"Who could that be?" Mom asked, mumbling half to herself. We were headed out. We weren't expecting anyone. I knew Ms. Reba couldn't knock that hard, on the off chance she'd grown impatient and come to pick up her order instead of waiting for us to deliver it.

Mom motioned me behind her and stepped up to the door. She peered into the tiny monitor to the right, next to the buttons that worked our front door. It showed the camera feed from above the door in black and white. The picture was always fuzzy. We didn't need anything fancy and this setup worked well enough. I heard Mom swear under her breath. She never swore when I was around.

"Mom?" I asked. "Who is it?"

She sighed before she answered. "Everything's okay, sweetheart. Go sit on your bed and start on your lessons.

"Huh?" We were almost out the door a few seconds ago.

"Go on." Mom urged. "Don't interrupt this conversation, okay?"

The pounding came a second time, four strikes on our steel door. I jumped again. Our apartment building was usually peaceful. There were rarely loud noises unless someone was fighting.

"Just a minute!" My mom called, loudly but in what I called her "trading voice." It was a higher pitch and had a bit of sing-song to it. Under her breath, I heard her mumble "This is not how I wanted to start my day."

I trudged over to my bed and dug out my terminal. I had to take off my gloves and unwind my wrist straps to use the device for more than a couple taps. I was so confused. Mom never excluded me from her conversations. She always said it was good learning experience. Once my head was buried in my first lesson, I heard the hiss of the door seal releasing. Hydraulics pulled it to the side.

"Can I help you?" Mom asked. Her voice was polite, but there was something steely in her tone. I instantly lost interest in my lesson. I kept staring at my terminal, but strained to hear the conversation at the doorway. I wanted to turn my head and study the visitor, but Mom had eyes in the back of her head.

"Ah, Mrs. Kelvin." Came a male voice. It was smooth, like the merchants, but somehow calming too. "So nice to see you again."

"Its six o'clock in the morning." She replied flatly. Whoooo boy. This guy was on her bad side.

"I apologize for the early hour. I'd hoped to catch you before you left for the day."

Mom said nothing.

"May I come in?" I heard his heavy boot strike the ground as he took a step forward.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mom step into his path and block his entry. Her right arm remained on the doorframe, preventing him from stepping around her to the other side. "No, you may not."

He stepped back. Surprised and with a bit of a laugh in his voice, he said, "Ma'am, please. We have business to discuss."

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It was Mom's turn to laugh. "Do we?" She asked. I could all but see her raise her eyebrows. "I think you're mistaken, sir. If we had business, you would know that I do not discuss business at my home." She emphasized the last part heavily.

"It's a very important matter."

"Clearly, if you're willing to disturb my neighbors before the sun is even up."

"Allow me to come in and I promise I'll be brief."

Mom scoffed loudly. "I trust a Guildsman's promise only as far as I can kick him."

Guildsman? That explained Mom's hostility, alright. And why she wanted me far away from our unexpected visitor.

"Be reasonable, ma'am." He pleaded.

"I haven't closed the door in your face yet." Mom sassed. "I think that's pretty reasonable on its own."

The man was silent, I assume gathering his thoughts.

"Say what you came here to say or leave." Mom put it bluntly.

"It's of a private nature, Mrs. Kelvin. Surely you don't wish your neighbors to know everything?" He tried one more time to gain entry to our small apartment. Mom didn't budge.

"Then speak quietly." She suggested.

The man sighed, exasperated. "Fine." He gave in. "The Guildmaster wished me to inform you that there has been a small change in the bylaws. As a result, there will be an adjustment to your death benefit payment, beginning in ninety days." I heard the rustling of paper. "Details are spelled out here."

I saw him offer my mother a dark blue envelope. She stared at it for a moment before taking it from his hand.

The Guildsman cleared his throat. "If you have any questions, or wish to discuss the changes, I will be at the Guild Hall for the next three days. After that, you will have to go through the usual channels and contact our Beneficiary Department."

"Understood." I heard my mom say. "Anything else?" Her fingers creeped back towards the door control panel.

"That's everything." He said. "Have a great day, Mrs. Ke--" The door slid shut in his face and re-pressurized with a hiss.

Mom lingered by the door, making sure the Guildsman left. When she was sure he had, she exhaled for several seconds. I'm sure she was gathering her thoughts, or managing her anger.

"Right." She said, turning away from the door. "Glad that didn't take too long. Let's get you sorted again and get going." She crossed to our small square kitchen table and dropped the envelope in the center. It hit with a hefty smack.

I was repacking my terminal. "Aren't you going to read it?" I asked.

"Later." Mom was prickly. She hadn't let go of all her anger. "I have a decent idea of what it says anyway."

"Oh." I said quietly.

"Its nothing you should worry about Fifi. Just more guild nonsense." She picked up my straps from my bed and wrapped them around my wrists herself. "Let's go."

I threw my backpack over one shoulder and followed her out the apartment door. It slid closed automatically behind me. We walked down the hall to the stairs and descended to the ground floor, me sprinting ahead of my mom. I loved seeing how fast I could get down the steps.

We lived on the third floor of five. Going down wasn't so bad, but going back up was awwwful. Especially if I had to carry something back up.

I cleanly won the race against my mom. Not that she'd really been trying to beat me or anything. I waited for her by the door to the outside, goggles over my eyes and ready to go. I bounced a little as I waited the extra ten seconds for Mom to reach the landing. She adjusted the large bag on her shoulder as she took her last step.

"Go ahead." She nodded, knowing what I was about to ask. I asked it every time.

I giggled happily as I reached up to the panel by the door. With my gloved hands, I could just reach the button I wanted. I pressed hard on the long rectangle marked "EXIT." A series of eleven beeps sounded at a regular interval - a warning counting down from ten. On the last beep, the seal released. The heavy steel door swung outwards on its hydraulics. A mighty gust of wind hit me immediately and I stumbled backwards a few steps. Leaning forward against the gusts, Mom and I stepped outside.