Chapter 2: Some Guidelines and Rules, and a Smidge of Exposition
"Now, I can tell you are all very eager to start your adventure," said Mr. Benedict as the children stared hungrily at the letter in Reynie's hand's barely able to hold themselves back from tearing it open.
"But before you run off, I just want to establish a few 'rules', shall we say. First off, there will not be any adult chaperones on his excursion of yours. Besides, you would probably end up 'loosing' them at some point early on anyway."
At this Mr. Benedict laughed a clipped, high pitch laugh, not unlike the noise that a dolphin would make. Number Two, who happened to be walking by the room at that very moment, jerked her head back towards the sound of Mr. Benedict's laugh, before remembering herself and, with a shake of her head, continued on downstairs.
Mr. Benedict had a sleep disorder known as narcolepsy. Emphasis on had. You see, Constance Contraire, along with proficiency in complaining and getting what she wanted, also had a few unique talents as well. One of these, which only seemed to be understood by Mr. Benedict, had succeeded in getting rid of his narcolepsy. So now whenever a strong emotion came over him (for that is what triggered his narcolepsy in the past), he was able to experience it without falling asleep.
However, his two assistants gone adopted daughters Rhonda Kazembe and Number Two (the latter despised her real name and insisted on using a code name instead) still had trouble adjusting to his new lifestyle. In the past they had always been on the alert for Mr. Benedict, whether it be watching out for sharp objects in his path or catching him after he had fallen asleep unexpectedly. But now they had to start getting used to him not really needing him in that respect anymore, and it was taking some getting used to.
"Sorry about that," said Mr. Benedict as his laughter subsided. "But it is true that you have quite the record for getting rid of adults, whether they be friendly or foe."
"But Mr. Benedict, we never meant to get rid of our parents or Milligan or any of them!" exclaimed Kate. "Something would just always come up, or we'd find a clue, or..."
"Kate," said Sticky with a glance at Mr. Benedicts smiling but patient face, "he knows."
"Oh, replied Kate," now feeling somewhat awkward. "Okay. Yeah. Sorry! Continue please Mr. Benedict."
"Thank you for your explanation Kate, I could not have put it better myself," said Mr. Benedict with a grin. "But now, let's go back to some of the guidelines. As I said, this adventure will comprise just of you four. It will also take you beyond the confines of this house, but when that portion of your journey commences you will find that you already have all that you need. Also, I hope that you don't try to rush to the finish line. Yes, there is something waiting for you there, but I think that the journey itself will be more fun."
"Mr. Benedict really put a lot of work into this," said Rhonda. "And we all pitched in as best as we could. It's the least we could do."
"Oh, and there is one more guideline I would appreciate if you would follow!" exclaimed Mr. Benedict, for the children had begun to rise (in fact Kate was already at the door) as they were eager to begin their adventure.
"This journey will require all of your talents combined. But I request that you complete every challenge that you face, even if it is not in your current set of skills. It may be hard for you, but I feel that you will all gain more from the experience if you at least attempt to conquer the challenges that don't immediately present their solution to you."
"Okay Mr. Benedict," said Reynie, and the other children nodded in consent. "We will all make an effort to try and solve every puzzle."
The children hurriedly thanked Mr. Benedict for giving them this opportunity for an adventure and got up to leave. They had already left his room and were almost out of earshot when Mr. Benedict called after them.
"Oh, and Number Two is in Constance's room trying vainly to clean it before it inevitably gets messed up again. So, I would recommend you convene in Kate's room instead of Constance's, but then again it is just a suggestion."
The children stopped for a second, amazed that Mr. Benedict knew that they had held meetings on Constance's room, until they heard a peal of laughter emanate from behind them, and they smiled. Then they ran off to Kate's room, and their adventure officially began.