Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Now that I was bathed, and dressed I had no more excuses to stay up here in my room. I sat on my bed as I stared at the door which looked like it was growing again. I figured I should go before it got too big. Carefully dropping myself from the bed I walked over to the door. When I opened it I half expected Ms. Shelly to be there to usher me down stairs into the presence of Mr. Couthe. But she wasn’t. I felt as if I should tiptoe, the silence in the hall was literally deafening. Then I had an option: left or right. There was no explanation as how to get to the breakfast hall. I had to stop myself from thinking too much because I was jumping to way too many fantastical plots as to why I had been given no direction. Traps, mazes, and Alice in Wonder Land –like situations ran through my head; I remembered as a child being so afraid of that movie. I finally stopped having my little panic attack and just decided to do what my father had told me to a long time ago. We went on a lot of road trips when I was little and dad was always terrible with his directions, we would always end up somewhere we didn’t imagine we would, but we had fun because the entire time we sang the song my dad had made up. The tune changed every time but it went like this:

Just go left,

Just go left.

If you have any doubts…

Just go left.

It was a simple song but it made me smile. So I went left. At the end of the hall there was a lot of light so I hoped I was going the right way. I passed five more doors on the way and wondered if I wasn’t the only one up here. I reached the stairs and looked down. There were two flights and I heard voices from somewhere below. The first flight was easy to get down and as I started on the second flight I got nervous again. The “What ifs” started to float in my mind once more. A voice jerked me back into the moment.

“Are you coming down?” it was a little boy. No older than six years old. He had dirty blonde hair that was a bit wavy and light creamy skin that made him look fragile. I stared at the boy trying to regain my composure. “I’m sorry did I frighten you?” his little voice asked.

“Yes a little bit I must admit.” I answered truthfully. “And yes I’m coming down I just haven’t worked up the courage yet.” I sighed. At that, the little boy brightened, and ran up the stairs to where I had sat down.

“I’ll go with you!” he exclaimed! I giggled, “Alright then, can you take me to the breakfast hall?”

“Sure!” he excitedly grabbed my hand and I willingly let him pull me down the second flight of stairs. I definitely felt better with him. He led me across an open room surrounded by windows, and into a smaller room where there was a table. It wasn’t a long table like I had assumed it would be. It seated eight, and four spots were being occupied when we came in. I only recognized Mr. Couthe. Then there was a lady, another man and a boy about my age.

“Papa! Mr. Couthe! I think I found Sara!” I smiled as the innocent boy made the assumption, he was right of course but that meant Mr. Couthe would have to introduce me to more people than I wanted to be introduced to right now. The four at the table smiled and laughed. Their laughs were mesmerizing and I noticed also how stunning they all were; the little boy included. Again I felt awkward.

“So you have,” the voice was Mr. Couthe’s. He laughed again, “Come over Sara, breakfast is just about to be served.” The boy led me over to sit next to him, I was thankful to him because that meant I didn’t have to choose my seat.

“You can sit next to me.” His little voice rang with naïve pride.

“How did you sleep Sara?” Mr. Couthe inquired looking at me attentively.

“I slept well thank you.” I answered a bit ridged. Mr. Couthe noticed I was uncomfortable and turned to the lady next to him. “Sara, this is my wife Ciara.” Then he turned to the man on his right, “This is Matt Pierce, and these are his sons Hayden and you met Gannon already.”

“Do they live here too?” I asked.

“No, I asked them to visit and come for breakfast. Also, I wanted to introduce you to Hayden. He is 10 and he will be in your class at school when you start.” I looked over at the boy called Hayden again, he was quietly scrutinizing me, but there was no expression to show what he thought of me. I had a bruise on my face still, and that only made my self-confidence shrink more in front of these beautiful people. Hayden’s eyes were a pretty blue with gold specks. He had brunet hair and like his brothers’ it was slightly wavy. His skin wasn’t as pale as his brothers though, it was an ivory color. Finally Hayden broke the silence. “Hello, it’s very nice to finally meet Mr. and Mrs. Carlson’s only child.” Just then breakfast came out of another room each on their own platter, but that didn’t matter right now; all that I cared about was how the boy had known my last name.

He knew my parents?