Me, Myself, and My Five Other Twins

Me, Myself, and My Five Other Twins [4] (Picture of Bernie)

There must be something wrong with the people of this school. So far, I've seen a girl with green hair, a boy with extreme red hair, and of course there's my blue-haired guide, Frankie. Now, I'm sitting behind a head of blinding purple hair. I might be understanding why my parents had me homeschooled for so long.

"Can anyone tell me what is considered the beginning of the French Revolution?" the teacher asks us. French history? I know it better than American history. I raise my hand and notice little miss purple raise her hand also.

"Yes, Mr. McCarthy?"

"The storming of the Bastille is recognized to be moment the Revolution began."

"Very good! Can anyone tell me who lead it?"

I look over a Frankie, who is giving me a surprised look. "What?"

"No one ever bothers to answer questions. Except for D, of course."

"D?"

"Oh, right, Will, this my sister Detriphy. Detri, say hi."

She turns around and looks me over. "Hi. You're new, right?"

"To this school. I've lived here all my life."

"Where were you before, boarding school?"

"No, I was homeschooled."

"Why?" Frankie asks, flipping his blue hair out of his eyes.

"My parents. Can I ask why your hair is blue?"

"Sure," Frankie leans back in his seat, "It's our sister Bernie's fault. You've probably seen her around. She tried to dye her hair, failed, and then had a mental breakdown. We felt bad, so to make her feel better we all dyed our hair, too."

"Oh, that reminds me. Did you hear about C?" Detriphy turns back around towards us.

"No. Why, what happened?" Frankie turns his attention to her.

"He got in a fight."

"What?"

"Who got in a fight?" I ask.

"Our brother C," Detriphy answers.

"Wait, how many brothers and sisters do you have?" I'm pretty sure they already mentioned two or three.

"Nine," they say together.

I almost fall out of my seat. "Nine?!"

"Yeah, there's Arles, Bernie, C-"

"-Detri, Emilia, me-"

"-Gerard, Harry-"

"-Isabelle, and Josephine."

Then, I do something I don't normally do. I curse. "Holy shit."

"Yeah, that's the normal reaction," Detriphy laughs. As I listen, I realize I really like her laugh. Ah, jeez, that was creepy.

"How many are here at the high school?"

"Six. We're all twins."

I just sit there and look at them for a moment. "I am really having trouble wrapping my head around this."

Frankie shrugs. "We're used to it. That's another normal reaction."

I jump when the bell rings. "What period is next?"

"Fifth. What do you have?"

I hand him my schedule. He looks it over. "Oh, you've got Advanced French with Detri. She'll show you the way."

"Hmm?" she glances up from her purse.

"He's got fifth with you."

"Oh, yeah, I'll take him. C'mon," she pulls on my arm.

Fire ignites under her fingers and races up my arm. What is going on?

"O-Okay."

She takes me up a floor to a room at the end of the hallway. "Prepare yourself," she says, "There's going to be a lot of French. It's an advanced course."

"I'll be fine."

"If you say so." She goes to open the door, but I reach it before her.

"After you."

She looks a little surprised for a moment before saying, "Thank you."

I walk in and am startled by all the French memorabilia, maps, and posters. A woman is writing on the board and turns to watch us walk in.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle. Qui est-ce que c'est?"

"Bonjour, madame. Je m'appelle William."

"Est-ce que tu es nouveau?"

"Oui."

She regards me for a moment. "Tu parles français très bon."

"Merci beaucoup."

Detriphy stares at me as we sit. "What?"

"You have, like, the best pronunciation I've ever heard. Aside from Madame, of course."

"Oh," I blush, "Well, my parents are always busy so I was raised by a nanny and she only spoke French."

"So, it's your first language?"

"Yes."

She raises an eyebrow. "I'm impressed. You know what this means now?"

"Um, no..."

She grins. "You're my new dictionary."

I chuckle. "If this is an advanced class, why would you need me?"

"Because it's better to be safe than sorry."

"Bonjour, tout de monde! Aujourd'hui, nous avons un exam!"

Detriphy groans and lays her head on her desk.

~*~

I have officially entered this in the Watty Awards. Vote, vote, vote! :D