A Common Language

Chapter four

  Septet

  Just after leaving the old piano building, the entire group was laughing and joking.

  “Lupe!” she turned to see Mr. Allen coming up quick behind them.

  “Oh, hey there, Tom,” Lupe gave him a little curtsy in recognition. Kalli figured it was close as she could get to respecting authority.

  “Thomas,” he corrected.

  “You know how I am with names, Tom-y-poo.”

  “Let’s not fall back into bad habits, Miss Gonzales,” she just smiled in response because she knew she had won. As always. “Oh good! I see that you two have met. I do hope that you two find ways to partner up on creative projects, with both of you being so talented.” Thomas looked over at Percy and Kalli, who were standing a safe three feet from each other.

  “Actually, sir, we….”Kalli started.

  “Oh already getting along swimmingly I see, yes, yes. I look forward to great things from the two of you,” he started to walk away. “Oh, Lupe. I am hoping you can find room for them in your group, to ensure they have effective mentorship.”

  “Of course, Thomas,” he smiled and left.

  The group was walking back to the community lobby when Percy and Kalli were pulled back.

  Kalli was grabbed from behind by the waist and Percy from behind by the upper arms.

  “Who are the new ones?” Two voices said in unison. The voices were similar. They had the same tenor and tone to them also they had the same young quality. Full of life.

  Kalli turned quickly and grabbed the arms of her captor. She was about to kick him where the ‘sun don’t shine’ as the saying goes, but she paused. She was looking at probably the tallest, best looking, auburn-haired male she had ever seen. His surprised and amused green eyes looked down at her from over a foot over her head. In her surprise, he took the chance to take her hand that was holding his arm and begin stroking it.

  “I apologize. I did not mean to frighten you,” his thick Russian accent was obvious.

  “Leave her alone, Demitri,” Lupe said rolling her eyes. Demitri dropped her hand and moved over to Percy who was being held by the other Russian twin. Kalli couldn’t tell them apart other than knowing which one attacked her.

  “What do we have here, Sasha?”

  “I am not completely sure, brother. Black hair, pale skin, what color are his eyes?” Sasha asked.

  “Bright blue,” Demitri said. He came down about six inches to be eye to eye with Percy.

  “Where are you from?” Sasha asked. He put his head on Percy’s shoulder, still holding his arms.

  “France,” Percy said. “Will you please get off me now?” Sasha easily removed himself and the twins both walked over to Kalli. They both took one hand and kissed it saying:

  “Sasha.”

  “Demitri.”

  “At your service,” they said the last together as if it had been rehearsed but something told her that it just happened naturally. “And your name?” Sasha asked.

  “Kalli.” She snapped and pulled her hands out of theirs. They didn’t seem to notice or get discouraged.

  “Kalli. That’s a pretty name, American? We are Russian--and twins obviously--can you tell us apart yet?” Demitri said.

  “No, I can’t, but I am trying to figure it out.” Kalli kept her jaw tense.

  “We like you already,” it was incredibly unnerving to hear them speak, such sweet voices speaking in perfect unison. It was unnatural yet it seemed right for them.

  “I thought you two weren’t coming until tomorrow,” Masashi said, his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose like he had suddenly come down with a headache.

  “We caught an early flight. Are you not happy to see us?” They said together. They circled him like two hungry vultures and studied him like he was a sculpture in a museum.

  Masashi pushed up his glasses and regained his earlier calmness. “Overjoyed. You simply caught me off guard.”

  “We have to give you this much, ‘Sushi: you are a dang good liar,” Demitri said. The twins turned around and hugged Lupe kindly from both sides.

  “Ah!” Lupe screamed as both Sasha and Demitri took a turn picking her up. Kalli didn’t understand why she enjoyed it so much. She had enjoyed being picked up at the beginning of middle school but then it got old. Everyone wanted to pick her up and move her, it got frustrating. Percy looked at her with a knowing look. She wasn’t sure whether to smile or grimace. She decided on a neutral look, but when he smiled at her--like before--she couldn’t help smiling back. How is that she hardly knew him and really wasn’t fond of him yet he could elicit such a reaction from her? If Kalli were being honest with herself, it scared her a little bit. With everything that had happened, her heart had been cold and closed to anyone who tried to get close; somehow he was cutting through the walls she had put up with such diligence as easily as if they were ice and he had a flame thrower.

