I'm listening to Suite
"Ugh…" muttered Caspian as he slowly gained consciousness.
"Good morning!" came the bright voice of Caspian's newly acquired uncle, Prof. Lindall. "I've already had a chat with the headmaster, and he didn't seem to care that you're staying with me. Personally, I think that he's still overjoyed that he could find a Medieval History professor on such short notice."
Caspian merely rolled over and mumbled something incoherent that sounded like, "Five more minutes."
"If you insist…" replied Edgar, "but, if you don't hurry, you'll miss breakfast. Meaning that you won't be able to see Edmund's sister at the morning festivities."
At this comment, Caspian sat straight up in bed, wide awake, and asked, "where's the dining hall Professor Lindall?"
Professor Lindall chuckled. "My, my. It seems that you are quite fond of this Susan girl. If you get ready within the next five minutes, you can come to breakfast with me. I'll show you the way while giving you a mini-tour of our campus building."
"That sounds reasonable." Caspian said while putting on his, uh… Peter's shirt. "I'm ready Professor Lindall."
"You might want to comb your hair first." The professor chuckled while slightly laughing at Caspian. "Oh, and by the way, you should start calling me Uncle Edgar, or just simply Edgar."
Caspian smiled. "Of course, Uncle Edgar." Caspian emphasized 'uncle' with a mocking smirk.
Uncle Edgar threw a comb at Caspian and hit him over the head, but Caspian seem unfazed. "Thanks, I was looking for a comb."
Edgar rolled his eyes. Kings have a weird sense of humor. Look at Edmund. "Was Susan surprised to see you yesterday?"
A smile lit Caspian's face as he nodded.
While Edgar patiently waited for Caspian to finish, he was packing some things into a backpack.
"Okay, NOW I'm ready." Caspian said after thoroughly combing his hair. Not that it made any difference.
Edgar looked skeptically at Caspian. "Well then, it seems as if combing has no effect on your hair, so we might as well leave."
Edgar grabbed his briefcase and handed Caspian the backpack filled with essential stuff, and walked out the door, assuming that Caspian would follow. Caspian lingered a little by the door as if trying to decide on something. Just then, Edgar called out, "Caspian, are you coming?"
Caspian snapped out of his temporary gaze and nodded. Shutting the door behind him, he ran up to Edgar and asked, "Wait, how am I going to be able to see Susan again? I had to sneak in yesterday. Isn't the boys' school and girls' school normally separated?"
Edgar smiled. "Normally, yes, but Edmund seems to have a very good sense of timing. There's two day until half term, meaning that according to tradition, the boys' school and the girls' school visit with each other. Today the girls are coming here, but tomorrow the boys are visiting."
Caspian nodded and then asked, "What's half term?"
"Half term is a week off school. By the way Caspian, where are you going to stay during half term?"
Caspian looked worried, but before he could reply, Edgar offered Caspian a place to stay. "You could stay with me. If you want that is."
"Truly Edgar? You wouldn't mind?" Caspian asked doubtfully. He didn't think that Edgar would want an eighteen-year-old teenager living with him.
"It's the least I can do Caspian. Besides, I'm getting a little lonely." Edgar replied with a brilliant smile on his face. "Also, I live in Finchley, and that's where the Pevensie's live."
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me Caspian. I'd like to think of us as friends now."
Caspian smiled. "That sounds like a good idea. Now are you sure this is the right way to the dining hall?"
Edgar stopped suddenly. "Uh… actually, I think the dining hall is on the other side of the building. I must have turned left instead of right." Edgar said sheepishly.
Caspian rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Well we had better start walking back. " Just then a bright-eyed Edmund walked into view.
"Good morning Caspian, Professor Lindall. How was your night?" before Caspian or Lindall had a chance to answer, Edmund continued on, "My night was fantastic. Thanks for asking. I slept like a baby for 10 hours."
Caspian chuckled. "It looks like Edmund finally got his beauty sleep, Edgar." He said while putting a hand on Edgar's shoulder.
