“You weren’t even in the room when it happened.”
“I had my finger on his temple.”
“No, you were too busy watching the night staff make out in the closet.”
“Oh, yeah…” Why did I forget that part? “Still not important. The fact of the matter is I’m bored and want to go back to walking through people’s houses.”
“You could always try being a criminal. They invite themselves into people’s houses all the time,” Archie suggested.
“Or maybe I could start randomly poking people in the back with toothpicks, seeing as we are offering stupid suggestions,” I responded.
“Well, it would suit you,” Archie attempted, picking a fight with me.
“Oh, why don’t you just go and choke on a lung or something?” I fired at Archie.
“Would it kill you to show elders respect?” Ethan sighed.
“Perhaps, but I don’t really want to find out,” I replied.
“So, no school today then,” Ethan concluded.
“No school ever. Anyway, it is not like they can teach me anything. I know everything.”
They shared an expression with each other as if to say I didn’t but hell, who listens to old people anyway? Back in their day, people still pooped outside.
Archie was examining me from across the table and just before I threatened to stab him with the spoon he was holding, he said, “Maybe your problem is you are too sheltered.”
I grumbled under my breath but didn’t say anything.
“Do you want to hear a story, Addison?” Archie drummed his long fingers across the wooden table, looking deep in thought.
“Nope, I’m not into that kind of thing, but Ethan is crazy about bedtime stories, so you can hold out for him if you want.”
“Addison,” Ethan said, as if warning me.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “Go on then.” I gestured for Archie to continue. I’m sure hearing about how the first car was invented was going to be thrilling.
“Do you know what it takes to live as long as I have?” Archie asked to my surprise.
I groaned. “If your next words are,eat your veggies,I already told Ethan that nothing will convince me to eat those horrible little things.”
Archie suppressed a smirk. “No. I’m responsible for the deaths of numerous women.”
“You hit them with your walking stick, didn’t you?” I guessed.
“I don’t have a walking stick,” he snapped.
“But you should. Come on, admit it, your bones aren’t what they use to be.” I gave him a taunting smirk.
He muttered something under his breath but, to my surprise, he continued to try to tell me the story. “As I was saying, I killed a lot of women.”
“Yeah. Yeah, you’re Jack the Ripper. Stop with the boring details and get to the good bit.”
“I am not Jack the Ripper.”
“Well, you certainly aren’t Jack the Happy either.”
Ethan