"Whacha got there, kiddo?" Debbie asks. Well, more like shouts, as she's still technically in the kitchen. Towel in her hands, she's just washed them after throwing a couple of batches of lemon bars into the oven, and she's walking through the doorway that connects kitchen to rec room as she asks the question, a broad, warm, welcoming smile on her face.
It's not that the kid's reading loud, or all that noticeable. But that's why Debbie notices, because she has a soft spot for tough cases, and there's nothing tougher on the heart strings than a little girl sitting all alone on a great big couch.
Pearl actually jumped a little at the sudden loud voice. She looked up at the woman, a little startled still, but the woman's smile at least put her a little at ease.
"J-Just a book, ma'am," she said, quietly. She hoped she hadn't done something wrong by taking it from the bookshelf.
"Oh yeah?" Debbie says, her smile not faltering. The lemon bars still have about ten or so minutes to sit in the oven, so she keeps walking towards the girl. "What's it about, huh?"
"A school," she said, closing the book so the woman could see the picture on the cover of a towering building. "I've never been to one before. A-are they all this big?"
She had been homeschooled since she was of age to go. As it turned out, her mother really did not approve of her leaving to learn elsewhere when she could do it herself. Schools didn't teach her the Kurain technique either, which she practiced every day under her mother's watchful eye.
"Not all of 'em," Debbie answers with an easy shrug. "Some are real small, some are spread out, some are built high like that. Depends on where you're from." She stops and looks at her curiously, still cheerful. "How'd you learn to read if you've never been to school?"
"My mommy taught me," she said, softly. "There were no schools close to our village. And plus, she said the strangers outside don't understand us."
And it was true, but not to the extent her mother had made it out to be. Not many believed in their powers, but they were never mean to Maya and she. She wasn't sure at all what her mother had been so worried about.
"Oh," Debbie says, understanding now, and the smile shows up on her face again. "What village was that? Where I lived, there were people who didn't understand us either, my son and his friends. They could get awfully angry when they wanted to. Were they like that to you?"
"Kurain Village," she explained, fiddling a little with the mega. Thinking about home made her a little sad.
"Mommy said that happened a lot 'cause something bad happened a long time ago, and people thought we were all lying when we said we can talk to spirits," she explained. She brightened a little, however, as she continued, "But it's not so bad anymore, and I bet it's 'cause of Mystic Maya and Mister Nick. Mystic Maya's going to be the Master of our clan one day and my cousin. She's really amazing, and she helps Mister Nick a lot with his cases."
"Now that's silly," Debbie says, immediately on the kid's side because hell, why wouldn't she be? "Why would you lie about something like that?" Not that Debbie really believes that the kid can talk to spirits (she'd have to understand more of what she means by that before making a decision), but it does seem like a stupid thing for people to get mad at her for. "Mister Nick's got cases? Is he a lawyer or something?"
"I don't know," she said, frowning a little. Mister Nick believed, but not everyone.
"Yup! I help too," she nodded, and she brightened at the thought of the man. "He's Mystic Maya's boss, and I think her boyfriend too. He's really nice, and really smart."
"Oh yeah?" Debbie responds, smiling. "You must be a pretty smart cookie." She pauses, but keeps smiling gently, because she's gonna ask a question and it could just bring up sad thoughts instead of happy. "Any of those people here with you, hun?"
"Oh, I'm sure they are, honey," Debbie says, not missing a beat and not for a second letting her enthusiasm drop. "I'm sure they miss you like hell, but I'm sure they're getting along just fine."
She pauses and glances back at the kitchen, compulsively checking her wrist to find no watch there. "Hey, you like lemon bars? I've got a batch that's about ready to come out of the oven. Why don't you take your book and come into the kitchen with me? I wanna hear that story."
It's not that the kid's reading loud, or all that noticeable. But that's why Debbie notices, because she has a soft spot for tough cases, and there's nothing tougher on the heart strings than a little girl sitting all alone on a great big couch.
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"J-Just a book, ma'am," she said, quietly. She hoped she hadn't done something wrong by taking it from the bookshelf.
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She had been homeschooled since she was of age to go. As it turned out, her mother really did not approve of her leaving to learn elsewhere when she could do it herself. Schools didn't teach her the Kurain technique either, which she practiced every day under her mother's watchful eye.
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And it was true, but not to the extent her mother had made it out to be. Not many believed in their powers, but they were never mean to Maya and she. She wasn't sure at all what her mother had been so worried about.
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"Mommy said that happened a lot 'cause something bad happened a long time ago, and people thought we were all lying when we said we can talk to spirits," she explained. She brightened a little, however, as she continued, "But it's not so bad anymore, and I bet it's 'cause of Mystic Maya and Mister Nick. Mystic Maya's going to be the Master of our clan one day and my cousin. She's really amazing, and she helps Mister Nick a lot with his cases."
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"Yup! I help too," she nodded, and she brightened at the thought of the man. "He's Mystic Maya's boss, and I think her boyfriend too. He's really nice, and really smart."
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"No. They're all still back home," she said, quietly. "I hope they're doing okay."
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She pauses and glances back at the kitchen, compulsively checking her wrist to find no watch there. "Hey, you like lemon bars? I've got a batch that's about ready to come out of the oven. Why don't you take your book and come into the kitchen with me? I wanna hear that story."
Reply
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