"...ai...Rai..."
"Mmmm, five more minutes..." I shifted around a bit, settling down again.
SLAP I fell out of my chair as something struck me across the face.
"Wake up idiot!" I looked up to see Akumu with her hand raised, poised to strike.
"I'm up, I'm up!" I backed up against the chair, holding my hand out. "Geez women, you could've have woken me up more gently?!"
"GRRR!"
"Kidding!" I looked around to see us still in Olivander's shop. I stood up and dusted myself off.
"What happened? I remember picking up both of the wands, then a surge of energy... Then nothing."
"Well my boy, it is a rare case, a rare case indeed, for a wizard to be able to tame two wands at the same time. Much less for two wands to choose the same witch or wizard for that matter. Both wands wanted to be the one in charge, but you magically beat them into submission." I looked around for my two-for-one shopping experience. I saw the boxes sitting on the table next to the chair I had been in. I opened both boxes.
Lilac, 13 1/2 inches, Thunderbird tailfeather core.
Pear, 12 3/4 inches, Dragon heartstring core.
"Yes Mr. Taiki, what Mr. Ollivander said is true. In all my long life and studies, I've only ever seen one other person who could wield two wands at once." I stayed silent as I reached out, holding my left hand over the Lilac, and right hand over the Pear. I wanted to try something; not sure it would work.
"...Here." A simple command made the wands snap from their resting places, flicking into my hands with the appearance of practiced ease. Power surged through me, but instead of the two wands fighting, they met in the middle, their magic joining and spreading throughout my body. I reached out with my abilities, joining the two in a dance of power. Lightning once again ran across my skin and clothes, racing up and down my arms and legs, but this time it was harmless.
Eventually, the lights show died down and I looked at my wands, both of them humming happily. We weren't going to have any problems.
"Wow..." I looked over to see the other three staring. "Rai, that was amazing!"
"Yes, quite the show, I must say."
"Hey Akumu, which wand did you get? Now, for you, Miss Tanaka, that will be 7 Sickles." We both froze.
' Duh! 'Shopping' for wands!'
"Uh..."
"Uh..."
"Don't fret children, I've got it covered."
"Professor, we couldn't possibly ask you to do that." I tried to reason with him, but he already had a coin purse in his hand, digging through it.
"And how much for Mr. Taiki's two wands?"
"For that spectacular show, only 16 for both."
"Of course, 23 Sickles in total." Dumbledore handed over the money, and I gave up. I placed both of my wands in their boxes and looked over at a hand that appeared in my field of view. "I will hold onto one of those. We wouldn't want to draw attention to your special talent."
"That makes sense." I handed him the box with the pear wand and he tucked it in his robe pocket. I turned to Ollivander and gave him a respectful nod.
"Thank you for your time sir, and the wands of course."
"Yes, thank you." Akumu stepped up next to me.
"Of course you two. Be advised to not flounce your rare abilities." I nodded in understanding. Dumbledore stepped up and shook Ollivander's hand.
"Until next time Ollivander."
"Same to you Albus. Safe travels now!" We waved as we stepped out the door. I was looking over the wand box in my hands as we walked, and my left shoulder felt off. A thought crossed my mind.
"Say, Professor...There wouldn't happen to be a place that makes wand holsters, would there?"
"Well, what do you have in mind?"
««{{¤}}»»
*Ding ding ding* We stepped into a shop and immediately I could smell nothing but leather and heat.
"Hello?" A heavier set lady stepped around from the back of the shop, dusting her hands. She looked energetic and ready to go. "Yes? How can I help you?"
"Are custom orders possible?"
"Well, let's hear it! I'm always up for a challenge!
««{{¤}}»»
*Ding ding ding*
"...Feel free to use that pattern, I find it very handy! Thank you very much and have a good day!" I said as I backed out of the shop.
"I will, come back anytime!" We waved as we started walking down the street. My steps were feeling lighter, and my wand slightly poking out from behind my neck. Dumbledore looked at my wand curiously.
"A holster on your back, I must ask where you got the idea."
"I am...was...a swordsman." I went on to explain how I trained in martial arts, and eventually found my choice weapon, a katana. I had to pause when we went through the Floo Network, and finished once we arrived in Dumbledore's office.
"I must admit, that is quite the tale. It is getting late, I think it's time for some food, run along now." Albus handed me my second wand box and we said our goodbyes. We exited his office, heading back towards our room.
