The Month of Eating (April) Age 8

Week 1

It's such a relief to get Kayley back on my good side again. At least there was no shadowy, dark looks anymore, and I don't have to be worrying how I'm going to get our guild leader out. Kayley does that. The bad news? She makes me plan the getaway along with her. I've escaped from the castle a lot more times and I practically know the corridors inside and out, so she tries to pick my brain for ideas. It's really annoying.

But it'll be worth it, I tell myself. Today I didn't do any pranks, even though it's April Fool's. Everything just kept reminding me of last year, when I 'accidentally' played a practical joke on Kanrik. It was also the first time he'd ever promoted me.

I hoped it wouldn't be the last.

Week 2

Those spoiled….UGH! They ruined everything.

Maybe I should start from the top. We had the little ones today, which was fine by me. They were still kind of irritating, but at least they didn't wail for their mommies anymore. I think they're starting to grow on us us. Now though, they want to do what we do. So when we said we had to "think about something," they all cried, "We wanna get Kanwik out, too!" We gaped at them.

"Timmy," I groaned accusingly.

"Not my fault," he protested. "They figure it out."

"Hanso, what were you thinking?" Kayley snapped, ignoring Timmy's remark. "Telling all our plans to the little ones."

"Hey, it really was Timmy! I didn't say anything." Then I whispered, "Let's distract them at the park. While they're busy, we'll do it."

"If we can get rid of the rich kids."

"We will."

When we got to the playground, though, it was nearly deserted except for this one little Kacheek, about five I think. He was dressed in fancy clothes- though unlike the others I've seen similar to him, he wasn't wearing it the most proper and fashionable way. Most of it, including his coat, was too big for him (which I respected). Still, a rich kid is a rich kid, no matter what he wore. He was probably still a big jerk.

"Can I go on the swing again? Pwease?" Timmy begged.

I rolled my eyes, but I was secretly relieved. That would be one pipsqueak out of the way, if the Kacheek would give it to us. And he will give it to us, whether he liked it or not. I was tired of getting pushed around. I walked right over to him-

"Oh, does he want it?" He asked before I opened my mouth. "That's quite alright. Come here chap, let's how you do in this helter-skelter of a ride." He had a strange, posh accent and used a lot bigger words than most his age. But hey, I guess that's Brightvale for you. Turning to me, he greeted, "Hullo! I'm Charlie." He held out his hand to shake.

"Um…Hanso," I managed, taking it. Kayley glared at me. She liked the wealthy only a little bit more than the guards. Plus, I've disobeyed one of her rules yet again: Never tell anyone your name.

"I expect that you're the thieves that the Gang has been complaining about," he continued, pushing Timmy. "You're my absolute heroes, you know; not many can get at them much. They pretend to be all tough and what not, though they really are just cowards…"

"Is that so?" A voice snarled. It was that Usul again, back with the rest of his crew. They advanced, surrounding us in a tight group. We were trapped.

"Yes," Charlie replied, not intimidated in the slightest. I was beginning to like him. "You simply are complete cowards. Worse, you can afford it, and I think it's absolutely pathetic."

"Watch it, Charles," the Usul warned. "The only reason I'm not beating you up now is because I'm in a good mood."

"No you're not," stated Charlie cheerfully. "You can't because our parents our close, and you're scared I'll tattle."

"Keep on talking and we'll see who's scared in the end." Thankfully, Charlie had the sense to shut up, though he did frown. He looked at me apologetically and went around the corner. "Now, didn't I tell you crooks to stay away from my turf?" The Usul didn't wait for an answer. "Get out of here before we hit the dung out of you."

"Who's going to make us?" Juliet stepped forward.

"Yeah," Julius agreed.

A devious smile appeared on the Usul's lips, but it was gone before I could think about what it meant. "Hm…siblings. Interesting."

"Twins, actually."

"Even better- though darling, don't strain your pretty little mind coming up with insults for us. I guess that's your brother's job."

She scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, obviously," he said, "You're not very good at defending yourself, are you? Hiding behind your twin's back all the time. Please."

"I-"

"I bet you're just his little shadow," he mocked. "Doing everything he does- worshipping the very ground he walks on. You know you have no personality, so leave the talking to him."

"NO!" She was angrier than I've ever seen her. Her cheeks were red, and she was looking daggers at the Usul. He pretended not to notice.

Julius intervened. "That's no way to talk to my sister-"

"See what I mean?" He snorted. "Always coming to save the day."

"Stop it, Julius," Juliet hissed. "I can take care of myself."

Julius was taken a back, and a little mad, too. This was probably the first time she ever spoke to him that way. "Hey-"

"Of course, brother understands," he derided. "Always there to assist." He directed his attention to Julius. "Yet she never appreciates you, does she? After all your hard work; protecting her, teaching her, staying even when you wanted your own friends…and not a single thank you. You just listen to her chatter and chatter about girly stuff, and at the very end she abandons you."

Julius's face darkened. "It is true. You never thank me for my help."

"That's because I don't need it!"

"Well, I won't do it anymore!" He yelled back.

