Wow, has it really been almost a month? Gosh, I've been so busy I hadn't noticed. Okay, so now I need to go work again, as usual, but I wrote up a quick chapter for you guys. The random fact will have to wait - but I promise I'll add it later!


The next day dawned with drizzle pattering outside her small apartment, hitting the windows with the constant tapping of wooden blocks being struck together. Fog clouded the skies. Camila couldn’t see more than 4 feet in front of her. The air itself was sticky and it was one of those rare humid days. Despite all this, Camila felt that her spirits were lighter than they had bee in weeks. She was actually looking forward to the day.

As they bustled around the apartment in the usual morning rush, even Selly noticed the difference.

“Why are you so…so, happy?” Selly asked, crunching her cereal noisily in her mouth. “How come you don’t smile when you’re making pancakes everyday? You don’t make pancakes everyday neither. These are good. I want this for every breakfast. Give me more of the sticky syrup! I like them…” Selly kept up a steady stream of one-sided conversation throughout their breakfast, so Camila was never given an opportunity to answer the original question.

As Camila took Selly on the bus towards her friend’s house, whose mom was going to take them to school with the help of a portkey, Selly finally settled down.

Slightly relieved that the little brat had finally shut up, Camila put an arm around her shoulders and asked, “So, what’s got you in such a cheery mood today?”

Selly looked up at her and grinned hugely, making the large gap in the side very visible. You know the adorable gap that little six year olds have when they’re missing their front teeth? Well, this was nothing like that, because mostly it was barely noticeable. “Will I get to see George today, huh?”

Hearing his name, Camila felt her own lips tug upwards. Teasing Selly, she answered, “Maybe. Do you want to see him again?”

“Yeah! I like George,” Selly declared. Then, lowering her voice, as if revealing a large secret, she added, “He’s also very pretty.”

At that, Camila couldn’t help but laugh aloud as she nodded her head in agreement.

Selly huffed, “Why are you laughing at me? He is pretty.”

“I’m not laughing at you,” Camila denied, even as a couple of giggles escaped her.

“Yes, you are!” Her little sister would not give up.

“Nope!” Camila wasn’t her older sister for nothing.

“I’m not talking to you!” Selly decided, turning her back towards Camila.

“I’m not talking to you either,” Camila replied, mirroring her sister’s actions.

It was just about then that the bus screeched to a stop, throwing a couple of people forward and off their seats. Driving in London was always dangerous, and apparently their bus driver had not seen a speeding car coming from the side.

After ensuring that Selly was alright, Camila looked around to see a little old lady on the floor. She was trying to push herself upright and a small wooden cane was rolling around on her back. Her rich, flower-printed dress had ridden up slightly, revealing the pale wrinkled skin of her calves. Quickly picking up the cane from her pack, Camila pulled up the old lady by the arms.

“Are you alright?” She questioned anxiously as the lady tugged uncomfortably at her dress. The old woman nodded stiffly in response.

Some of the other passengers had gotten of and were busy engaging in a heated argument with the bus driver. Taking Selly’s hand, Camila too got off the bus (even though they weren’t at their stop quite yet) and made sure the lady was off safely. She was just about to turn and walk off in the other direction when the lady stopped her with a small hand on her arm.

“Dear, thank you so much.” Her voice was like her, small, fragile, but wielded with authority and dignity.

“Any day,” Camila replied. She gave the old lady a smile and was about to turn around the woman blurted, “Give me a chance to repay you, dear. Why don’t you come have tea with me this evening, at 5?”

“With me?” Selly asked immediately.

“Of course, with you too, child,” the woman replied generously.

Camila was on the verge of declining, but stopped her words. The lady was not asking her to thank her, she probably was just a lonely woman who wanted company. Despite the woman’s age though, was it safe? What if she had a son who was a mugger, just waiting for the victims to come obliviously home with his mother, lurking in the shadows to take his unsuspecting victim’s valuables out of the blue? (Not that Camila kept any valuables on her person, but still…it was the concept of the thing).

Shaking her head to clear her wayward thoughts, Camila reoriented herself. The lady smiled, sensing her anxieties, and said, “We can meet at the Tipton Hotel down on Boston Avenue if you’d like.”

No longer having any reason to decline, Camila accepted the offer and confirmed the venue. “See you at 5!” She called over her shoulder as she led a very curious Selly towards her friend’s house.