Huzzah!

In which your humble narrator takes time out of his busy Camp NaNo, and which is written in the third person because the same Narrator feels dumb writing in the third person, even though he's doing it now.



As I walked back to Dianne's house, I couldn't stop my mind from drifting back to the old American man who had helped me. Cassidy wasn't really one to "respect thine elders," but he'd walked away from me anyway. The man seemed to have an amazing authority, almost like mind control. I knew that it was dumb to think that, and entirely unrealistic, but I couldn't get the thought out of my head.

You may be wondering why I was walking back to Dianne's house in the first place. The reason was actually impossibly simple. I like Finbar. He's fun. And he makes awesome brownies. As I approached the house, I looked in through their front room window as I passed it, and guess what I saw. The old guy. Wondering what possible connection he could have to the Wrongs, I walked straight into the house, wihout ringing the doorbell. As I reached the sitting room door, however, I felt bad. I was actually being quite rude. These people were my friends, and I just barged into their home uninvited. In order to rectify my behaviour, I did knock on the sitting room door, although I didn't wait for a reply.

Upon entering the room, I was met with several different expressions. The Old Guy looked neutral, but nodded at me when I came in. Dianne looked surprised. Finbar grinned at me.

"T'Sup, Niall-dude?" he asked. "Hey, have you met Candy? He's solid."

"Yeah," I said. "We've met in passing."

Dianne seemed to cringe a little, although I didn't really know why at the time.

"So, Finbar," I asked, as casually as I could. "How do you know Candy?"

"Hmm? Oh, we both know Skul-man." I must have looked confused, because he added, "Y'know? Skulduggery Pleasant? The big SP? He of the epic hat?"

"Dad," said Dianne. "I haven't told Niall about Skulduggery. Or Valkyrie. Or Ghastly or Tanith or Kenspeckle."

"Oh," contiuned Finbar. "Okay then, I'll explain." Dianne was glaring at him, and I don't think that he noticed at all. "Skul-man is one of the coolest guys I know, living or dead. He's this awesome detective-type skeleton thing." I remember wondering whether or not they were serious, or joking, or drunk or high or whatever. Finbar was always a bit eccentric, but he'd never claimed to know a skeleton detective. "He's this super-powerful Elemental Mage, and his apprentice is about your age. She's an Elemental-Necromancer, she knows Dianne."

"Hold up," I said. "Did you say Necromancer? Like, death magic?" I read a lot of fantasy novels as a kid, so I was familiar with the terms.

"Damn it, Dad," said Dianne. "Now we've got to explain EVERYTHING!"

The old man spoke again. "You want me to make him forget?"

Dianne sighed. "No, Candy. He'd have found out sooner or later anyway."