Chapter 3

When they entered the house, the Slayers immediately became amazed by everything there. Full of curiosity, they looked around and came up to everything that was unfamiliar, which to them, was just about everything. Jenny immediately became concerned.

"Everyone," she said, "we have to set some rules here. Even if you're staying at my house, I can't keep watch over all of you all the time. So here's the deal: a lot of things here are expensive and fragile. Therefore, if it looks fragile or expensive, don't touch it. If you don't know what it is, don't touch it. If you think you know what it is but are not sure, don't touch it. If anything gets damaged or lost, not only will I kick you out of the house, but I'll have you pay to replace it. Is that clear?"

Lina, Zelgadis, and Amelia stopped at once. (Zelgadis and Amelia were concerned about being kicked out, while Lina was concerned about having to pay for anything that got damaged.) Gourry didn't seem to be listening and was looking at a vase, but Lina hit him in the stomach and told him to pay attention.

When everyone had focused their attention on her, Jenny continued. "Now, I'll show you around the house, so you know where everything is."

Jenny first showed them the living room, kitchen, and dining room, none of which were a big surprise to them, except that Lina wondered how anyone could survive with so little food. The last place on the first floor that she showed them was her brother's bedroom. It was a semi-dark room, with a red carpet. This was the room she wanted the Slayers to stay away from because it contained a computer, a television, a boombox, a DVD player, and several other expensive things which her brother was particularly protective of. But telling them that they could not go into the room would make them more curious and worsen the situation.

As soon as he saw the computer, Gourry began to walk toward it and was about to start pushing random buttons. Jenny yelled, "I told you not to touch anything, Gourry!"

Gourry stopped immediately. "How do you know my name?" he said.

"That's right," said Amelia. "We haven't told you our names yet. How did you know that?"

Jenny wanted to make up an excuse, but she felt it would only delay the inevitable, so she decided to tell them the truth. She sighed and said, "Well, you see... I... how can I explain this? I know who you are because... in this world, there are stories about you. They, uh... tell of some of your adventures. And... well... here, let me show you."

Jenny reached into her bag and grabbed her Slayers manga. She handed it to Lina, who looked shocked to see her face on the front cover. "What is this?" said Lina. The others moved toward her to see and were just as amazed as she was.

Jenny spoke. "The only explanation I can offer is that someone came to your world and recorded your adventures, then he came back and wrote these stories. Not everyone knows you. I'm one of the few people around here who is interested in this stuff."

"Well," Lina said, "if you're really one of the few people who knows us, then you're the only one who can help us. Now let's continue looking around."

Jenny was glad. They didn't make as big a deal of this as she thought. She continued to show them around. She took them upstairs and showed them her room, as well as her parents' room.

Amelia decided to ask, "Where are your parents?" Jenny was wondering when she would be asked about her other family members. In fact, it was good luck that the Slayers showed up when they did.

"My parents are on a trip. They took a cruise around the world and they'll be gone for another four months. My brother's taking care of me right now, but he's almost never home. I'll tell him about you this evening. I don't know how he'll react, but I don't think he'll mind as long as you don't touch anything in his room."

No one said anything. Jenny looked at the clock. It was 4:45 P.M. Her brother would be home at 5:30 and would leave again around 7 o'clock. She turned to the Slayers again and said, "I'll be in my room. You guys can relax, just remember the rules. And if you have any questions, feel free to ask me."

The Slayers went downstairs, expect Zelgadis, who stayed and asked, "Where can I find some books? I want to do some research."

Jenny took him to the basement and brought out a box full of encyclopedias. They were old books, about thirty years old. She handed Zel the first volume. "These books are out-dated, so you won't find any modern stuff here, but I think it will be of use." Zel thanked her and began reading.

Jenny stayed in her room until her older brother came home. Her brother's name was Josh, and he was 19 years old. He shared her interest in anime, so he also knew who the Slayers were. He was surprised to hear about what happened, but he didn't seem to care. He said exactly what Jenny had expected him to say: "Since I'm not home much, I don't really care. Just make sure they don't touch my stuff or break anything."

Later that evening, when Josh had left to meet his friends, Jenny called the Slayers together. "Okay, we need to discuss sleeping arrangements." She showed them how to use the fold-out couch of the family room. "Someone can sleep here, you can use the bed in my parents' room, or any of the couches in the living room. Or you can even sleep on the floor if you want to. I don't really care either way. I'll be going to sleep in about an hour. Tomorrow, we'll work on getting you guys to fit in in this world."

"Why do we need to do that?" asked Lina. "I thought you were going to help us get back to our world."

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't really know how to do that. I'll help you in any way I can, but you may be stuck here for a while, in which case, you'll need to get used to being in this world. And if we're going to go out, you'll attract too much attention with those clothes."

Jenny turned and said, "We'll start everything tomorrow, so get some rest until then." She walked upstairs and into her room. She went to bed at 9 o'clock, but she had so much on her mind that she didn't fall asleep until midnight.

To be continued.

Previous Chapter

Back to this Fanfic's Main Page

Back to the Library