A New Story
Thank you TheSixthGatekeeper, readersally and Zintfall for your very encouraging reviews. I am glad you liked the previous chapter. As for the names of Matt's sons…I'm glad you liked it, readersally, that it is Richard and Aidan. Something I always thought would have happened if the Five would have been alive and Richard would have died (even though I don't like killing him; he's my favourite). I hope you all like this chapter as well.
Richard was glad to be out in the garden with the other children.
He liked Ricardo and actually loved listening to his poems, though he would never admit it openly because then his mom will call him mad and his dad will be laughing his head off and Uncle Pedro will be slamming his head against the wall. No, he preferred to keep silent.
"So how are you finding this place?" he asked Ellen. "Lovely!" she replied enthusiastically, "I love being in the countryside. I really don't like the city."
Aidan grabbed Helen's hand and grinned at her innocently. Rather hesitatingly, she smiled back and lifted him up lovingly. She was surprised though. Aidan was very light.
"So what do you do here for fun?" she asked Richard.
"Listen to Ricardo's poems."
They laughed. Ricardo, however, did not find this amusing. "My poems are great!" he protested, "Richard, you are putting on weight."
Richard looked down at his tummy. Sure, he had a slight potbelly.
"He-he-he!" he said, blushing.
Ellen laughed again and then said, "No, seriously, what do you do for fun?"
"We play football," Aidan replied. Helen grinned at him and set him down again.
"And," Aidan continued, "We also tell mom that dad was talking about her. Then she runs after dad with a broom or sometimes even the vacuum cleaner. One day she even locked daddy in the bathroom!"
The children burst out laughing at that. Ellen tried to imagine a man like her Uncle Matt, tall, strong, brave, to be locked up in the bathroom by his wife. New tears appeared in her eyes as she rolled over laughing. Ricardo laughed musically and Helen just smirked.
"We also urge Ricardo to recite his poems," Richard said, "The 'consequences' are damn funny."
"Consequences?" Ellen asked after stopping her laughter.
"Yes, yes!" Aidan said, "You have heard his poems. You know 'Uncle Scarlett hit my dad'?"
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
"Uncle Scarlett?" Ellen asked.
"Oh I am sorry. I mean 'Aunty Scarlett hit Uncle Matt! In the summer everyone should wear a hat!' Well that drives mom mad and then she scares the life out of dad!"
"A poem that is!" Ricardo exclaimed suddenly, "At me Aunty Scarlett always hissssssss!"
"Poem?" Helen asked. Everyone turned to him, perplexed.
"'Well that drives mom mad! And then she scares the life out of dad!'" Ricardo said.
Aidan slapped his forehead. Ellen looked at Ricardo unbelievingly and Helen's face was expressionless. Richard laughed. It was a free light laughter that seemed to be echoing, though it really wasn't.
Helen turned to him. "Richard, is it allowed to kill here?" she asked. "Why?"
"Just answer me."
"No, though my mom is allowed to do that rather freely. Now tell me, why?"
"I'll request Aunty Scarlett to kill Ricardo. Otherwise, all of us would be found in the graveyard."
"Cool!" Ellen said, "Then we'll have a grave of our own!"
Helen wanted to hit her on the head but she controlled herself.
Ricardo, however, was not pleased with all this.
"You think you are so smart?" he said, "I love doing wheel-cart!"
"I am smart enough for you!" Helen retorted.
"Then to my IQ question give me answer!" Ricardo challenged, "A disease very dangerous is cancer!"
"I think I'll get brain cancer when I hear his poems," Aidan whispered in Ellen's ears. She giggled.
"Fine. Shoot your 'IQ questions'!" Helen replied angrily.
Ricardo smirked as if he knew something that Helen didn't.
"Let's begin then. A lion lives in a den.
"What is called a hybrid of donkey and monkey? Will it be donmon or will it be keykey?"
