The Guests

Liliana stood in front of two big, white doors with a golden handle. The girl smiled at Ada before pushing the doors to reveal a large dining table and several people already sitting there. Ada forgot all about the West Garden mystery; she was now nervous to see all the guests talking and laughing. They weren’t many, but it was clear they treated each other like family. Ada didn’t know if she would fit in or f she was doomed to live as an outcast.

When Nancy noticed Ada and Liliana’s arrival, she spoke in a strong voice that made everyone quiet, “Attention, everyone.” Nancy’s voice made Ada shiver. Nancy pointed to Ada with a motion of her hand, “This is Adella, our newcomer.” All the eyes turned to Ada, something she didn’t appreciate very much as she didn’t feel comfortable being the center of attention. Since Ada wasn’t moving, Liliana gave her a light shove to make her step forward. Ada walked slowly, trying to ignore the rest of them staring at her. Nancy was waiting at the end of the table, where there was an available chair. The designated place didn’t help much, Ada was still under the spotlight. Ada sat down and waited for Nancy to continue, but she saw the woman heading towards another room.

It was Liliana who broke the silence, “Adella, please let me introduce everyone to you: This is Bastien.” The little girl pointed to a young man with short, black hair. Then, Liliana’s hand moved onto a red-haired girl, “This is Jennette.” Next, it was the turn for a blonde girl, who looked slightly older than the former girl, and brown haired boy, “Charlotte and Thomas.” Finally, Liliana introduced the next person with fondness, “And of course, Mister Hemmingsworth.” This last one was an older man, older than everyone; Ada calculated him to be around sixty years. The man replied to his introduction, “But you can call me Charles.”

Ada nodded and smiled to the man. Now that the introductions were over, Liliana took a seat next to Ada. She still didn’t know what to say, though, but luckily, she didn’t have to say anything because the blonde girl named Charlotte spoke to her, “Adella, I think I can speak for everybody when I say that we’re thrilled to have you join our little group.”

“Oh…why?”

The guests laughed. Charlotte answered her question, “We enjoy meeting new people. It’s not that we don’t like each other. It’s just…” Charlotte looked for the appropriate word, “…refreshing.”

Jennette could see Ada was still confused, so she interjected, “Every person comes with new stories and experiences that we can learn about. Plus, it’s always interesting to get a new point of view and we can use the extra hand to vote.”

“Vote?”

Charlotte answered again, “There are times when we just can’t decide what to do during the day, so we propose an activity and vote on it. Of course, the men had had the upper hand so far and your arrival balances the group.”

Ada smiled, she felt welcomed and wanted. She began to think that maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad experience after all.

The doors opened again, except these weren’t the ones in which Ada and Liliana had made their entrance, these doors lead to somewhere else. A quick glimpse allowed Ada to see a kitchen. A group of maids, including Gertrude, walked in with trays. There were already plates in front each of the guests, so the workers only needed to set the cups, spoons and a silver rack of pastries. Ada saw the maids pouring tea for every guest individually and preparing them in specific ways.

“Young Liliana,” Charles asked as the servants continued their work, “I’m afraid I’ve held this inquiry as long as I could, but I must know.”

“Anything for you, Mister Hemmingsworth,” the child replied as she reached for one of Charles’ hands in an affectionate manner.

“Are the rumors true? Is a professor really coming to teach us all?”

Liliana retreated her hand and with a grin answered, “Indeed, they are.”

Charles’ sudden spark in his eyes made Ada smiled, and the rest of the party too. Charlotte leaned over so she could mutter to Ada, “Charles is a lover of knowledge. He is a contender against Bastien for who’s the fastest to read all of the books available here.” Charlotte laughed and returned to her original position.

“How do you drink your tea, Miss?” Gertrude’s question made Ada jump slightly.

“Huh?”

“Do you take your tea with milk or with some lemon, perhaps?”

“Oh, I don’t drink tea.” This statement made everybody stare at Ada in silence; Liliana was even gaping.

Ada reminded herself she was trying to fit in, so she replied in a small voice, “Milk, please.”

The guests resumed their respective conversations, as if nothing had interrupted them, while Ada sat in silence, staring at the cup of tea she didn’t want to drink. Charlotte and Jennette were talking and laughing to each other, both of them wanted to know something and they were discussing whether it would be a good idea to ask or not.

“Liliana,” Jennette said, “Have you met the professor yet?”

“Indeed, I have. His name is Daniel Williams.”

Jennette and Charlotte giggled. The latter was the one who asked, “Is he handsome?” Both girls held their breath as they waited for Liliana’s answer.

The girl frowned, “I suppose he’s appealing to the eye.” Liliana shrugged, obviously not thinking the professor’s appearance was of importance. However, the two friends grinned and continued their private conversation. Ada overheard them; they were speculating how this professor looked like and how having classes would affect the group’s current dynamic.

So far, Thomas had been staring at Charlotte in silence and when she seemed particularly interested in the new teacher, he finally spoke up to interrupt the girls’ conversation, “Well, it’s a beautiful day outside and the sun will set in a matter of hours. I propose we go outside for a croquet match.”

Charlotte beamed at the proposal, “I agree, it’s a marvelous day, Thomas. However, I’d prefer to go for a walk instead to stretch my legs.”

“I like that idea,” Jennette said to her friend.

“I’ll join you, Thomas. I can’t remember when it was the last time I went outside,” Charles replied.

“Bastien?” Charlotte asked to the boy.

“Thank you but I’d rather stay inside and continue with my reading.”

“Oh, you and your books, Grinderwalt. You’ll probably end up marrying them.”

“What about you, Ada?” Jennette asked.

During this conversation, Ada had been sipping on her tea, which surprisingly tasted good. She hadn’t been paying attention to what the rest was talking about.

“Mmm?”

The red-headed rephrased her question, “Would you like to take a walk with us through the East Garden?”

Ada set her cup down and said with a smile, “That sounds lovely.”

Author's Note

I just want to know what you think of the story overall.