The keys clattered as they hit the table. They were bound together on a keychain of a silver plate, carved in the words “Black Angels” with a picture of wings. The man in a black suit worn over a white turtleneck who threw the keys craned his neck over the divider separating the living room and the dining room. On the dining table, a glass of milk set on the cloth protecting the wooden furniture. A boy of teenage years was sitting there, square colourful papers scattered around the table. Some were wet as they had accidently touched the condensation of the milk. He was folding one of them, folding the already creased paper, a frown appearing on his forehead. He had chestnut-coloured hair, cut short with a fringe, and was wearing a white t-shirt with long sleeves.

“Hey Terrance.You still working on those origami’s?” Joseph, the man in the suit asked. His hair was of a weird shade, blonde, almost white, barely visible at the end, darkening to dark brown as it reached his roots. Terrance looked up at the handsome man.

“Big brother! You’re home already?” Joseph sat down on one of the six chairs arranged around the table.

“Yes, well apparently it wasn’t an emergency after all. The old man was saved by the doctor. I wasted my time trying to fit in with those humans. Doctors. They make our job worthless.” Joseph rolled his eyes. They caught onto the kitchen entry. It reminded him of something so much more important than doing his job. “Oh yes, have you seen Clef anywhere?”

Terrance had been listening, but he was concentrating on his origami’s a lot more. “Erm, I think I saw him… somewhere…” He stuck his tongue out and it curled above his lips. He was really concentrating. Joseph snickered as he watched the boy who was a few years younger than himself.

“Let me give you a piece of advice, Terrance. Don’t try to be human. It’s a waste of time. We’re what we are, and we’re not going to change anytime soon.” Joseph stood up, wanting to go and search the others. Terrance looked at him seriously. His concentration wasn’t on the origami’s anymore.

“We can be human if we try hard enough. You know that big brother.”

Joseph glanced at Terrance. Of course he knew it. But their boss wasn’t on their side, and that wasn’t going to help them get the promotion. “That’s not going to change our luck, working hard.”

“Well maybe one day it will.” Joseph stared at the boy for a while. Terrance stared back. Joseph thought this was a waste of his time. The inexperienced kid doesn’t know anything, he thought.

The blonde man walked towards the staircase. Terrance’s sight followed him for a while, but as he starts onto them and stays silent, Terrance decided to get back on his origami’s. He looked back the instructions. He followed everything precisely, what did he do wrong? He looked back at the folded paper he was experimenting on. The bright purple paper was creased, lines crossing it in every way possible. Urgh. Maybe he should start over. The crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it against the wall behind him, raising the hill of crumpled papers he had made out of the other failed attempts of making a paper crane.

Upstairs, Joseph looked into Clef’s room. There he was on his bed, looking into his laptop. He was wearing a black sweater with jeans. His jet black hair had pink highlights that were naturally there since he was born. It’s probably because his mother had pink hair. His fringe was cut in an asymmetrical shape, covering his left eye. He looked a bit confused, partially angry. He shared this room with another one of them, Oliver, so there was another twin sized bed on the other corner of the room. Joseph knocked on the door. Clef looked up and smiled.

“Joseph! Help me out here,” Clef called. Joseph walked across the room towards Clef. He bent down his body to look into the curious little electronic gadget that humans use every single day of their lives. “I can’t seem to win this game called ‘so-ly-tear.’ I think it’s because I can’t seem to put the cards onto the blank spot. Is it broken? We just bought it yesterday.”

“Clef, it’s pronounced ‘so-li-tare’. And I think you’re only supposed to only put the ‘K’ card on the blank spots. Try that.” So Clef clicked the mouse and dragged the line of cards with the ‘K’ on top and placed it on the blank spot perfectly. The digital picture sat on the blank spot. Clef’s playful eyes widened and a smile with a dimple appeared. He threw his hands up in the air with excitement. “Woohoo!”

Joseph just smiled. Clef was his best friend, and the only one who can really understand him in this household of creatures that were non-human. “So what are we going to have for dinner?” Joseph asked as he sat on Oliver’s bed.

“Dinner? Why did you ask about that?” Clef asked, not really concentrating. He was really excited he could continue his game, and maybe even have a chance of winning. Clef was the cook of the household, his cooking was the best since he could collaborate the dishes they would have at their main land with the ingredients available on Earth. Joseph doesn’t really get excited over dinner, but Terrance and Oliver go crazy for them. Oliver had even starting to favourite the human’s ‘chicken’.

“Well I got exciting news for everyone, so we have to celebrate,” Joseph told Clef. Clef looked up to Joseph.

“’Exciting news?’ May I know what that is?” Clef said with a face. They never get exciting news, or even if they do, it’s usually exciting for other people, not them. Joseph laughed.

“Trust me, it’s the best news we’d ever get in a decade. Human years, that is.” He looked out the window letting light from outside pass through. The day was cloudy and the sky was a dark shade of blue, and it’s not even night time yet. Fall really is something. The cold air is rather favourable in Joseph’s opinion.

