Chapter 6: Growing Up

We got to Minnesota with plenty of time to explore the area. That worked out well, because Kizuna, Shinka, and I had to meet with the school principal.

My meeting was quite fun, as my record really confused the man.

"You've already finished four years of history?" he asked, looking over my record.

"Yes. Along with English, Latin, and math," I replied. "I've also got two years of German in there somewhere."

"Right here," he said, pointing at a space on my record. He started typing into his computer. "You'll only have two classes this year, German and Biology. Both of them are in the morning."

My parents were there with me. They exchanged worried looks. Mom said, "What will he do for the rest of the day? He can't just drive home; he'd have to turn right around and come back."

"Well, there's PSEO: the Post Secondary Enrollment Option. Yuusou could take classes at a local college that would count as high school credit and college credit."

"Do any of the colleges offer Latin?" I asked.

"One, but I believe the class doesn't start until a little after two."

I thought for a second. "What are the third and fourth period classes?"

"Civics and English, respectively," the principal replied. "Why?"

"What about for ninth grade?"

"Spanish I and French I."

"I'll take those."

The principal frowned. "You're planning on taking Latin at college. You're also taking German. Four languages are too hard."

"Spanish and French are Romance languages, derived from Latin. I'm sure I can handle them."

The principal shrugged. "Okay. I'll give you one quarter. If you do okay, you can stay in them. Just remember, you'll be in class with ninth graders."

That was how it started. By the end of the quarter, I was top of both the Spanish and French classes (with a 101% in Spanish and a 99% in French) and second in German (at 100%), behind a boy named Earl, which was rather appropriate, I think.

Earl and I became friends pretty quickly. Not only did we have similar views on God, both of us had younger sisters. It was Earl who introduced me to role-playing games, particularly Dungeons and Dragons and World of Darkness.

We started two different weekly games, which consisted of the two of us and Kizuna and Laura. We had to keep the games clandestine, because we knew our parents wouldn't approve. I used money from the job I got as a cashier at Wal-Mart to buy books which Kizuna and I shared. When we weren't using them or studying them for loopholes so we could mess with whoever was running the game, I kept them hidden in a box in the basement, buried under a stack of other boxes of old baby toys and clothes Mom was too sentimental to throw away (especially Kizuna's stuff).

I felt really drawn to World of Darkness, particularly Mage: the Ascension, over D&D, though I also found I had a real passion for the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting for D&D. For once, Kizuna didn't like the exact same things I did. She preferred Dungeons and Dragons over World of Darkness. That was why we had two different games, one using each system.

It didn't surprise me when Kizuna became best friends with Earl's two sisters, Laura and Grace. She actually threw her first slumber party by having both girls over.

My parents were both worried. The morning of the slumber party, Mom asked Kizuna, "Where will Yuusou sleep?"

"Oniichan can sleep on the floor in our room, of course," she replied. "He can tell us a cool story."

"I don't think so," Dad said.

"Why not?" Kizuna asked.

"Because it's not appropriate," Dad replied.

"Oh, it'll be fine as long as you leave the door open," Mom said. "Is that a problem?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "But I'm just going to sleep on the fold out couch in the living room. I'm sure Laura and Grace would be more comfortable that way."

"But we want you to tell us a story, Oniichan," Kizuna said. "They don't mind if you sleep on the floor."

"I'm good, Kizuna. I'll tell you a story before I sleep on the couch. Come on, we have to go."

"So do I," Dad said. He picked up his briefcase, kissed Mom, and left.

I gathered my school stuff and had the car running by the time my brother and sister got in.

Laura and Grace both shared their brother's blonde hair and blue eyes. Only Laura, however, took after her brother in height. Grace was quite short, though that only added to her cuteness. Earl and I both agreed Grace would be the biggest heartbreaker of our three sisters.

I picked the girls up from their classrooms and took them home. Shinka was going to be spending the night with one of his friends, Jonathan. That kid was an ultra-conservative asshole, rivaled only by his older sister, Jasmine, who was in my class. I worried about what they'd be doing, but at least I wouldn't have to see it.

In the car, Grace sat up front with me, and Laura sat in back with Kizuna. We'd agreed on that arrangement before school, since Kizuna said Grace had a crush on me. I could tell, since Grace didn't look at me or speak to me during half the ride. It wasn't until Kizuna asked me to tell Grace all about the Chronicles of Narnia that she became animated.

Apparently, both girls shared Kizuna's passion for books, something she'd probably gotten from me. I'd already taken a position on the school newspaper, doing reviews of books from different reading lists. I got just as much pleasure reading a good book from the Kindergarten list as I did from the high school list.

"Yuusou, what's your favorite book?" Grace asked when I was done explaining the comparisons of Aslan to Jesus.

"I'd have to say it's Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis. Ever read it?"

Grace shook her head. I smiled, remembering how long it had taken me to pick the book up. We continued to make small talk about different books the rest of the way.

I spent most of the evening studying for a Latin exam at college on Monday. The girls played Twister during that time, though they did take about half an hour to quiz me on Latin nouns and verbs.

Sometime around nine, I got a phone call from Earl. He asked, "Yuusou, are my sisters behaving themselves?"

"I guess. They've been helping me study for my Latin exam."

"You keep your nose to the grindstone, don't you?"

"I guess, though Kizuna's got me taking them to a movie in half an hour."

There was a pause from Earl. I pictured him looking at a clock, a confused look on his face. "That's kinda late, isn't it?"

"Not for my sister and me. And don't tell me your sisters go to bed early when they have sleep overs."

"Fair enough."

We chatted about school stuff for a few more minutes. I was about to hang up when Earl said, "Oh, Yuusou, did you hear about the new student coming next week?"

I thought for a second, then remembered our homeroom teacher (who also taught all the math, half the science classes, and girls' P.E.) mentioning it. "Yeah. Another boy, right?"

"Yes. He's named Peter and he has four little sisters, all about our sisters' ages. Mom left the folder on the table last night."

Earl's mother was the school's vice principal, and she was the one who pre-approved students before they met with the principal. Earl was able to get all kinds of information on our fellow students. I always thought it was hilarious his mother was one of the most conservative women I'd ever met (even berating Kizuna once at church for wearing pants, which is apparently something Satan loves) while her children were quite liberal in their thinking (or, at least, Earl was).

"Cool," I said. "Anything else interesting?"

"I didn't have time to read any more. We'll have to invite him to sit with us at lunch."

"What, with the agnostics? We're going to send him to Hell on a ... what did your mom call it? a greased pole?"

Earl laughed. "Good point. If he's a dick, like Whitney or Jasmine, we'll have to plan his ruination. I did always want to give to someone a swirly."

Kizuna tapped me on the arm and pointed at the door. I said, "Gotta go, Earl. Kizuna's letting me know it's time."

The only really interesting thing that happened after that was when Grace fell asleep in the theater. When we got back, the girls went right to bed and fell asleep, not even asking me to tell them a story. I felt disappointed, because I'd found a good one in a Latin book recently and translated the entire thing into English, just for the girls.