Johnny and Rhea

“Class, before we go in you should get rid of all fuzzies, fly-away hairs, and candy. Girls, please pull your hair up.”

Before we actually entered the house, Mrs. Fields wanted us to look our best, if that was possible. All of the boys were wearing collar dress shirts, plus ties. Ichabod was wearing a black shirt and a red tie. All of the girls were wearing dress shirts too, but no ties. Lene was wearing a white shirt, with a medallion necklace from the Pirates movie; an exact replica from Hot Topic.

I, however, had not received the memo and was wearing a black t shirt that had a skull and crossbones with a banner going across it. The banner clearly stated “Rock and Roll Saved My Life”. The skull was clutching a red rose between its teeth. I was looked down upon by the teacher, but had recieved high-fives from Ichey and Lene.

I quickly pulled my hair into a messy/neat [is that possible?] bun at the back of my head and swept my bangs to the side. The teacher seemed to think that was good enough, and knocked three times. As soon as she withdrew her hand, the door flew open. Standing in the doorway was a stout fifty year old woman with graying hair. She squealed and let us in.

“They’re here! The children are here!” Her voice rang throughout the high ceilinged room.

“Just a minute, Molly!” a voice said from somewhere in the house.

The interior of the house was quite large and by the looks of it, we were in what was at one time the ballroom. In the middle of the room sat a large black grand piano. On top of the rather dusty bench sat an also dusty vase. It was holding an aging rose.

“It’s beautiful,” I breathed. I nudged Ichey and Lene in the ribs.

“That’s what I want for Christmas,” I whispered. Ichey looked around.

“What, the rose?”

Before I could think of a good response, a tall, skinny elderly woman came down the stairs that were directly across from us.

“Hello, children,” she addressed us. She had a sweet, soft voice that was full of wisdom. “I am Mistress Brody, owner of this fine house and plantation. Molly will be returning shortly with an afternoon lunch for us all.”

I realized that the ride had taken three hours and I was starving. I hoped Molly wasp’t going to take too long.... My stomach usually starts to growl like a lion after a short time.
Thankfully, she arrived about two minutes later and announced that the table was set and ready. We were led into a different room.

It was rectangular in shape, with one door in each wall. The only piece of furniture was a large table in the same shape of the room and it seated thirty – two people. Wow.
We seated ourselves and looked around at the table. It was empty of food. I thought Molly said it was ready?

My stomach gave an embarrassing growl that didn’t sound very human. Mistress Brody laughed.

“The food will be here shortly,” she said, waving a hand in the air.

“I’m sorry,” I said meekly. I crossed an arm over my stomach.

Mistress Brody pointed at the chandelier that hung above the center of the table.
“The chandelier is made completely of platinum and aurora borealis crystal.” We all oohed and ahhed at the price, each of us coming up with our own ballpark estimate. I didn’t like it. Platinum was three times rarer than gold, and it was being wasted into chandeliers. I think it should be saved for important things, like wedding bands and engagement rings. Of course, that was my own opinion, that of a person who used all their money to buy groceries because their father was an abusive alcoholic. I took a second look at the table.

“Mistress Brody,” I said, “why is one seat empty?”

“Oh, pay no attention to that, my dear. We happen to have a guest that prefers to eat in his room, that’s all.” At that point I began to wonder if she ever had any children because she kept calling us “dear”. A few minutes later food was actually laid out on the table. After we ate, Mistress Brody gave us a tour of the house.

“There are thirty one bedrooms, five bathrooms, and one very large kitchen. The ballroom is close to the kitchen, and is sometimes used for parties and the like. I rent it out occasionally.” We were being led down the hallways; Mistress Brody was facing towards us so I assumed that she had done this before.

“As you can see, there is a gas lantern every few feet, hanging on the wall. This is in case of an emergency, or if someone needs to use the bathroom at night.” She smiled warmly at us. “You are more than welcome to stay with us if something should happen during your stay at the motel. They are quite unreliable.”

“Thank you, Mistress Brody,” said a smiling Mrs. Fields. “But I believe we need to go check in.”

I looked at the time on my iPod and was surprised to see it was six o’clock.

“Well, don’t forget the offer.”