Disclaimer: What you recognize doesn't belong to me. What you don't recognize, probably does, or maybe you should read Tammy's books more.
Zerrin of the Wind, thank you for your third review. You currently hold the status of my sole reviewer. Out of the current 81 hits, you'd think that more people could go through the trouble of reviewing, even if people don't like it and think of a way I should do something better. I may not listen to them, but I'd certainly appreciate it. sighs
To anyone who did not get the point in my earlier paragraph, PLEASE REVIEW!
Chapter Four
Cassie stood quietly in the doorway of her borrowed room for what seemed like hours, but in reality was more like a few minutes. She wasn't quite sure of what to do or how the others would treat her. They seemed to be nice people, but Cassie had learned long ago not to trust seemingly nice people, especially those selfsame people under the eyes of an adult. Often, she had learned, younger people had an entirely different personality of their own than when an adult was looking over their shoulder.
Lark turned around. "Oh Cassie, there you are. You should make a noise or something. Are you hungry? We've just finished breakfast, but I can still get you something, or Briar can run over to Dedicate Gorse like I'm sure he's dying to." Her voice held a lilt to it and her eyes smiled at Cassie. Cassie shook her head. She didn't have breakfast, but she wasn't all that hungry. At least, not hungry enough to put them through any effort on her behalf. She saw that as the quickest way to get even the nice ones to resent her. She learned that a long time ago to.
"Well then, we all do some basic house-keeping chores after breakfast. Do you have much experience cleaning?" At Cassie's shake of the head, she continued. "Then I think I'll have Tris show you around for the meantime." The redhead at the table jumped to the sound of her name.
"What'd I miss?" she asked grumpily.
"You're going to show Cassie around a bit while you do your chores so she kind of gets the feel of things. And Tris-" Lark gave Tris a warning glance that Cassie couldn't quite fathom, but the other girl seemed to understand it perfectly. She took the glance as a sign to get up and the others followed suit. Daja took up Tris's bowl and left for the kitchen, while Briar went outside. Tris jerked her head towards another room and Cassie followed suit.
"I've got dusting and sweeping today. Pretty basic- I've been doing it since I could walk for the most part. The main thing to remember is to get all the corners, and to dust before sweeping. That way you get all the dust on the floor and you just sweep it up with the rest of the dirt." Tris grabbed a cloth and started on a shelf. Cassie watched as she carefully lifted the knickknacks that were already there off and wiped the cloth underneath.
"By the way, I saw that Dedicate Staghorn dumped you here," Tris said. "She must really have a problem hanging on to anyone who isn't her idea of normal. She dumps me here too. Said I was antisocial and crazy. What's your crime?"
"I was out past curfew every night. But I think the part she really minded, was that I was on the roof every time," Cassie said, softly.
"I can see how that would bug her," was the other girl's only comment.
(A/N: I can see how this can be a little OOC for Tris, but hey, she may have become a little more friendly over the years, since this is shortly before she left with Niko. Besides, it's my story and I can do whatever I want with it, and that's the beauty of this whole thing.)