A Leap of Faith -Closed-

[Waverly]

She sighed, appearently Josh was another of Ben's brothers. It felt unfair, and she felt ungrateful about her relationship to her sister – Frida. They weren't the best of friends, sure, but they did get along most of the time. And when Frida moved to Umeå, it had been almost a blessing upon Anka. She was finally alone and didn't have to put up with hearing about how wonderful and good her sister was. But what sort of thinking was that? When there were people losing their siblings to war, and other horrible things?! Anka, you're taking much for granted...


At least the cute fluffy chicken had her forget these troubling thoughts for a while. She reached out, touching it's soft feathers and duns. It was so soft to the touch that Anka couldn't help but let out a faint “Naaaaawww...”


Turning to the other pen, the larger birds actually looked a bit less cute and cozy, but they were still pretty to behold. They didn't exactly look very dangerous or aggressive to Anka, but if Mindy said they were she wouldn't doubt it. “Yes, I'm ready.” She said, preparing herself for whatever the hens would throw at her once she started feeding them. But then she reacted to something Mindy said. “Hah, before he eats us? Or... Wh-what? Eat him? That's not funny, who would eat their pets?!” She said, her voice slowly changing into one that showed that she was feeling a bit upset by the thought of eating such a majestic animal.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

It was a lot of fun seeing Ben give into the cuteness of the fluffy little Banty chickens, but Mindy had to make sure her cousin was ready for the bigger chickens. Some of them were pretty, and most of them were fairly docile, but that Bert. Ben's response had Mindy frowning once more, before letting it slide. Whatever had come over Ben he was showing a softer side of himself and Mindy wasn't going to shut that down. She wanted him to continue to open up to her. 


"Bert's not a pet, he's a monster. A possibly tasty monster." Mindy complained, eyeing the chicken instead of opening the door. "Auntie says we keep him around because he protects the hens but must he really protect them from us. Without us they don't eat." She continued, before taking a deep breath. 


"Alright. I'm going in." Mindy declared, opening the door and sliding in. At first, all the chickens stared at her, clucking softly, And then, as per usual, Bert when into a frenzy. "Oh my God get Off you Stupid chicken!" Mindy shouted as Bert flew at her, going from the ground to colliding with her shoulder faster then you'd believe a chicken could. "Ben! I have him distracted! Get in here and lay out the food!" 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Mindy’s perspective on what was food was quite a bit conflicting for Anka. Sure, people in general saw animal meat as food, or animal fur as clothing, that much she could understand even if she didn’t agree with it. But to think of still living and breathing animals as food while you were still feeding and caring for them? Like, you’re looking at the live animal and see food? That was unfathomable for poor Anna-Klara. Why anyone would like to kill and eat such a proud and pretty bird was simply beyond her.


Now, the fact that the bird was causing problems wasn’t lost on her. Tiny feathers and duns flew about in the air of the hen house while the rooster continuously jumped at Mindy with it's talons drawn, all the while the other birds cackled loudly and flapped around from the fright it caused them. Anka of course didn't know how to handle the situation and must've looked rather silly when she almost fell as she took a bad step when she strew the chicken feed out for the birds rather hap-hazardously and half in panic while Mindy had to fend of the enraged rooster. “Jävla helvete...” She muttered a curse once she was done, but was completely clueless at what to do in order to make it stop chasing after Mindy, who were still getting quite the trashing from Bert the monster bird!


“Mindy run! He's crazy!” She shouted, dropped the bucket and fled out from the pen, leaving the door open in hopes that Mindy would get out before any of the birds did.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Okay, so Bert must have had a really bad day or something was setting him off because his attacks were continuous when usually he was a calculating creature. He would wait and watch until he could get in one good attack and leave it at that. There was no relief when Ben told him to run, merely the response of smacking the rooster away, turning towards the door, and high tailing it. It was a good thing Ben hadn't tried leaving the door open earlier because otherwise it would have meant chasing chickens. Thankfully, with the food down, they were all preoccupied. 


