Chapter Fifty-seven

Harry woke up the next morning. He stretched out his hands and gradually opened his eyes. He couldn't get the clearer view of his surroundings as a result of the night's sleep that covered his eyes, so he rubbed it off with his eyes  He turned to Freddie who lay beside him. He was fast asleep, so, Harry decided to leave him to enjoy his sleep. But, he felt stiff in his legs when he wanted to get up from the bed.

" What's this? " He said as he tried to separate his legs. He immediately shoved the duvet to one side and alas! his legs were tied with a long cloth. 

" What's this? " He said aloud with eyes bugged out. He sat up on the bed and moved his b**t closer to his knees. He grabbed the cloth to look for its knot. It was then that he found out that the cloth was also tied to Freddie's legs. He traced the cloth from Freddie's legs to an iron stand.

" Freddie. " Harry tapped Freddie. Freddie was reluctant to get up but heeded to Harry's call after several taps on his body. Freddie got up and involuntarily raised his legs slightly but his legs went up, same as Harry. They fell backwards on the bed as they watched their legs in the air.

" How did this happen? " Freddie asked Harry.

" I don't know. I woke up to see this and I guess it must be Clifford's doings. " Harry explained. The duo looked around the room for any sign of Clifford but saw none. 

" Man. We need to get rid of this asap. I mean this is crazy. " Freddie said. He took the lead and tried to stretch his hands to the cloth but couldn't get it. Harry tried doing his. Luckily, he touched the tip of the cloth, he smiled when Freddie urged him to continue. As he moved his fingers a little bit to grab more of the cloth, they heard a clanging sound. Their gaze moved toward the sound. To their realization, the cloth was finally tied to the wardrobe close to the bed. The wardrobe shook as they touched the cloth and was about to fall frontwards in their direction when Harry loosened his hands and fell back on the bed. They sighed after that.

" Let's be patient till he returns. " Harry said looking at his legs up in the air.

" What if it's till eternity? " Freddie questioned him in anger. " I know Clifford possesses some weird characters in him but this is too much. I mean if someone should walk in on us and we're not even dressed. We're on our boxers, I mean our legs are... " Freddie was interrupted by a sound on the door. Like a creaking sound. They duo aimed at the duvet but once again the wardrobe scared them to remain still.

" Who's there? " Harry asked. His face was flushed red in embarrassment. But they heard nothing. They breathed out a sigh of relief when the room became quiet but before they could say something else, they heard a loud bang on the door. Their heart skipped. 

" This ... " Freddie said pointing at the person under the table, covered in a thick blanket. Harry traced his looks to the table.

" Clifford! " They yelled in unison.

Clifford looked at them and kept quiet.

" Can you come and remove this mess you've created? " Freddie asked him. He was growing impatient by the minute. Neither his facial expression nor his words could move Clifford.

Harry whispered some words into Freddie's ears and then turned to look at Clifford. 

" Please come and untie us. We're sorry for sleeping here without your consent. We should have left when you refused to consent us. Come and untie us. " Harry pleaded.

Clifford looked at him for a while and gradually crawled out from under the table. He was still covered in a thick blanket and his face was all red. Harry and Freddie looked in shock at their friends face.

" Thank goodness you can see for yourselves what you've caused me. My entire face is red with some rashes on it. I sleep on the bed and not on the sofa at night. So, i decided to make you pay for what you've done. " Clifford told them.

" We're sorry. " Harry apologized.

Clifford flashed Freddie a furious gaze and continued. " You'll have to stay there for a while. I'll be so kind enough to feed you, so, i provide whatever you need. "

" Even with our mouth not brushed? " Freddie asked him. This time in a low tone. " 

" Breakfast in bed. " Clifford answered. He went inside and got a thin pipe which he brought with a big jug of water. He took the tip and  asked them to slightly raise their heads up and open their mouths. They ignored him and he left them. After much pleading, Clifford changed his mind. He used a big iron scissors and cut the cloth at Its final knot.