Edmund's jaw dropped, and this time, before he could say anything, Caspian interrupted, "Yes, Edgar and I have become moderately close, and I am going to spend half term with him."
Edmund finally closed his mouth, but then opened it again to say, "That's not what I was surprised about. It's just the fact that you called him Edgar. Can I call him Edgar too?"
"No you may not," interrupted Edgar Lindall, "you may call me Professor Lindall, now run along before I give you detention."
Edmund and Caspian were stunned. They looked at each other with wide-eyed surprise. Neither of them expected Lindall to order around a Narnian king, even though they weren't in Narnia. Edgar burst out laughing and so did Caspian after a pause. Edmund simply stomped off to the direction that Edgar and Caspian came from.
"Edmund, isn't the dining hall the other way?" Caspian called out to Edmund between laughs.
Edmund turned around, looked at Caspian and Lindall with a dark look in his eyes and said, "I knew that. I was just… um… seeing where this leads."
Lindall looked at Edmund doubtfully and then asked, "But isn't that the laundry room?"
Edmund was at a lost for words, but then a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes, and he shot back, "What are you two doing here?"
This time, Caspian and Lindall were at a lost for words while Edmund waited with a smirk on his lips. Then, Edgar said meekly, "We got lost." Caspian shot Edgar a look and Edgar quickly rephrased. "Um… I got lost."
Edmund burst out laughing and said, "I guess we're even now. We should probably get to the dining hall, Peter said he would find the girls and save us a table."
"Caspian!" Susan called with a bright smile on her face. True to his word, Peter had found a table and the girls. They were seated comfortably, already with plates of food.
"What, I don't get a greeting?" Edmund asked playfully. At this, Lucy promptly got up and gave Edmund a hug.
"Well, sit down." Peter said, slightly smirking at the look on Edmund's face.
Caspian took a seat next to Susan, and Edmund next to Peter. Only Professor Lindall was still standing.
"Oh," Caspian said, "This is Edgar Lindall. He is our new Medieval history professor. He was one of the men who supported my father in Narnia. Now, I'm staying with him, posing as his nephew."
Lucy smiled up at Professor Lindall and asked, "Would you like to sit with us?"
"Actually, I have to go sit at the professors' tables, thank you for asking. I'll see the lot of you later." Edgar replied, winking. He started walking in the wrong direction, and Edmund had to get up and show him where the professors' tables are.
"I'll go get you and Edmund some food." Susan said kindly to Caspian. "What do you like?"
"Anything's fine Susan. But shouldn't I be the one getting food for you?" Caspian asked Susan with an inquisitive look on his face.
"Well, you can wait on me at lunch." Susan replied with a flirty look, taking off towards the buffet line.
Just then, Edmund came back with a mound of pancakes, lots of syrup, and some sausages on the side. He began to eat greedily.
"You're such a pig." Lucy commented, laughing at Edmund stuffing food into his face, while still maintaining a poised aura.
"Hi!" came a bright voice behind Caspian. "I'm Alice! Susan's friend." Lucy glared at Alice, and Caspian looked confused.
"What are you doing here?" Susan all but spat at Alice. She had just appeared behind Edmund with two plates loaded with food.
"Oh, nothing. Just introducing myself." Alice said with a blinding smile. "Bye Caspian!" On her way back to her own table, Alice paused near Susan and whispered, "My, my, don't we have an appetite this morning." Alice looked pointedly at the plates of food Susan was holding. "You might want to watch your figure."
Susan had a hard time not throwing those same plates of food at Alice's retreating figure. After counting from ten, she sat down next to Caspian gave him the food, and passed Edmund his second plate.
"You look beautiful today." Caspian whispered in Susan's ear. Susan smiled, and her grumpy mood instantly vanished.
Meanwhile, Alice was watching Caspian whisper something in Susan's ear. She smirked. Alice Kerrington ALWAYS got what she wanted. And she wanted Caspian.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! Freshly baked blueberry muffins for those who review! ;) Siriusly, I just baked blueberry muffins!