"Man, what a day." I said, lacing my fingers behind my head.
"No kidding, first the twins, then that woman. And then comes the wand shop. I'm so ready to sleep." I hummed in agreement. I started to turn the corner into the hallway that held our room, but jerked back and pulled Akumu with me, putting my hand on her mouth when she started to protest.
"Shh!" I peeked around the corner to see the before mentioned women. She was opening our door and walking in. "That! How dare she!"
"What?"
"Umbridge is in our room! She just waltzed in there like it was nothing!"
"What?! I'll wring her neck!" I held out my arm, stopping her from doing anything rash.
"Wait... I've got a better idea." I grinned and she followed suit.
"Tell me what to do."
««{{¤}}»»
Umbridge stepped out of the room, humming happily to herself. She shut the door and reactivated the password with a flick of her wand.
"You know, I MIGHT have let you in had you only asked." She spun to see me leaning against a statue, studying my new Lilac wand as I twirled it in between my fingers. "But no, you had to try and sneak behind our backs." I looked up and glared at her, my tone clipped and short. "What gives you the right." She huffed haughtily and straightened her jacket.
"As Hogwarts High Inquisitor, it is my duty to make sure the students are safe."
"...Are we going to have a problem...Professor?" Her sickly smile fell, and she grew confused.
"What problem? Are you threatening me?" She noticed what I was holding and her eyes went wide, "Where did you get that wand?!" I ignored the last question.
"Oh me? Never. See, I have this thing called patience. Her, on the other hand? Well, let's just say she hates it when people cross the line. Especially her line of privacy." Umbridge's look of confusion only grew, and then she turned around. A black shadow rose from the ground.
"WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT?!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" A punk blur shot past me, moving at a very impressive clip. Akumu stepped out of the shadows, a smug look on her face. I looked in between her and the corner Umbridge had just run around.
"...Did we really just do that?"
"Yup."
"...Think we'll hear about this from Dumbledore?"
"Doubt it." A heavy silence filled the air.
*POP*
"The Headmaster wishes to see you in his office."
*POP* I blinked at where the house elf had been.
"...You were supposed to knock on wood..."
"How about I knock you upside the head?!" She bit back, only slightly miffed.
"*Sigh* Let's go...I wonder what crazy story she's cooked up for him." We started walking back. We were almost to the Headmaster's office when I remembered something.
"We never got dinner..."
"Taiki!"
*CLANG*
"Ow! Was that really needed?"
"Yes, to knock some sense unto you!"
"If we weren't adopted siblings I'd call this an abusive relationship."
*Whack*
"Ow! Only proving my point!" I rubbed my arm a bit.
"Shut up! Like I'd ever date you!"
"'Aye! It could happen!" I reproached.
"In your dreams maybe!"
" Maybe that's something only you'd think!" She stopped for a split second.
"What's that suppose to mean?!" I said the password as we got to the door, saving the conversation for another day. We walked up the stairs and into the office.
"That's her! Capture them!" We were immediately swarmed by guys popping into the room, and we defended ourselves as they came at us. Some tried using magic, but we got in too close for safe use. Soon, all but four of us in the room were on the ground moaning in pain. I saw two guys holding a specific area and winced in sympathy, shooting a look at a guilty-looking Akumu.
"Did'ya have to hit them there?"
"My...leg slipped...?"
"STUPIFY!" Before I knew what was happening, my hand reached back and grabbed my new wand, and my legs moved me in front of Akumu. I slashed down and the spell was cut in half, going to either side of us and smashing into the wall.
"ENOUGH!" We all froze at Dumbledore's shout. "Delores! What is the meaning of attacking my guests?!" I stepped back in line with Akumu, still holding my wand in case Umbridge tried anything. Akumu leaned over and whispered to me.
"Since when do you know spells?!"
"I don't! I think that was just pure magic..."
"That girl knows Dark Magic and that boy has a wand he had to of stolen!" I stepped forward.
"First of all, there was no magic back there in the hall. Second, the Headmaster just took us to go get our wands. Not even half an hour ago, as a matter of fact."
"How would you know if Miss Tanaka knows Dark Magic?" The Headmaster spoke up, intrigued.
"Because I saw her doing it when I..." I glared at her as she hesitated.
