Suddenly there was a loud
knock and Declan’s voice suddenly boomed out, “hey, pipsqueaks!” He had knocked once and then walked into the
bedroom.
“DECLAN!” My best friend yelled as he quickly released
my waist.
I jumped up from the bed
embarrassed! It was almost in light
speed, I leapt to my feet with my face burning bright red.
“Dinner’s ready.” Declan
gave a steely-glare, before he turned around and walked out again.
Has it been half an hour
already? I had lost my appetite, but I
was the first to walk out of the bedroom as I went straight into the bathroom
and shut the door behind. I used their
sink to wash my hands as I suddenly felt really unhygienic. I even washed my face and neck where Derik’s
mouth had been. Then I dried off using
the hand towel before I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door again.
Frickin’ hell, I wish Declan
hadn’t sprung us… the worst person in the world who could have seen that, would
be him.
When I walked out to the
dining table, I saw he was sitting on one side of the table glaring at Derik
who was sitting on the other, glaring back.
Aunt Susan sat at the head of the table as the matriarch of the
family. I sat at the place setting
beside my best friend where my plate of spaghetti bolognaise was waiting.
Derik and Aunt Susan hadn’t
started eating yet, as they were waiting for me to sit down but my enemy was
already shoveling food into his mouth.
“Declan.” She glared at her
eldest. “It’s polite to wait until everybody is seated before we begin our
meals.”
He threw his mother a tired
look, but he dropped his fork and sat back into his seat as he chewed on his
mouthful. Er, I was sitting down now so
can’t he eat? Aunt Susan smiled at Derik
and I and then she picked up her cutlery which prompted us to follow suit. Declan glared my way next, as he picked up
his fork and continued on feeding his face, not even stopping for air!
Whereas the humans politely
cut up the spaghetti, the European Werewolf was merely swiveling his fork
through it, picking up a huge amount and shoveling it into his oversized
mouth. I looked on in disgust… and Mandy
finds THAT attractive? He noticed my
unimpressed look as he raised his eyebrows.
I shook my head as I looked down at my plate.
“B’s got a point,
Declan.” His mother commented.
“Oh yeah, like B’s the
picture of politeness and morality in this tribe.” He sneered.
Derik dropped his cutlery
loudly onto his plate as his objection whilst he sent his older brother the
look of death.
I quickly changed the
subject. “Aunt Susan, do you still make
your own pasta? I noticed that the Store never has any.”
“Ah yes I do B.” She
answered. “Speaking of which, I’ve got some extra lasagna sheets you can take
home to your mother. She told me that she wanted to try making lasagna soon.”
“Cool.” I gave a nod.
“Your Mom said your Gran has
an old family recipe of lasagna. But
when she was telling me about the method, I didn’t think there was enough
cheese in it. Now, I know we can’t get
any parmesan cheese around here, as the only cheese that this tribe makes is
tasty. However I recommend that you put
extra cheese into the béchamel sauce as well as on the top of the dish.” Aunt
Susan instructed.
“OK.” I nodded, before I
turned quiet for a minute or two as I thought on how Aunt Susan and Great
Grandma were alike. “You know, you and
Great Grandma are the only two women I know who has a list of old family
recipes. I mean, Gran has the recipe for
lasagna and toss salad dressing from her Australian family, but that’s it. I don’t think the Worthall’s passed down any
recipes to Gran, as before the War the family had Housekeepers or Cooks and
chose from different menus.”
“Cooking is an important
tradition in many Italian families.” Aunt Susan pronounced. “When my family as
well as Anthony’s left Italy after World War Two, they brought the recipes with
them. In the old culture, cooking was a
family activity as well as social ritual.”
“Mom told me that in the old
days, they would let the bolognaise sauce stew all day, whilst they made the
pasta by hand.” Derik turned my way.
“Really?” I looked on in
surprise.
“It’s true.” She verified
then she smiled on her sons. “Derik
isn’t really interested in that part of his heritage, but Declan’s got a gift
for it. Declan and I can sit at this
table for hours, making spaghetti, fettuccine, lasagna sheets or pasta
spirals.”
“Declan?” I looked on the
great oaf sitting across in further surprise.
“How do you like your pasta
tonight, B?” He returned smugly. Then he shot off a look to his little
brother. “If Mom, heaven forbid, dropped
dead tomorrow… Derik would be screwed.
He can barely boil an egg!”
“Yeah well Declan, there are
more important things to life than just thinking with your stomach.” Derik said
coldly.
