Chapter 10
The doorbell rang and Agnes rolled over on her bed, refusing to get up and
answer it. It was nearly noon and normally she would be up by this time. But
today...there was nothing to get up for. Besides, she'd been up late last night,
storming around and denying all of Colin's accusations under her breath until
her mother had told her that she could go talk to herself in her bedroom, where
she'd be a lot less annoying.
The doorbell rang again. Then again. Then the person simply leaned against
it, causing the entire house to echo with the irritating high-pitched ring.
"Alright already!" Agnes yelled, throwing off the covers. She ran
downstairs and threw open the door seconds later and, half expecting to see him
there, she yelled, "WHAT?" and her friend Emily jumped back in surprise, letting
go of the doorbell. An awkward silence followed and Agnes couldn't help but wish
the bell would start buzzing again. "Um," Emily regarded Agnes' attire
critically. "Did I wake you?"
Agnes sighed and moved out of the doorway. "Come on in," Agnes said,
moving automatically into the kitchen and put on the kettle for tea. "I'm sorry,
about that, Emily, it's just that I have had an-a-rough couple of days and-"
"Does this have anything to do with the incredibly large number of
messages you left on our answering machine?" Emily interrupted.
Crash! Agnes dropped the teacup she'd been holding in surprise. Blast it!
The messages! Agnes had forgotten all about those. "Um, yeah," Agnes answered,
looking down at the broken ceramic on the floor. "Where were you?"
"On our holiday," Emily told her while she passed over the broom. "My
parents rented a cottage on the Isle of Wright for a few days, I told you about
that, remember?"
"It must have slipped my mind," she said dryly and dumped the shards into
the trash. "My mum's going to kill me if she finds out I broke another cup," she
said mournfully.
Emily shrugged. "Just take out the trash before she gets home. Then she
won't know about the cup and will be happy with you that you took out the
trash."
"Now there's an idea. Tea?"
"No thanks."
"If you're sure," Agnes poured the tea into her own cup and looked up to
see Emily staring at her oddly. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just that I thought you were going to go visit your dad in
Edinburgh for a while."
"Oh. That." Agnes felt her moodiness increase. "Yeah, I was but he
cancelled last minute. Said he hade to work overtime on some project."
"Goodness, Agnes, if he can't get his act together, you'll go the whole
holiday without seeing him."
"I know," Agnes said, "and, if you ask me, it's just as well. Mum's pretty
upset about it though." Emily raised her brow in a question and Agnes continued.
"She yelled at him for nearly an hour. Agnes raised her voice in imitation of
her mothers'. "'She needs a father-figure in her life, not just a check every
month' and so on, so forth."
"Ugh. I'm glad my parents aren't divorced."
"Humph. With my parents it's better they are. Sometimes I wish I could
divorce myself from them. If dad doesn't want to see me, that's fine: I don't
want to see him," Agnes' voice filed with bitterness and Emily wisely changed
the topic.
"So...what was this terribly exciting news you had to leave ten messages
about?"
Agnes opened her mouth to answer then paused. Colin had told her not to
tell anyone about the wizarding world, not even her best friend, and she had
promised. But...she looked at Emily and felt temptation fill her chest. It would
be the perfect way to get back at Colin, he'd regret ever treating her that way!
Besides, it wasn't like Emily hadn't yearned for some confirmation that even
fantasy novels had a bit of basis in fact, just like Agnes had. She looked at
Emily and bit her lip, letting the devil and the angel fight it out. But,
finally, Agnes knew she couldn't. It wouldn't be right, no matter how rude Colin
had been to her, she couldn't do it. "Nothing," she said firmly.
Emily eyed her with suspicion. "For 'nothing,' it certainly took you a
while to come up with it. Come on, you're hiding something!" She leaned in
across the table. "Is it about a boy?"
"Er...yes," Agnes said slowly. Boys were central figures in the story.
"I knew it!" Emily jumped up from her chair and clapped her hands together
loudly, a big grin spreading across her face. "Who is he? Do I know him? What's
he like?"
Emily's reaction caught Agnes completely off guard. "Well, first of all,
he's stuck up and thinks I'm annoying and we had a bit of an argument
yesterday," Agnes replied irritably.
"Aww, a lovers' quarrel!" Emily gushed. Agnes spit her tea out across the
table.
"Excuse me? Lovers? Quarrel? Hold on just one second! You have the
completely wrong idea!"
"Yeah, right! Where'd you meet? At some convention or something? I bet
he's into all that stuff too, right?"
Agnes paused. "Actually, yes, he is, but not in the way you'd think..."
But Emily went on. "I knew it! Any bloke would have to be to get your
attention!" Emily had always been more romantically inclined than Agnes and,
seeing how she was about to explode from Agnes' imaginary love life, she forgot
her decision to keep mum about the subject. "He has not caught my attention, it
was merely a coincidence we met at all, I hope never to see him again and-"
But Emily wasn't listening. Her eyes had lit up with a fire Agnes knew all
too well. "Such chemistry! I can see sparks are already flying! How long have
you known him?"
Agnes had never ever wished her friend would shut up more in her life.
