11/25/2011
Author's Notes:
So…
What does EVT mean? English Vocabulary Today- I made this up. There is no company or test called the EVT.
Are real vocabulary words used in this chapter? YES! I define all of the words at the chapter and if you don't believe that those are the real definitions, feel free to look the words up and check them yourself.
Want readers to review regardless if they liked the story or not? YES!
Own Hetalia? NO! I do not own Hetalia or any of its wonderful characters. Only the plot and idea for this story alone is mine. That's all.
Summary: AU brotherly relationship- Alfred has trouble remembering his vocabulary words and Arthur, Francis, and Matthew decide to help. Alfred and Mathew are 15, Arthur is 27, Francis is 32, this happens a few weeks after the first chapter.
-o0o-
Arthur was sitting down with his needlework in the living room when he first heard it.
Thump!
A pause.
Thump! Thump!
At first, Arthur made an attempt to ignore the obnoxious noise. After all, it was probably just the rain hitting against the house or something trifle like that. The noise wouldn't continue. After all, Arthur had some serious catching up to do with his embroidery, and if this noise didn't go away it would severely hinder his ability to focus-
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Arthur looked up, annoyed. What in god's name was making that loud noise? Matthew was upstairs in his room writing an essay for his English class, so it couldn't be him. The quiet boy would never make such a sound like that anyways. And Francis- the bloody Frog, coming over again for no reason at all- was sitting on the opposite couch, "reading" the newspaper, sniggering at Arthur's reaction to the noise. So the Frog wasn't the one causing Arthur's irritation either, for once. That left-
Thump!
Alfred.
Arthur scowled. Of course it was Alfred, why was he even surprised?
Thump! Thump!
Arthur let out a frustrated sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers and squeezing his green eyes shut. Maybe if he just overlooked it, Alfred would stop whatever the bloody hell he was doing, and Arthur would be able to continue his sewing. Determined to concentrate, Arthur picked up the cloth, and had just threaded a needle when he heard it again.
Thump! Thump!
"Bloody hell!" Arthur cried, accidently pricking his finger with the needle. Angrily, he threw his work aside, stood up and stormed past a laughing Francis, whom he purposefully ignored. The noise was coming from the kitchen, he was sure of it-
Upon reaching the doorway to the kitchen, Arthur saw a peculiar sight.
Alfred was the one causing Arthur's disturbance; he had been right about that. What he hadn't expected, however, was to see Alfred with his forehead pressed up against the wall, his face scrunched up in frustration.
"I can't-"Alfred hit his head against the wall.
Thump!
"-flipping-" Another head bang.
Thump!
"-do this." He finished, slamming his head once more.
Thump!
"Alfred!" The teenager stopped, and turned to peer at Arthur, his face still bunched up.
"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Arthur asked, his confusion at Alfred's actions ebbing away his irritation.
"Face palming the wall," Alfred told him, turning to face the wall again. Arthur strode over and quickly grabbed a fistful of the boy's jacket before he had the chance to hurt himself any more. Alfred looked at his guardian through one eye as Arthur forcefully pulled him away from the wall.
"What?" Arthur repeated. Alfred sighed.
"I'm purposefully hitting myself in the wall to let out my anger," he clarified.
"Dear god, Alfred. What could have gotten you so bothered that you would actually try to harm yourself?" Arthur pushed away Alfred's blond bangs, studying the read forehead trying to see if Alfred had somehow managed to seriously injure himself.
"English, what else?" Alfred said miserably, his shoulders hunched. "I don't get the subject Arthur- I just can't! English should be something really easy- I mean, it's just vocabulary and books right? - but it's not for me! All those stupid grammar rules and the stupid vocab-" he kicked the tile floor irately. "Nobody even uses those dumb words, so what's the point in knowing them? I don't even-"
"Wait, Alfred, slow down. I can't understand what you're saying when you speak that fast," Arthur placed a hand on Alfred's shoulder, pushing him down into one of the stools that surrounded the island. "Now, sit down and tell me slowly what's wrong."