  Sasha and Demitri had officially settled in by the next day; they had a habit of just making home of wherever they were because they often didn’t get much chance to stay in one place for very long. The problem with the twins is that they constantly needed entertainment and the new first years were interesting to say the least.

  “Percy is a predictable character he will always do the gentlemanly thing, but Kalli is a fighter--perhaps an interesting challenge--Sasha?” Demitri had always been the plotter. He had an expansive mind when it came to what he could do, but the planning part of it came as more a challenge. That was his brother’s job.

  “With all due respect, dear brother, I believe you may be wrong about the Frenchman. I believe he could be a wild card in our game; I believe he will be unpredictable when it comes to his emotions. What say you?”

  “Perhaps,” He shrugged. “Maybe we should go talk to her. Have some fun,” He motioned towards Kalli sitting at a dining hall table. They smiled at each other and made their moves. With amazing grace, they both jumped on the table and sat with their feet facing her sitting on the bench. She was stuck with one twin on each side.

  “What are you doing?” Demitri asked picking up the sheet of paper under her pen that was momentarily pulled away from the paper in shock of the sudden visit. “Letters?” He handed one to Sasha’s ready hand. “What do these look like to you dearest brother?” His eyes were fixed on Kalli while he spoke; judging her reactions.

  “Letters to home perhaps?” Sasha leaned into Kalli exactly mirroring his brother.

  “Go away,” Kalli said weakly. She grabbed for her papers, but they held them out of her reach.

  “Tell us who the letters are to,” They said together.

  “That’s none of your beeswax,” Kalli said. She tried to close the conversation by standing from the table and walking away, but they followed her and each twin took one of her arms again trapping her in a no win situation.

  “Come on, tell us!”

  “Never. Let go of me,” she struggled even though it was no use. They were 6’7” and she was 5’6”. She had little advantage over them.

  “We are just going to walk you to where ever you need to go,” Kalli couldn’t believe how innocent they sounded. They even sounded sincere to her untrusting ears. But in her heart she knew it was a lie.

  “Fine,” she said. “I give. If you must know, the letter is to my mom. Big whoop.”

  “Ah, ah, ah,” they said, persistent for the whole truth. “There are two letters. So if one was to your mom, who was the other to?” They were tormenting her on purpose; it was all a fun game to them. A sick game.

  “My boyfriend back home. Drake,” a stir in the pit of her stomach made her think she was going to be sick. She hadn’t even said goodbye before she ran. She hadn’t even thought about it, she just acted. She hoped that a handwritten letter to both would mend the wounds she was sure that she had inflicted. But to be honest, she wouldn’t go back.

  The twin’s eyes widened and the edges of their mouths raised slightly. “Boyfriend? What’s he like? How long have y
ou been dating? Is it serious? How old is he? Where is he going to school? Where does he live? What’s his favorite color? Food? Game?...” They switched off each question but it still sounded like one person. They inched closer with each question until each identical face was dangerously close to her cheeks.

  “Stop it!” She had to scream to stop them. “Both of you. Get out of my bubble right now!”

  They both closed the gap and kissed her on the cheeks. They ran away singing: “Teehee, we kissed Kalli, teehee!”

  “Ah!!” Kalli screamed after them. “Stupid Russian Twins!”

  “We kissed Kalli! We kissed Kalli!” The twins ran through the music hall where the Data Venia members were gathering. They jumped and sung as loud and high as their impressive ranges would allow.

  “What…?” Lupe asked, confused, but not at all interested.

  “It is just as we say… We kissed Kalli!” They continued their song.

  “Well, actually, Sasha made the first move,” Demitri winked.

  “I thought she was anti-guys,” Percy said. He doubted their story, but they had his interest peaked.

  “Well not all guys. And what a shame it would be if she was. Apparently she has a boyfriend back home. Drake,” Demitri said the name slowly to let the mood sink in.

  “Really?” Percy said, “Wait. So where in all of this does the kissing come in?”

