The SVE Club

35. Family

    Ten year old Theodore Wilson stared with wide-eyes at the masked, black clad figure standing on his doorstep. He adjusted his glasses to make sure he was seeing correctly.

    Midas shifted nervously, suddenly regretting his decision to make this call. "Hey. Is Sam-"

    "Mom," Theo yelled back into the house, "I think maybe you should call the cops."

    "What?!" Midas exclaimed. "No, listen. Don't call the cops. My name is Midas. I go to school with Sam."

"Mo-om?" Theo called again, looking unconvinced.

"Who's at the door Theo?" someone called. A large woman with a pleasant demeanor about her stood behind Theo. Her expression turned to that of surprise upon seeing their visitor.

    "You must be Midas," she said, a wary smile creeping onto her face. Theo continued to watch with his ever-blank stare.

    "You're Sam's mother?" Midas asked.

    The woman nodded. "I'm guessing you're here to see her- I mean, why else would you be here?"

    "Right."

    "Well, Sam is pretty busy right now. But if you want to wait for her, you're more than welcome to come inside," Sam's mom said, holding the door open wider (somewhat cautiously, it seemed).

  Midas thanked her and stepped into the house. The home was quite cozy and small. Every few feet, there were toys scattered around. This was obviously the home of a family that had kids.

    Mrs. Wilson led Midas to the living room, where a video game had been paused on the screen. Theo sat on the couch, grabbed a controller and resumed playing.

    "Have a seat," Mrs. Wilson said. Midas froze. A while ago, Insomnium had told him those exact words. But there was no ice in Mrs. Wilson's voice, no cold look in her eyes. Midas gratefully sat down.

    Mrs. Wilson looked at Midas' outfit with concern. "You're not cold in that?" she asked. "I can barely stand to go out in that weather with all my layers on." She laughed.

    "The suit is well insulated," Midas assured her, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

    "Ah, I see," Mrs. Wilson said. "Well, I'm going to be in the kitchen. Just hollar if you need anything. It was nice to finally meet you, Midas." She left Midas in the room with Theo, who was glued to the screen. In his mind, Midas went over all the things he now needed to fill Sam in.

    Suddenly, a commotion filled the living room. Two young girls, no more than six and eight years old, entered the room, the older chasing the younger. They argued with each other the entire time.

    "I'm serious, Maya! Give it back!" the older one shouted. Her pigtail braids flopped up and down as she ran.

     The younger one, Maya, just stuck her tongue out at her sister and jumped up on the sofa. She held a tattered notebook in her hand. She began to jump from chair to chair, evading the other girl's attempts to grab her.

    "Leia, Maya, quit," Theo said, leaning to see the screen.

     "She has my scrapbook!" Leia screeched. Maya laughed maniacally. She jumped chairs again and landed in Midas' lap. Midas stiffened and threw his hands up slightly in reflex.

    Maya stared at him for a moment before blowing a raspberry in his face. Midas sputtered in disgust as he wiped the saliva from his face. Maya giggled and jumped to the next chair.

    The older sister, Leia, finally grabbed Maya by the arm. They struggled for a moment. It seemed Maya was quite strong for her age.