The doorbell rang and Agnes rolled over on her bed, refusing to get up and
answer it. It was nearly noon and normally she would be up by this time. But
today...there was nothing to get up for. Besides, she'd been up late last night,
storming around and denying all of Colin's accusations under her breath until
her mother had told her that she could go talk to herself in her bedroom, where
she'd be a lot less annoying.
The doorbell rang again. Then again. Then the person simply leaned against
it, causing the entire house to echo with the irritating high-pitched ring.
"Alright already!" Agnes yelled, throwing off the covers. She ran
downstairs and threw open the door seconds later and, half expecting to see him
there, she yelled, "WHAT?" and her friend Emily jumped back in surprise, letting
go of the doorbell. An awkward silence followed and Agnes couldn't help but wish
the bell would start buzzing again. "Um," Emily regarded Agnes' attire
critically. "Did I wake you?"
Agnes sighed and moved out of the doorway. "Come on in," Agnes said,
moving automatically into the kitchen and put on the kettle for tea. "I'm sorry,
about that, Emily, it's just that I have had an-a-rough couple of days and-"
"Does this have anything to do with the incredibly large number of
messages you left on our answering machine?" Emily interrupted.
Crash! Agnes dropped the teacup she'd been holding in surprise. Blast it!
The messages! Agnes had forgotten all about those. "Um, yeah," Agnes answered,
looking down at the broken ceramic on the floor. "Where were you?"
"On our holiday," Emily told her while she passed over the broom. "My
parents rented a cottage on the Isle of Wright for a few days, I told you about
that, remember?"
"It must have slipped my mind," she said dryly and dumped the shards into
the trash. "My mum's going to kill me if she finds out I broke another cup," she
said mournfully.
Emily shrugged. "Just take out the trash before she gets home. Then she
won't know about the cup and will be happy with you that you took out the
trash."
"Now there's an idea. Tea?"
"No thanks."
"If you're sure," Agnes poured the tea into her own cup and looked up to
see Emily staring at her oddly. "What?"
"Nothing, it's just that I thought you were going to go visit your dad in
Edinburgh for a while."
"Oh. That." Agnes felt her moodiness increase. "Yeah, I was but he
cancelled last minute. Said he hade to work overtime on some project."
"Goodness, Agnes, if he can't get his act together, you'll go the whole
holiday without seeing him."
"I know," Agnes said, "and, if you ask me, it's just as well. Mum's pretty
upset about it though." Emily raised her brow in a question and Agnes continued.
"She yelled at him for nearly an hour. Agnes raised her voice in imitation of
her mothers'. "'She needs a father-figure in her life, not just a check every
month' and so on, so forth."
"Ugh. I'm glad my parents aren't divorced."
"Humph. With my parents it's better they are. Sometimes I wish I could
divorce myself from them. If dad doesn't want to see me, that's fine: I don't
want to see him," Agnes' voice filed with bitterness and Emily wisely changed
the topic.
"So...what was this terribly exciting news you had to leave ten messages
about?"
Agnes opened her mouth to answer then paused. Colin had told her not to
tell anyone about the wizarding world, not even her best friend, and she had
promised. But...she looked at Emily and felt temptation fill her chest. It would
be the perfect way to get back at Colin, he'd regret ever treating her that way!
Besides, it wasn't like Emily hadn't yearned for some confirmation that even
fantasy novels had a bit of basis in fact, just like Agnes had. She looked at
Emily and bit her lip, letting the devil and the angel fight it out. But,
finally, Agnes knew she couldn't. It wouldn't be right, no matter how rude Colin
had been to her, she couldn't do it. "Nothing," she said firmly.
Emily eyed her with suspicion. "For 'nothing,' it certainly took you a
while to come up with it. Come on, you're hiding something!" She leaned in
across the table. "Is it about a boy?"
"Er...yes," Agnes said slowly. Boys were central figures in the story.
"I knew it!" Emily jumped up from her chair and clapped her hands together
loudly, a big grin spreading across her face. "Who is he? Do I know him? What's
he like?"
Emily's reaction caught Agnes completely off guard. "Well, first of all,
he's stuck up and thinks I'm annoying and we had a bit of an argument
yesterday," Agnes replied irritably.
"Aww, a lovers' quarrel!" Emily gushed. Agnes spit her tea out across the
table.
"Excuse me? Lovers? Quarrel? Hold on just one second! You have the
completely wrong idea!"
"Yeah, right! Where'd you meet? At some convention or something? I bet
he's into all that stuff too, right?"
Agnes paused. "Actually, yes, he is, but not in the way you'd think..."
But Emily went on. "I knew it! Any bloke would have to be to get your
attention!" Emily had always been more romantically inclined than Agnes and,
seeing how she was about to explode from Agnes' imaginary love life, she forgot
her decision to keep mum about the subject. "He has not caught my attention, it
was merely a coincidence we met at all, I hope never to see him again and-"
But Emily wasn't listening. Her eyes had lit up with a fire Agnes knew all
too well. "Such chemistry! I can see sparks are already flying! How long have
you known him?"
Agnes had never ever wished her friend would shut up more in her life.
