Snippet #1501749

Steven the cabbie sighed, decided that this place was a shambles and the woman clearly incompetent, and pushed the letter firmly into her (Fenix's) hands. He felt very, very sorry for the poor kid he was handing over, but what could he do? “I’ve been told that these letters are very important, so please read them, and- ” He looked after the second woman (Lakesha), who appeared to have wandered off after asking her question. “The animal in my trunk is a cat, apparently his arrival was pre-arranged.”

That said, he patted the boy once on the shoulder and turned around, heading back towards his cab and leaving Max, momentarily, alone with his new keepers. Max, needless to say, glowered. “You don’t seem very professional,” he said bluntly. “Are you a social worker, a manager, or a carer? And why, exactly, do you keep dotting around all over the place; are you incapable of organising your time, or are the others here so out of control that you are required to constantly run around?”

He had promised himself that he would behave, but really! What did these people expect after leaving him outside for ages; Max was not impressed. “Quite frankly, I worry about your competence as my new care-giver, and I’d like you to know that I have the number for Child Services in my phone in case you get any strange ideas about how you’re going to look after me.

“Thank you,” he added as Steven returned, complete with cat-box and a rather irate looking ginger tom. He took Simon’s carrier over his suitcase, already confident that someone else would take care of that.

“I’d like to see my room now, please, and I’d also like to be shown around so I know where I’m going. I want to know what the time is, exactly. I want to know when meals are served, what you expect me to do in terms of education, the rules of this house and the other occupants names. I don’t expect to have to fish around in the dark on my first day, thank you very much.”

With that, Max walked calmly into the house and stood to one side, clearly waiting for his demands to be met. “Oh, and another thing; I have a computer, I also have my own mobile internet; if you attempt to take it away, you will regret it. I don’t expect anyone to touch my things, for any reason, I expect to be warned and present before anyone searches my room, and if anyone, and I mean anyone so much as thinks of harming my cat, it will be the last thing they ever do.”

Needless to say, Steven, who was still standing beside the door, was rather shocked.