"Please Professor, I want to hear your side of the story." Dumbledore raised a calm eyebrow.
"What did you mean, Mr. Taiki?"
"Just Akumu scaring Umbridge for sneaking into our room." All eyes were on her now, and she knew she couldn't lie about being there.
"I-I was checking for anything that might have been a danger to the s-students."
"You mean a danger to you?" Dumbledore gave Akumu a look.
"Miss Tanaka..." Akumu backed down, albeit a little reluctantly. Umbridge regained her posture and smiled a sickly grin.
"I did find something, actually, and it seems quite concerning."
"And what, do tell, is in our room that could be so dangerous?" I shifted my weight, ready to deny the thing she had somehow conjured up.
"I found something that had magical residue on it. Specifically that of the dragon kind." My blood went so cold it froze.
'She didn't...' Umbridge reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace. MY necklace. My hand reached up to where it would normally rest, and I looked down, only to feel and see nothing. I then remembered I left it in our room so it didn't get stolen in Diagon Alley.
"This will be sent to the Ministery of Magic to be examined." My wand fell from my hand, clattering on the stone floor. My eyes were shadowed by my hair. I felt static begin to build.
"You have no right to be holding that with your grubby paws..." All three of them were shocked, especially Akumu.
"Rai?!"
"Mr. Taiki?!"
"Pardon me?!" My hands were shaking from anger.
" Give me, my necklace..." I was trying to hold it back, I didn't want her to know about my ability, but seeing her holding my last physical connection to that other world, to Tesla and Sting, made me angry. Not just angry, enraged.
"Why? Is it dangerous? Something I shouldn't have found?"
"...Give...it...back..." A surge of power washed over me with each word, and I was struggling to hold it back, even if part of me wanted to throw it at her all at once.
"Delores, I think it would be best to hand it over." Even Dumbledore was sounding slightly unsure, maybe even nervous.
"Why?! What magic does it posses that he's so scared of losing it?!"
'Losing it...Losing it...Losing it...' I snapped.
"GrrAAAAAH!" Lightning lashed out, blasting pictures and devices of all kinds, frying bookshelves and parchment. Akumu leaped behind a desk, covering her head. Dumbledore threw up multiple shields in an instant, stepping back to a safer distance while Umbridge fell back in shock, desperately trying to back away from me.
"GIVE IT BACK! IT'S ALL I HAVE LEFT OF THEM!" I roared, tears and lightning in my eyes as I glared at her. The static around me was powerful, catching parchment on fire and making shelves explode.
The storm went on for a while, tearing the office to pieces. Soon I ran out of steam and the energy dropped down to mere static dancing on my clothes.
"...It's...all I have, left-." I collapsed. Akumu ran forward to check on my heart rate and breathing. Once she was sure I was alive, she stormed over to Umbridge and snatched the necklace. Umbridge was shaking like a leaf in a hail storm, probably from both electrical and psychological shock. Akumu walked back over to me and hooked my necklace around my neck, then stood up and looked at the devastated room. The door burst open and McGonagall ran in, only to stop and stare. A man wrapped in dark robes wasn't far behind her, looking like a stoic man who was shocked into silence. Akumu sighed and picked up my dropped wand. She looked at a troubled Dumbledore.
"Headmaster, could a house elf take us to our room? I think we are done for the night..." Without thinking about it, he called an elf and gave it instructions. It popped over to us and held mine and Akumu's hands, popping out in a swirl of colors.
We arrived in the room and Akumu asked the elf to help her get me into bed. Having done as asked, the house elf left. Akumu sat next to me heavily, looking at my unconscious form.
"Rai. I knew you missed them, but I guess I didn't realize how much...you cared for them..." She looked down at her hands and saw she was still holding my wand, whispering in a hopeless tone. "I...I wonder...if you care about me...as much as them..." She jumped when a hand landed on her's, and her eyes snapped up to my face, only to meet teary blue eyes.
"Sister..." I said weakly, then lifted both of our hands to my necklace, where it sat right above my heart. "...Brothers..." A choking sob almost escaped her, and she threw herself next to me, hugging me as best she could. I weakly returned the hug.
"Really...?" I smiled and closed my eyes, drifting off. But not before a six letter word escaped my lips, attached to a small smile.
"Always..."
I remember that day... The day I met Tesla...
