Disclaimer: I don't own
anything in this chapter. If anyone
tries to sue me, I'll just eat all my Easter candy and then I'll have no
claimable assets. How's that strike ya?
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting: Jono's
room in the Mansion's basement. About
8:00
}So, guys…which
one do you want me to read to you? This
one,{ he held up a comic book showing the Manhattan skyline }or this one,
that's set in London?{
Artie projected a
hologram of a Buckingham Palace guard, making his preference known despite not
being able to speak. Leech nodded
furiously and mumbled assent. Jono tossed the other book off the end of his bed
and leaned against the wall, gesturing for the boys to lie on either side of
him so they could see the book.
He considered for
a minute, then decided to simply project the book's words into their
minds. It tended to be less fatiguing
for him when he was going to be reading for a while. Both boys crowded around his legs and watched intently as he
moved his hand down the page in an effort to help them follow the story.
Angelo approached
the basement door and took a few steps down the rickety staircase before he saw
that Jono wasn't alone. Not wanting to
disturb the trio, especially since he knew how weird Jono could get about being
interrupted when he was reading to the two boys, he wrote his message on the
dry-erase board on Jono's door. After
signing his name with a flourish, he turned and retreated to the game room,
where he just knew he was about to beat the next level of Tomb Raider.
After Jono
finished reading the comic book, he stood and stretched, then tossed it into
the growing pile at the foot of the bed.
}Artie, Leech, I have a question for you two. Do you want to join Susana and I for lunch tomorrow? She's going to make some sandwiches and
stuff, and we're going to make a little music…apparently she used to be quite
the little choirgirl.{
He
looked down at the excited looks on both boys' faces, and then at the brilliant
yellow smiley face holograph Artie was projecting. }I'll take that as a yes{ he said, the corners of his eyes
crinkling in his version of a smile.
}Well, in that case, you two should probably go on to bed now so that
you'll be able to enjoy yourselves.
I'll talk to Ms. Frost to make sure she knows where you'll be. Just come to the kitchen when your classes
let out for lunch, ok? Susana and I
will be there and we can all go to the sun porch together.{
The
boys scrambled off the bed and towards their respective rooms, each one giving
him a joyous smile before disappearing up the stairs. He kicked at the messy pile of comics on the floor, musing that
he really ought to clean up a bit down in his subterranean room. Quickly conquering that impulse with the
rationale that he was, after all, a 19-year-old guy and no one expected him to
be clean, he headed up the stairs and towards the girls' dormitory, stopping
along the way to get Emma's approval for the planned picnic.
