I found my way outside. I saw many families at the table. And just as Elsa had said, all the families were all like one big family. Little kids ran between my legs and under the table. I looked around. More people were entering the room as others were leaving.
A little boy came up beside me and held my hand as I walked. I looked down at the chubby little thing. He didn’t reach up to my knees. He looked up at me with startling blue eyes.
“Carry.” He raised his hands to me.
Such a cute little thing. There was no way I was saying no to those watery blue eyes of his.
I carried him and grunted. He was heavier than he looked. I hoisted him on my hip. “What the gell are they feeding you?”
He giggled and spoke baby language.
“Really?” I asked. He nodded.
I walked with him on my hip. He weighed a ton, I was sure. I walked with a lopsided gait to my step to keep my balance.
I walked outside and into the early morning sun. There was fresh scent in the air. The scent of greens and freshly baked dust. The scenery was artistic too.
The mansion surely looked even better and bigger in the day. The yard too was bigger than I remembered. I glanced around. The little kid squirmed in my arm with surprising strength.
He wormed his way down my body and ran down the step and into the yard. There was a pile of small children. They were climbing and rolling of something. I followed the little boy I had carried, he was in my front and gaining speed.
Then I noticed Elsa just beside the moving pile of kids. She held out her hands to catch the boy. He dodged to one side and leapt on the pile. He was quickly swallowed and I lost him in the moving entanglement of limbs and hands.
“I see you’ve met Santos.” She smiled up at me.
“I could hardly refuse him.” I sat beside her.
“He has that effect on almost everybody.” She said. “Except his mother. She’s so strict with him when everybody else finds him adorable.” She picked a twig and tossed it into the woods after breaking it in half.
“Where’s Jake?” I asked, looking around.
“Did someone call me?” A disembodied voice rang out.
I looked around, trying to find him.
His hand shot out from the rolling pile of children just beside me. Then he got to his feet, red-faced and smiling. He had mud on his cheek but we ignored it. A little boy was hanging from his shoulders and two more were holding on to his waist.
“These children wanted to lynch me.” He laughed.
“You wanted to be lynched.”
“Maybe a little bit.” He shooed the children and they all scampered away, save for a few brave ones that picked their way back. But when they saw the fun was over, they also left.
“I will be leaving for school in about…” She checked a slim watch on her wrist. “… 10 minutes.”
“School?” Jake asked.
“Yes dummy. I can’t miss school. But I’ll be back early. A bus will be here to pick the little ones.”
I looked around and saw some of the children had little schoolbags strapped on already.
Elsa continued. “Some adult will leave for work too. The mansion will be calm and quiet then.”
“Work?” Jake asked again.
“Yes. Our werewolves are ingrained in almost all sector of the community… or even the city as whole.” She pointed discreetly to a man in tweed suit and slim moustache. “Mr. Harper. He’s the principal of my school. He gives me a leave and cover up for me if need be.”
She pointed to another short rotund woman who was bent over, wiping mud from the face of her child – who had been rolling in Jake’s pile – and said, “That’s Mrs. Sandora. She works in the hospital. She’s the chief Medical doctor there. With the help of other nurses from our Pack, she treats us werewolves if we need the external help of a medical doctor.”
I nodded. Jake too was thinking about it all and he understood it all because he sprang started nodding too.
“Then Toby.” She nodded at a blonde man who stood at the end of the stairs. He seemed out of place and alone. He was whistling to himself quietly. From where sat watching him, his eyes looked a little deranged and out of focus. His pupils were blue and wavering in his eyeballs. “He came in her a few months ago. He was never normal. Papa doesn’t normally discuss any serious pack issues with me but I heard him saying that Toby had an encounter with an Elder vampire… and that was what sent him over the rail, mentally.”
Mrs. Sandora walked briskly past us.
“Buenos dias, señora Sandora.” Elsa greeted, stood up and curtsied.
“Buenos dias, querida.” Then she looked at Jake. And then her eyes settled on me.
