"You're in trouble, aren't you?"
"Go away, Sarah."
Sarah plopped down on the couch next to Zelgadiss. "I just asked mum if I could go over to Zach's house, and she said yes without even trying to get me to come home at eight. And here you are, looking like you're contemplating your death." She said, running a hand through her pink spiky hair.
"Go away, Sarah."
"What did you do?"
"Go away."
"Aw, come on, Zel! You can tell your sister."
"No."
"Tell me or I'll fill your shoes with marmalade again!" Sarah said, grabbing Zelgadiss by the collar.
"No!" Zelgadiss yelled. Sarah showed no hint of relenting. "All right, have you been sending me letters lately?"
"No," Sarah blinked, letting Zelgadiss go. There wasn't a hint of triumph apparent on her face, so she hadn't sent the letters. "Letters?"
"Yeah."
". . . Well?!"
"If I knew then I wouldn't be asking you!"
"Can I see them?"
"Mum has them. If you want to ask her; good luck."
There was a loud bark and Becky suddenly blurred by, sliding to a stop in front of the door. She continued to bark at the door, hyperactivity oozing from her aura. After a few minutes there was a loud explosion from the direction of the driveway, indicating the arrival of the beaten up green 1975 Toyota Celica that had wheezed its way along as the family car ever since Zelgadiss could remember. Sarah had that look in her eyes that indicated she was weighing the pros and cons of sticking around.
The door opened and Mr. Graywords was attacked by fifty pounds of happy dog. Sarah leaned back into the couch to wait as Zelgadiss began planning desperate escape routes. After Mr. Graywords forced his way into the room, he looked over to Zelgadiss and Sarah with a grim expression.
"Okay, I'm going to Zach's house; mum said I could," Sarah announced, escaping through the front door before there was any chance of argument.
Mrs. Graywords appeared at that moment, a girl with auburn hair clinging to her sleeve and trying to pull her another direction. She was doing an admirable job of ignoring the undersized nine-year-old. Mr. Graywords kissed her and quietly suggested talking in their room.
Zelgadiss watched as Mrs. Graywords unattached Mika from her sleeve, and move into the bedroom. The door closed behind them, leaving Zelgadiss looking vaguely annoyed and Mika looking distraught. "I was gonna show her my new drawing," Mika said unhappily, staring at the closed door. She then rounded on her brother.
"Wanna see my new drawing?" she said, with a grin on her face.
"No," Zelgadiss said.
"Okay, stay right there!" Mika bounced off to the room she and Sarah shared to grab her sketchbook. She reappeared all too quickly for Zelgadiss, and flopped down next to him on the couch. She fiddled with the sketchbook trying to find the right page, and upon doing so, held it towards Zelgadiss, eyes shining with delight. "I drew a butterfly fairy!" she announced.
"Good for you," Zelgadiss said, barely glancing at it. This seemed enough to satisfy Mika, and she launched into a detailed explanation of the process and time it took her to make the drawing.
Zelgadiss hardly listened to Mika as she chattered on. He thought he was going to die. Why did parents always have to make things so mysterious?
*
After far too long the parents re-emerged from the depths of their bedroom. Zelgadiss looked at their faces and felt a little bit of alarm as he saw the red after-effects of crying on his mother's face. "What's going on?" he asked. Mika closed her sketchbook and froze, watching the scene with wide, surprised eyes.
"It's real," his mom said, giving the battered letter back to Zelgadiss.
"What?! How?"
"Long story," Zelgadiss's father said, looking like he had resigned himself to some horrible fate.
"And?" Zelgadiss said, after his father didn't say anything else.
"It's just a long story. Don't worry about it. You have a new school to worry about," he replied lamely.
"So? I'd like to know what this 'long story' is!" Zelgadiss said, angrily standing up. He was not going to take being kept in the dark any longer. His father suddenly looked stern.
"You are eleven, young man."
Zelgadiss bristled. He hated his parents referring to him as "young man."
"You have nothing else to worry about then school and friends. And I see you are /still/ hanging around the house doing nothing. You should go out and find some friends instead of holing up in your room all the time and reading, or hanging on the computer playing your stupid games all day!" his father finished, successfully diverting the conversation to the usual accusatory remarks.
There were many things Zelgadiss would have liked to say at that moment, but he couldn't manage to force the usual defensive words out of his mouth for the thousandth time. Instead he stalked back to his room and slammed the door.
*
Thank you for the reviews!
MoroTheWolfGod: Yes, Zelgadiss is human in this one. ^^
destructive sorceress: I'm not making any of them any character really. I basically just chucked the kids from Harry Potter out, and replaced them with the Slayers cast. It's interesting that two people now have mentioned having Zelgadiss take Hermione's place.
