Disclaimer: I don't own any characters blah blah blah owned by Anthony Horowitz blah blah blah don't sue me.
Summary: Some rules are meant to be followed. Others were made to be broken. John decided the rule of not writing about his ordeals was one of the latter. Years later, Alex finds a notebook in the attic and decides he needs to know what it means. His decision changes a lot.
Slight AU (Alternative Universe), characters acting slightly OOC (Out Of Character).
'Cause you're a Natural
Chapter 5
Ian tried to dissuade Alex once again by referring to how difficult it was to become fluent in Russian, but he turned on the waterworks, and that was that.
It took him six years to become (nearly) fluent (1) due to his schedule getting busier as he got older, and attending Brookland Comprehensive ate into more of his time. Sometimes he wanted to scream with frustration, but he'd done it. The trips to various parts of Russia were interesting. Still, he was annoyed that Ian abandoned him on each one for varying lengths of time, only to return looking like the loser in a bar fight (Ian never went near a bar on any of the trips - professional opinion notwithstanding, he was glad the FSB weren't the most security-conscious organisations (2), so he could return to Alex).
He'd found a tutor at the college - not the man who helped him (though Alex could have sworn he saw the man once or twice on the trips), but the friend of one of his classmate's older brothers who'd moved to England when he was five and who had impeccable English. Sofia told stories about growing up - in English before switching to Russian as his understanding of the language improved and gave him some recommendations, and he enjoyed most of them.
He was sad when she finished college and moved away, but they continued to chat on the phone once a week for the last two years. Sofia declared he was "Almost fluent" when Alex went two months without asking for a translation. One advantage of speaking Russian became apparent when he accidentally called a teacher "глупый" (3) to his face and only got a funny look in return. He resolved to only curse in Russian, as it wasn't commonly spoken in the area. He'd deal with the consequences later if he were unlucky enough to curse at a Russian speaker.
Now 14 and with a few hours with the house empty - he was home due to an issue with the school fire alarm, Ian was at work preparing for a conference entitled "Life in the Slow Lane" (4), and Jack was in the city meeting friends - Alex dug out the box from the attic. Plugging the phone back into charge - he let the battery die the first time after he realised it was also in Russian - he took out the notebook and opened the first page.
(A.N: I know, I know. A cliffhanger *holds hands up*.
I won't write out the diary entries. Instead, I'll write Alex's summaries of them, as it'd take too long to write in diary format what I want to. Even then, I think it'll still be a long chapter.
The contents of the phone and the business card will be entirely written out in two or three chapters, however, as they will be short in length.
(1) This is based on an article I found online. If anyone wants to read it, It's on a website called Rocket Languages - "How long does it take to learn Russian?
(2) This is a work of fiction. Therefore, don't take anything too seriously. It's only valid for the sake of the plot.
(3) Stupid, according to Google Translate.
(4) Stormbreaker movie reference.