Mary Hunt strode briskly down the deserted hallway to the principal's office. Seated on a bench next to the door were two teenagers. The boy was wearing average clothes, but the girl, despite the recent warm weather, wore black gloves, a hat and a long-sleeved shirt. Although she was indoors, she also wore dark sunglasses. Mary gave them an I'll-deal-with-you-later look went in to speak with the principal.
The two waited patiently as the muffled voices became increasingly louder. Finally, Mary stormed out of the room and down the hall. The boy and girl obediently followed her to the car.
"I can't believe you two blew up the school science lab. Again." said Mary as they drove home.
"It wasn't completely our fault. The teacher should have been more specific about which blue bottle to use." said the boy defensively.
"Edgar, the bottle you used was kept in a cupboard, on the top shelf." Mary countered.
"It wasn't locked." the girl said.
"That doesn't give you the right to take it, Veronica."
"But he didn't see me!"
"That still doesn't make it right." Mary sighed. "I wish you would stop doing that in school, Veronica."
"Doing what?" asked Veronica innocently.
"Asking to go to the bathroom in class, so that when you get there, you can take off your make-up, hide your clothes behind a ceiling tile, and wander around school doing what you please simply because you're invisible."
Veronica was silent.
"When we get home, you two go straight to your rooms and do your homework." said Mary.
"What about Timmy and James and Allan?" Edgar asked.
"Well, hopefully they haven't completely destroyed the house yet." Mary muttered.
Timmy Eloi, James Nemo Roberts and Allan Sawyer, plus Veronica Skinner and Edgar Jekhy, were Mary's charges. She sighed. She'd have to tell them who and what they really were soon. They've been asking her why she called them "Children of the League" for years.
"Besides," she said aloud. "Zachary's coming tonight, and you'd probably get your homework done quickly anyway."
Edgar and Veronica immediately brightened. Zachary Harker was a long-time family friend. All they really knew about him was that he was a vampire (not evil), and he brought them gifts a lot. But, sometimes, they suspected he knew more about them than they did.
"When?" asked Edgar as they pulled in the driveway.
"As soon as you finish your homework. Now get!"
Edgar and Veronica raced inside and up to their rooms. By the time Mary came inside, there was already a minor fight going on in the hallway.
Edgar shared a room with Timmy, who apparently had locked the door against Allan and James and had fallen asleep. Veronica, the only one who could pick the lock, refused to help and James was watching, interested, from the room he shared with Allan. Allan himself was nowhere to be seen.
Mary was about to interfere when an airhorn sounded outside and they heard a muffled yell from Timmy and Edgar's room. Mary rubbed her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache. She guessed that Allan had taken a ladder, leaned it outside the window and fired off his airhorn to wake up Timmy. She retreated to her room and left them to it.
