The Little Shop

The Little Lion Man

The Little Lion Man, in which we get a phone call from a very sad little girl.

BAD BOY (NOT REALLY)

"Did you boys want some tea? We have green, Italian peach, Yorkshire, ja-"

"Yorkshire, please," Louis interrupts, bouncing a bit in his spot on the couch. The house is immaculate, all the furniture pale white and cream, as if nobody has ever lived here. My eyes almost sting from the brightness of it all, and solely for this purpose I decide to pass on the tea. If I spilt it on this white plushy couch, I know I'd probably never hear the end of it from Liam.

"Yorkshire it is, then," Shannon says with a chuckle, shuffling her way into the kitchen. "I work for Miss Scarlett," she adds. She's got a thick accent, and I can see the gears working in Harry's head, so I figure he's taken a fancy to her. I can't blame him, really, but she's just not my type. 

"Work for her? What do you do for her?" I ask, shifting a bit in my seat between Niall and AJ. Harry's across from me in an arm chair, a small smirk playing out on his lips. He's staring down at his feet as they're the most interesting shoes ever purchased.

"I'm her nurse," Shannon says. "Okay, so tell me again, how you found Adr-?"

"AJ, Shannon, AJ," AJ says, cutting her off. What's AJ's real name? Why do I get the impression that AJ hates her name? And why does AJ's grandmother need a nurse?

"Right, AJ, how'd you find AJ?" Shannon sighs, correcting herself. I snicker at the expression on AJ's face as she crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. She looked like a mini Tommo, for sure.

"She was in the shop we went into," Liam explains. "We went to help her out, take her to the police."

"But, when we got there, they told us that her mum was... otherwise occupied," Louis finishes. He excepts the mug of warm water from Shannon and nods a warm smile at her before dipping the tea bag into the steamy mug. Lou and his tea... I swear, one day, he's going to make his own tea or something.

"Not again! Miss Burrows swore she was playing it straight," Shannon mutters to herself. She seems distressed then, as if the news about AJ's mum is worse than even we imagined. "Well, what did the police say? They didn't send her to stay with Miss Scarlett, did they?"

"Afraid so," Niall says sadly, pursing his lips. I think we've all caught on to the fact that Scarlett Winton is, in fact, in no condition to take care of AJ.

"We'll find some room for Adr-"

"AJ, Shannon, AJ," AJ reminds her groaning loudly for effect. Shannon is the one to roll her eyes this time and then sighs.

"Yes, AJ. We'll find some room for AJ."

I was about to ask why they'd need to "find room" for such a tiny girl, but then then the front door swung, and a lady walked through the door, silvery hair tied back in a tight bun. She wore very nice clothes; she looked like she stepped out of a J. Crew catalogue. She must be Scarlett.

"Shannon, my medicine... now," the woman, Scarlett, demands, pulling her fur coat off her shoulders. "Who... who are these strange people?"

"Miss Scarlet... you're home early! How'd it go?"

"I lost, yet again. One of these days, I will beat that Henrietta," Scarlett mutters. She walks straight across the room, past us, and into a cabinet to my left. She throws it open and pulls out a bottle of what appears to be whiskey. She then snatches Lou's mug off the table, unscrews the top of the bottle, and pours it in until the mug is almost overflowing. With a sigh, she sets down the bottle and begins to leave with Lou's mug of tea, not that he'd want it anymore anyway.