"Okay, okay, fine, but I wasn't talking that fast," he muttered. "Maybe you should get a hearing aid or something since you're an old man now-"
"Alfred," Arthur growled.
"Okay, alright, sorry. I-I'm-" he hesitated. Arthur leaned against the island's countertop, waiting patiently.
"I'm having trouble studying my vocabulary words, and I have a quiz tomorrow." Alfred finally mumbled, refusing to look at Arthur. "And I know you want me to do better in English, but it's really hard for me, you know? And I am trying, but I don't understand why it's important since it's obvious I'm never going to become a writer or journalist or anything like that. And I don't want to disappoint you, so…" he trailed off, his cheeks turning pink. Arthur felt affection for the boy build up inside of him.
"Let me get this strait lad, you can't remember any of your vocabulary words for English, and you don't want to disappoint me by getting another bad grade, so you decided to punish yourself by hitting your head against the wall?" Arthur clarified, a rare smile on his face.
"Yea, that sounds about right," Alfred said, completely red now; Arthur had made his actions sound more stupid than they actually were. Arthur actually laughed out loud at the confirmation, causing Alfred to jump.
"Alfred, that's so dumb! Why would you even think of doing that? Who do you think you are; Dobby the house elf from Harry Potter?" Arthur chuckled. Alfred abruptly got up from his chair, blushing furiously.
"God, Arthur, I actually tell you about my problems for once and the first thing you do is make fun of me for it!" Arthur only laughed harder at Alfred's aggravation. "You know what? Whatever, I'm gonna go to my room, maybe I can get some peace and quiet there-" he made a grab for his bag, but Arthur moved to the side, blocking him.
"I apologize," said Arthur in a slightly more serious tone, though he was still grinning. "But you have to admit, that was very funny." Alfred glared, and tried to push Arthur to the side so he could get his backpack.
"It's not funny! If I don't pass this quiz, the teacher's going to fail me!" At that, Arthur stopped sniggering.
"What? I always knew English wasn't your strongest subject, but you never told me you were failing!"
"Well, no, not yet, but the guy hates my guts! I swear he's looking for any reason to give me a bad grade." Arthur narrowed his eyes.
"No little brother of mine is ever going to receive a bad grade just because his teacher doesn't like him!" Arthur fumed. "Where are these words, Alfred? I will personally make sure you get an A plus on this exam whether your teacher likes it or not!" Relieved that Arthur had stopped treating him like a joke, Alfred reached around Arthur and unzipped his backpack, taking out a blue paperback workbook. He gave it to Arthur, and sat back down on the stool as Arthur read the title.
"EVT words, huh?" Arthur questioned and Alfred nodded. "Which lesson?"
"The third one," Alfred leaned over and flipped to the right page. Arthur quickly read the words, his green eyes flicking left and right.
"Pfft, these words aren't all that difficult Alfred; most of the definitions are short," he turned the page to the back. "And there are only ten."
"Oh yeah? You try memorizing them exactly as they are in the book! Plus you're all smart from reading Shakespeare; of course this stuff's easy for you!" Arthur flushed at the complement.
"W-well that means nothing! Besides, you can do anything once you set your mind to it, Alfred! I believe in you! Now, why is this so difficult for you? You're great at Math and Science; this should be a piece of cake!"
"I dunno, it's just-" Alfred took the book back, frowning as he re-read the definitions. "Math and Science have all of these little tricks and ways to remember stuff. With this, there's like nothing."
"I beg to differ! There are way more tricks to remember vocabulary words than there are for those other subjects!"
"Okay, Mr. Know It All, like what?" Alfred challenged, and Arthur scowled.
"Well, one way is to make up sentences to go along with the words, but they have to be interesting sentences though, or else you won't remember them. That way whenever you hear the word, you'll think of the sentence, and then the definition." Alfred's brow wrinkled as he considered what Arthur had said. "At least let us try it out. What's the first word?"
"Uh- Bacchanalian. It means wild and drunken."