Slamming the door shut behind her, Mindy locked it and then stared at the devil Rooster. "Okay, so he's usually bad but nothing like today." Mindy said rubbing at the back of her neck in confusion. "I'm going to have to mention it to Auntie. Predators may be trying to get into the pens at night." She said with a sigh before turning to Ben. "How bad is it?" She inquired, gesturing at her face which had a few places it was stinging. She should have thought to where a sweatshirt so that she had better protection. Well, lesson learned for next time. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Anna-Klara had already distanced herself a bit from the Bert's pen and stood leaned against one of the walls on the opposite side of the hen house, panting a little as she caught her breath from having fled. ”Predators? What kind of predators are there around here, bears, wolves?!” Anka asked, still so mentally worked up from the entire battle she and Mindy just fought versus the unusually enraged rooster that she didn't really reflect over the fact that Ben should probably know the wildlife around his home. And the fact that she asked for bears and wolves instead of something more probable like foxes and weasels? Well... Being born and raised in Stockholm has both pros and cons, let's leave it at that.


When Mindy asked her to have a look at her face and tell her what the damage was Anka approached her, meeting her half-way and was into her face in seconds, examining it for any sign of harm, as were she a detective. Luckily enough, Anka's exaggerated search for scratches revealed nothing but the fact that Mindy's hair had been put a bit outta place, probably from the flapping of Bert's wings. No visible scars or anything were there to be found, which was a great relief for Anka.


“Except from making your hair a mess I'd say Bert left you unharmed, Mindy.” She said, smiling at her as she let out a sigh of relief. “Though, I think those predators better watch out, that cock is freaking crazy, isn't he?”


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Laughing, Mindy shook her head. "You really need to learn the difference between Wolves and Coyotes. I mean, there might be wolves somewhere in this state but we've never dealt with them. Bears are possible but I mean, I don't see any bear prints around. So yeah, either Coyotes or Mountain Lions." She said with a shrug, shaking her head. "At least they're all predators that usually avoid humans unless they're sick. Remember when my Dad had to shoot that Mountain Lion because it wasn't afraid of us at all? Just sitting there in broad daylight, staring right at us, not backing down when we approached. That was sad but also kind of cool; at least the animal didn't have to suffer anymore." 


Thrown off just a little by Ben's reference of a cock, and wondering if he had meant to call the chicken a 'dick' instead because that was a more insulting and less vulgar name, Mindy straightened her hair before responding. "Yeah, it really is why Bert is kept around. You remember the Coyote we saw with the scratched snout? You were so sure it was Bert but I still say that looked more like cat claws instead of bird talons." She said. "Alright, we still have 4 more pens to feed. Forget about collecting eggs today, I'll get them tomorrow. I doubt there's room in the fridge anyway." She added, leading him to the pens a little farther back on the property. One of the gates were a bit complicated to open, and Mindy struggled as prettily speckled chickens wandered around in the pen. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Stopping herself from actually commenting on Mindy's father killing a lion (Something that was a right atrocity in her book) Anka just nodded slowly, as if she was agreeing with what Mindy had said. Unfortunately, she was actually so angered by the mention of the dead lion, that she stopped listening half way through Mindy's sentence, and hence didn't quite catch the bit where it had actually been perceived as sad and that it was arguably for the best anyway since the poor beast was sick to begin with. This behaviour was one that came with being the kind of vegetarian and animal friend that Anka was, often turning a deaf ear to anything that appeared bad or evil on the surface even if it was actually a rather merciful or good thing if only you saw the big picture.