««{{Flashback}}»»
The Skrill obviously feels the same way about its own situation as I do mine. It's in an unknown area, with complete strangers surrounding and attacking it. Even if I do consider these guys friends, I still don't know them all that well. I slowly walked over, keeping my left hand partly outstretched. The Skrill was being understandably wary.
"Hey big guy...I gotta thank you for saving me back there, I thought I was a goner." The Skrill grumbled, shuffling its feet a bit. "Yo-You're kidding me...are you embarrassed?" It gave a half hearted growl, half turning away. I scoffed, "So the Big, Bad Dragon isn't so bad after all? You're scared...like me." The Skrill looked at me in surprise. "Yeah, I guess the clothing gives it away. I'm not from here. I have no idea how I got here. I remember getting attacked, and then waking up after Hiccup had found me. I'm in a completely different place than I was before I woke up. I'm scared, and I bet you're feeling the same way." 'Did I just spill the past month's worth of garbage onto a dragon's lap?' The Skrill had an unreadable expression on its face for a while, and it looked away. I didn't know what to do other than stand there. It turned back to me, a rumbling in its throat. It had a strange look in its eyes.
Then it pounced.
...
When I opened my eyes, it was staring directly into them.
Pain. Confusion. Fear. Anger.
...
Every thought, every emotion, led to this one image. It all came crashing down at once. Everything combining into a beautiful scene. The sun was just sinking below the water, a sliver of that grand ball of fire shooting beams of orange, purple, red, and yellow across the sky. A tall sea stack, scattered with grass, shining in the sunlight. And dragons, dozens of dragons soaring through the sky.
««{{Flashback}}»»
I slowly gained consciousness, my eyes blinking wearily. I saw I was in my room.
'How did I get here?' I last remembered, I was in Dumbledore's office, seeing Umbridge holding the necklace made out of Tesla's and Sting's scales. Then black. I tried to recall what happened next, rubbing my face with my palms.
"Don't bother, you passed out after blowing up Dumbledore's office." I looked up to see Akumu holding a plate. "You good to stand?" I reached over and grabbed my glasses, seeing a lens cracked.
"Oh. Fantastic." I put them on and threw back my covers, turning to stand. I leaned forward, only to slap my hand against the wall to stop my face from doing so. I sat back, holding my head with a groan. "Ooooooh...not good to stand..."
"Well, it's a good thing you don't need to move for breakfast." She walked over and handed the plate to me.
"You are a beautiful person." I dug in, seeing bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns.
"You think I don't already know that?" I rolled my eyes at her, too focused on my food. "Hmph. Well, when you are done stuffing your face, Dumbledore wants to see us in his office." I nearly did a spit-take of the milk I was drinking.
"Seriously?! I just tore it apart last night!" I quickly finished eating, only to jump when the plate vanished. "Convenient."
"Lazy. You better not get fat here. I won't have my training dummy getting soft."
"D-hey! That's rude!" I stood up, feeling a lot better. "Alright, let me get changed, then we'll go see what he wants."
««{{¤}}»»
We were walking down the hall to get to the Headmaster's office when a loud bell rang through the halls. A cacophony of voices broke out, and we both stutter-stepped.
"Dang. Students."
"They're going to see us at some point, why hide now?" I said, knowing she wouldn't like the proposition.
"*Sigh* You're right...doesn't mean I have to like it though." She glared at me. I smiled knowingly.
"I wouldn't expect you to." We rounded a corner and saw a wave of students headed our way. With us in our unusual garb, and the students used to only seeing robes, whispers broke out quickly.
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. What are they wearing?"
"Looks like muggle clothes to me..." They parted as we kept walking, only for us to stop when a trio stood in the middle of the hall and didn't move. The tallest one with blonde hair spoke up, a cocky, know-it-all look on his face.
"How did two muggles get on the grounds? You aren't supposed to be here. I guess Dumbledore's security isn't as secure as we thought." Akumu and I glared at him with the fury of the sun. She spoke up faster than I could.
"Move peasant." The whole hall went silent in the snap of a finger.
"What?!" The boy looked like he had just been slapped, then stepped forward in anger. "Do you know who my father is?!" He spat. Akumu snorted.
"Don't know, probably couldn't care less." His face went red.
"Why-! You-!" I stepped up and smiled.