Arthur opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a voice from their left.
"Arthur can be described as bacchanalian after he visits a bar," Francis announced with an amused smile, leaning against the doorway of the kitchen. Alfred let out a short bark of laughter before covering it up as a violent cough. Arthur glowered at the Frenchman.
"What do you want, Francis?" he asked. "I thought you were reading the newspaper."
"I was, but Alfred said he needed help, correct? I am merely doing my part," Francis walked over to the pair, smirking. "Besides he will certainly have no trouble remembering the word now."
"I can help Alfred just fine without you," Arthur said, folding his arms.
"Two heads are better than one, mon ami," he replied pleasantly placing his elbows on the countertop. "And I'm sure Alfred doesn't mind, do you?" he asked. Alfred shook his head.
"Not at all,"
"Well, there you go," Francis said.
"Humph, fine. Just remember then, Alfred, that if you get a bad grade, it's all because you decided to invite that Frog to help,"
"Jeesh, Arthur, relax, I won't fail just because of Francis," Alfred rolled his eyes.
"Technically, you could-"
"But then he could also technically fail because you helped him, too," Francis interrupted, much to Arthur's irritation.
"Guys, guys, chill. C'mon, I thought you're supposed to help me, not argue."
"Yes, you're right, I apologize," said Arthur, though still glaring at Francis. "What's the next word then?"
"Irascible, easily angered." Alfred read out loud.
"Arthur is-" Francis began.
"No, I am not!" Arthur cried, slamming a hand down on the countertop. Who did the Frog think he was telling Arthur who he is in his own home? "Will you just shut the bloody hell up, and stop-"
"Arthur and Francis are very irascible around one another," said a soft voice, cutting Arthur off. All three turned and saw Matthew standing in the doorway between the hallway and the kitchen.
"Mattie!" Alfred yelped and ran over to his brother. "Thank god you're here, dude," he told Matthew as he pulled him into the kitchen. "They were gonna like pull each other apart at any second,"
"They have a tendency to do that," said Matthew grimly.
"Matthew, I thought you were writing your essay," Arthur said with a frown as the younger twin sat down next to Alfred.
"I was, but it's difficult to concentrate when three people are arguing loud enough for me to hear them, upstairs, in my room, with the door closed," he shot an accusing glare at Alfred.
"Sorry, dude," Alfred smiled sheepishly. Matthew sighed. Honestly, he wasn't mad at Alfred for interrupting his concentration; he didn't have any ideas for the essay anyway. Hopefully, he would be able to get some inspiration from his insane family.
"That's okay; I'll just have to write it later. In the mean time, I figured I might as well help you out too, since everyone's down here."
"Thanks, bro. Besides I like your sentence for that word anyways, so that's the one I'll remember."
"Are you sure?" Francis asked. "My sentence is very good as well-"
"Francis," Matthew warned as Arthur started to turn red with rage.
"Okay, next word!" Alfred yelped. "Avarice, it means greed, or desire for wealth." He frowned. "That's a hard one. I don't think any of us here has avarice, and I can't think of anyone else who-"
"What about my parents?" Arthur suggested. "They most defiantly have avarice. My parents created their own business because of their avarice, and now they are filthy rich workaholics who can't bother to make time for family," Alfred and Matthew winced at the harsh tone of bitterness in his voice.
"Arthur you make your parents sound way worse than they actually are," Matthew said.
"Yeah, they didn't seem that bad when we visited them," Alfred chimed in. Last year during summer break, Arthur had taken Alfred and Matthew to England for their 14th birthdays. The twins were thrilled; for years they had been begging to see the place where Arthur had grown up.
"That's only because they wanted to get on your good sides so that you might be able to take over the company one day," Arthur scoffed.
"Perhaps it is a little bit of both, mon ami," Francis said soothingly. "Let's move away from this topic- it is most tragiques, no? Alfred, next word please."
"Furtive. Stealthy and secretive."