“But I’m your best friend! You should tell me in advance,” Clef tried to convince Joseph.

“I can’t tell you. Not yet. It has to be fair right?” He smiled at Clef. “Just get ready an awesome dinner to celebrate.” And with that, Joseph left the room. Clef sighed. He stretched his tired arms – he had been on the laptop for hours. He clicked the “x” square on the top most right of the screen. Another square popped out that said “Are you sure you want to leave without saving?”

“Save?” Clef asked himself. “Hmm…”

The dining table was set nicely, with dishes that seduced the boys in the house. Clef really did a great job. Terrance was helping by setting the table. As the youngest, his chores mostly consist of smaller things like making the drinks and setting the table, when the Joseph as one of the elder ones had to clean the bathrooms. The eldest, Oliver had to do mostly outside chores, like buy groceries and all those, since the younger ones obviously can’t be trusted with money.

Now all that’s left is one more of them – Martin.

“Big brother Martin said he’s working late,” Terrance told them. He was closest to Martin, and they were roommates. “Should we wait for him?”

“But then the food will get cold!” Clef exclaimed. No way he was going to let all his hard work go to waste.

“Okay, well let’s eat first and leave Martin some for later,” Oliver suggested. He had short hair, cropped off in layers. It was light brown, complimenting his light brown eyes, although small. He had perfect white teeth, and the boys all respected him for his sincerity. He was a kind creature, although careless at times.

“Maybe we should wait for Martin, I’ve got to tell some big news, and everyone’s got to be here…” Joseph said.

“Big news? What is it big brother?” Terrance asked, excited. This was something he was waiting for a long time. “Are we finally getting promoted? Are we finally going to be---“

“I home!” Martin’s deep voice boomed into the house.

“Big brother! Hurry! Big brother Joseph is about to tell us something! Something big!” Terrance rushed out the dining room, greeting Martin. The tall man of six foot two walked in, wearing a black suit with a grey t-shirt inside. His hair was slightly over-grown. His face was handsome, with big eyes and perfectly shaped lips. He smiled when he saw Terrance. The smile that every woman would craze over whenever he flashes it.

Martin walked into the dining room with Terrance, removing his arms from the sleeves of the suit. “Wow, are we celebrating something? Smells good…”

“Yes, we’re celebrating good news that I’m about to announce. Now let’s get seated, shall we?” The younger ones were really testing Joseph’s patience.

They handsome boys got seated, leaving one empty seat on the most left empty. “Terrance, you placed six plates. Have you forgotten there were only five of us?” Clef told. He was particular about small things like this.

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry,” Terrance laughed as he stood up to get the plate. “I’ll keep it right n---“

“SIT DOWN!” Joseph said with a raised voice. Everyone looked at him. Joseph repeated himself in a lower volume. “Please.”

Terrance sat, confused, and a bit scared. The cheerful atmosphere changed at Joseph’s temper. Joseph felt awfully bad. “I’m sorry. Let’s just eat.”

Everyone started to pass dishes around, placing their desired amount of the dish on their plate. When everyone had their share, they started eating. The silence was piercing.

“So Martin, where’d you been?” Joseph asked, smiling, trying to recover what he had killed.

“Working. An old lady. The usual.” They kept quiet again.

“Okay, well, I’ve got exciting news to tell you guys,” Joseph told them. “So we’ve been here on Earth for around eight human years, working, never getting a break, yes?”

“We’re getting promoted?” Terrance asked, not able to detain his excitement any longer.

Joseph smiled sadly. “Well it’s almost as great as getting a promotion. We’re getting a break, guys! A week back home! Isn’t that awesome?”

Everyone stopped eating. No one said a word. Finally, Clef swallowed his food and placed his fork on his plate. He cleared his throat.

“Joseph, if you haven’t noticed, a week back home is like a day on Earth.”

“Well at least we get to see our family! Come on guys! This HAS to be the best news we have ever gotten in eight years!!! We haven’t aged in eight years! Now at least we’d be a week older.”

“I think it’s not fair. If they were giving us a break, they could’ve at least given us a longer one,” Martin gave his opinion.

“They can’t take the risk. Who would help the humans get to the after world?” Oliver told him. “Plus, I smell something fishy here. They didn’t give us a break for eight years. We would be dismissed after a decade of service. Why would they give us a break now? We have another two years.”

“You’re starting to count in human years, big brother,” Joseph told him. “You mean we’d be dismissed in a century. Our years. Whatever it is, we should just go back and see our family, take a break. Pack up, we’re leaving by midnight. I will not stay on this land any longer.”

***

HEEHEE NO WORRIES, THIS WILL NOT BE LIKE FLOVINE OR THE WOMB. THE NEXT PART IS ALREADY HERE.

-LynnM