"Go away, Sarah."
Sarah plopped down on the couch next to Zelgadiss. "I just asked mum if I could go over to Zach's house, and she said yes without even trying to get me to come home at eight. And here you are, looking like you're contemplating your death." She said, running a hand through her pink spiky hair.
"Go away, Sarah."
"What did you do?"
"Go away."
"Aw, come on, Zel! You can tell your sister."
"No."
"Tell me or I'll fill your shoes with marmalade again!" Sarah said, grabbing Zelgadiss by the collar.
"No!" Zelgadiss yelled. Sarah showed no hint of relenting. "All right, have you been sending me letters lately?"
"No," Sarah blinked, letting Zelgadiss go. There wasn't a hint of triumph apparent on her face, so she hadn't sent the letters. "Letters?"
"Yeah."
". . . Well?!"
"If I knew then I wouldn't be asking you!"
"Can I see them?"
"Mum has them. If you want to ask her; good luck."
There was a loud bark and Becky suddenly blurred by, sliding to a stop in front of the door. She continued to bark at the door, hyperactivity oozing from her aura. After a few minutes there was a loud explosion from the direction of the driveway, indicating the arrival of the beaten up green 1975 Toyota Celica that had wheezed its way along as the family car ever since Zelgadiss could remember. Sarah had that look in her eyes that indicated she was weighing the pros and cons of sticking around.
The door opened and Mr. Graywords was attacked by fifty pounds of happy dog. Sarah leaned back into the couch to wait as Zelgadiss began planning desperate escape routes. After Mr. Graywords forced his way into the room, he looked over to Zelgadiss and Sarah with a grim expression.
"Okay, I'm going to Zach's house; mum said I could," Sarah announced, escaping through the front door before there was any chance of argument.
Mrs. Graywords appeared at that moment, a girl with auburn hair clinging to her sleeve and trying to pull her another direction. She was doing an admirable job of ignoring the undersized nine-year-old. Mr. Graywords kissed her and quietly suggested talking in their room.
Zelgadiss watched as Mrs. Graywords unattached Mika from her sleeve, and move into the bedroom. The door closed behind them, leaving Zelgadiss looking vaguely annoyed and Mika looking distraught. "I was gonna show her my new drawing," Mika said unhappily, staring at the closed door. She then rounded on her brother.
"Wanna see my new drawing?" she said, with a grin on her face.
"No," Zelgadiss said.
"Okay, stay right there!" Mika bounced off to the room she and Sarah shared to grab her sketchbook. She reappeared all too quickly for Zelgadiss, and flopped down next to him on the couch. She fiddled with the sketchbook trying to find the right page, and upon doing so, held it towards Zelgadiss, eyes shining with delight. "I drew a butterfly fairy!" she announced.
"Good for you," Zelgadiss said, barely glancing at it. This seemed enough to satisfy Mika, and she launched into a detailed explanation of the process and time it took her to make the drawing.
Zelgadiss hardly listened to Mika as she chattered on. He thought he was going to die. Why did parents always have to make things so mysterious?
*
After far too long the parents re-emerged from the depths of their bedroom. Zelgadiss looked at their faces and felt a little bit of alarm as he saw the red after-effects of crying on his mother's face. "What's going on?" he asked. Mika closed her sketchbook and froze, watching the scene with wide, surprised eyes.
"It's real," his mom said, giving the battered letter back to Zelgadiss.
"What?! How?"
"Long story," Zelgadiss's father said, looking like he had resigned himself to some horrible fate.
"And?" Zelgadiss said, after his father didn't say anything else.
"It's just a long story. Don't worry about it. You have a new school to worry about," he replied lamely.
"So? I'd like to know what this 'long story' is!" Zelgadiss said, angrily standing up. He was not going to take being kept in the dark any longer. His father suddenly looked stern.
"You are eleven, young man."
Zelgadiss bristled. He hated his parents referring to him as "young man."
"You have nothing else to worry about then school and friends. And I see you are /still/ hanging around the house doing nothing. You should go out and find some friends instead of holing up in your room all the time and reading, or hanging on the computer playing your stupid games all day!" his father finished, successfully diverting the conversation to the usual accusatory remarks.
There were many things Zelgadiss would have liked to say at that moment, but he couldn't manage to force the usual defensive words out of his mouth for the thousandth time. Instead he stalked back to his room and slammed the door.
*
Thank you for the reviews!
MoroTheWolfGod: Yes, Zelgadiss is human in this one. ^^
destructive sorceress: I'm not making any of them any character really. I basically just chucked the kids from Harry Potter out, and replaced them with the Slayers cast. It's interesting that two people now have mentioned having Zelgadiss take Hermione's place.