“Nah, it was bird's talon, I'm sure of that.” She said even though she had no idea at all what it had looked like. “So then, if we eat Bert, the coyotes will eat the rest of our birds. Which means no eggs... I think it's worth saving him for another day, even if he is possibly tasty as you suggest.” She added, as she was forcing herself into a happier state of mind and putting her smile back on again. Heck, this Ben character probably viewed things differently than her, and even if she was right hand he was wrong (yes, that was her way of putting it her mind) it was unfair to Mindy and everyone around if Ben suddenly and for no apparent reason started causing trouble over how things were done and what kind of jokes they made. So in a sense she pulled that joke in an attempt to act more like Ben. This was the first time it struck her mind. I'm actually trying to be him... For their sake. For his sake. But why? What if this is not real? What if... Man, I don't know what to think...


She sighed deeply at the fact that she couldn't wrap her head around what was going on. Though it did sound like she sighed at the chore of having to do four more pens. “Whatever you say, Mindy. Let's just hope there's not another Bert.” She said and followed Mindy to the next pen. This time around she made sure not to aww when she saw the chickens even if she actually found them rather pretty with their speckled patterns. “You guys hungry?” She said as if she was asking the chickens before she immedeatyle jumped to the next topic:


“So, tell me about this surprise party. What do they have in store for me this time around? I want to know all the details, that way I can act properly surprised at the right moment, know what I mean? And we do get cake right?”


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

"Easy for you to say." Mindy grumbled. "You weren't the one who got attacked this time. Besides, we've had good roosters in the past that protected the flock and didn't attack us." She pointed out with a pout. She perked up a little as they continued on because there was no reason to allow a chicken to ruin her day. Though Ben was behaving a bit oddly, it was nice to have him be so open and that he was being so playful and light hearted was great. He seemed just... more cheerful then normal, despite the oddities. It was a nice change. And that wasn't to say Ben wasn't a happy guy, just that he usually wasn't so open about it. He tended to be more laid back. 


Mindy laughed and shook her head when Ben concerned himself over there being another Bert. From the way he had been responding to killing Bert that day, Mindy decided not to remind him that they were having Ernie, another one of the more vicious chickens, for dinner at his party that night. "No, no more Berts." 


As they worked their way through the rest of the pens, Mindy shrugged. "I know we're going to fix the fence so they can get your party ready; all the decorations and birthday stuff you know? And wrap any presents they haven't gotten to, yet. You know how bad your mom is at waiting until the last minute to wrap something." Mindy said, shaking her head. "And of course there's going to be cake, Ben! Have we ever had a year where you didn't have cake?" Mindy said. "Well, oay, there was the year I tried to help and I really burnt the cake but Auntie made a new one for you the next day!!" She pointed out, wagging her finger at him. "Just don't have a heart attack when they jump out from behind the furniture; not like you would since they hide behind the same furniture every year but." Mindy shrugged, dumping the last of the chicken food and collecting the buckets. "It will be fun, regardless. Also, since you've been forgetful lately, remember our pact on birthday presents. When we get our Christmas Money this year, you and I will go out together and each buy something the other wants as a combined birthday/christmas present." 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

If there was one thing Anna-Klara took really serious it was surprises and secrets. Spoiling a surprise or giving away a secret was something she would never do willingly. Even something as trivial as spoiling the ending of a movie was something that didn't pass without leaving her with a bad feeling about it afterwards. Though, Mindy appeared to be very different from Anka in this regard, as she really didn't appear to mind spilling all the beans about Ben's so called surprise party.


But the way she had just started talking to him about it was so natural and honest in a way, it felt as if Ben and Mindy wasn't big on this whole secret-surprise thing, and that the party more so something that Ben would've expected rather than an actual surprise, so Anka hadn't had any problems asking on about it.


“Thank heavens, there will be cake.” She said in a theatrical way, as if it was the most important thing about the entire party. “And no heart attacks, check.” She added playfully as she bucked an imaginary list in the air in front of her.


“And right, the pact. I won't forget, don't worry about it, cuz.” She said, trying to pronounce 'cousin' in the same kind of manner and accent as Mindy did, thinking that that would probably make her a more convincing Ben. “Have you any idea what you want to get when the day comes yes? I mean, it's still quite the while till Christmas, and I personally have not the slightest clue. Besides, who knows what I'll get for my birthday. Might as well make my mind up afterwards.”


