Kiki's mother's head lifted at the sound of knocking. "I'm coming" she called, picking herself up off the couch and heading for the door. Once it was open, she cocked her head. "Can I help you?"<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Mags stuffed the paper with the directions into her pocket and held out a hand. "I'm Mags Staear. I'm Kiki's teacher. I came by today to see how she was and to bring by her school work. May I come in?"</span><br/><br/>The woman perked up slightly at the mention of her daughter. "Oh! So you're the new teacher everyone's been talking about. I'm Marie Of course you can come in!" She opened the door fully, allowing Mags to enter as she went into the living room. "As you probably already know, Kiki isn't too well, so she's in her room right now and won't be joining us. Care for a drink? Some water? I made some lemonade earlier."<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Mags entered the house, shutting the door behind her. "News travels fast I see. Lemonade sounds wonderful." Gazing about the house as she walked back towards the living room, she made a low hum of awe at it. It was such a lovely place. Much better than hers. But there seemed to be a gloom over it. Hiding an internal shiver, she sat down and handed Marie the folder. "I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping to speak to her. Explain some of the assignments."</span><br/><br/>Marie gave a polite nod, going into the kitchen and pouring two glasses. Once she got back, she sat down on the couch and handed Mags one. She shook her head, "Kiki is a very bright girl. I'm sure she'll be able to understand the assignments. Even then, I could always help her out"<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Mags accepted the glass, taking a sip of the cool liquid. "True. I suppose you could. Most of them shouldn't be too bad. How long has she been sick?"</span><br/><br/>The woman paused midsip, staring ahead blankly for a second. "She's.... been sick for a while... Ever since her father passed away... Things haven't really been the same since that day." She set the glass down on the coffee table.<br/><br/><span style="color: #0040FF">Mags nodded slowly, only no really making the important connections. "Ahh. So I see...I am sorry for you loss Marie."</span><br/><br/>Marie gave a small sad nod. "Thank you... It's not easy being a single mother... especially since..." Before she could finish, she let out a shiver. The room suddenly turned icy cold, as if it was winter outside.