"Fine!"

"Fine! And by the way, you do stink at defending yourself."

"Take that back!" She cried.

He crossed his arms defiantly. "Never."

Then came the moment we all never expected to come- Juliet slapped her beloved, precious twin. There was complete silence in the yard, like someone muted the sound. Julius was dazed, but it slowly turned into a dangerous expression. You could've heard a pin drop.

Slowly, she seethed, "Take. It. Back."

"No. Way." He mimicked her jaded, deadly tone.

Once upon a time, Julius and Juliet had blocked me and Kayley back from a fight. Now situations were reversed, and we found ourselves at the back of each sibling.

Razor tried to calm them down. "Guys, I can get it when they argue, but you're family-"

"That doesn't mean much to her!" Julius screamed.

"You always hold me back!" She screeched. "I have a life of my own, you know!"

"I'm holding you back?"

"YEAH!"

Girls are a lot stronger than they seem. I guess I should've already learned that from Brynn, but admittedly Juliet always struck me as harmless. I was so wrong, and she proved that by elbowing me hard to get away and socking Julius on the jaw. They were out of control.

"A little tip for ya," the Usul told me as they were leaving. "Divide and conquer."

It took a long time for us to pry them apart. By then they both had bloody noses, bruises over their cheeks, and black eyes. And both were still determined to bring each other down. It…disturbed me. They always got along, always in their own little world. Despite Juliet's complaints last month, I didn't really know how deep these problems were until this little punch-fest. So how the heck did that bully?

I didn't have time to figure it out, since more urgent problems popped up at exactly eleven fifty-five p.m. later that night. I think I've already mentioned that bed hours are usually my weakest times, and that's when people tend to attack me with unexpected requests. So when I had to get up to answer the door, Julius was there holding a pillow and a suitcase.

"What are you doing here?" I asked tiredly. "Do you know how late it is?" Then I noticed what he was holding. "Oh, no! No, no, and….NO! You are not bunking in here."

"Please, Hanso," he pleaded. "I can't stand sharing a bedroom with that two-faced, double-crossing excuse for a sister, or any room for that matter."

"What about your parents? Won't they be worried?"

He shook his head. "They never interfere with us." I blinked, realizing once again how lucky I was to have parents who actually cared. Not that it was useful; it made me even sorrier for Julius.

"My folks will freak out."

He snorted. "Since when do you follow the rules?"

I sighed. Sometimes my trouble-making does come back to haunt me. "Whatever. But you have to get and make up soon. Got it?"

"Agreed with the first part, not with the second." I was too sleepy to object, so I just pulled open the twin bed and pointed there. "Thanks."

"No problem." I started drifting off.

Then the snores began.

Week 3

Judging from the dark circles underneath Kayley's eyes, Juliet had spent the night with her. I headed straight towards her in the morning. "Was it snores?"

She lifted her head up groggily. "Nope. She talks in her sleep."

"We have got to get those two back together," I murmured, stifling a yawn. "Whatever Julius said, I don't think he'll be leaving my house any time soon."

"That's not the only reason. They were an essential part of the plan. If they can't work, then the plan won't work."

"Great. Just great." My lids drooped, but I forced them open. "What do you suggest?"

"Can't think of much right now. Lock them out tonight?"

"Sounds good." It didn't really, but hey, we were exhausted! We couldn't think straight at all. The minute that class was over both she and I rushed to our homes and slammed the doors shut, and then took a long needed nap.

The twins weren't happy.

"You could've just told me," Julius said the next day. I felt guilty for hurting his feelings, but I'd rather he be mad at me than Juliet. And that I get a good night's sleep.

"That was a really mean thing to do Kayley, especially because of all the secrets I kept for you," Juliet told her.

She stared at her toes. "So that does that mean you're friends again?"

They took a step away from each other, which I guess meant a no. "But we'll cooperate in your plan, since that's probably what you're worrying about. And we'll stay in our own bedroom," Julius added. "But besides that-"

"The Wocky twins are going solo," they finished in unison. Then they glared at each other.

Week 4

To make matters worse, now we're studying ancient languages. Old criminals and even magicians studied it to make codes and stuff, and ever since Kanrik became guild leader (and his friend got poisoned by a misread curse) it's been required. It did decrease the number of unfortunate deaths, so Mortak kept it. But why did it have to be so boring?

They Kyrii gave us our textbooks. Well, it wasn't really a textbook textbook. It actually looked like it had a pretty good story, with a dark binding and all that (Yeah, I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but then what are they for?). The problem was, it was all in foreign runes, and I don't have a clue on what it says.

Razor seems to know, apparently. His eyes went all mystic when they gave him his. "The nobles aren't even studying this!"

"Yeah." I rifled through the pages. I was a little bit…terrified. I never took this before! The Kyrii even told us this was independent study, and that he would only give us our assignments, not help with them. That's basically grown-up for, "I don't know either."

As ridiculous as it sounds, it seems like I'm going to have to ask Razor to lend a hand. For what was supposed to be one of the most festival months of the year, nothing really seemed very joyful to me.