Mischief On Earth ✔

Of Running And Realization

* music again, I'm on a roll! *

She dashed out of her apartment and tripped right over a Lego block lying in the middle of the hallway. Normally she would have seen it, but then again normally she would have been wearing her glasses. She swore, loud, and a mother from a nearby room shouted, "Language!"

She was wearing open-toed sandals and had stubbed her toe. Hopping painfully she managed to reach the elevator and took it down to the ground floor.

He can't have gone very far - I should still have time left to catch him! She saw the reception counter a few feet away and started hollering.

"Mrs Kendrick! Mrs Kendrick I need you help - whoa, you are not Mrs Kendrick."

She had reached the counter and the person sitting there wasn't the friendly married woman that sat there every day. Instead, it was a much younger person of the opposite sex, who had damp straw blonde hair, flat and sticking to his scalp. He was a pasty looking twenty-something, who had one of those very trying smiles that just made you want to punch him in the teeth.

"No, I am not Mrs Kendrick, nor am I Mr Kendrick. Lucky for you, I'm single." He arched his eyebrow in a suggestive manner.

"Okaaaayy. Um. Where is Mrs Kendrick?"

"She's gone off to visit her mother, who broke her leg painting the upstairs window. Really, I don't know why they couldn't have hired a professional painter. Why do something when someone else can do it for you? And their economy isn't that bad - I mean, sure, they could use a few hundred more dollars, but really, if you can't handle the job yourself then why not call in somebody else - "

"Okay!" Kyra raised both hands up, interrupting him. "You answered my question already. So next one. Who are you?"

"Oh, silly me." The man let out a  - did he just giggle? "The name is Andrew. Andrew Johnson. I'm Mrs Kendrick's nephew. Don't let this fool you, I'm actually a very successful architect. I mean, I'm not currently employed of course, that's why I have the time to help out my dear darling aunt, but I'm sure I'll have a few companies calling me back soon. I sent out my resumes three weeks ago but they haven't reply, really, maybe I should have gone to private companies, the government organizations are just so slow, they should really hire much more efficient people like me, though or course I'm not going to be some old clerk at the desk - "

By God, couldn't he tell by the way she was anxiously tapping her foot that she was in a rush? And how could someone talk so much?

"Yeah okay, so I just want to ask another question - did you happen to see a man pass by here just now? Tall, handsome, green eyes? Holding a staff and......green glasses?" She waited. her nerves tensed, for his answer.

Andrew frowned. "Handsome? I don't know if you'd call him handsome, really, he was just rather average - "

"Andrew! Answer the damn question!" she practically yelled.

Andrew looked startled and prudishly offended. "Well alright, you don't have to raise your voice at me. I have very delicate eardrums. But anyway, yes, there was such a man passing by here. He looked quite angry to me, and when he spoke to me he was so curt and snobbish, I had half the mind not to help him - "

"What did he tell you? What did he say?" Kyra was on tenterhooks.

"Well, he told me to call for him a cab. So I did."

"Did he tell you where he was going? Did you hear him telling the cab driver an address or -  or a name?"

There's still hope! I still have a chance!