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After almost forty years, Ezra still took the same spot at the dining room table: the one at the bottom left hand corner of the table. What the other Vanburens didn’t know was that this was the primo seat in the room. Not only did it offer a quick escape through the service entrance or main door, it also provided a nice view of the fireplace and the large bay windows to stare at whenever there was a lull in the conversation or James started up one of his long-winded toasts. However, the key reason why Ezra had chosen that spot for his entire life was because it was the furthest he could get from where his father typically sat without having to look across the table at him for the entire evening. Some might have expected him to move up to James spot like a cousin at a large family Thanksgiving  finally getting to move from the card table to an actual table after someone’s aunt died, but he didn’t want the chair. It was far too emblematic. 

The fire was getting low. Perhaps he could shrink father’s seat and use it for kindling? Ezra tilted his head and smirked at the thought. Trisha might’ve been able to pull something like that off, but something destructive like that was a bit too dramatic for the man. Guess he’d have to take care of the fire the old fashion way. With a soft groan Ezra stood, smoothed out his sweater, grabbed his mug, and sauntered over to the grand fireplace. He moved the logs around with the poker  and the flames regained a bit of spirit, cackling in gratitude as Ezra leaned an elbow against the mantle and observed the room. His chair might’ve been the best seat in the room, but right here was the perfect spot. It offered warmth, something that he almost never felt when surrounded by his family, and a way to immediately end any unwanted conversation by immolating himself by jumping into the fire. It was perfect.

The sound of the fire was soon the only sound in the room. It would’ve been peaceful if Ezra didn’t feel the weight of about a dozen or so eyes staring at him as if he’d been the one to call this emergency family meeting. Instead of enjoying the calm, Ezra spent the time actively looking bored, occasionally poking the fire, and not pulling out his phone because the moment he pulled out his phone he’d immediately be sucked into work. He had mistakenly set it to vibrate only instead of just turning the thing off, and every few minutes he felt his pocket buzz. Ezra didn’t have to look at the pile up of missed messages to know that there was currently a fire somewhere else in Araminta and he was the one expected to put it out. 

Ezra took a sip of his mug. Somebody coughed into their hand. A log popped in the fireplace. An ocelot purred. Finally, Oscar walked to the vacant spot at the head of the table, cleared his throat, and began. Ezra watched his younger brother with intent, although his eyes kept drifting over to the ocelot sitting in Sabrina’s lap. He didn’t remember which one of his siblings had twisted James' arm into getting them an exotic animal instead of something normal like a dog, but he could’ve sworn he’d donated that damn animal to the local zoo already. Had he forgotten to finalize the deal or had one of the others swooped in to stop the pickup? Either way, it was another task for the list. 

[color=darkgray]“Supernatural experts?”[/color] muttered Ezra under his breath. He cocked an eyebrow, folded his arms over his chest, and stared his brother down as Oscar continued. Everyone, Ezra included, always said Oscar was the smartest one in the family, but that didn’t mean he was exempt from stupid ideas. Ezra highly doubted that anyone who called themselves supernatural experts  were experts in anything but BS. Besides, this little curse of theirs was something Ezra thought was best kept within the family. They should be blathering about it to some weirdos who saw a couple episodes of Ghost Adventures and decided to emulate it. Ezra appreciated Oscar taking the initiative, but it would’ve been nice if the kid had come to him for some consultation before inviting what he imagined would be a couple of part-time Hot Topic employees into their house. Not to mention that Ezra had a feeling like he’d be the one to front the bill. He doubted that his siblings realized how expensive their silly whims ended up being. 

[color=gold]"They should already be here, right about now..."[/color]

[color=darkgray]“Hold up. What?”[/color] asked Ezra, standing up from off of the wall. Anyone else would’ve betrayed their inner feelings at this point, but Ezra was a cool cucumber. For all the others knew he’d probably misheard Oscar instead of being upset. Ezra was about to dissuade his brother to call the whole thing off when Justin and Tuyen entered the room. He sunk back against the wall and gave the intruders a lookover. They weren’t the most professionally dressed and their all black everything getup made him inwardly laugh, but they weren’t as dumpy looking as he had anticipated.

Nor were they as old. Oh God, had Oscar hired highschoolers? Ezra felt something sink in the pit of his stomach. How much ridicule would the family face if word got out that they were now financing a couple that looked like they could’ve been cast in a Disney Channel original? The freshman girl asked for the bathroom. Perhaps she thought she needed a hall pass. Thankfully, there was a teacher present. Ezra turned to the girl and offered her tired, closed-mouth smile, as he gestured over towards Arabelle.

[color=darkgray]“It’s a big house. Arabelle will show you the way,”[/color] said Ezra. Despite his endless exhaustion his voice was as velvety smooth as ever, yet it still managed to sound almost dismissive. He shot Arabelle a look that said [i]watch her[/i]. Ezra wasn’t about to allow a stranger walk around their house unsupervised after the break-in a few weeks ago. 

"I guess while she's gone, you all can explain to me what happened and anything you might know,” said Justin.

[color=darkgray]“Perhaps you would like some introductions first? Ezra Vanburen,”[/color] said Ezra, offering Justin a firm handshake before leading him towards a chair. As he did he listed off the names of the people in the room and gestured towards them, ending with the one who had called the meeting in the first place. [color=darkgray]“...and obviously you already know Oscar. Now, I imagine he has already given you some of the details, but in case it his slipped his mind I suppose I can fill you in.”[/color] Ezra took his post back by the fireplace. [color=darkgray]“The short version of it is that my entire family is experiencing an extreme case of carpal tunnel, or perhaps a collective delusion, the moment they set foot outside of this town. Cursed, if you believe in that sort of thing.”

“And the long version will have to wait until you can prove this supernatural expertise of yours. While I trust Oscar, he can be a bit excitable when it comes to certain things. I believe my other siblings would feel more at ease if you can show us that you are what you say you are before we continue,”[/color] said Ezra. The thin smile on his face disappeared as he stared Justin down and looked for any signs of dishonesty.