On The Roof

Chapter one

     It's six in the morning at the Vera apartment. Arlo was already awake and drank at least four cups of coffee, and Eddie was still in her room sound asleep. Arlo never dared to wake Eddie up, especially not this early in the morning. She is always so cranky! Suddenly, a loud beeping noise sounded through the apartment. Of course, it was Eddie's alarm clock. The alarm turned off, and she came stomping out of her room with a terrible bedhead.

"Hey, sis."

     She didn't respond. Arlo chuckled and went to his room to grab clothes. Eddie sat at the counter and lied her head face-first on the surface. She glanced to the left at the balcony door. On this rainy and gloomy day, clouds filled the sky. The sun was nowhere in sight, behind those dark puffs of what seemed like smoke. It always makes Eddie sad when the world is this dark. Though she likes to go out onto the balcony and listen to the rain splatter into the puddles on the ground beneath her, it was still sad that the sun couldn't come out today. Arlo stood in the hallway and stared at her when she noticed he smiled and walked to the bathroom. He always made her laugh as a child and still does to this day. Arlo undressed and threw his pajamas into the laundry basket. His new clothes were on the counter next to the sink.
     After a few minutes of resting, Eddie decided to get up and be productive. She decided to make breakfast, and she even went to the grocery store a day prior. But out of all things to make, Eddie wanted to make pancakes. Even though her brother was in the shower for about twenty minutes, she wasn't worried. He usually took about thirty minutes anyways. So she just continued to cook. She wasn't as tired as usual either. They haven't gotten a report in quite a bit. It made it easier for them to sleep, so they didn't complain about that. When Arlo walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, he sighed.

"Pancakes? Again? C'mon! I know there's other food you could make." He whined

"Are you complaining?" She asked

"No. I'm just a bit sick of pancakes, is all."

"Mhm..." She mumbled to herself

     She put his plate on the table with a fork and walked to the fridge to get syrup and butter. When Arlo tried to stand, she forced him to sit back down and grabbed him the other stuff he wanted (blueberries, strawberries, etc.). He waited for Eddie to sit down before eating to be polite. She sat down next to him and began to eat her share of pancakes.
     Once they finished and began putting their dishes away, they got a phone call. Arlo immediately ran to answer the phone, it could be a report, and thus, it was a report. A very... odd one. The call came from England. They didn't understand. Why would someone from England call them? It didn't make any sense. But whatever it was, they had to go. They'd never been to England before, and besides, if someone from England is calling them out of all people, then something is very wrong. The person calling was a British woman with three children saying that her family was being hurt, and endangered. The woman and her family lived in an old orphanage used as a hospital during the wars and burnt down. The house was built over the debris and ashes of the old building. Once Arlo hung up, he discussed the situation with Eddie.

"Should we go?"

"I think we should. I think it'd ease her mind, she has three children after all. I think it'd be beneficial to our business as well." Eddie explained

"Alright, that settles it then. I told the woman to call back in thirty minutes, I'll tell her we'll book a flight for Thursday and be on our way." he was sincere about this.

"Good idea. I'll book the flight."

They went on their separate ways to begin the preparation. Arlo was on a call with the woman, getting more information. Eddie was booking flights and packing their bags. They both were running around the house doing things they'd need to do before they left so nothing got too out of hand in their own home while they are gone, and so they wouldn't have to prepare at the last minute.
     Now and then, they'd argue about how they should go about their trip and how to do it safely without conflict. Now it was the night before their flight, they'd have to leave the apartment around seven-thirty in the morning if they didn't want to miss their flight. They were already prepared by now, so they didn't have to worry about doing any last-minute work in the morning.