, grinning broadly.
"Mr Lannister,"
"Hmm," The dwarf paused "In this house, we forget the usual formalities. In this house, I am just Tyrion."
The boys looked at each other, momentarily confused. Theon was the first to drop the solemnness.
"Now, that we're in upper sixth, are we allowed beer in house?"
Tyrion smirked "Nice try Greyjoy, nice try…"