“You and your books,” he
sneered, “like THAT’S going to get you anywhere!”
“How about Cambridge?” Derik
said smugly.
Declan paused in his eating
to look on in surprise. “Say what?”
“Derik?” Aunt Susan gave her
youngest an inquiring look.
“Cambridge University is
open again and B will be applying to study History there.” He boasted, causing Declan to throw me a
shocked look next.
“You’re leaving?”
Huh? Why is he taken aback
by this? I was expecting a smartass retort like, ‘good riddance’ or something
from him.
“B says I could go with her
and do an Undergraduate’s course in Medicine.” Derik told his mother. “I don’t need to do a Masters or a PhD
because Grandpa Wisetail said he’ll take me on as an apprentice Medicine Man.”
“Say what?” Declan’s mouth
fell open as he looked back at his little brother.
“Derik!” My Aunt beamed proudly on her youngest son.
“Since the War, not many schools
are open so kids like us, can complete their High School Certificates. But we’re able to submit assignments with our
application papers to be reviewed on a case by case basis.” He went on.
“I’ll help you pick your
best work to put together.” She quickly agreed. “Your biology essays were
always the best in the tribe, especially your last on the immune system. I don’t think we can submit them in your
handwriting, but we could borrow Arabella’s laptop and portable printer and
type them up -”
“Hang on hang on hang on!”
Declan interrupted before he strangely laughed to himself, “Mom, I’m sorry to
be the slap of reality here, but how exactly are we going to pay for all of
this?”
She looked on her eldest as
if his words really were a slap and her face fell.
“No problem.” Derik said
coolly.
“No problem?” He arched his
eyebrows. “I don’t think the University
operates on a barter system like we have here in the tribe, Derik. You won’t be able to trade in dead moose or
caribou to pay your way through.” He
looked coldly my way before he looked back on his brother. “B as I understand, has English relatives
that live in a castle full of rich and expensive old things that can pay her
way. But what have you got, Derik? What
has this family got which will pay for all of this?”
His little brother looked
away to tell their mother, “B showed me this website for a company called Hodge
Endeavor which will pay my way.”
“Hodge Endeavor?” Her eyes
widened with recognition. “They will pay for your tuition, like a scholarship
or some such?”
“We came to Alaska to live
because a letter from our Great, Great Grand Uncle told us to. He was a Circulator in the Circulate. The Circulate run Hodge Endeavor. Because of Mike Sabre, B was telling me that
we have access to Hodge Endeavor money.
They’ll pay for Cambridge.” Derik explained.
“Who’s Hodge Endeavor?”
Declan asked skeptically.
“They’re one of the few
multinational companies which survived the War.” Aunt Susan said, before she
looked my way in confusion. “B, I
understand that with you being a Circulator in the Circulate along with your
Mom and your Gran that Hodge Endeavor will pay for you. But why will they pay for Derik?”
“Because of who you are.” I
told her. “Your late husband Anthony was Mike Sabre’s Great Grand Nephew. Because you’re related, you have his access
to Circulate funds through Hodge Endeavor.”
Declan dropped his fork
loudly onto his plate and pushed it away, looking cranky for some reason.
“So, my brother is a
millionaire because of a distant relation?” He asked in disbelief. “Well, I don’t need my job at the Garage
anymore!”
“You have access to that
money too Declan, if you should ever need it or even if you had some kind of
inkling towards bettering yourself!” I snapped.
He stood up in a rage so
suddenly, his chair fell backwards onto the floor! I blanched as his blue eyes flashed glowing
green, with his circular pupils turning into narrow slits. Then he growled under his breath before he
turned around and stalked out of the room…
… BAM! I think he slammed his bedroom door behind
him so hard that the wood started to split!
I looked guiltily to Aunt Susan, who actually didn’t seem surprised by
her eldest’s temper tantrum, but just a little sad instead.
“Sorry.” I said uneasily, then
I looked to Derik. “I just thought he was wrong to put you and your dreams down
like that.”
He smiled appreciatively as
he put his hand over mine.
“No B, it’s alright.” She
sighed. “I think Declan is jealous. Not
about Derik’s education, since he’s
never been one for school or homework.
But he can’t leave Lokoti tribal lands, like Derik is being offered the
chance to. Being a Werewolf, there
aren’t many places he can go where he can change and hunt freely like he can
here.”
Now I really felt bad. I pulled my hand out of Derik’s grasp to
stare down at my plate as I lost my appetite.
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