A/N: Did you like how I didn't have an A/N for the last chapter? "No Words for This One." Not even bolded sarcastic ones to start the chapter off. Eh?

Okay, I am not Canadian and therefore have not earned the right to use the world 'eh.'

Although my Canadian friend swears Canadians don't actually say 'eh.'

We must all mourn the closing of The Fireplace and The Furnace. Please take a moment to mourn before reading this chapter.

Done mourning? Okay. Read on, then.

The next night, we gathered around the fake wooden table yet again for dinner. It looked terrible, as always, but I wasn't complaining. It was food, and it wasn't covered with blood or bits of other indistinguishable bits of food and trash. Therefore it was acceptable in my book.

I passed Iggy his plate, routinely tapping the table where his fork lay. I looked up at him, but he seemed okay. I knew he was still disappointed by last night; we all were.

After cleaning my plate twice and having two slices of apple pie, I leaned back, full and content.

For about two seconds.

"I'd like to talk to you guys," Anne reported. "Sort of a family meeting." Family? Um, sorry to break it to you, Anne, but you're not exactly family in my book. From the look on Max's face, she was thinking the same thing. Iggy was rolling his eyes.

"You've all done beautifully here," Anne continued. "You've adjusted better than I thought possible. And I find I'm enjoying it more than I ever imagined. I think we're ready to take the next step," she went on. Oh, God. What was she going to… "So I've enrolled you in school." The tension of the situation exploded over our heads and I burst out laughing.

"Whoa, you had us going there for a minute," I exclaimed.

"I'm not kidding, Nick. There's an excellent school nearby. It would be perfectly safe. You could meet other people your age, interact with them. And – let's face it, your education has been spotty at best." Since we'd never been to school – I cringed at the word – I had to agree with her there. But… school? People our age? The only people my age I'd ever known were Iggy and Max, and, let me tell you, with just two I was overwhelmed and confused and pleased and content enough for a lifetime. I didn't need more.

I tuned back into the conversation just as Anne announced, "You'll start on Monday. I'll pick up your uniforms tomorrow." Uniforms?

Come again?

Max was out of the room in a minute. Had I not known the flock needed me, I would have followed in a flash. But, as it was, I took a deep breath. "Okay, guys, let's get to bed," I said, standing up and pushing my chair away. I didn't look at Anne as I left the room. The other kids followed just as silently. No one said a word to Anne.

She probably felt terrible now. But, I mean, come on. School? Again, the word felt like pain in my head and I stopped thinking about the whole thing. Maybe she was just joking or something.

Okay. Leader. I could do this.

"Gaz, did you take a bath last night?" I asked, eyeing his dirt-smeared face and hands as he tried to slink into his bedroom. He twisted his fingers together in front of him.

"Um…" he said, unwilling to lie but not wanting to admit the truth, either.

"That's what I thought," I said, spinning him and shoving him lightly toward the bathroom.

"Aw, Fang, come on!" he complained. I totally had no idea how Max did this every day.

"Okay," I said agreeably, walking down the hall and opening the door. "I'll come if you want." He scowled and stalked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. The water turned on a moment later, but I had once been eight years old and was fairly sure that turning on the water and actually taking a bath were not mutually inclusive. I waited a minute and then barged into the bathroom.

Gazzy was sitting on the toilet with the lid closed, whistling to himself. He frowned when he saw me.

"Gaz, come on," I said. "My nose is suffering."

"I don't smell!" Gazzy proclaimed indignantly, rising to his feet.

"You actually smell confusingly like a human and a bird," Total said, trotting in. I glared at him. He was not helping. "And a bit like a cow, but that might just be the dung on your leg," Total added. Gazzy made a face.

"I do not have dung on my leg!" he exclaimed, checking his leg, which was pretty much covered with mud. "That's mud!"

"Whatever you say," Total said, sniffing to himself and sitting by the foot of the tub. But Gazzy was inspecting his leg closer. Sighing, he stripped his jeans and shirt off and stomped angrily into the tub. I grinned and turned to leave, my job done, hearing Total hop onto the toilet to jump across the bathroom without stepping on Gazzy's muddy jeans.

There was a splash and two shouts of horror. I spun to see Total flying out of the tub, soaking wet and sudsy, an expression of utter dismay on his face as he landed hard at my feet. He scrambled up and shook hard, getting my lower legs soaked. I stifled a laugh as I looked up to see Gazzy's disgusted face as he splashed out of the tub to slam the door shut.

"Nice," I said to an annoyed Total, going to check on Angel and Nudge.

I felt very leaderly as I poked my head into Nudge's room. Angel was sitting on the floor and Nudge was on her feet, scanning the bookshelves that lined two sides of her room. "What book do you want me to read to you, Angel?" Nudge was asking.

"I don't care," Angel said, lying back and looking up at Nudge. "You pick."

"How about… Tom Sawyer?" Nudge suggested. "I like that one." Angel wrinkled her face and turned to stare at Nudge openly. A second later, Nudge shook her head. "No… how about Cinderella?" It took me a minute to notice what had just gone on.

"Angel!" I exclaimed, striding into the room. She looked up at me innocently. "Did you just do what I think you just did?" Angel seemed to shrink in on herself. I sighed, glad that Max was the leader. "Nudge, read Tom Sawyer," I said. "Angel, stay out of Nudge's mind." With this I left, heading to Iggy's room.

"Hey," I said. He looked up from the wires he was fiddling with. I wasn't even going to ask what they were.

"Hey," he replied. I leaned against the doorframe. "So… school," he said, the word sounding like a dirty word the way he said it.

"Yeah," I replied. "It's gonna suck."

"Do we have to actually do homework and stuff?" he asked. I shrugged.

"Homework? I thought you did your work at school," I said, unsure. It wasn't like someone had told me all the rules of a school before.

Iggy rolled his eyes. "It's, like, more work that they didn't fit into the day, I think. Extra torture."

"Oh. Nah, I don't think that applies to the winged," I decided. He grinned. "Night, Ig," I said, closing the door behind me as I left.

"Night, Fang." I made my way to the kitchen to wait for Max. I poured her a glass of water and contemplated our upcoming adventure while I waited.