"Alfred is furtive after coming home from school with a bad grade," Matthew said immediately. Alfred scowled.
"No, duh, Mattie, that's why we're here. And I thought you were supposed to be helping, not criticizing me!"
"Calm down, you two, we still have-" Arthur took the book from Alfred and counted the words. "Six more words left." There was a collective groan.
"Well, I did say you two didn't have to help," Arthur chided Francis and Matthew. "I could have helped Alfred on my own but you said-"
"Just read the next word before we all go mad," Francis interrupted, moving to sit on a stool. "I think I am starting to get a head ache from all of this arguing!"
"The next word is extradite, to turn over or deliver to the legal jurisdiction of another government or authority." Arthur said.
For once, there was silence in the kitchen.
"What the heck? How are we supposed to make up something for that?" Alfred threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Well, it's not that it's a difficult word," Matthew said, his brow puckered. "There's just nothing interesting about it."
"Oui, I agree," They all thought quietly for a minute, listening to the rain hitting against the house.
"Okay, I think I got one. How about the army extradites terrorists back into their home countries so that their head-leader-king-person-guy can punish them?" Alfred proposed.
"Well, I'm not sure if that is completely accurate," Arthur wondered out loud. "Wait, what did you call the ruler?"
"It doesn't matter right now; I have an essay to do guys, we need to hurry this up!" Matthew impatiently checked the clock. "Next word!"
"Copious, numerous or large in quantity." Francis read, after sneaking the book from Arthur.
"When Matthew has breakfast, he eats a copious amount of pancakes!" Alfred pointed an accusing finger at his brother.
"So? Pancakes are delicious, especially with loads of maple syrup. And I thought you liked my pancakes!"
"Yeah, but you, like, drown them in that maple syrup stuff! How do you even taste the yumminess of the pancakes with all of the syrup you put on it?"
"I wouldn't be talking, hamburger-lover."
"Let's not start this again," Arthur rubbed his temple; the arguing was starting to get on his nerve as well. And here he thought that he was going to have a relaxing afternoon with his embroidery.
"But he-"
"Mercenary," Francis said loudly, overriding the boys' complaints. "A professional soldier hired by a foreign army."
"Didn't, didn't the, um-" Arthur snapped his fingers, trying to remember something. "Oh! The, the Romans! At the end of the Roman Era, the Empire hired mercenaries to fight in their army to fend off invaders!"
"Why didn't they fight the invaders off on their own?" Alfred asked, confused. "Why did they have to hire other people to be in their army?"
"No one from the Empire wanted to fight," Francis shrugged. "That was in part, I believe, a reason why the great Roman Empire collapsed."
"But, I don't get it. Why wouldn't-" Alfred started.
"Al, this isn't a History review class," Matthew groaned. "Just focus on English right now. Can you or can you not remember the sentence?"
"I guess I can…"
"Great, let's move along then so I can go back to writing my essay!"
"Huh, someone's a little impatient today," Alfred held out his hand to Francis. "Give me my book back; I'm the one who has to memorize all of this stuff, anyways. Okayyyyyyyyyy…next word is bastion; it's a strong defense or fort."
"A strong fort for what?" Arthur inquired.
"Uh, anything, I think," Alfred squinted at the small text. "It doesn't say, really."
"Nations build up bastions when they are preparing for war," Francis said lazily, cupping his chin in his hand. "Next."
"Jettison is to cast overboard or to discard."
"I wouldn't hesitate to jettison Francis off a boat," Arthur hinted with a creepy smile.
"Mêmes, mon ami,"
"Francis!" Matthew looked disapprovingly at him.
"What? He said it first!"
"Moving on," Alfred flipped the page, and a bright smile lit up his face. "Hey, guys! This is the last word!" They all sat up a little bit straighter.
"Really? Thank god, I need to get back to my sewing before dinner," Arthur sighed.
"What's the word, Al?" Matthew said.
"Ostracize. To banish; to shut out from a group or society by common consent."
"Arthur-" Francis started.
"Francis-" Arthur said at the same time.
