"Wendy, have you been listening?"
"Hm?"
"I've asked you three times now if you like these light fixtures."
Wendy focused on her mother, on the fixtures in her hands. "Yes, those will be lovely."
Mrs. Darling narrowed her eyes at Wendy and turned back to the box of merchandise she had picked up at the secondhand store. "You've been very distracted lately," she commented, pulling out some green curtains. "I'm starting to worry if that class you signed up for is too much."
"Class?"
"Yes, your architecture course."
"Oh, yes. I mean, no, it's not too much. I've just been thinking a lot about the boys at the children's home."
Mrs. Darling sighed and took the curtains into her bedroom. Wendy stared out the window and bit her lip, a twinge of guilt gnawing at her nerves. She had, in fact, signed up to take a weekend architecture course at the nearby college, and it had been wonderful. It was the first formal education she had undertaken since she dropped out of school two years ago after the death of her father and brothers. But Wendy had failed to tell her mother that the class only lasted two hours and not the entire day. She had been spending the rest of her Saturdays in Neverland with Peter. Last week she had come home so late that she had lied to her mother and told her she had gone to the library to do some extra research. She hated being untruthful with her mother, especially since it had only been a short time since she had recovered from her coma. Was it really only a few weeks ago? Wendy wondered. It seemed like it had been ages since Peter had dragged her to Neverland, since she had rediscovered what it meant to have fun and saved Peter from the Crocodile. She didn't know how much longer she could keep Neverland from her mother, but the alternative was telling her about the magical underground world, and Wendy doubted she would believe her unless she saw it for herself. She giggled a little at the thought of her mother in Neverland, frolicking around with pirates and mermaids, then quickly hid her smile as the woman walked back into the room.
"Now let me show you the pillows I found, they're really quite wild."
*****
"Miss Wendy! Save me!"
Trevor came sprinting down the hallway, pursued by a sparking vacuum running of its own accord. Wendy scooped the boy up in her arms just as the rogue vacuum plowed past. She watched as it bumped into a closed door, turned around, and headed for them again. Wendy ran down the hall and into the kitchen. Amazingly, the vacuum followed, maintaining a speed that rivaled an old car. Some of the other boys ran into the kitchen to see what was going on, and the vacuum cleaner turned and began to attack them. It knocked Zachary right over and rolled over Matthew's feet, causing the older boy to break into tears. Horrified, Wendy set Trevor down and went after the vacuum with a broom, whacking at it with all the strength she could muster. She knocked it on to its side and was about to turn off its power when the thing righted itself and began to charge her. She leaped out of the way and it crashed into the fridge.
Just as the demon appliance was beginning to come after her again, Nana appeared in the kitchen's entryway, hunching down with a low growl. The vacuum changed its trajectory and headed for the canine, but Nana ran around the back of it, then pounced on it from behind, pinning the vacuum to the floor.
The boys cheered and Wendy carefully switched off the vacuum's power button.
"What's going on?" Mrs. Nancy cried, running into the kitchen.
"The vacuum was attacking us!" Duke responded, looking more exhilarated than scared.
"Yeah, it was awesome!" Zachary added.
"But Nana saved us!" Arthur shouted, jumping up and down.
"What are these awful stories you're making up?" Mrs. Nancy exclaimed. "I don't believe any of it!"
"Actually, it's true," Wendy confirmed, surprised that she was validating the account. "I don't know how it happened, but the vacuum went wild and was coming after everyone.
"How on earth did this happen?"
Trevor stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Nancy," he said sheepishly. "I was just trying to see what would happen if I put the motor from the floor fan into the vacuum."
Mrs. Nancy's face froze in an expression that appeared to be caught between laughing and crying. Finally, she shook her head and motioned for the boys to leave.
"All of you to your rooms. I need to speak with Miss Wendy."
The boys obeyed, and Trevor was the last one to trudge out of the kitchen, dragging his vacuum experiment behind him. Mrs. Nancy attempted to smooth down her white, frizzy hair and sighed.
"Sometimes I think that boy's mind is a curse."
"It will get him far," Wendy responded. "He just needs the proper place to develop it." She couldn't help but think of Neverland as she said this, but she knew it was impractical for him to live there.
"Well, I'm afraid we don't have much to offer here, unless we find it in our budget to replace our appliances every month. Perhaps we'll have to transfer him soon," Mrs. Nancy confessed. "But we can discuss Trevor another time. What I really needed to tell you is that I'm going on holiday in two weeks."
"Oh wonderful! Where are you going?"
"I've been planning it for years! My sister and I are going on a cruise to Norway!"
A chill ran through Wendy's body. "Oh..."
"What? What is it?"
"Nothing. It sounds lovely. I would just stay away from the whale watching tours."
"Oh heavens, no! I don't do well on small boats," she admitted. "Anyway, the woman that's going to be here in my place is an old friend of mine, but she also happens to work for Ofsted, so in addition to substituting, she'll also be evaluating." The older woman smiled and put her hand on Wendy's shoulder. "Miss Darling, you have been an invaluable employee, and I trust that everything will be fine, but would you take care to ensure that everything runs smoothly in my absence? Particularly, would you keep an eye on Trevor?"
"Of course," Wendy replied.
Mrs. Nancy nodded her head and pulled Wendy into a nearly bone crushing hug. "I don't know what I would do without you! I'm so glad you dropped out of school so you could work here!"
Wendy pulled back and frowned.
"Oh, I mean... you know what I mean," Mrs. Nancy said, laughing uncomfortably. Then she abruptly turned and walked out of the kitchen.