This chapter is dedicated to 'nononononononono' and 'Bookworm', and my anonymous reviewer, for being my first reviewers- thank you so much for your feedback guys! (Bookworm- I totally get what you mean about description- I completely forgot to describe her! Ooops! In the next couple of chapters you should get a good idea of what she looks like!)
Anywhoo, I hope you enjoy chapter 3- it's a bit of a filler, but I don't want to rush the story, and this should help to explain some more about Alexis and her family. Please leave a review if you have time- all feedback is welcomed!
My night was filled with seemingly never-ending amounts of marking from my year five class. Stories, maths tests- the pile seemed to never go down. My task was made easier by the glass of red wine by my side, coaxing me through the mountains of paper. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. Most of the kids are wonderful. In fact, all of the kids are wonderful, apart from Luke Hall. He was disruptive, rude, and downright irritating! I can't even express how much I wanted to unleash my savant power on him! I was known, in my family, as the persuader, for my power was ultimately persuasion. I could tamper with people's thoughts- planting images in their minds, forcing them to do things against their will. Not that I'd ever use it to my advantage. Okay, okay, when I was younger I quite often telepathically forced Jack and Alice to do my chores for me, but Mum and Dad usually caught me, and made me do their chores instead- so I had triple the workload. Needless to say, I soon kicked the habit.
It was the week before Easter at school, and all the kids were getting restless- more concerned with the copious amounts of chocolate Easter eggs that they would be soon consuming, rather than their education. Well, I can't blame them- I was the same when I was a child (and probably still am!). The convention was to be held on Saturday, and as the organisers had booked my plane ticket for early Friday morning, I had to have the Friday off of school. This meant I had to face Mrs Lee- the elderly, rotund headmistress with the personality of a Rottweiler and bite to match. I'd had to lie about the convention- for she wasn't a savant, so I ended up telling her that I was attending the funeral of my great Uncle Bob, who lived in Paris. I don't think she quite believed me, but considering I hadn't had a day off all year, and the last day was 'toy day', she didn't really have a choice. I'd have to be more creative when coming up with my lie for next year. Or, alternatively, I could tell the Net that I couldn't possibly get time off work during term time, so would be unable to attend. Score!
Pushing aside the now marked spelling test, I reached for a maths homework book which I'd yet to loot at. A quiet howl from the kitchen broke my marking daze. "Monty?" I called, wondering where my adorable, trouble-making, little golden Labrador puppy had gotten to. Wandering through to the kitchen I saw him sat on the tiles, looking extremely sorry for himself.
"What's up boy?" I asked him, clapping my hands together in an attempt to make him come to the doorjamb to meet me. He limped forward- his front paw seemed to be hurting him. Concerned, I scooped him up into my arms- careful not to put more pressure on his leg.
"Don't worry, baby" I cooed to him. "We'll ring Jack and 'Vannah- they'll sort you out no problem." Jack and Savannah were both vets, and very good ones too. Of course, their gifts helped them. Jack's savant power was that he had the ability to talk to animals. Odd, I know, but actually really useful- especially when there was a pesky spider in my room that needed moving! Savannah was a type of healer. Although not able to heal someone from pain, she was able to, instead, detect the location of the pain and what exactly caused the pain, allowing them to prescribe the best treatment for the animals I question. Together, they made an excellent team, and their business was thriving, with people flocking from miles around for their services. Their waiting list was nearly a month long, but thankfully, as I was family, I got to skip the waiting list.
Grabbing the phone from its cradle, whilst being careful not to jostle Monty, I dialled the vets.
"Hello, Anderson's veterinary practice. How may I help you?" The voice answered in the distinctive Aussie accent that I'd come to recognise so easily.
"'Van, is that you? Why are you working in reception?" I asked. There was a large huff on the other end of the phone, and I knew my hunch was right.
"Jack is being ridiculous, Lex, as usual. Now I'm pregnant he wants me to start working part-time in case the stress of the job becomes too much! And, to make matters worse, he's refusing to allow me to stand all day on my feet, and so has banished me to the reception desk to 'rest' for a while. I am 2 months pregnant, and barely showing! I'm not an invalid!" I desperately try to conceal a snicker at her annoyance.
"I'll have a word when I next see him 'Van. I'll sort him out, don't you worry."
"Thanks Lex, you're the best sister-in-law around! Anyway, I'm guessing there's something else you were ringing about. Is Monty okay?"
"I know, I know" I laughed "Yeah, I was ringing about Mont. He seems to have hurt his paw, and I was wondering if-"
She cut me off, concerned "Bring him in. We'll see to him right away."
"Thanks 'Van, I'll come now." We say our goodbyes, and I pop Monty in his carrier- despite the doleful brown eyes he's shooting at me.
"It's for the best Mont." I promise, "'Van and Jack will have you feeling better in no time."
XXX
A short while later we arrive at the vets. Monty starts to howl as soon as we get out of the car- it's as though he knows what's coming. Sighing, I walk towards the practice, carrier in hand. Approaching the reception desk I'm put straight through to 'Van and Jack's operating room, bypassing the waiting room, and pointedly ignoring all of the glares I'm receiving from those who are waiting with their pets for jumping the queue.
