The Escape

It was dark outside and there were more people in the mansion then when I first arrived a few hours before. There was a group of guys out in the backyard playing basketball, and I assumed Wilton was out there with them. Then there was two girls sitting on the deck giggling and gossiping. As I walked down the other hall I noticed a few of the other rooms were set up similar to my room. One room the beds were stacked so it formed bunk beds and had an old oak desk push up to the far wall. Another room had several giant colorful beanbag chairs and white Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. Everyone was off doing their own thing.
“Hey Jessie! You hungry?”
“Uh yeah I suppose…”
Out of everyone I met Wilton was the friendliest and most welcoming person. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me back into the kitchen. We walked pass the counters with people sitting on bar stools then up to a long table that had eight chairs around it. Most of the seats had already been taken, Cynthia sat at the head of the table with Peter to her left and a man named Aaron to her right. Then Carly sat next to Aaron and the entire right side of the table was filled. Wilton sat down next to Pete and a girl named Abigail. I was not sure where to sit, they all seemed to have assigned seats or something. Then Cynthia yelled, “Will you sit down already! Geezz I have never seen a more awkward person in my life!” I took the seat in front of me it was at the end of the table I was not sure who the people seating next to me were but they seemed nice enough.
Everyone began chatting, reaching across the table, and grabbing food off of the plates in the center of the table. It was like a crazy cafeteria scene that they show in all the movies about High Schools. I recognized the two girl sitting across from me. They were the girls I had just seen giggling outside. They started whispering to each other as they watched me try to reach around everyone to put some food on my plate. I knew they were probably whispering about how I kept spilling gravy all over the place or how every time the guy sitting next to me flung his hand up I practically jumped to the other side of the room.
As I looked around the table and over at the people sitting at the counter I wondered how many people actually lived here. I counted about 13 people here eating, but I did not know if that was everybody. I looked towards Cynthia at the other end of the table I remembered what Carly told me about how she ran away from her Aunt’s House and how her family died in a tragic car crash. As I looked at her I tried to figure out if it was all true. If it was it would explain why she was so rude and almost snobby. Slowly Aaron’s hand found its way to Cynthia’s as he whispered something in her ear.
Then Cynthia stood up and announced, “So since everyone is here I want to tell you what is going on with the The Bronte Family. I got wind of their value through one of our clients. We are being hired to find any information we can and gain any kind of valuable items or cash.
According to our client The Bronte Family has been traveling through the Midwest robbing and conning rich families for a few years. They have a big reputation out west, and according our client they are moving towards us. If we can get any information about where they have been storing their money our client will give the information to the police then split any rewards and profits with us. I have been doing research of my own on the Bronte Family, and I found that the family was five children two of them boys and three girls. They grew up in Oklahoma. I wasn’t able to find much on their parents, but I know that they grew up with money. When their parents died they left all the estates and money to the five children. Well obviously the children went overboard and were broke in just a few months. The rumors are that they children are so spoiled they began stealing everything they wanted from other well off families in Oklahoma. I guess when they realized they were good at it they began to branch out all throughout the Midwest.
There have been reports of people claiming to be robbed by the Bronte Family in Colorado and Nevada but nothing factual. Now our client has done part of our job by tricking them into thinking we are a very wealthy family who wants to make a business deal with them. They are hoping to con us out of all of our supposed money. All we have to do it keep up the story long enough to make them comfortable. Then while making the business deal we will get all the bank information we need. They will be long gone before they realize we took anything. From then on our client will handle everything and all of the dealings with the police.”
“Cynthia this is a group job? Are you sure this is a good idea. I mean considering Jessica is new. It is not like she knows how this works.”
“Peter please, no one knows how this works. Jessica is going to have to suck it up and learn how to take care of herself. Just like the rest of us did, I am not here to take care of some child.”
The room stayed silent as everyone turned and looked at me. I wasn’t sure what to do or say. Every one stared as I tried to slide down in my seat, I did not want to cause any problems or make anyone feel the need to take care of me. I came here because I needed a place to stay and a way to make some money. I never thought I would get wrapped up in some complicated world of con artist and thieves. Cynthia sat back down and everyone went back to eating, but there was defiantly an awkward tension in the room. Peter went back to eating his dinner and I sat frozen afraid to move. I was much more comfortable flying under the radar without anyone noticing I was around.
Slowly people began to finish up their meals, and as they finished everyone began to break off into their smaller groups just like they were before we sat down to eat. The two girls who were sitting across from me went and sat on the couch behind me and began to whisper and gossip again. I made my way down the hall to find Cynthia so we could talk about these clients and jobs. If I wasn’t so desperate for a place to stay I would have just walked out, but I had no place to go and if I slept outside again who knows what could happen and I don’t have enough money to find food for tomorrow. As I walked down the hall I realized most of the bedroom doors were now closed. The entire mansion seemed almost empty and abandoned like it was when I first arrived. As I stood outside Cynthia’s door I debated about going back to my own room and waiting until the next day to talk to Cynthia.
I knocked on her door. My fist hit the wood lighter than I intended, and I wasn’t sure Cynthia would hear. So I knocked again hoping she wasn’t in there. Wilton said she was a nice person but she was not happy I was here and getting in the way. She slowly opened the door. She was obviously upset that I was bothering her and being more of an inconvenience. As she opened the door and let me in the room I realized her room was much larger than all of the other rooms in the house. I suppose it makes sense though if the mansion was actually hers anyway.
“Ok so now that you have interrupted me, what do you want?”
“I uh.. umm”
“For god sake! Spit it out already! You came here you knocked on my door for a reason. What?”
“I … I wanted to talk to you about … well about me being here. I get it you don’t want me here. I don’t know why, but fine whatever. Either way you invited me to stay and if I had another option I would take it, but seeing as I don’t I am trying to figure out what is going on here. “
“Oh see look you can talk. Listen I have no problem with you being here, it is nothing personal. It is just that Peter is right you have not been here long enough to know how things work here. I just can’t take on the responsibility of taking care of or teaching someone what to do. Things here are crazy here now that April and Kathy left.”
“Oh, I want to help. I am worried about these jobs, but maybe working first with everyone I can learn and maybe … well I could try and take the clients that April and Kate had.”
“Whoa! Don’t get ahead of yourself there Jessica. April and Kate had been at this a long time. Let’s just say they knew all about being a con artist before coming here. There is no way you could gain that kind of experience in a short time. Plus having you around during the group job is too risky. If you say one wrong thing or slip up in anyway it will put the entire job at risk and the shelter.”
“Well… what if I try to stay in the background? I mean there is what 13 people living here I highly doubt they will be paying much attention to me.”
“Maybe but I can’t take that risk. Listen it is getting late you should go to bed, and I will come up with something. For now don’t worry about anything or any jobs I will figure it all out.”
“Oh ok ! Thank you!”
I turned and started to walk out of her room when she stopped me and said, “Hey! Don’t think I am gonna let you slack off forever. Once I get things figured out you will have a client list just like everyone else. I don’t care if Wilton thinks you a good person or if your friends with Peter. Everyone has to work for what they get.”
“Oh I know… but I am not friends with…”
“Do you ever shut up! Get out so I can go back to bed!” She slammed the door in my face.