A/N: Sadly, the only positive review I recieved last chapter was from SasoriSweet19, and it convinced me to sit down and write the chapter I had been putting off due to finals at school for Culinary Foundations I. What happened, guys? Review each chapter so I know you're still with me, please! lol And, if you didn't like the name Lily, I apologize, but there is a reason she was named that, which will be told about later, so please stay tuned! :) ANYWAY! Yay! new chapter! YAY!
Chapter Four
"Sanity"
Eight Years Later
On the morning of Everett McCay's fourteenth birthday, everything continued to go on normally. He woke up, showered, got dressed, and sat at the table with a slice of toast with some butter. He was never one to eat a lot in the morning, or really ever. That would probably explain his tall, but scrawny physical appearance. His aunt was probably still in bed, with whoever she ended up bringing home last night, after her night with "the girls". Saturdays, Everett had learned, always made the worst birthdays. Evelyn would always forget his birthday if it fell on a Saturday. Because Friday was always the night she drank too much.
He heard his aunt's bedroom door open with a creak. A man appeared in the kitchen. The guy was clearly a douchebag, he was at least seven years younger than Evelyn, and had given his hair a quick comb through, creating a very stupid looking reenactment of the hairstyle he probably had the night before. He was looking at Everett with surprise and obvious confusion.
"Damn, she has a kid?" the walking STD said to himself before exiting the apartment. He didn't even put his shirt on before leaving.
Sighing, he got up from the table, and opened Evelyn's door. She was sprawled out across the bed, thankfully wearing underwear, and partially covered by a sheet. Everett switched on her ceiling light, and heard an unhappy groan.
"Where am I?" she grumbled.
"You're bedroom." Everett answered. "I thought I should let you know that your Prince Charming just left."
"Okay." Evelyn nodded. "Can you like, turn around, or something? I need to pee."
"I'll be in my room." Everett said.
It was sad. He felt like he was her guardian more than she was his. Nevertheless, he was grateful that she took him in when his parents died. Living with her was probably better than any foster home. He still didn't like having to take care of her, though. A thirty-six year old woman should be well enough to not rely on her nephew. But yet, here they were.
Everett couldn't remember anything about his life in Edan, with his parents. Only what he saw pictures. But he could imagine that his mother was more responsible than Evelyn. He often wished that his parents hadn't died, just as any child would. The hardest part was that he was too young to remember them, other than what he was told and the pictures he had been given.
By the time he made it to his bedroom, he heard his aunt calling for him in the kitchen. He reluctantly responded, and walked back into the kitchen. There was an envelope with his name on it on the table, and his aunt was smiling.
"Happy Birthday." She grinned. "You probably expected me to forget, didn't you?"
"What is it?" Everett asked.
"Well, I know you asked for Alchemy books this year, but I think you'll like this better." She said. Everett knew what that meant. 'I forgot about your birthday again, so I got you something quick instead of what you actually wanted.' But he pretended to be interested in the envelope. He pulled the contents out, and was perplexed.
"A train ticket to the town of Resembool?" he looked at Evelyn. "Why?"
"I found you an alchemy teacher. They could probably teach you much more than dusty old books, right?"
"Well, yeah…"
"Your teacher will be Edward Elric. The only condition is that you have to stay in Resembool, since he has a family of his own and everything…. But I told him you wouldn't have a problem with that…" she looked at her nephew.
"Did you say Edward Elric?" Everett said.
"Yeah."
"The Edward Elric?"
"The one and only!" she nodded.
"Seriously?"
"Everett, why would I lie?"
"Thank you!" Everett hugged her, something he hadn't done in a long time.
"You're welcome, sweet heart." Evelyn said. "I hope you don't mind, but you leave in two days."
"No, that's fine! I'll go pack!" Everett grinned.
"Don't you want to go tell your friend Astrid, or something?" she asked, referring to Everett's best friend since Middle School.
"No." Everett's smiled slowly faded. "Aunt Evelyn?"
"Yes?" Evelyn said.
"Thank you." He said over his shoulder.
"You're welcome."
As she watched her nephew walk away, she couldn't help feeling a little guilt. She had an ulterior motive to sending Everett to Resembool. She couldn't really handle having him around anymore. It made her feel terrible, but even after all these years; she still had no desire to raise children. Sending Everett away gave her some relief, but at the same time, she knew it was awfully selfish. But, it would probably only be for a year or two, right? Maybe he'd be more grown up by then. Or maybe, he wouldn't even want to come home. All she did know was that she was the only family he had left, and that, whether she liked it or not, she would always be here to welcome him back.