Walking into the operating room I see Jack enveloping 'Van in a tight hug.
"All resolved then?" I ask, popping Monty's carrier on the table, and unlatching the door. They break apart, smiling.
"Yeah" Van replies "We'll compromise on me working during the pregnancy, and, although his protective tendencies can be annoying, I'll learn to deal with them." Jack presses a kiss to the top of her head, before moving towards the table to take a look at Mont.
"What's up with the little guy then?" he asks, coaxing Monty out of his cage and onto the table. 'Van moves forward to get a closer look.
"His front paw seems to be bothering him" I say, as they begin their inspection.
Jack nods, "He does seem to have difficulty putting weight on it" watching as Monty hobbles along "I'll ask him what's wrong, and when it started hurting."
Now, I must admit, it's really rather bizarre watching my brother having a telepathic conversation with my pet. I still haven't quite gotten used to it. A few moments later he looks up, breaking the connection.
"Yeah, he says that his paw's really hurting him after he went on a walk earlier today. Maybe he stood on something? It seems most likely if it's only started hurting him today, and he's had no other problems. What do you think, 'Van?"
Savannah gently places her hand on his paw, and shuts her eyes. "From what I can sense, he seems to have something lodged in the paw, which is what's causing the pain. From what I can tell, it doesn't seem to be very big, and it hasn't punctured anything, or caused an infection, but we'll give him some antibiotics just in case, once we've removed it." I smile, relieved that the issue's so easy to fix.
Jack moves to grab a pair of tweezers from his equipment tray, whilst Savannah upturns Monty's paw so that he can remove the object. I stroke his fur comfortingly.
"It'll only hurt for a minute, Mont" I say, patting his flank. A couple of minutes later, and it's all over. Jack bandages his paw, whilst Savannah writes out his prescription.
"Oh Jack, whilst I'm here, can you ask Mont if he likes the new food I bought him? It's just he doesn't seem to be eating it." Jack nods, closing his eyes after he's finished bandaging his paw.
"He says it's edible, but he prefers the other sort." I nod, making a mental note of his preferences. Jack then scratches his neck awkwardly.
"What's wrong?" I ask him.
"Oh, it's just that he told me to ask you if you can try and find the owner of the female dog he met last week at the park. He err, really wants you to arrange with her to meet her dog again, as he seems to have, how should I say, err, taken a real shine to her?" I knew exactly what Jack was trying to politely convey. My dog had the hots for the cute black Labrador named Betty that we met at the park last week. I thought he spent an awfully long time sniffing her bottom, in the way that dogs do.
"Monty!" I admonish him. The guy was barely a year old, and was already looking for female companionship. He quirked his head to the side, and his tongue lolled out- the doggy equivalent of an unapologetic, cheeky grin. I groaned, playfully dropping my head in my hands.
"What is it with this family? Oh, and, I know it's late notice, but I meant to ask you earlier- would you guys be able to look after the little Casanova while I'm away?"
"Yeah, sure" Jack replied, ruffling Mont's neck, resulting in a happy yip from the pup. "Drop him and his stuff round on Thursday evening, and we'll look after him until you get back. Just make sure he doesn't do too much running around- I don't want him making that paw any worse."
"I will do. And, thanks Jack- I didn't want to have to put him in the kennels for the weekend." Popping Mont with his newly bandaged paw back into his travel box, I pick it up and move towards the door.
"See you guys on Thursday" I call, and hear a chorus of goodbyes in response, before making my way out of the room, and to reception to pay.
XXX
The rest of the week flew by. It was a flurry of marking, sorting, and trying to hide Monty's antibiotics in his dinner without him realising. Thursday came in no time, and before I knew it I was dropping Monty at Jack and Savannah's for the weekend, before heading back home to pack.
Packing. Eurgh. I hated it- I never knew what to take. Deciding which clothes to take to a convention where you could be possibly meeting your soulfinder was even worse. I mean, how do you find an outfit to meet, and then reject your soulfinder in? I didn't want to look to flashy, but then jeans seemed a bit too casual for the whole affair. I groaned, running a hand through my waist length, curly brown locks. This was a nightmare. So far I'd only managed to pack the basics- toothbrush, pants, bras, socks, and a hairbrush. I'd even forgotten to get some euros- so I was relying on my credit card for any purchases I made whilst I was there.
Rummaging on my wardrobe once more, I settled on my convention outfit. It was a dress I'd gotten in the sale a couple of weeks ago. It was a powdery blue, knee length, and was a sort of smart casual, which is what seemed appropriate for such an event. Paired with a denim jacket, and my favourite pair of battered white converse it was practical as well as pretty, and totally suitable for a warm, Spring Paris day. Chucking in a comfy top to travel home in, and some shorts and tops to wander round in once I was there, I declared myself done. Now I just had to wait until the morning. Who knew what Saturday would bring?