then spoke in our native tongue. “I hate this place.”
“It’s not that bad,” Cotta said playing with his zipper. “They’ve got jackets and they easily open and close. So if I’m feeling slightly warm, I can zip it down but if I’m feeling a little bit cold, I can zip it up.”
Kaolin stared at him dumfounded. “It sounds to me like you just like playing with the zipper.”
“They’re fun! What if you could put a giant zipper on a house and zip or unzip it to make a completely different house?”
Kaolin turned to me. “Tell me we’re leaving this place.”
All I could do was stare at her. Her neck was so shiny and her collar bone was so pronounced. It was hypnotic.
“Spec! Did you hear me!?”
Her angry shouts melted into beautiful melodies, massaging my ears. I could see that she was angry, but that didn’t make her any less beautiful.
Her melodies quieted and she gave me an angry stare and then, walked to the back of the class and stood by herself.
Cotta leaned over and whispered, “I think her Aunt Flo is visiting.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Cotta shrugged. “I don’t know. I hear my dad say it when my mom is annoyed with him.”
A young man (slightly older than Cotta and myself) appeared yielding a sword. “Hello everybody. My name is Alex and today, I’ll be teaching you some basic moves with the sword. You should be getting your own within the next couple of weeks, but until then, you’ll each be practicing with the old ones.” Alex pulled a cart forward filled with several dull swords.
“What if we brought our own?!” Bryan appeared from the back, slashing his sword back and forth. “It’s my dad’s. He killed about a thousand NaNas with it back in the Great War.”
Alex lifted his weapon and made contact with Bryan’s sword. It leapt out of Bryan’s hands and went flying through the air, landing several yards away. “If you don’t know how to use your sword, stop pretending like you do. You’ll just end up getting hurt.”
Bryan scampered toward his sword and then dragged it back to his spot. Alex looked out at the students. Held his sword firmly in his hands. “This is called a slice.” He tilted the sword and brought it down diagonally toward the ground. “Now I want you all to choose a buddy and you’ll take turns slicing with the sword.”
I looked over at Cotta who looked over at me. “Who goes first?” he asked. We paused for a moment, then quickly put out our hands. I held up a 4 while he held up a 3. “I really gotta choose a different number,” he lamented.
James walked to the head of the class and grabbed a sword from the basket. “Is it alright if we work in a group of three? Kaolin doesn’t have a partner.”
Alex looked back at Kaolin who stood next to Bryan. “That’s fine.”
James hurried back to the two. He handed the sword to Kaolin, then wrapped his hands around behind her and showed her how to slice.
I held the sword firmly in my hands and sliced through the air, but all I could focus on was his arms around her.
“That’s some good slicin,’” Cotta said while practicing my motions, holding nothing but air. “Let me try!”
I handed him the sword and watched James smiling at Kaolin. I wondered if he thought the way I thought about her. I wondered if he felt the way I felt. I wondered if we all felt and thought the same way or if we comprehended the world differently. If we experienced the world through our five senses, it would be understandable for us to all think differently. Our bodies are all different, which means our eyes are different and our ears and everything else. So if we witness life through different means, who is to say we perceive them the same way? Does James feel the same sort of pain when Kaolin is next to me as I do when she is next to him? I only ever started feeling this way since I awoke in Newbury. Is this a normal part of growing up, or is it the city itself that has brought these feelings out
“It’s not that bad,” Cotta said playing with his zipper. “They’ve got jackets and they easily open and close. So if I’m feeling slightly warm, I can zip it down but if I’m feeling a little bit cold, I can zip it up.”
Kaolin stared at him dumfounded. “It sounds to me like you just like playing with the zipper.”
“They’re fun! What if you could put a giant zipper on a house and zip or unzip it to make a completely different house?”
Kaolin turned to me. “Tell me we’re leaving this place.”
All I could do was stare at her. Her neck was so shiny and her collar bone was so pronounced. It was hypnotic.
“Spec! Did you hear me!?”
Her angry shouts melted into beautiful melodies, massaging my ears. I could see that she was angry, but that didn’t make her any less beautiful.
Her melodies quieted and she gave me an angry stare and then, walked to the back of the class and stood by herself.
Cotta leaned over and whispered, “I think her Aunt Flo is visiting.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Cotta shrugged. “I don’t know. I hear my dad say it when my mom is annoyed with him.”
A young man (slightly older than Cotta and myself) appeared yielding a sword. “Hello everybody. My name is Alex and today, I’ll be teaching you some basic moves with the sword. You should be getting your own within the next couple of weeks, but until then, you’ll each be practicing with the old ones.” Alex pulled a cart forward filled with several dull swords.
“What if we brought our own?!” Bryan appeared from the back, slashing his sword back and forth. “It’s my dad’s. He killed about a thousand NaNas with it back in the Great War.”
Alex lifted his weapon and made contact with Bryan’s sword. It leapt out of Bryan’s hands and went flying through the air, landing several yards away. “If you don’t know how to use your sword, stop pretending like you do. You’ll just end up getting hurt.”
Bryan scampered toward his sword and then dragged it back to his spot. Alex looked out at the students. Held his sword firmly in his hands. “This is called a slice.” He tilted the sword and brought it down diagonally toward the ground. “Now I want you all to choose a buddy and you’ll take turns slicing with the sword.”
I looked over at Cotta who looked over at me. “Who goes first?” he asked. We paused for a moment, then quickly put out our hands. I held up a 4 while he held up a 3. “I really gotta choose a different number,” he lamented.
James walked to the head of the class and grabbed a sword from the basket. “Is it alright if we work in a group of three? Kaolin doesn’t have a partner.”
Alex looked back at Kaolin who stood next to Bryan. “That’s fine.”
James hurried back to the two. He handed the sword to Kaolin, then wrapped his hands around behind her and showed her how to slice.
I held the sword firmly in my hands and sliced through the air, but all I could focus on was his arms around her.
“That’s some good slicin,’” Cotta said while practicing my motions, holding nothing but air. “Let me try!”
I handed him the sword and watched James smiling at Kaolin. I wondered if he thought the way I thought about her. I wondered if he felt the way I felt. I wondered if we all felt and thought the same way or if we comprehended the world differently. If we experienced the world through our five senses, it would be understandable for us to all think differently. Our bodies are all different, which means our eyes are different and our ears and everything else. So if we witness life through different means, who is to say we perceive them the same way? Does James feel the same sort of pain when Kaolin is next to me as I do when she is next to him? I only ever started feeling this way since I awoke in Newbury. Is this a normal part of growing up, or is it the city itself that has brought these feelings out
Similar Books
