Pendragon U

"Come to think of it, you're not a very convincing actress, are you?" Elroy'd gotten off the bus before Serenity, in case she fell or something.

"I'm a very convincing actress! Just.. Just you wait. I'll be great in here, positively great. Sensational. They'll be hiring me for Broadway." Serenity rolled her eyes and went inside.

And so, minutes later, after much hassling with the office lady, they were warmly greeted by a shining-bald, thickly-bearded man well into his 60s, maybe in his low 70s. He asked many questions as to where Elroy had been, what he'd been doing, who this lovely young lady was (whom his bespectacled shrew of a wife, standing a few feet away, reminded him was Angel's ex. The daughter of the Rosensteels! "That family who never payed the exact rent!"), and various other trivial things. After bantering for maybe 10 minutes or so, Elroy stated their purpose for coming.

"You see, Serenity's been absolutely miserable over... our mutual loss." He spoke as if Angel had died. "And her family's broken up, lost all their money... She was even reduced to selling herself for a while. Been living off the streets... And she was recently hit while crossing (at a green-lit crosswalk, of all the nerve) a rather busy street. I know this probably isn't what you want to hear right off the bat from your prodigal son, but we need to borrow some cash."

Serenity stared up at the couple with huge, pleading eyes. Please let them give us money. Please, please, please let them give us money.
"Please, Mr and Mrs. Astor." She said, in a teary voice worthy of some chick flick star. "I've been reduced to nothing. We really, really need some help here. Out of the kindness of your hearts, please.." And, she started to cry. Oh, what a horrible actress she was. But, there was heart in there. After all, she was acting for her potential life.

Mrs. Astor immediately recognized the act, and was quick to stifle her sneering.

"Oh, certainly, certainly!" said the old man. "How exactly did this happen, again?" His facial hair was so thick that it almost entirely obscured his mouth. The giant woolly caterpillars lying just above his eyelids, locked into a perpetual frown in spite of his lighthearted demeanor, did the same for his eyes.

"Well," Serenity said. "I was in Amsterdam. You know. Doin' my job. When along comes Chuck, who screws up everything. Then I leave, and Angel kills Chuck. Just like that. Goes crazy on him, right, so I hear about it, and go to Elroy's place. Well, homeless shelter. And then, we went to visit Angel, and that was so traumatizing, but then we went back to his place. And.." She quieted down slightly. "We got into an.. an argument, and I walked off. And I had the green signal, but I got hit by this Prius, and here I am with a broken arm, stitches, a slightly lower chance of conceiving, and bruises all over me. Homeless. And asking you to do me a favor."

There was a rather awkward silence. Jacques Astor barely understood half of what Serenity had just said. Young people and their slang. Mélanie, on the other hand, looked positively disgusted.

"I see," he said, pausing to muse on what he DID get for a moment, "I see. Well, we have plenty of housing on the island, if you'd like to stay there. Although vacation season is nearing its end, it might be rather lonely..."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you very much!" Serenity said, jumping up. "Thank you so much. Oh, and don't worry about me being lonely. I'll make sure Elroy's there to turn on my bath, flush the toilet for me, cook omelets.." She kept listing off domestic chores that couldn't be done with one arm. "And all that stuff. So, thank you!" Serenity turned to leave, but turned back around. "You don't happen to have house keys, do you?"

"I'll send a letter to the agent at once," Jacques replied, his near-obscured eyes squinted into a smile.

Elroy got up from the chair - not an easy feat; it was leather, and possibly the most comfortable chair he'd sat in in quite a while. He went to give his mother a hug, but she simply nodded and waved him away. Somewhat dejected, he went to hold the door for Sere.

"Don't think your mum likes me," Serenity mumbled to him on the way out, "But we got the house." She was smiling in a satisfactory way, looking a bit happier than before.

After the door was closed properly, Elroy breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't worry, Mum doesn't like anyone. Not anymore, at least."

"Why aren't you happier? You've got a house now! And, I want the bigger room. No arguments." Serenity said, grinning even wider.

"I didn't think it would be that easy, I guess."

"Well, it was! So, chipper up. And let's get some fast food. I'm hungry, again."

"You're a bottomless pit."

"I am not. The hospital food was horrible."

"Wasn't that bad."

And so they went and got a burger or something.