Hi, everyone!!
I'm here with chapter 5!!
Oh, yeah! Reviewers!
ShadowWolfDagger- thank you so much for the review! I really appreciate it! :) Keep reading and reviewing!
InkySubstance- thank you very much for the review! I really appreciate it! Well, yeah, I thought I'll make it a bit realistic, you know, like you hear the knock and you aren't sure whether someone's there and you are too sleepy to investigate!
Ok, on with the story!!
Chapter 5
A shocking news!
"Merry Christmas!!"
Bo cheered as Prosper and Mosca walked in with a number of wrapped gifts.
"Yaay, present!!" Bo cheered as Prosper put them down on the theatre floor. Each of them searched for their name on it. Rosa found hers with her name on it. It was wrapped in a cheap gift wrapping paper. Not that it mattered…she felt very happy indeed. Carefully peeling the gift wrap off, she eagerly took out her present.
She gasped. It was a pretty wood carving of a Gondola.
"This is beautiful!!" she exclaimed, "Did you make it, Mosca?"
Mosca nodded and blushed a bit.
"It's wonderful! Blimey! It's so…so…" she got lost in searching for words which would give justice to the happiness she felt. Mosca did look quite pleased with himself for the rest of the day.
Riccio went into squeals of delight as he unwrapped a new comic book. Bo got a small carved dinosaur.
Mosca was really good at wood carvings.
Hornet got a book she wanted for ages.
Prosper got a cheap pen set.
And Mosca got a chisel. (His old one was broken.)
It was not much but everybody loved their presents.
Secretly all of them were waiting for Christmas Dinner which consisted of a loaf of bread, sausages, some soup and pasta. In the end they used to celebrate with a cake.
Though it wasn't much, it was a time when everyone used to be happy and enjoy the food as though it were expensive. Sometimes Scipio used to bring expensive food to eat and they used to devour it hungrily…
Scipio avoided his father as much as he could the following day. Every time he passed his father he wondered
if whatever he heard was true. Sure his father was indifferent and cold but he never thought he would be cruel enough to agree for murder…
Scipio wondered what had made him stop telling the others last night. He wasn't even sure if it was Rosa… he wondered what to do…
This was getting confusing…
It was Christmas and Scipio loved Christmas very much. He loved the gifts he was given by his nannies. His father never bothered to even wish him on Christmas Eve but Scipio didn't mind. If his father had decided to act indifferent, Scipio had no problem with it. Scipio wandered through the gardens when he heard shouting. Inching closer to the house his ears strained for voices.
"Where is it??"
His father's voice rang through the room. Scipio peeped through the window. His father seemed to be talking on the phone and at the same time rummaging through his desk drawers. Scipio realised what he was looking for.
The photograph.
"I'm sure I had kept it here!" he said, "Where the hell is it??"
Scipio listened intently feeling a weird satisfaction.
"Look, I'll call you as soon as I find it, ok?" Dottor Massimo said. He then put the phone down and banged the drawer inside the desk.
"Damn it!!"
Scipio felt an urge to laugh but he kept it to himself.
"ELISA!!" Dottor barked. A young maid opened the study door and peeped in.
"You called for me, sir?"
"Bring me some tea, now!" he barked. The young maid looked startled.
"S-si, sir!" she stumbled out of the study.
Scipio turned and started to walk away. He felt a strange satisfaction seeing his father so distress. His hand slipped into his pocket. The feel of the glossy surface of the photo made him feel important. He didn't feel like returning it to Dottor Massimo. He wandered through the garden thinking about a thousand things.
He would go to the Star Palace at night…
At night after dinner, he could always slip in the kitchen and take some food. He wished he could go and see them now but the maids would notice his absence…
He really wanted to go to the Stella…he wanted to check on the others…deep inside his heart another yearning lay. He didn't want to accept it but…Scipio wanted to go to Stella to see how Rosa was doing. She was so different…never loud and so absorbed into her own world but yet so polite and ready to help.
A perfect angel, he thought.
"Young master Scipio?"
A maid came running into the garden.
"What, Elisa?"
Elisa wiped her forehead with her hand and said, "Sir Massimo wants to see you. He has called you immediately to his library."
Scipio nodded. "Thanks, Elisa."
He ran into the house up the staircase towards the library. Fear spread through his mind.
Had Dottor found out that Scipio had taken the photograph? Scipio prayed sincerely that he hadn't found out about this…
He knocked the door.
"Come in."
His father's gruff voice came through.
He entered and said, "You called for me, father?"
His father sat on a chair. The fire burned ferociously in the fireplace. The library was warm. It cast an eerie glow over his father's face. The curtains were drawn across the windows stopping the sunlight.
"Scipio," he said, "Look, now you've grown up."
Yeah, it's the first time you even looked at me, Scipio thought.
"I spoke to my brother who lives in Birmingham and I've decided to send you to England for higher studies," his father said matter-of-factly.
Scipio's mind went blank for a second.
"What?"
Dottor Massimo looked up angrily.
"I said I'm sending you to England for higher studies!"
"No!"
Scipio didn't mean to say it but it flew out of his mouth. Dottor Massimo looked angrier. "How dare you say no?! You've got to learn manners, boy! And don't you dare challenge me. I'm sending you to England so that you come back as a gentleman and not as some filthy teenager like you are now!" he barked.
Scipio looked dumbfounded at his father. He then looked down and replied with a meek, "Yes, father."
A thousand things went in his mind as he thought about what Dottor had said. If he was sent to England who would take care of Prosper, Bo, Hornet, Mosca, Riccio and…Rosa? They'd starve. They depended on him…
Scipio realised it was time he did something…but what? He raced to his room where he could spend some time by himself. This was getting worse…he really needed to sort it out…
For the first time in his life Scipio felt if he didn't do anything he was going to loose something precious in life…
Miki- Scipio's in love! Scipio's in love!
Scipio- No, I'm not!
Miki- Yes, you are, sweetie!
Scipio- I tell you, I'm not in love!! You evil author!!
Miki- AHHH…you insulted me! Now, you die!! Muvahahahahaha
(Pulls out a gun)
Scipio- Noooooooooo…..she's after me! She's after me!!
Bo- Hey! Can I chase Scipio too?
Miki- Sure, darling!
Bo- Yaaaayy!! Bang! Bang!
Hornet- (Sweatdrops) Tune in for the next chapter! And review people! Bye bye!
Miki Bidan
