Comic:September 10, 2008:Pg5
Pulling a cardkey out of the inside pocket of his jacket, Mr. Dentry continued, “A systems check of the house found full power with the battery array and solar panels functional. I activated communications for you. I left a variety of information on the kitchen counter for you to go through over the next few days. If you have any further questions, you can call me at my office. I’ve programmed the number in your vid-phone”
Jake elbowed Sienna in the side, and she flinched away from him, giving him a disgusted look as she did. He nodded with his head towards the railing on the far side of the porch, and it took Sienna only a second to spot what he was looking at. A light brown squirrel looked back at them while clinging to the side of one of the porch vertical support beams. In a flash it had climbed to the railing from where it looked at them intently with what Sienna’s imagination told her was an angry glare.
“Thank you for making the arrangements. Anything special I should know about?” Their Mom asked Mr. Dentry, completely unaware of what was happening behind her on the railing. The squirrel boldly bounded farther out onto the railing, stopping to sit just in front of Sienna and Jake, looking at them with its head cocked and nose twitching, the glare even more intense.
“Just one special note from your Aunt: ‘Don’t feed the squirrels. They are evil.’ You know, your Aunt was a little off her nut towards the end.” Mr. Dentry said as he stepped away from the now open door to reveal a dark interior.
The squirrel twitched his nose again and then suddenly stuck its tongue out at them in what Sienna’s now-overworked imagination said had to be a raspberry. Her rational head instantly declared that couldn’t be possible, squirrels couldn’t do that, but the other side of her brain answered back that it knew what it had seen and what else could it be? Sienna looked over at Jake, who turned to look at her at the exact same moment. From the confused and baffled look on his face, she knew he had seen it as well.
“I included a map of the public transportation network and school complex in your information. I talked to the school briefly on your behalf. They can sign the children up for classes at any time of the day.” Mr. Dentry stepped farther back from the door, looking at his watch nervously, “I have a meeting with a client in less than an hour. Here’s the key to the house. Good luck in unpacking.”
Before anyone could respond, Mr. Dentry had handed over the cardkey, and then quickly stepped past them to hurry towards the hovercar. As they watched him leave, Sienna noticed a group of people gathering on the sidewalk in front of the property, pointing and talking excitedly among themselves.
“Mom, why are those people staring at us?” Jake asked.
“Did the lawyer get squirrels and neighbors mixed up?” Sienna wondered out loud.
*****
Lynn eyed the group of people standing on the sidewalk. From this distance she couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but their hand gestures were very animated. Lynn handed her purse to Sienna and stepped down from the veranda, “I’ll be right back.”
As Lynn approached, the talking ceased, and they looked at her with a variety of expressions, including pity. Unsure what to think she plastered a smile on her face. In a voice she hoped didn’t sound nervous, she said, “Good morning!”
All eyes went to her and the group went silent.