"-should be ostracized!" They both yelled at each other in perfect unison. Alfred and Matthew started to laugh hysterically as Francis and Arthur glared at each other.
"Oh, my god, you two are so much more similar to each other than you think you are," Alfred said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"We most certainly are not!" Arthur scoffed. "We are as different as- as-"
"As cats and dogs," Francis offered.
"Yes! Exactly, as different as cats and dogs," Arthur finished with a nod of his head. The twins grinned at each other.
"Of course you are," said Alfred sarcastically. "You just both happen to be from Europe-"
"-are rich,- " Matthew continued.
"-only 5 years apart in age,- "
"-and very irascible." Matthew finished. At this point, Arthur and Francis were scowling at the brothers while the two cracked up beside them.
"Oh my god!" Alfred gasped from lack of air. "Mattie, dude, you are brilliant! Nice word use, bro!"
"I know right?" Matthew sniggered. "I should get an award, seriously."
They slapped high fives and Arthur rolled his eyes.
"You two are pathetic," Arthur said. "Alfred, that was the last word right? You don't need any more help, do you?"
"Haha, no, not anymore," Alfred smiled. "Thanks guys, now I won't have any trouble tomorrow."
"I should hope so! I have a headache from all of the noise," Francis complained. "I'm going to go take some medicine," He left the kitchen with an air of irritation, only causing Alfred and Matthew to snicker at his retreating back.
"I have to go finish my embroidery," Arthur looked at the Roman numeral clock that was hanging on the wall and sighed. Such little time left! "Alfred you better get an A plus tomorrow, or I swear no hamburgers for a month!"
"Uh- yes, sir!"
"Good. Matthew, go finish your essay."
"Okay, Arthur." The twins left the kitchen and entered the hallway.
"See, what did I tell ya?" Alfred told Matthew as they walked up the stairs. "I told you I would be able to get you a good essay topic! Now you can right all about the great time you had with your family!"
"It was pretty funny, seeing them go at each other," Matthew admitted.
"Dude, we didn't even do anything; they just kept fighting, it was hysterical! But, really can't fail the test tomorrow. I think Arthur was serious when he threatened my hamburgers!"
-o0o-
Vocabulary Word Definitions:
Bacchanalian- wild and drunken
Irascible- easily angered
Avarice- greed; desire for wealth
Furtive- stealthy; secretive
Extradite- to turn over or deliver to the legal jurisdiction of another government or authority
Copious- numerous; large in quantity
Mercenary- a professional soldier hired by a foreign army
Bastion- a strong defense or fort
Jettison- to cast overboard; to discard
Ostracize- to banish; to shut out from a group or society by common consent
-o0o-
French Translations according to Google:
mon ami- my friend
tragiques- tragic
Oui- yes
Mêmes- same/likewise
-o0o-
Author's Notes:
So…good? Bad? Review and tell me!
-Sorry if this was a boring/pointless chapter or if at any point it felt rushed, but once I had the idea in my mind I just had to write it. C'mon, don't tell me that I'm the only one who comes up with funny ways to remember vocabulary…
-I actually take stuff from the anime and put it into the chapters sometimes. For example, Arthur's business suit in the last chapter was in the G8 meeting episodes, and in the beginning of this chapter (when Arthur was sewing and Francis was reading) is from the episode where Russia jumps out of a plane without a parachute. Get it?
-I love Harry Potter. Immediately after writing the head bashing scene with Alfred, all I could think about was Dobby and how he punishes himself for doing things he shouldn't.
-For clarification, Matthew had an essay assignment in which he had to write about one of the most entertaining moments of his life (lame essay topic, I know, but it fit the story). He was having a hard time coming up with something, so Alfred claimed that he would be able to help. And Alfred really did need help with his vocabulary- that was not a joke. So they came up with a plan to force Francis and Arthur to work together to help Alfred with his vocabulary and…yea. That's it, really.
-I apologize if any part of the story is unrealistic.
R&R por favor!
-Camie