Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait; my Narnia muse has been quiet, recently.
025. Strangers
Susan had been in the middle of a spelling test when she was called out of class. As she gathered up her schoolbooks and her bag, she wondered why she was being summoned to the headmaster's office. Especially during the middle of a test, which was a little annoying, because she knew she had been doing well, and now she wasn't going to be able to finish.
As she walked through the halls, she tried to figure out why she'd been pulled away from class. She hadn't done anything to get in trouble – at least she hadn't thought so. And she didn't think the headmaster was calling her in front of him to praise her for anything. Which probably meant that it was for something bad, but she firmly pushed that thought away, not even wanting to think about it.
She was relieved to arrive at the headmaster's office and find Peter sitting in a chair in the hallway, completely fine, but her confusion only grew from there. Her older brother didn't look as though he knew why they were there any more than she did, and the door to the headmaster's office was firmly shut, denying them access.
Peter jerked his head toward the door as she sat down in the chair next to his, his shaggy blonde hair falling into his eyes with the movement.
"Uncle Harold and Aunt Alberta went in there about ten minutes ago," he said, keeping his voice low so that the headmaster's assistant wouldn't hear him.
"Edmund and Lucy?" Susan asked, fearfully, her heart leaping into her throat, but Peter shook his head.
"I think they're okay," was all he said before the door opened, their aunt and uncle coming out into the hallway.
"Come in here," Uncle Harold said, his voice clipped.
He was looking down the hallway, not even meeting their eyes, and Susan started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She followed Peter into the Headmaster's office, taking the seats by the door that her uncle indicated with a quick jerk of his head.
"Are we in trouble?" Susan asked, quietly, confused when a sympathetic look flashed across the Headmaster's face.
"Nothing like that," he said, and his usually gruff voice was strangely gentle. "Susan and Peter, I'd like to introduce you to Mrs. Anna Wildon."
He gestured to another woman sitting in a nearby chair, her hands folded over a satchel resting in her lap.
"We felt that it would be easier to do this here, rather than at the house," Aunt Alberta said, drawing their attention to her.
"Do what?" Peter asked, looking as confused as Susan felt.
"Harold and I have been talking," Aunt Alberta continued, "and we've reached a decision."
"It's nothing against you four," Uncle Harold said, picking up the thread as his wife trailed off. "We thought that we could take you in, make you children a part of our family, but it's just not working."
"What do you mean?" Susan asked, but Peter got what they were hinting at.
"We're not going to be staying with you, any longer, are we?" he asked, bluntly.
"We tried to make this work," Alberta told them. "But, you children, you're just so difficult-"
Harold laid a hand on her arm, quieting her as her voice started to rise.
"We understand that this time has been difficult for you, ever since your parents died," he went on. "And, I promised my sister that I would do my best by you four. But, it's been nearly a month, and we've got our Eustace to think about, and we think that this is just the best thing for everyone."
"But, you're our only family!" Susan blurted out, desperately. "Where are we supposed to go?"
"With me," Anna Wildon spoke up. "I work for the Orphan School, and all four of you are more than welcome there."
It might have been Susan's imagination, but she thought she saw Mrs. Wildon giving her aunt and uncle a disapproving look as she spoke. But, when she turned back to Susan and Peter, her eyes were gentle, again.
"Your brother and sister are waiting out in my car," she continued. "If you'd like to come with me?"
Standing, she went over to the door, waiting expectantly. Susan looked at her aunt and uncle, but the adults were staring resolutely at the Headmaster's desk, their faces completely blank. She tried to say goodbye, but she couldn't force the words out, and Peter didn't look like he was having much more luck.
Finally, she and Peter just stood and followed Mrs. Wildon out of the office. Edmund and Lucy were waiting for them out in the woman's car, and they huddled together in the backseat, watching the last part of their old life grow smaller in the distance.