The earth seemed to shake below Helen's feet. Even Richard thought that Ricardo had gone mad.
"Tell me, tell me!" Ricardo taunted, "You don't have the answer, see!"
Helen was going red in the face. She took off her shoe and threw it at him. He dodged it effortlessly.
"Of that I have experience!" Ricardo said wickedly, "Every car should have some ground clearance."
"What!" everyone apart from himself and Ellen exclaimed.
Ricardo nodded up and down, up and down, up and down.
Richard grabbed his head and steadied him. "Control," He said.
"Hey!" Ellen exclaimed, "I think it will be keykey!"
Everyone turned to her.
"Correct!" Ricardo cheered, "My homework my dad does every day inspect!"
"Really?!" Ellen cried. Ricardo nodded. The two grabbed hands and started dancing in circles. Helen grabbed her head tightly.
"Now do I have the permission to kill?" she asked in an exasperated voice. "Nah!" Richard said and joined the other three in their dancing.
"All of them are mad," Aidan said. "Exactly," Helen replied, looking at the three dancing madly, maybe like gorillas.
"I want to play," Aidan muttered.
"Look, the field is clear now. Let's go and play catch-catch there," Helen said. Aidan liked the idea and rushed inside to get the ball.
"STOP DANCING!" Helen cried. The children stopped abruptly, expressionless, their eyes blank. "I should learn how to control my powers," Helen muttered. After a few seconds they returned to normal.
"Helen control!" Ellen said. Helen smiled to herself. The words reminded her of the times when Uncle Jamie told her papa to control his anger.
"You idiot! Fool dimwit boy! Come inside you rascal! Get in you shameless being! Hurry up or I'll smack you Ricardo!" Pedro yelled as he came into the balcony. Ricardo gulped and went inside.
"Annoying pest!" Pedro said, "I'd been calling him nicely for ten minutes but he did not reply. People obey you only when they are called names! Children you also get inside."
With that he went in.
"I'm waiting for Aidan," Helen said, "You guys go in."
"Wait Helen," Ellen said, "Do you remember what Uncle Pedro said right now? People obey you only when they are called names! Let me call Aidan."
"No Ellen, don't-!"
But the damage was done. Ellen gathered all her strength and yelled for Aidan, "YOU IDIOT! FOOL DIMWIT BOY! COME OUTSIDE YOU RASCAL! GET OUT YOU SHAMELESS BEING! HURRY UP OR I'LL SMACK YOU AIDAN!"
Helen and Richard looked at her in disbelief. "What the hell did you do?!" Richard cried.
Aidan came out angrily.
"Look, he has come!" Ellen said happily. Richard wanted to strangle her.
"Why did you do that?!" Aidan fumed angrily.
Ellen sensed his anger. She smiled at him awkwardly.
"WHY DID YOU CALL ME ALL OF THAT?!" Aidan yelled.
"I-I-I was joking!" Ellen managed to say.
Aidan threw the ball at her angrily. It hit her nose.
"Ouch!" she cried.
"I don't want to play with you all! GOOD BYE!" Aidan yelled and stormed into the house.
Helen and Richard glared at her.
"What?!" she asked.
"Nothing. Just admiring your smartness," Richard replied scornfully.
"Hey it's Uncle Pedro's fault! He gave us bad lessons!" Ellen argued.
The other two continued staring at her.
Tears welled up in her eyes. "I know you think I am wrong. But seriously, I didn't know what I was doing!" she sobbed and ran inside.
"Great start to our friendship," Richard muttered. "Exactly," Helen agreed. They looked at each other and sighed together.
"Let's go in. we have to set some things right…" Richard said.
With that the two children went in too.
Their first meeting had certainly not ended well, not well at all.
So that was the fourth chapter. You might be wondering why I added this one but it was important to show the drift between the children for the future chapters. This might not be what you wanted but in the next chapter I'll give you the story of the first day of their arrival. Please read and review.