Chapter Three:

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             Arriving at Mr. Bunter's house on the fringes of London made me feel so many feelings at once. Relief, happiness, and fear. I remembered how grand the house looked, but on the other hand I was afraid that it had changed.

            "Coming birthday girl?" asked Charlie who already was out of the cab that all of us squeezed into. I looked around and noticed that everyone had gotten out already except myself.

             Pulling myself back to the present, I glanced at Charlie and said, "Yes."

             Slowly, I swung my legs out of the cab and stood up trying to keep my balance. Looking at the outside, it did not change a bit, but then again it was the inside that I was more concerned about.

            Did the living room still have that high dome-shaped ceiling? Was the fireplace still huge and ominous? Are the stairs still spiral shaped? All of these questions I did not know the answer to. That is, until Mr. Bunter opened the front door.

            To my delight, it hadn't changed as much as I feared. The entryway was crammed with dusty coats and boots. Probably they were dusty because Mr. Bunter and Charlie practically come with us everywhere. And that living room ceiling was still breathtakingly gorgeous. What enthralled me the most however was the fireplace. Even when I stood about twenty feet away from it, it looked grand. It stood there red bricks and golden pokers, demanding the attention that it deserved. 

            My hands shook in the fireplace's presence as I touched the cool red brick that gave the fireplace its true luster. I must have stood there for a while because I heard Charlie say, "Venti? I asked you if you wanted to see the guest room."

            "What? Yeah, sure, sure," I immediately said, feeling as if I was shaken awake from a dream. All of the adults were in the kitchen area and when I locked eyes with Jason, he only rolled them. I turned around and started to ascend the spiral staircase with Charlie, blushing along the way.

            I heard Jason follow us and at first, he was quiet like a good little brother. But then, he did the worst thing imaginable at that moment. He started to talk. "So, when are you two getting hitched?" Before I could yell at him, my forehead bumped the back of Charlie's head as he stopped on the stairs.

            I was about to tell Jason some pretty brutal words when Charlie said, "I'm not sure." My face instantly turned to a paler palette than my own. Could it have been that Charlie was going to ask me out? Then, I heard both of them laugh.

            "You guys are horrible!" I said under my breath as I pushed past Charlie and made my way to the second floor.

            I entered the guest room and locked myself in the room wanting to not be bothered by the two guys who played the meanest practical joke on me. I was angrier toward Jason because he knew that I liked Charlie. Charlie probably only played along. On the other hand, it hurts to think that he would play a joke like that on me.

            Sitting down on the box mattress I looked out of the window and felt my eyes tear up. I was about to let the tears flow when I saw a commotion on the street below.

            "Help!" screamed a woman who was running away from a nicely dressed guy. I couldn't see his face, but his presence made me feel a little warmer.

            I felt pacified and calm—but that was before the woman screamed at full force. I snapped out of my warm trance and opened the guest room door and ran down the stairs. I heard my Dad ask me, "Venti? What's wrong?" but I didn't stop to say hello.

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