"We really don't have time to chat, goodbye." We stepped right around him and kept walking, conversations breaking out behind us. I allowed a grin to spread across my face, keeping my eyes forward. "I think you broke him."
"Spoiled brat like him? Honestly couldn't care less. 'Do you know who my father is?' Wouldn't want to, with the way he was raised." I snorted and heard rapid footsteps behind us, we both turned to see who it was. Three other teenagers were running up to us. One, a boy with messy black hair and round glasses spoke when they caught up.
"Excuse us! Sorry to bother you!"
"I've never seen anyone talk to Malfoy like that! Bloody brilliant!" The boy with distinctly red hair spoke next, eyes lit up.
"I must admit, it was rather...bold...to say something like that to him." A female with long, bushy brown hair spoke up. "Terribly sorry, we didn't introduce ourselves! I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand and we shook it.
"Rai Taiki." I gave her a slight head bow, and she nodded back. Akumu didn't care for formalities.
"Akumu..." I gently nudged her. "Tanaka." The red haired boy stepped up and shook our hands in turn.
"Ronald Weasley, but just call me Ron." I smiled in sympathy.
"I'm so sorry." He looked confused.
"Huh?"
"The Twins." The look on his face changed into a goofy grin.
"Ah, heard of them have you?"
"Met them, actually."
"Now I'm the one who's sorry." I chuckled and turned to the last student.
"Harry Potter." We shook hands simply, but Ron seemed to be waiting for something. I looked at him.
"...What?" He relaxed and took a breath.
"Nothing. You're not from around here are you?" That statement only grew our confusion.
"Umm..."
"Obviously Ron, they have an accent." Hermione said.
'Hey, if anyone has an accent, it's you!' I could almost hear Akumu thinking the same thing as me.
"Sorry to interrupt, but what just happened?" I asked. They all seemed to remember that we were still standing here.
"Oh, well, see, Harry here defeated the You-Know-Who when he was a baby."
"Ron!" Harry seemed exasperated, almost like he had heard this story before.
"Sorry...I don't "know who"..." Hermione titled her head and spoke up.
"What about the Dark Lord?"
"Maybe from a movie..." Ron tried another name.
"He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?"
"Now that's just stupid long."
"Agreed." They all said at once. Harry spoke up again, seeming to hesitate for a split second.
"...Voldemort...?" The air seemed to grow cold, but it was just a breeze blowing through the halls.
"Is that an actual name?" They all nodded.
"You really aren't from here." Hermione scoffed at Ron's awe.
"Obvio-"
*Ding Dong Ding Dong* The school bell went off, ringing invisibly through the halls.
"Sorry! But we have class to get to! If you see us, feel free to say hi!" They waved and took off.
"You as well! It was nice to meet you all!" They were soon out of sight, having turned a corner. Akumu and I shared a look.
"What just happened?" I shrugged in response.
"I have no idea." We returned to walking to the Headmaster's office. I knocked on the door and was given entrance. Walking in, we saw that the office was somehow back to its normal, unorganized chaos.
"Ah, just in time."
"Sorry Headmaster, we got held up by some students." He nodded his head in understanding.
"It would seem like your stay here is no longer our little secret." He walked over and handed me a piece of parchment. "I received this just this morning." Akumu and I read through it. It appeared to be a letter from the Minister of Magic himself, requesting to sit down with "Dumbledore's dangerous secret guests."
"Paranoid much? And what kind of name is Fudge?"
"Akumu!" I said, exasperated, but only slightly shocked she said it.
"What?! You were thinking the same thing!"
"I wasn't going to say it out loud!"
"Yes, Fudge can be rather...cautious. Do you want to settle his nerves and meet with him?" Akumu threw her hands in the air.
"Why not! We'll have tea and crumpets, then throw ourselves in jail and snap the key!"
"I would never allow that to happen." Dumbledore stated simply. I thought about it for a second.
"If it will get Umbridge off of our backs, then we'll do it. Besides, it's not like we are trying to harm the students." My gaze flicked to Akumu. "No promises though..." She glared and I shrugged helplessly.
"In any case, I will send a house elf to let you know when the meeting will be."
"Thank you, Headmaster." We left after saying our 'byes. We started walking down the hall, only for the blonde kid from earlier to come around the corner. He spotted us and marched up, his face flushing with color.
"You! I've got some words for you!"