-oo0oo-
Ed was a little surprised when he asked his wife if an alchemy student could stay with them for a while, and she answered "sure". He was even more surprised when she urged him to teach the student when they were told that it was Roy and Riza's son, the one Winry herself had helped deliver here in Resembool.
Now, as he stood at the train station with Winry, waiting for young Everett McCay to arrive, he thought he'd make sure one last time that she was still okay with it.
"So, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"Edward," she grumbled. "I'm not going to change my mind. The poor kid lost the people he knew as his parents, the least we can do is offer him a decent chance at learning alchemy."
"Decent chance?" he repeated, jokingly.
"You know what I mean." Winry sighed.
"Here it comes." Ed mumbled.
The train slowly pulled to a stop, and only one passenger got off. A thin, black hair boy, who looked almost too much like his biological father with Riza's eye color. Ed heard Winry mumble something next to him.
Everett walked toward them, him two bags in his hands. Edward met him halfway.
"You must be Everett McCay." Ed said.
"Yes, Mr. Elric." Everett nodded.
"From this point on, I'd like you to call me Teacher. This is my wife, Winry." Ed smiled.
"Hello, Mrs. Elric." Everett smiled.
"Hello, Everett. You can just call me Winry." She said kindly. "You must be hungry, it's practically dinner time!"
"Dinner sounds great, Mrs… Winry."
"Great, we'd better get home then." She then offered to take one of his bags, but he said he could manage.
"Teacher?" Everett turned to Ed.
"Yes?"
"Thank you so much for allowing me to be your student." He said softly.
"You're very welcome, Everett." Ed said.
Edward noted that he seemed like a pretty good kid. He was certainly polite. More polite than Mustang had ever been, to him at least. Now, the final test was about to begin, whether or not he would get along with Sam and Genevieve. Then, teaching the kid could actually begin.
-o00o-
"Hi, I'm Everett McCay." Everett said, holding out his hand to the fourteen year old golden haired and eyed boy in front of him. Sam Elric. Everett was at least four inches taller than Sam, and Sam didn't seem mind, surprisingly.
"Hi." Sam said, shaking his hand. "This is Genevieve."
"Call me Genny. Not Gen, and not Genevieve." The twelve year old daughter of Ed and Winry said.
"Okay." Everett said. He could already feel that Genny didn't want him here. He couldn't really read Sam yet.
"My father probably told you already that I'm going to be learning alchemy with you." She paused, but not long enough for Everett to speak. "I want to make sure you understand that I will not tolerate someone upstaging me in front of my own father."
"Ugh." Sam grumbled. "Everett, let me give you some advice. Don't pay her any attention. She's a bratty know-it-all."
"Am not!" Genny frowned.
"Go play with your dolls or something!"
"Are you going to learn alchemy too?" Everett asked, trying to stop a possible sibling argument.
"Me?" Sam smiled. "No, I don't have the natural born talent. I'm going to be a normal student at the school in town. Now, let me show you where you'll be sleeping."
"Okay." Everett nodded. He could see Sam was going to be the one who was easy to get along with.
"You're going to share my room. Is that alright?"
"Yeah, that's fine!"
"Great!"
Genny stood at the bottom of the stairs, listening to her brother and Everett talking. She crossed her arms across her chest. She didn't like him. She had met several people from Doyer, a town full of rich, snobby people. Genny had yet to witness any rich, snobby behavior, but they had just met.
"Are you okay, Genny?" she heard her mother ask from behind her.
"I don't like him." Genny answered.
"He just got here!"
"Why can't he learn alchemy from one of his own parents! Why does he have to learn it from mine?" Genny said loudly.
"Everett doesn't have parents, Gen." Winry frowned. "He lost them in the Cretan pandemic."
"What?" Genny's demeanor changed.
"He lives with his aunt in Doyer. And I don't want to hear you say anything like that, again, do you understand?"
"Fine. I'm going to my room. I don't want dinner." She turned, and went up the stairs.
"What has gotten into her?" Winry asked herself. She had always been hardheaded, like her father, but she had never acted that nasty before.
A/N:Don't forget to review! YAY! I promise the next update won't take nearly as long as this one did! I swear! I don't have finals for Cul. Foundations II until sometime in the summer! (June or July I think!)