We both greeted her, she replied with smiling face. She had a smiling face, like she would break a bad news to a patient with a smile on her face. I could not even picture her angry.
“¿No llegas tarde a la escuela?” She asked, looking at Elsa once again.
“Its not time yet, ma’am. And I have to wait to make sure the little children get into the bus.” Elsa said.
“I think these two can handle that.” Mrs. Sandora said, referring to I and Jake. “You’d better go get your school bag then.”
“Yes ma’am.” She got up gracefully and went into the house. I watched her steps and sway of her hair. It wasn’t as long as Maria’s but it was surely longer than average.
Just then, Maria and her friends passed. They were chattering something in Spanish. I couldn’t understand.
Mrs. Sandora who I had even forgotten was there make a tsk sound at me. Then she said, “The bus would be here anytime soon, chico.” She looked at Jake. “Make sure all the children get in. That should be so hard.” She whisked out a small linen handkerchief and wiped Jake’s cheek where mud was.
“See you boys later.” With that she walked off into a garage I hadn’t noticed and drive out in a while sedan.
The children started filing out in ones and twos. Jake got up and walked over. I didn’t hear what he told them but they all made an orderly queue. I went over to his side, just then a big yellow school bus drove and paused.
A wizened old man was driving the bus. He leaned over and pressed on the horn.
The little children jumped aboard. They were calls of “Good morning, Roberto.” Or “Buenos dias, Roberto” from the children as the found their friends in the bus. Soon, all 37 of the little kids were gone.
“You did a fine work.” We both turned as Elsa approached.
“It was mostly Jake. He organised the children.”
She looked at Jake with an appraisal look on her face. “How many were there?”
“Am I supposed to count?” Jake asked in mock horror.
“You were!”
“I did.” I said.
The both stopped their banter to look at me.
“You did?” Jake asked. He didn’t believe me.
“How many?” Elsa asked. She, too was suspicious.
“They were 37 of them.” I said.
“GOD!” Elsa groaned. “They’re supposed to be 40.”
“We didn’t know that!” Jake defended.
Right on cue, 3 children sauntered lazily out of the mansion. They looked 11 or 12.
They looked around and smiled. They shared low fives and whoops together. They had planned it.
“Buenos dias, Elsa.” They all chorused.
She looked like she was going to bite off someone’s head. I cautiously took a step back.
“We mistakenly missed the school bus…” One of then said.
“Does that mean we can take the tube?…” Another asked.
“Or drive ourselves in the Porsche… I can drive. I swear.”
“You are NOT driving, Carlos. Or taking the public bus, Alberto.” Then she turned to the first one who had spoken. “And I can bet on my pinky finger that you all planned your lateness.”
“We did no –”
“They always do.” Elsa said to me and Jake.
“Elsa, let us ex – ”
“Tell you what.” She said turning on the boys, who were white with fear already. “Jake and Jason will escort you to school, today.”
“We will?” I asked. The boys gave a huge sigh of relief.
“Yes you will. They’ll be escorting you today in Mr. Harper’s car.”
One of the boys gave a mock faint. He slumped like he weighed nothing.
“Oh no, you’ve killed Carlos with your punishment.” Another cried.
“Please. Not him. Not him. Not Mr. Harper.”
“Mr. Harper it is. Go on then. He’ll be leaving soon. You don’t want to miss that too. As for me, I’m off.” She hitched a bag in her shoulders and walked off. She stopped to talk with Mr Harper, gesturing back at where we stood. He turned to look at the boys and nodded.
Then she walked to the garage and a nice convertible drive out. She was in the passenger seat and an older girl was driving. She waved once at me and Jake before the car eased into the main road.
“Here he comes.” Carlos groaned.
“Hello boys. I hear you’ve been giving a bit of trouble lately. Come on then. We don’t want to be late for school, do we?” We followed him into the garage and entered a square looking car. Jake sat in front and I and the boys squeezed ourselves at the back.