"Don't waste your hot air on us. You need it to keep your head in the clouds." I barely caught a scoff as Akumu spoke so casually. His jaw dropped as we walked past and he started fumbling for his wand. I spoke up, knowing what he was doing.
"If you want that wand to stay in one piece, leave it." He froze and all his color drained from his face when I shot a look over my shoulder. Akumu snickered.
"Not trying to hurt the students, I thought you said?" I smirked.
"No promises, I also said."
"Touché."
"Besides, I wouldn't have actually snapped his wand. That'd be cruel." She rolled her eyes.
"You are way too passive-aggressive."
"It works, doesn't it?"
"I can't believe I'm stuck with you till we get home..." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders.
"Sister, you're stuck with me forever."
"Release me or pay the price."
"Okay, geez." I pulled my arm off her before I got punched. "Sorry, your Highness."
"Taiki..."
"Oh come on, how could that make you mad?"
"...You have 3 seconds."
"I didn't even do anything!"
"3."
"Running!" I took off, hearing footsteps behind me. I smirked, getting an idea. I threw my voice over my shoulder. "Look at me, I'm pampered and spoiled! I've never been chased before! I'm shaking in my overpriced bathrobe!" I heard her choke back a laugh, and then I had the wind knocked out of me when she tackled me from behind. "OOF!" We both went rolling. She pinned me down before I could do anything. "My FA-ther will hear about this!" She cracked at my terrible accent and rolled off of me laughing.
"What are you doing?" We both sat bolt upright but sighed when we saw the Weasley Twins standing there. Both of them were confused, but very ready to join in on any fun to be had.
"Hello Fred, George." I got up and helped Akumu to her feet. "We were just having a bit of fun." The Twins traded a look and grinned.
"We know how to have some fun." Akumu and I then traded looks and turned to them with grins of our own.
"Show us."
*BOOM* *Whiz* *Snapsnap* *Girls screaming*
"Go Go Go!" We bolted down the hall as fast as we could, turning the corner. We got to an empty hallway and I almost lost my balance laughing.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into setting that trap!"
"We can't believe you did it either!" We slowed to a walk a caught our breaths.
"Rai, that was the coolest/dumbest thing you've done since taming those dragons." I stopped on a dime at Akumu's words.
*Beat*
"...Wicked!"
*Whack*
"OW!" Akumu ducked her head and rubbed the spot where I had just clobbered her.
"Akumu! Shut, up!" I said through gritted teeth.
"What'd you hit me for jerk?!"
"You don't just go spouting information like that!"
"How about I spout my hand upside your head!"
"That doesn't even make sense!" I threw my hands forward.
"What doesn't make sense is you befriending not one, but two, overgrown lizards!"
"Now that's just uncalled for!" I said, feeling defensive of my friends.
"Well it's true! One's a living lightning rod and the other is a freak three tailed scorpion, how is that normal?!" We were both shouting at this point, and the Twins were watching a verbal tennis match.
"Whoever said it was?! And don't talk about them like that! You know nothing about them!"
"I know one thing, you're unbelievable!"
"And you're rude!" I clapped back, finally snapping back.
*SLAP* My head jerked to the side when her hand made contact with my cheek.
"Have it your way then!" She stormed off.
"Aku-!" I called out, but stopped myself, knowing we both needed to cool down. I slumped against the wall and looked up at the Twins. "Sorry you had to witness that..." I rubbed my sore cheek.
"That was nothing mate. You should come live with us for a week."
"A whole week with all of you redheads? I'll pass on that one." I said in a joking manner after shuddering. Fred looked at Akumu's retreating form.
"Is she going to be okay?" I watched as she paused at a corner, looked back at us, and kept walking.
"As we told you before, we were never on the best of terms..."
"Mate, "best of terms" isn't even close, if what you told us is true." I rubbed my neck, thinking about our past.
"Yeah...I guess I've just been pushing her too hard." I leaned my head against the wall. "She and I come from completely different worlds. Pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum. I got too relaxed in thinking how far she'd come." A calm bell sounded, and almost on cue, voices raced down the hall. I pushed off the wall and waved at the Twins. "I gotta go guys, I need some time to think. Stay out of trouble!" I did a solid pause and slowly turned around, pointing a finger at them. "Forget I said that." They just laughed as I walked off, shaking my head. "Crazy twins..."