Fourteen. Visiting the
Piecks.
Both
Fin and Lyric talked about
the strange turn of events
at their school, how the
classes changed
dramatically, and how both
had had trouble staying
awake for the whole hour of
each one. “I saw Andrew just
before he went to
discipline. He says he has
to go for three hours every
afternoon for a month, but
not on weekends.” Lyric
lowered her voice. “He wants
to go looking for the
Caitlin O’Malley books this
Saturday.”
Fin’s face brightened.
“Good. I can’t wait.”
The two boys who walked in
front of the girls, short
Jack and Paddy beside him,
kept a good distance in
order to avoid being seen
with them, as was common of
the boys their age.
Fin shouted the question,
“How much further to your
house, Jack!”
“Just a little way more,”
he mumbled over one
shoulder.
“A little way? It seems
we’ve been walking for an
hour.”
Lyric grabbed Fin’s arm.
“They live along the lake,
Fin. We’re circling it now.
The houses are just beyond
the tree line.”
“My mother says that they’re
ruining the view of the
lake. Not so long ago, there
were only a few houses along
the shore and they were
hidden by the trees. Now
the phony castles along the
banks have become an
eyesore.”
“Does your mother tell her
thoughts to more than you?”
Lyric laughed a little to
let Fin know that she was
joking. But part of her
worried that being so vocal
could only bring bad luck to
Ailinn O’Suilleabhan in that
day and time.
Before the recent events,
Lyric felt a certain
curiosity about the Pieck
family, but now it seemed
essential that Lyric know
more about them since the
pixies obviously had a hand
in the changes at the school
and Jack’s mother was one of
their leaders. She watched
sweet Jack Pieck in front of
her walking in what appeared
to be freshly pressed slacks
that had somehow weathered
the rigors of boy’s play.
Paddy’s were wrinkled as
they always were, partly
because they were not made
of good material, but they
were not much more
disheveled by the end of a
long school day than those
that many of the other boys
wore.
“Jack Pieck!” Fin increased
her pace to approach Jack.
Lyric, still clinging to her
arm, barely kept up. “What
do you think of the new
classes, the ones that
started today?”
“I guess they’re fine for
learning.” He didn’t seem
convinced.
“What do you think your
mother and father will say
when you tell them?”
“That’s easy. They’ll say
that it’s about time that
the students started
learning, and learning well.
My mother especially always
talks of such things.”
“That’s true,” Paddy chimed
in. “She always does.”
Fin glanced at Lyric and
nodded slightly. “Are we
almost there?”
“Just up this ridge.” Both
boys took off and scaled a
small hill. Lyric and Fin
followed. Just over the top
of the hill, a row of
monstrous brick homes, one
beside the next, came into
view.
A man in a yellow sweater
greeted them at the gate of
one of the houses. “Good
afternoon, boys. And who do
we have here?”
Jack opened the gate and let
Lyric, Fin, and then Paddy
pass through it. “This is
Paddy’s sister Lyric and her
friend Finola.”
“Yes, yes.” He stretched
out his hand to shake hers.
“And Finola, how are you?”
“I’m fine, sir.”
“To what do we owe this
visit?”
Paddy answered for them.
“They’re both curious about
your family, Mr. Pieck.”
Lyric jumped in. “It’s been
a long time since we met.
And Paddy talks about you
all the time.”
Fin interrupted. “And we’re
especially admiring of your
daughter Diedre. Is she
here?”
“Why of course!” He put down
the watering can he’d used
to water the enormous lilies
and irises that grew all
throughout the yard.
“What’s this?” A woman
appeared on the front porch,
seemingly perplexed at the
crowd in her yard. “Jack,
dear, if you’re to bring
guests home to supper, you
should not do it on a night
that mother is having a
dinner gathering.” She went
down the steps from the
front porch and stepped over
to a cluster of garden
gnomes just beyond it. She
tap, tap, tapped on the head
of one of the plaster
figures and it creaked, then
vibrated slightly, opening
and closing one eye, then
the other. It raised its
short arms over its head and
stretched. While that one
was waking, she reached over
and tapped the other.
“Food preparation!” she said
to them sternly, and they
pivoted on one foot and
turned to the door.
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