𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐘 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃

05. 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗴! 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗴! 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗴!

THE SUN WAS SHINING HAPPILY ONTO WESTVIEW, NEW JERSEY. The temperature was perfect and not a speck of clouds in the blue sky, and a good day for those who deeply wanted to spend their time outdoors. Unlike the day of Eszter's arrival, the teenager was quite content with the weather Mother Nature had given them, and she felt excited for a new day.

Shortly after spending her breakfast with Agnes--the woman woke up at the crack of dawn and made quite the breakfast for two and practically made Eszter stay with her--Eszter resorted to Wanda's humble home. The night spent with Agnes wasn't as bad as she assumed it to be, but quite the opposite; Eszter and Agnes chitchat about a few things regarding the teenager's story and her likes and dislikes, but Eszter couldn't destroy the knacking thoughts regarding the book about spells.

It teased her all night, but with a heavy heart, Eszter forced herself to talk about anything else. She felt almost embarrassed about thinking such nonsense, but Eszter was burning with curiosity, and the questions she had floating around in her head remained answerless. Eszter was furious with her inner battle because her anxiety won that round, forcing the witch to seize up and keep her mouth shut. Agnes might've been just as intrigued as Eszter, but the woman must have a breaking point when it comes to dark magic; from the looks of it, Eszter believed she might be a witch who deals with something evil.

Eszter can't imagine the horrific look on Agnes' face if she blatantly spat out the truth of herself that she'd learned from a strange boy.

Nevertheless, Eszter had returned to Wanda's home in a chirpy mood.

"How did the dinner go?" Eszter asked, stepping into the living room as she stepped down the stairs, appropriately dressed.

Wanda glanced up from her book while she sat on the sofa, smiling politely at the sight of her sister. "Somewhat great, I guess," chuckled Wanda, closing her book and standing from the couch to set it on the coffee table. "It was, uh . . . interesting. Still, everything went well--Vision had been offered a promotion."

"That's amazing! He deserves it. He knows computing better than anyone there combined."

"And wanna know the best part?" Wanda asked, smiling so hard her cheeks were starting to burn. Eszter made a face of amusement, wondering what made Wanda so giggly. "Remember the lobsters, the ones that were meant for the dinner?"

Eszter raises a brow, amused. "The ones the flew the coop?"

Wanda merely rolls her eyes, still beaming. "Yes. It turns out that they make a great door knocker."

"A door--" laughter cracked in between Eszter's words, breaking it apart as she struggled to breathe. "--A door--a door knocker?" Eszter was clutching her stomach at this point. "How'd it end up there?"

"Beats me," Wanda shrugs with a funny face. "It was a weird night, but somehow, it ended on a good note."

"That's good. My night was good, too," Eszter babbled on, earning a small chuckle from Wanda. "Agnes is surprisingly nice to talk to, so you have my consent to befriend her."

"Well, I'm glad you like her because so do I. It would be awkward had she and I not get along while we live next door."

Eszter hums in agreement, craning her neck around as she scans the living room, frowning shortly as she only found two black bags sat on the sofa. Vision was missing from the living room, and Eszter hadn't seen him since she returned to their home from Agnes' house, but the humanoid was missing suddenly. Vision had snuck off somewhere.

"Speaking of Vision, where is he?" Eszter sprung back toward Wanda. "I saw him this morning when I came home."

"Oh, yeah, Vis is getting dressed," answered Wanda. "We signed up to participate in the talent show for the children! Vis and I are magicians, so I had borrowed a fake wardrobe from a friend to use in the talent show."