Disclaimer: Hi! I hope all of you reading are enjoying this book. This is the first of five; it is apart of my ongoing series the Fragment Chronicles. In this chapter, two characters start conversing in Bulgarian, which is a language I do not speak. I use Google Translate, although I am aware it is not the most reliable source but it is all that I have at this moment in time. If any of you speak Bulgarian and would like to translate the dialogue for me, feel free to message me and I wouldn't mind it as long as you don't change the initial intent of the dialogue (I know that languages don't have direct translations). How it is written is how one would pronounce the words, not how they are actually written in Bulgarian.
Throughout this series, many of my characters are from different ethnicities and speak languages I do not speak fluently, if any of you are bilingual and would like to contact me about translations I would love to talk to you about them.
Please bear with this dialogue, it's probably not accurate. I will post the translations at the end of the chapter. Thanks!
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"Time's up," Walter stood at his classroom podium, eyeing the clock, hearing his student's pencils press against their desks as they finished their quiz. Walking over to the far right table group, he collected the half-sheets and placed them on his desk before grabbing his Sorting Hat replica. "So, who wants to choose the next religion?"
Most of the students in the class raised their hands, but a hesitant one in the back caught his eye. "Sean," he said, handing the Sorting Hat out in front of him.
Reaching into the Hat, he shuffled his hand around, retrieving a strip of paper and reading aloud, "Islam."
"One of my favorites," Walter commented right as the end bell rang. His students packed up and began filing out of his classroom. "Make sure you bring a pen or pencil tomorrow, you'll be watching a documentary on Islam!"
"What documentary?" His student, Emmaline McCloud, asked as he dumped the remaining slips of paper on his desk and the Sorting Hat on top of his filing cabinet.
"Have you seen Super Size Me?" He asked.
"Sure."
"It's made my the same guy." He told her, as he sat down and opened a drawer to get his phone, seeing he got 2 missed calls and a voice message from someone in his contacts named 'Ma'.
"30 Days?" She asked.
"Cool, looking forward to it. Have a nice day, Mr. K."
"You too." He responded as she left the classroom. Unlocking his phone and lifting his phone up to his ear, he listened to the voicemail.
"Hi, Wally. It's Ma. You're still ignoring me. I get it. You hate me. That's cool. Don't know why - well I can think of a couple reasons. But I mean you're still not picking up. Just wanted to call and check in on my first born ... you're sisters are good. It's so nice of you to ask. Aram and I would really like you and your girlfriend to come over to Friday dinners! And no, your brother won't be joining us anytime soon. If he contacts you, please call me. I haven't spoken to him in months - I swear if that boy comes home with a beard ... Nevermind. This is your mother, in case you didn't know. Tell Sean I said 'Hi'. And little Mia! I would say your girlfriend, ya'know, if you'd let me meet her! This is Ma. Call me, bye."
Walter lowered his phone open his messages and sent her a text in response: Love you too. Please don't call me while I am at work. I haven't heard from him + don't plan to. Faith and I's schedules are hectic at the moment, dinner isn't a good idea right now. Tell the girls and Aram 'Hi'. I'll tell Sean and Mia.
Placing his phone in his back pocket, Walter looked to see Sean still seated in his chair. "I've got a parent-teacher conference today. It should take a half hour max."
He shook his head, standing up with his bookbag strapped to his back. "I've gotta make-up a test."
"Who'll watch Mia?"
"Garrett," he answered, stepping up and sitting on a stool that sat next to the podium. "He flew in last night, something about his boyfriend with some chick. It got real messy. I'll give you the details once he vents to my mom."
Walter couldn't help but chuckle, "Welp, if he wants to vent I'm always here."
Sean paused, crossing one leg in front of the other. "I meant to ask about the uh, poem assignment for English."
"Yeah, what's up?" Walter asked as he placed his glasses on and began searching for one of his students progress notes on his laptop.
"So, I think I picked one I like - I mean enough to recite in front of the class ya'know, but like, do I have to?"
Walter met Sean's eyes, "If you want a grade, yeah."
"Right," he drew out, biting his lip.
Walter went back to his laptop, checking the time; it was only ten minutes before his meeting. "My mom says 'Hi', by the way."
"Oh, tell her Mia loves the Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner she got for her birthday - she doesn't even play with the Bratz doll I got her. She vacuums with my mom all the time, it's creepy."
"Hm, you think if you bought her a real one she'd vacuum my apartment for me?"
"Honestly dude, I wouldn't doubt it," he laughed. "She's like, crazy intelligent for her age, Walt. I mean, she's only three but, I mean she just watches everything I do. Like I was taking a photo of her for class and she had to remind me that the lens cap was on. She didn't use those exact words but I mean, that's insane."
Walter half-smiled, "She's a smart kid, Sean. You're doing a great job."
Sean looked surprised, very humbled. "Thanks. I gotta go. I'll see you later."
