Part One: Chapter Three

Part One: The Spider

Charlotte sighed as she tied her shoelaces and started out to Ms. Watson’s car. “This is it,” she muttered, throwing the last of her things in the trunk.

“Are you nervous?” Ms. Watson asked.

In an obvious lie, Chuck shook her head. She rubbed her knee. Since the cast came off, inevitable pains in her left leg were frequent.

“Is your leg hurting you?”

She shrugged. “It’s fine. Ms. Watson?”

“Yes, Charlotte?”

Chuck hesitated, “There’s something about the DiRagno’s that gives me the creeps. I’m not sure if it’s their house or-”

“We’ve been over this. You’re just afraid; new parents, new house, new school. You’re going to be fine.” An encouraging smile parted her lips.

Charlotte grinned back, unsure. They sat silent for most of the drive. Letting the radio fill the void of silence, they passed the fiery warmth of autumn foliage for hours.

Ms. Watson stopped at the black house on the hill with DiRagno in fancy script on the mailbox. “Well…”

Chuck grabbed her duffel bag from the trunk. She was allowed no more than a few outfits to grab from home after the accident. After pushing up her glasses, she embraced Ms. Watson. “Thank you…for everything. I’ll miss you.”

Surprised at first, Ms. Watson gave the girl a tight squeeze back and said, “Take care of yourself, Chuck.”

“I’ll try…”

Charlotte limped up to the porch, swallowed, and turned back to watch Ms. Watson’s car drive over the hills, out of sight. She rang the doorbell.

The maid answered again and silently led Charlotte to a bedroom that was supposed to be hers.

It was large with discrete floral wallpaper coating it. There was a queen bed with a white quilt. A desk was shoved off to the side with a matching mahogany chair. The rug was plush and crimson with white woven within. There was even a private bathroom attached. In addition to that, she was relieved to find no cobwebs.

“Whoa,” Charlotte breathed peering around the room. She rubbed her hand along the desk to discover a note. The writing was a thin spidery scrawl.

Charlotte,

            I would like you to know a few things since you will be a resident here for some time. There will be a strict set of rules for you. Ellen will wake you at five each morning. You will be dressed by five thirty and at the table ready for breakfast. The walk to Leman’s is quite short and you need to be in class by six thirty. After school, you will come straight home. There is a key for you under this note. We do not return home until five each night. Dinner is at six thirty every night. On Friday nights, we have several guests over for dinner and you are expected to act and dress appropriately. You will go to bed at nine every night. Any unlisted time is your leisure time. If you need anything, call on Ellen. Annette and I are rather busy most of the time. We hope you are most comfortable here.     -Giovanni DiRagno

Charlotte nodded as she read along. “That doesn’t sound too bad.” She pocketed the key on the desk and further investigated the room. In the closet, she found two maroon sweaters, white blouses, and plaid skirts waiting for her along with several other outfits. Charlotte studied the analog clock on the wall; it read six o’clock. Her feet seemed to guide her as she stumbled around the rest of the manor. “Excuse me?” Chuck asked to Ellen, the maid walking by.

“What? I mean, yes, Miss Charlotte?”

“Well, first off, Chuck is fine. And I’m kind of wondering why there are cobwebs all over the place.”

“Mistress Annette prefers I not harm the creatures. Now if that’s all, I must return to my work.”

“Well…actually, I wanted to know if there was anything to do in the house… Maybe a jigsaw puzzle or something…”

“Sir Giovanni has a large collection of books in his study. Now I must return to my work.”

“Thank you. One more thing?”

She turned, peeved with Chuck’s questions. “Yes, Charlotte?”

“Where’s Mr. DiRagno’s study?”

“To the left, you cannot miss it.” She huffed away muttering about her dislike of bratty teenagers.

Chuck stumbled through the house. Her leg throbbed as she dragged it along with her. As every footstep echoed off the walls, Charlotte began to creep through the hallway. She found the study eventually. When intricate webs topped some of the shelves, she shivered. The faint memories of her grandfather scaring her with arachnids caused Charlotte to dislike the vermin since she was little.

“Miss Charlotte, it’s time for dinner.”

Charlotte peered around disappointed. “Okay.” She followed Ellen down the stairs to the dining area. She sat at the oversized dark wood table.

The DiRagno’s sat at each end. Mr. DiRagno spoke of meetings and things uninteresting to Charlotte.

She sat silently, eating the portion of the meal placed before her.

“How is your veal, Charlotte?” Mrs. DiRagno questioned affectionately.

Charlotte swallowed her meal. “Fine. Thank you.”

“Annette, don’t suffocate the girl,” Mr. DiRagno snapped coolly.

Chuck continued to eat silently. The bland meal settled in her stomach. “May I be excused?”

“No. Are you worried about starting school tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir. I-I get a bit nervous around new people.”

Mrs. DiRagno shoveled another bite in her mouth. “Oh, no need to be nervous around us. After all, we’re your new parents.”

The last word sounded bitter in Mrs. DiRagno’s mouth and it tasted just as foul in Charlotte’s.

“Of course…” Chuck murmured quietly, knowing that no matter how many papers said it, the DiRagno’s would never be her parents.

“Well, your first day of school is tomorrow. You might want to shower and get to bed early.”

“I actually had something to ask.”

“Well, make it quick.”

“Um, I was wondering what there is to do in my spare time,” Charlotte verbalized.

“You will work on your studies and after you may read.”

Charlotte peered back at her dinner. “Oh.” Accepting the monotony to come, she was allowed to leave the dinner table.

As Chuck lay in bed, she hoped school would be better than her new ‘home’. The DiRagno’s were stiff and frigid. Charlotte tried to sleep, but her rest was fitful as anxiety consumed her.

 

Author's Note

Yep....

Reviews

[Ardeth Lane]

Oh. I'm sad for Chuck, I mean, whenever someone says they were adopted, my mind goes straight to 'Annie' so I guess this was kind of suprising in its own way expecially with everyone giving her a bit of the cold shoulder. Mmm, I liked this chapter though. I'm curious to see if things get any better.

P.S. We bought a laptop so I can review again. :)