" I will ... " Freddie stood up Immediately. He wanted to hit Clifford who stood grimacing at them. But, he slipped off and fell.

" Clifford " Hahahaha.

" Harry " Hahahaha.

The other two laughed their eyeballs out. Freddie felt embarrassed. He slowly stood up and went to sit on the bed. 

" Untie yourselves then. " Clifford told them and left the room.

...

...

Clifford left his room for Smith's room. When he came to the attendance room, he saw no one. 

" Should I go in or wait a while? " He glanced at the wall clock in the sitting room. It was 7: 45 pm. He decided to leave and return later. When he got back to his room, he saw his two friends still struggling with the cloth. So, he began to help untie them till they were free. 

" I'm sorry. " He said to them. But, they flsshed him a furious gaze and kept quiet. 

Clifford began to arrange his room as it was already messed up. He was clearing the pieces of the cloth he tore and loosening the knots of the cloth. It took him a while to do that. Now he needed to move the iron stand. He didn't want to go through the stress of carrying it alone like he did the other night. Moreover, it wasn't all that stressful the other night because he was upset. Now he's calm, he'll feel its weight a lot. 

" Freddie please, come and help me move this stand to the other end.  Freddie? " Clifford called. He wasn't looking at Freddie at first. He went dumbstruck when he saw Freddie limping to the bathroom. 

" Eyaa. Was it painful to this extent? " Clifford asked him almost laughing. Harry saw that and covered his mouth with his palm so that he wouldn't laugh out loud as well.

" Continue mocking yourselves. " Freddie told his two friends.

" I was also tied. " Harry told him before going to assist Clifford. Freedie told them of his plans to visit Annie but was ruined by Clifford. 

" How ? " Clifford questioned him.

" I'm supposed to be as complete and handsome as i was. Not like this. " Freedie retorted. 

Clifford thought inwardly of going to see Eddie. " How will she feel if she sees me in her house? " He thought smiling to himself. His two friends thought of him as crazy when they saw that. Harry hit the table and it jolted Clifford back to reality. They heard a knock on the door and Freddie rushed off to the bathroom. Harry opened the door and a maid told him that he should come downstairs for breakfast. Harry locked the door after the maid left and announced same to his friends.

" Let's freshen up and eat. " Clifford said to them. The three of them freshened up before going downstairs for breakfast.

The trio greeted those sitting in the dining room. ( Valerie, Albert and Smith. ) and sat down to eat. 

" Where's Miss Sofia? " Albert asked.

" Brother Cliffy, she'll eat in her room. Maybe she's not ready yet and you know your little sister gets hungry easily. " Valerie said with pouted lips. 

" Ok. You can eat. I will eat only when she joins us. " Clifford said. 

" Valerie " ...

" Albert " ...

" Smith " ...

" Freddie " ...

" Harry " ...

Meanwhile, Sofia, Eva, Lady Lily and Mira are in one room discussing. 

" Ma'am, won't you join them for breakfast? " Eva asked the nth time. She tried so many times to persuade Sofia into joining the Smiths family for breakfast but Sofia wouldn't adhere to her plea. Sofia wanted to be careful with whatever she's doing. So, she decided not to go at anything for her own benefits.

That didn't sing a bell Eva's mind. Deep down, she prayed that Sofia change her mind. 

They heard a knock on the door. Mira went to open it. She saw a maid and asked her, her mission. The maid told her that Clifford had called Sofia to join the family for breakfast. The maid left after she had relayed the message.

Everyone in the room, looked at Mira in askance after she locked the door. Mira told them everything that the maid had said.

" You wouldn't refuse this Ma'am. " Eva said to Sofia who kept quiet and looked like one lost in thoughts. Everyone waited for a response from Sofia. 

" I'll be back. " Sofia said as she stood up to leave.

Eva breathed out of deep relief after Sofia left the room.