"Yup," he responded as Sean exited the classroom.
Walter readjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, scrolling through and responding emails, glancing at the time. Looking up he saw Belle, in her leather jacket and combat boots, taking her time to stroll into his classroom shortly after.
She sat on the stool where Sean was, shaking the short, dirty blonde, curls out of her face, "Yeah, she's late."
"I'm in no rush," he closed his laptop shut. "Is she your sister?"
She hummed, "Yeah."
"Oh, what's the age gap?"
"I don't know, six years I think."
Walter blinked, "You think?"
"We only just got back in contact," she told him. "I've been in Israel for the last two years."
"Oh, are you Israeli?" He asked, intrigued.
"No," she said to him with a blank expression. Her phone started buzzing and she swiped the screen, lifting it up to her ear. "Kakvo?" Rolling her eyes, she hung up the phone and slid off the stool. "She's lost, I'll be back," she told him before walking out into the middle of the hallway, where Walter could still see her.
"Ti ne mi kaza nomera na stayata, Anabel!" Walter heard a young woman's voice echo in anger from down the corridor.
"Tova beshe tselta," Belle mumbled to herself, walking back into his classroom. "Teacher guy, this is my sister .... If she'd hurry her ass up."
Walter stood up, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Belle's sister walked in, her dark hair dangled in front her face as she was grabbing a notebook from her purse. Walter admired the Chipotle to-go cup poking out of her bag. Looking up, her instinct was to shake the teacher's hand. Her doe eyes widened and her demeanor changed completely; her good posture slouched and she gave him a look as if that was what she had been expecting. She had straight hair, face fresh with no makeup, and plain clothes, with a scarf and tennis shoes; Walter had never seen her look so ordinary, so un-Katherine. So beautiful.
"Katherine," he voiced in almost a question.
"Laĭna," Belle muttered to herself.
"When you said you were a teacher at the high school, I had a feeling you might be Ana's." She admitted, turning to her sister. "Mozhesh li da me chakash v kolata, molya?"
Belle chuckled, exchanging glances between the two of them, "Toĭ e chovekŭt, s kogoto govorite, nali? Zashto vi se obadi - "
"Sega, molya te." She said calmingly. Walter had no idea what they were saying but when Belle left the room, he got the idea.
Walter walked into his living room after taking a brief moment in his bathroom to collect his thoughts. Katherine sat across from him when he sat down in his recliner, staring at each one another. He sipped some of his hot chocolate, setting it down on a coaster. "Where's Belle?"
"Sean's," she reminded him. After the conference, Sean ran into Katherine and Walter as they were walking out of the building and the two went in their separate cars to meet back at Walter's apartment building. "I thought it'd be inappropriate - you're her teacher and all."
"Yeah, sure," he nodded. "Sean comes here all the time but ya'know - "
"It's different," She finished for him.
"Yes!" He agreed a little too eagerly. "Different."
Katherine still had her peacoat on, even though it was warm in the apartment. She placed some hair behind her ears, biting her lip. "If you want to ask me anything, you can," she reassured him.
Walter exhaled, swallowing some pride. "You speak Russian?"
"Bulgarian," she corrected. "We're Bulgarian."
"Why have you ever mentioned that?"
She shrugged, "You never asked."
He parted his lips, reaching for his mug and taking more sips of the hot chocolate. "So, your sister is my student ... that's convenient."
"Yeah, actually it is," she narrowed her eyes. "She just got back, I'm surprised the judge was lenient enough to place her so close to me."
"She said she was in Israel," Walter recalled.
"Yeah, she was living with my aunts for a little bit but she's young, y'know?"
"Not really, I think traveling is great for young people," he countered.
"Not for Ana," she urged.
"She uh -" Walter sniffed, rubbing his nose. "Belle told me about your parents. Sorry for you loses."
Her shoulders fell and she gave him a half-smile, "Thanks, Walter."
He chewed on the inside of his mouth, not knowing what to say or how to word his sincerity. He just wanted her to understand that he knew where she was coming from. "My dad died before I was born."
"Oh, Walter I'm - "she knew he didn't want to be consoled. "How?"
He shrugged, meeting her eyes. "Beats me. My mom doesn't talk about him."
Katherine gulped, fidgeting with a zipper on her purse, trying to make him understand that she understood. "I was seventeen when our apartment caught on fire."
Walter looked back at her, not interrupting even though he knew she was hurting just by speaking.
"Some guy downstairs fell asleep with a cigarette in his hand and forgot to ash it," she added. "Ana was about ten, mind you. And my mother was in the kitchen when the floor caved in. It was really hard to see because of the smoke so I had Ana breathe through a washcloth but um, yeah. Yeah ... "
Watching her naw at her lip, Walter couldn't help but ask, "What about your dad?"
Her gaze was fixated on the designs in the coffee table. "He was shot on his way home from work, that day."