  The twins grinned evilly. “Well… in the act of trying to figure out who her boyfriend was, we realized she has space issues. Being in close proximity to others bothers her. So we leant in close and both took a cheek. She then futilely attempted to slap us as we skipped away singing,” Lupe began high-fiving them but Percy interrupted.

  “Why would you do that? That is so mean! She deserves better than that!”

  “Sensitive subject it seems. Why so concerned?” Sasha said. He and Demitri began circling him accusingly.

  “I--I’m not concerned,” Percy recovered quickly. He wouldn’t let the twins get into his head. “I am simply worried about your egos”

  “Oh believe, us our egos are intact and a big as ever,” They laughed at his concern and ran to share their news with a conveniently absent Masashi.

  Percy didn’t know why he was so concerned for Kalli, but he knew he was very concerned indeed.

  Masashi had successfully avoided the drama that was created in the wake of the twins. Kalli was angry for explainable reasons. Percy was quietly angry for unexplainable and illogical reasons. And the twins were insanely pleased with themselves for the wrong reasons. All caused a headache when he tried to sort through it all. They all had reasons. Some weren’t as clear as others though. It was aggravating to him. he couldn’t wait for Dragen to arrive; he was the only thing that scared the twins silly just by looking at them. He was so excited.

  “It’s none of your concern, Stanley,” Lupe stopped herself before turning the corner and peeled her ear to hear.

  “Your students are making a fool of this institution!” Luke said. It made sense to hear Luke with this rhetoric. He was up to his old tricks and preaching the same nonsense he normally does, but she worried that maybe this time he would be serious.

  “Yes. My students! My jurisdiction!”

  “If this continues after the start of semester, they won’t be your students anymore, because I’ll see them all expelled,” that was all they said, Lupe took a deep breath before going back the way she came. They would all have to be more careful.

  “Percy! Come sit with me,” Percy turned to see Kalli’s eager, brown eyes. She was patting the seat next to her at the normal dining hall table. “Hurry, before they get here!” She said and waved him towards her quickly. He walked towards her feeling used but willing. She tolerated him more now, but she still wasn’t one to invite him to be near her.

  “I am assuming this is over the twins,” He sat next to her at the edge of the table.

  “Yes,” she paused and looked down. “And no.”

  “No?” He and Kalli had bonded a little over the past few days with Data Venia forcing them to be near each other, but he was still looking for a crack in her armor.

  “I just--I don’t want to talk to them, so yes, I guess it is about the twins, but not about the kiss--kisses,” She made it plural reluctantly. Percy guessed it was because she never wanted it to happen, much less twice at the same time.

  “So it’s about Drake,” her head popped up in a mad, confused look. He shrugged. “The twins sang to me,” he gave a slight smile remembering the songs they had been singing the past couple of days. It was getting ridiculous. Though a nice distraction from all the other things that needed to be done.

  “Uh!” She buried her face in her arms.

  “Do you want to talk about it? Get it off your chest?” He searched for her eyes behind her arms.

  “Are you willing to listen?” She murmured into her arms.

  “Of course. I am always here for you,” he wanted to express how much he wanted to be close to her and be her friend, but he decided that it would not be good for his motives if he were to freak her out.

  “Yeah, sure whatever,” she sighed. “Picture this: blonde hair, green eyes, tan, built, all and all gorgeous. Typical California boy, like the ones in movies,” Percy’s stomach turned but he maintained his composure. “So anyway, he isn’t only cute, he’s nice and considerate, but he knows when to give me my space. I really don’t deserve someone like him. When I got my acceptance letter, my mom said I couldn’t go, so I ran away. That wouldn’t be that bad when put by itself, but I didn’t even take the time to say goodbye to him. I just got up and left in the middle of the night.”

  “Must have broken his heart, poor kid.”

  “You say that like I don’t already know it. He’s probably pissed and never wants to see my face again,” Kalli sighed, her voice filled with guilt and misery.

  “It will all work out, you will see,” that was all he could think of saying. He wished to hug and console her but she would not respond well to that, he knew that much. So he just sat there in agony for her, unable to do anything to help her. It was rare that he had no idea what to do but when it did come he felt useless.

  He was useless.

  ***