Episode 2: [Whisper]

"Hey, girls, could you help me out please?" a bare chested young man plastered to the window asks.

"Oh, I'm not naked, don't worry," he assures with a wink. "Well, not fully anyway,"

"We probably should open the window for him," Fitz says, eyeing the boy's heaving chest.

"Hey! Eyes up here," he smirks, tapping on the glass, and she rolls her eyes in response.

"First we have to move this couch away," Kacey says while attempting to shift it over.

"On three then," gripping the side of the sofa on her end of the sofa.

"Sure," Kacey on the other.

"Three!"

They lift the couch and both manage to shuffle it over to the centre of the room among the few boxes.

"Woo!" an exhalation of relief and high-five each other, while the boy interjects.

"Uhm- guys" distracted from their celebrating, they rush over to open up the window.

"Thanks, I'm Akira Harada" he says with his left hand extended and other occupied by the tugging at his beige bathroom towel. His upturned plump lips his a mischievous smile, eyebrows shaped down to form a permanent 'v' on his forehead and black thick hair tossed on either side to frame his face.

"Oh my fu- why are you naked?" Fitz's pleas, controlling her anger and reaching over to cover her and Kacey's eyes with her palms.

"Yeah, I'm Kacey Troy" a stiff reply. Trying to meet his gesture, she waves her hand around.

He grasps it, annoyed at watching it wave around,"Nice meeting you, but I'm going to go now," letting her hand go and shuffling across the room past the boxes onside next to the door.

"Yeah, you too," Kacey answers and grips at the hand over her face.

"See you at supper tonight,"

"Why's your grip so strong?"

"Yeah, you two, girls" Akira assures in his usual honeyed voice and closes the door before darting down the hallway, entering the elevator and leaving them behind.

"You know, you can let go now," hand still over Kacey's eyes.

"Oh sorry," Fitz removing both her hands.

"Harada? Was that Jiro's brother?"

"You're right it was," closing the window she scrunches her nose up, "We have to move that back over here," pointing to where the sofa had been.

"We can do it,"Kacey cheering.

"We can, can't we?" Fitz giggles.

While they move over the sofa once more, downstairs in the lobby, someone enters through the front door.

"No Sir, I'm going to have to ask that you come over earlier than we scheduled for," Junior states over a black telephone on one ear and absorbed by typing out on the desktop computer in front of him.

The clicking of the keyboard met with the black tailored heel of Kacey's chauffeur, dressed in a long black leather coat.

He walks over to the front desk and taps a finger against the back of the boxed computer. Junior prompts up to answer him.

"Mr. Fitzgerald Macy's in her room, I'll let her know you dropped by" the chauffeur nods and walks back out to the car, a stark contrast of white to his attire.

"Pillow- San!" a disembodied breath echoes in the lobby. Junior, bunched eyebrows, looks over to see where the sound came from. Passing it off as fatigue, "I need to nap" with a yawn and continues to his conversation on the telephone.

Fitz offers to take Kacey on a tour of the mansion.

"That fo- Junior's meant to take you around, but it seems his a little occupied with work at the moment" she says in disdain through pursed lips.

"Nah, it's cool, I don't mind either way. I'm more concerned with the most important area"

"And that is?" raised eyebrow.

"Kitchen!" Kacey rejoices.

"Ah yes, a sure way to a maiden's knickers" Fitz muses and twirls the corner of an imaginary moustache.

"Knickers?" Kacey exclaims and they both burst out in a fit of laughter.

The elevator rings and they step out to the face of an ivory- grey toned young man clad in a black raincoat. Deep set eyes of dark blue pupils, straight features, dark brown hair cropped up on his forehead and lanky disposition.

Looking up, Kacey exclaims, "Ah creepy dude in the woods," poker-faced he replies.

"Miss Troy?" in a lifeless, flat voice.

"Oh no! You can just call me Kacey" a light-hearted response only met with his calm demeanour of "Miss Troy, I hope you enjoy your stay at Newman Heights" with a curt nod. They step to one side, out of the elevator, to let him past.

"I'm Colchester," the elevator shuts away from them.

"His not much of a talker, but he's a nice person. I can assure that" Fitz adds with a slight smile before turning on her heel.

"Anywoo, let's get to the kitchen and then dinning room for supper. We'll settle the tour full tomorrow" She says while they walk down a hallway and down grand stairs with red and gold outstretched carpet below.

"Yeah it's gotten pretty late huh" Kacey notes looking at the crystal large windows above them revealing the grey shaded sky behind them.

They reach the bottom of the stairs, walk into the kitchen area, greeting all the chefs and staff, then make their way to the dinning room.

"Eliza Fanning," a lady, Kacey noted the same age as her, introduced herself across the dinner table. Her sepia complexion, high cheekbones cast over pitch-black waves of hair and silver grey intense eyes.

All residents of Newman Heights gather each night to enjoy a meal together, all except one.

"Where's Jiro?" Kacey queries in Akira's direction and while cutting through a pie on her plate with knife and fork in hand.

"Hadn't seen him in a while," Fitz, taking a sip of her hot chocolate from the mug in front of her.

"Not sure, actually," Akira answers and turns around his chair to eye the entrance behind him.

"He usually hangs around Sir Pilloweather" Colchester informs.

"I saw him this morning before leaving for work," Eliza notes and takes a bite of the pie's filling.

On cue, Jiro enters the room. "Jiro where have you been?" Akira exclaims and only to be met by silence. Jiro takes the empty seat next to Kacey.

"Playing," he responds timidly.

"If mom finds out about this," his argument fades like white noise into the background as Kacey lightly pats Jiro's shoulder. He startles back and looks up at her.

"Jiro what's-" Kacey starts off, though interrupted by the room turning black.

"Probably a storm approaching soon," Colchester notes, filling the silence.

"At least we ate this time," Fitz adds, trying to lighten the mood.

They use their phones to walk back to their rooms, Akira grabs a plate of food for Jiro.

"Oh, Kacey, Junior said they'll get your boxes to the room by tomorrow morning," Fitz informs as the elevator closes on her floor.

"Oh yeah, sorry and thanks," she yells over to her.

Now in her room, Kacey changes into her sleepwear before getting in bed. The foreign sheets, warm and cosy. She slips away into a deep sleep.