"Oh my gosh," he said to himself. "Did they ever catch the guy that did it?"
She glanced at him, "No."
Walter thought of offering her tissue to dry her face, but there were no tears.
His phone rang and he reached into his pocket, reading the caller ID.
"Answer it," she insisted.
"Nah, we're having a moment." The two of them laughed at each other.
She rolled her eyes, "Just answer the call."
Answering the phone, Walter stood up and walked over to his bedroom, "Hello?"
Hearing a sigh of relief, Faith spoke, "Oh, Walt, I was afraid you've been avoiding me. I'm so glad you answered; I know you don't like getting calls while you're still at school."
He shut his eyes, "Yeah, thanks for remembering that. I just got home a little while ago. I can't really talk right now - I'm about to start grading quizzes my kids took today."
"Okay, I'll call you later." She suggested, in almost a question, scared he would turn her down.
"Yeah, I'll call you after I'm done."
"Okay," she chirped. "Then I'll talk to you later."
"Bye," he ended the call, turning to Katherine who was standing up. "Sorry, that was Faith."
"No problem," she shrugged, reaching for her bag. "We should go, I don't wanna leave Simon's mom with JT for too long - he's really good at hide and seek."
The two of them turned towards the door as Belle hesitantly knocked, poking her head into her teacher's apartment. "Sorry uh, Mia's having a fit and Sean said something about not having his keys or something ... "
"Oh, uh, okay I'll be back," she replied, grabbing her bag and walking out into the hallway until Belle caught her arm.
"Koga shte mu kazhete?" She asked her sister.
Walter almost caught a glance from Katherine, but she kept her composure. "Kogato se doveryavame," she replied, just before walking into Sean's apartment.
Walter slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans, standing and following Belle's distasteful glare at his choice of curtains. "So, Katherine's you sister," he blurted out, making small talk. "That's cool."
The girl furrowed her brows, "She told you about Katherine?"
Walter took a pause, contemplating the situation; how 'Katherine' wasn't Katherine's real name but he had nothing else to refer to her as. He didn't know what else to call her. To him she never really looked like a Katherine; maybe an Amy or Julia - something common to balance out her beauty. "Is Katherine an actual person?"
"She's someone but I wouldn't call her a person," Belle mentioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "She's not my sister."
Walter chewed on the inside of his mouth, "I'm not following."
"Katherine is - " Belle paused, searching for the right words to say. "She kinda lives inside her; she follows her around, comments, dictates. She used to take over sometimes. That's where the List came from."
Walter had to take a seat. Processing the information, he gnawed at the inside of his mouth, "Are you messing with me?" He asked her.
"Dude, why would I joke about a personality disorder?" Her expression was blank and cold, zero sign of humor crossed her face. "She said she'd tell you when she trusts you."
He licked his lips, chuckling, "Guess she doesn't trust me then."
"She will," Belle mentioned. "She's here like everyday, even Simon's getting worried."
"Why?"
"Um, you're one of the three possible fathers. Ya'know this isn't Mamma Mia! teacher guy. It'd be more entertaining if this were Maury but, we have to find out who's the father somehow."
He met her eyes, "Heath."
She shook her head from side to side, "But like I said, it's Katherine's List. Katherine's the only one that knows who he is. I mean I've met the guy, but I didn't talk to him."
"But your sister knows what he looks like?"
She shook her head, "Yeah, she once described it like a dream. Like she can see everything from her perspective but she can't control anything she does. Simon's afraid she'll come back if she finds him."
"But like, she needs him for the paternity test," Walter mentioned.
Belle put up her hands in defense, "My bet is that it's you. I mean you were the last guy, and sleeping with a pregnant woman is pretty gross... but I mean when she met him, Katherine stepped up. She just kinda watched at that point."
"It's been five years, you really think she's still in love with him?"
Belle shrugged, "You still had the List, didn't you?"
Walter tilted his head, "I thought you said y'all just got back in contact?"
Belle smirked, "Doesn't mean we're not close."
"Hm," he hummed. "So, if worse comes to worse, you think Katherine will come back if Heath does."
"I mean I'm not a doctor - she doesn't tell me what her and her therapist talk about. But she still goes by 'Katherine', so to me it sounds like she's still tethered to him. Like she still wants to be tied to him someway."
"You can always untie a knot," he mentioned.
"Not if you don't wanna take off the shoes."
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A/N: Hey guys, I'm back. Just a reminder, I used Google Translate for the Bulgarian dialogue, so please excuse the grammatical errors if it isn't translated properly. Here is the American English translation below:
Belle: What?
Katherine: You didn't tell me the room number, Anabel!
Belle: That was the goal.
Belle: Shit
Katherine: Can you wait in the car for me, please?
Belle: He's the guy you talk to, is he not? Why did he call you -
Katherine: Now, please.
Belle: When will you tell him?
Katherine: When we trust.