Chapter 9: Chapter 9 - Opportunities

Off to bed with you,” Diana told the twins, “Remember: potty, pj’s, and teeth!”

The twins had been playing the new BuildCraft video game on their console.

“Aww, we’ve almost built a whole castle. Do we have to?” Daniel asked.

Sam teased in a sing-songy voice. “Ha ha! Looks like someone has to go to bed.”

The twins sighed as they went upstairs. Corinne went up the stairs as well, but she stopped at the top of the stairs. She waited there for what seemed an eternity for the twins to go to bed. She knew that only when all the kids were in their rooms would Uncle Sam bring up what they had discussed that morning. Donovan was already in his room doing homework. That meant Corinne, sitting as quietly as she could, would finally get to hear what they decided. From where her parents and Uncle Sam’s voices were coming, she could tell they were in the living room. Her toes anxiously pressed into the carpet on the top step. She forced her hands into her lap before her fingernails could slide into her mouth.

“I had an interesting discussion with your daughter to—” Sam began.

“Did she tell you she wants to be a Chronicler?” Christian interrupted.

Sam’s mouth was still open in mid-sentence. “Well, yes, she did, as a matter of fact.”

Christian took a seat on the sofa next to his wife. “It’s all she’s been talking about for the past few months. We told her that was too close to the family business for someone without a Gift.”

“I hoped she would grow out of this silly notion. It’s simply too dangerous, Sammy,” Diana said.

“I’ve known a few Chroniclers who don’t have the Gift, and most Chroniclers will never see a monster in real life, anyway. They don’t all fight alongside the hunters, Dee.”

“But what about the ones who’ve been hurt? What about Eliza? I can’t have that happen again in the family.” Diana shuddered and gripped her husband’s hand.

At that, Corinne sucked in air as silently as she could. She hadn’t known that Aunt Eliza was a Chronicler. She’d hardly ever seen her aunt. Any time she was mentioned, Corinne’s mom would clam up.

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“What happened to Eliza wasn’t your fault—”

“Yes, it was,” her mother said, pain tightening her voice, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, it wasn’t the fault of her being a Chronicler. You know she became one long after the accident.”

“If I had it my way, no one in my family would be a Hunter, a Chronicler, or anything else for that matter. I’d hoped none of my kids would have the Gift. There are so few of us who have children with it anymore. Unfortunately, Donovan at the very least does. I shouldn’t have to worry about Corinne.”

“Being a parent means you never stop worrying,” Sam said.

“And how would you know?” Christian asked bemusedly, “You’re not even married, and you don’t have kids.”

“It’s what I have been told by very reliable sources,” Sam answered. Corinne could hear the smile in his voice. He always had a smile, even when he was arguing. After a pause, he said, “Dee, your daughter’s growing up. She’s turning thirteen in a couple of months, for Pete’s sake! She wants to help. Being a Chronicler is an honorable profession. Let her at least try it for a little while. I mean, she’s always writing in that notepad of hers. Corinne clearly has the bug, and she’s a sharp cookie. I think she’d do well.”

“Well,” began Christian, “I don’t care what she does. She won’t be like Donovan, anyway. It’s up to you, Diana.”

At this, a long pause dominated the room. Corinne closed her eyes, hoping the pause was a good sign that her mother would let her. It stung a little that her dad didn’t seem to care, but she was used to it. She loved her parents, and part of her understood her mom’s fears. Going into hunting was dangerous, but she really wanted to be a Chronicler.

Finally, her mother answered, “If we let her do this, you need to promise us two things. First, I want to know that you aren’t doing this because you were kicked out of Chronicler training. You’re not reliving your glory days through her. Understood?”

A pause hung in the air for a moment. Corinne’s mind raced. What could Uncle Sam have done to get himself kicked out of Chronicler training? He was a Patriarch. That should have given him a lot of leeway. Corinne’s imagination whipped into overdrive.

“I promise I’m not trying to relive my glory days through her,” Sam solemnly responded, “And the second thing?”

“Second, I want to know that you’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid and get herself hurt. Promise me.”

“I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure she’s safe.”

“Good. Then I give you permission.”

An edge of concern tinged her mother’s voice. “But I can take it back anytime.”

Corinne could almost see Uncle Sam’s crooked smile creep up the left side of his face. “Excellent. I’ll set up some times to start training her.”

Corinne finally exhaled a long breath. Relief flooded her system. That couldn’t have gone better. Now, Corinne stood up as quietly as she could and tried to slink off to her bedroom.

“Oh, and Corinne,” she heard her mother say loudly, “We need to have a talk about you eavesdropping on our conversations.”

Corinne groaned.