TIME WARP: All Those In Between Times (Ra)

[Sakhmet Richmond]

2006

Sakhmet had been living with Ra for almost three years now. The adjustment had been difficult, particularly once she'd realized that her family wasn't normal. Normal was not a word she had been too familiar with growing up; she'd been exposed to all sorts of different cultures and people and had learned to appreciate them on their own merits, but returning to Somerset and settling in one place had resulted in the concept gaining more prominence, because she was suddenly aware of just how much she didn't fit in.

In a way, she'd always been the odd one out, being the only girl in a family full of boys, and now she and Horus (as far as her family were aware currently) were the only baseline humans.

She'd walked home from school alone again.

She hadn't thought it was that unusual to confess that she found another girl attractive, but the reaction from her classmates had been disbelieving scorn.

She'd walked home alone every day since then, even those students sympathetic to her plight unwilling to be seen with her.

But while school was difficult, her family remained her refuge, particularly Ra, who had become a surrogate father in the absence of their parents.

"I'm hooo~ooome" She sang out, kicking her penny loafers off as she walked through the front door, loosening the tie of the uniform she was required to wear. Home was nice, home was safe. She was glad to be there.

"Raaaa. Are you here?" She asked, padding into the living room in search of her older brother.

[Ra Richmond]

One of these days he would finally just murder his parents.

After his short stint at Hus Academy he was all but handed a college degree- in exchange for his cooperation with their program his college tuition in the Czech Republic had been paid for. He wasn’t one for taking art courses or theatre or anything impractical like that, so he went into a major he was good at- economics. He learned everything he could know about money and how the system worked, from macro to micro. Once everything he needed was in his head, he bid Hus goodbye and left for England again, more than happy to settle in and relax at the Somerset house with no one to bother him. Sett was out exploring the world after Kocher let him go, Osiris was still in school along with Isis- and the younger two siblings were still with his parents.

That all changed a few months after his arrival when, without the slightest warning, his parents called him up and told him that Horus and Sakhmet were going to be living with him. He was displeased with it but didn’t argue, taking in the two without a second thought. Once he was certain they wouldn’t be too much trouble without the parental units around, he settled back into his routine. Now after three years he still had the two of them around, and even though he was still looking for any side effects in Sakhmet, he found it safe to say that she probably wasn’t meta. He wasn’t going to voice his suspicions any time soon for fear he’d upset her, but it was pretty obvious that if she was, she would have displayed something by now.

But now, back to the subject of murdering his parents.

Sitting in front of Microsoft excel he went over the budget again, flipping through the massive amounts of checkbooks on his desk. He groaned and pressed his hands to his face, looking up at the ceiling as he ran the numbers through his head multiple times- five minus nine, carry a one over, four minus one equals three- yes, all of his math classes had paid off, his calculations were accurate.

In the span of one month, his parents had spent five thousand four hundred and twelve pounds and fifty four pence.

How they did it was beyond Ra, but they had done it. The two archeologists were flying high, decimating their funds, while he was forced to balance the checkbooks and watch them do it. How was it even possible to spend five thousand pounds in a month? How many times did they fly first class to another dig that month, if at all? It boggled the mind, so much so that it was giving him a headache.

A distraction. He needed a distraction.

As if on cue, he heard Sakhmet coming in the door and he glanced at the clock. He didn’t realize the time, which meant he had missed his lunch. Oh, bother. Standing, he heard Sakhmet call out for him and he emerged from his office into the living room. “Present.” He muttered, fixing his collar. “How was school today?” He didn’t bother asking where Horus was, he already knew- he was almost ninety-nine percent certain he was already over at Elliot’s house.

[Sakhmet Richmond]

Finances were of no concern to Sakhmet. She was aware that Ra cared about them very much, was aware that he sometimes complained about the amount that was spent by varying Richmonds each month, but as far as she was concerned this sounded something like blah blah I'm stingy blah blah money doesn't grow on trees blah To be fair, she was aware in the abstract that money did not, in fact, grow on trees, but putting that into practice was more difficult.

It was probably a good thing her income was limited to the allowance set by Ra and that the elder Richmond sibling paid the house note and other important bills.

As it was, she didn't really understand how much their parents spent per month and didn't understand why it upset Ra and thus when he emerged from his lair she didn't ask any questions regarding finances but launched straight into answering the query directed her way.

"It was....fine." She sighed, fussing with her pleated skirt as she settled into the couch. Fine meant, in this instance, that nobody had made fun of her where she could hear. Nobody had talked to her, either, but that was far preferable to the jibes and catty remarks that peppered some days.

"It was school. I got top marks on my essay." She added, a note of pride in her voice. She didn't get on with the other students, but she did rather enjoy her classes, particularly those dealing with history and literature. If only she could do the work and listen to the lectures in a void, without people throwing spitballs at her back while the teacher wasn't looking.

"But I had to walk home by myself." The complaint was cautious, not too put out, simply a tiny bit disappointed by this fact. "I do so wish Horus and Elliot would come here." She wouldn't wish her brother to part ways with his best friend but she also felt abandoned by him as he inevitably bailed on her to go with him. Not that she could blame him, but she was lonely.

"But ahh I made it home without kidnappings so I'm grateful." She added hurriedly, then, just in case Ra decided to be a prying big brother, she changed the subject to one near and dear to his heart.

"How was your day? What's new with the London Stock Exchange?"

She couldn't be bothered to pay attention to that kind of thing and frankly probably wouldn't understand anything Ra told her about it, but sometimes it was worth pretending to be interested.