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Mindy laughed and shook her head. That was so typical of Ben; looking forward to the cake. Well, their family really did like food and there was nothing wrong with that. And his mother's cake was one of those things Mindy greatly enjoyed. Collecting the empty buckets to return to the porch, she decided that whatever weird thing Ben had gone through this morning had been a temporary phase. She was pretty sure she had heard somewhere that sometimes dreams could affect your memory so maybe Ben had been sincere and had just needed that little reminder. She shrugged. At any rate, she was glad Ben was being more himself. 


"I'm not sure, actually. I have a few ideas in mind but I haven't settled yet." Mindy replied with a small smile. "So many things would be nice to have, and yet I want it to be actually useful." She explained. "Something I won't wear for a day and then never wear again like the dress I wanted so badly last year." She added with a sigh and shook her head. "But yeah, man, no rush on making a choice. We are months away from Christmas anyway." She said with a laugh, shaking her head and shrugging. "Let's go get that fence taken care of." 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

29th of February, 2016 - One grey Flogsta morning

Spoiler

Even though the tall brick buildings were just as desaturated and grey as the cloudy February sky, Flogsta was a place that displayed great contrasts during this particular morning. It was about 8am and the first light started appearing on the horizon. Everything was quiet and calm, not a sound to be heard in all of Flogsta. The slippery and icy streets were empty save from one or two hung over students on their walk of shame home from last night's wet escapades. On the snowy ground lay a rain of shattered glass and the crushed remains a TV that had been thrown from the seventh floor during one of last night's many parties. Cans had been thrown to and fro and lay scattered all over the floors in each and every dorm building. About a dozen bicycles dangled from high branches of trees that had the unfortunate fate of growing close enough to one of the buildings for the students to be able to throw bikes at it from the roof. It all clearly witnessed of what a rowdy and wild night it had been in the so called student ghetto last night (which was just an ordinary Sunday by the way), and it stood in stark contrast to the peaceful and quiet Monday morning that was now going on.


In the third room on the left, in the corridor to the right from the elevator, on the seventh floor of building number six, an iPhone sounded the alarm clock at exactly 08:00 am. The phone itself lay in a tiny black handbag placed on the floor beside the desk that was located in the far right corner of the 16 square meter box that was the room. In the opposite corner of the room was a messy bed, and in three tiny tables which in combination served as some kind of bedside table. Dominating the walls was a large bookcase with at least a hundred books, but there were also a number of paintings and framed posters that adorned the egg white walls. Except for the messy bed and handbag that was thrown on the floor, the room quite tidy and clean. Not even the little alcove that constituted the hall, nor the tiny bathroom, was the slightest bit dirty or unclean. In fact, the room was in unusually good condition for being in Flogsta.


By the door in the hall one could find a handful of coats jackets, a couple of scarves and various hats, along with grand collection of shoes. The shoe collection was somewhat impressive, not that any of them were in any way fancy. Most of them were different coloured converse or other kinds of canvas shoes that hadn't been used in a while due to the wintry weather outside. In fact, there was only one pair in the entire room that appeared fit for the season; a pair of tall, brown, mocha leather boots. The boots were not in the hall with the rest of the shoes however, they were in bed, still stuck to the feet of the 20-year-old that had passed out in it last night without bothering to take her clothes off.


On one of the small tables by the bed lay a pair of fake glasses and a couple of pencils along with a black moleskine notebook. The notebook was open, and someone had written in it with big red letters: 'Sufjan'. On the next page there was a picture of a heart stabbed by a dagger, a cartoon bunny that had hanged itself, and a bird without a head, all drawn with the same red ink as the letters.



BEEP BEEP! The alarm clock was relentless!


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

The insistent beeping would wake anyone up eventually, and Ben opened weary eyes to a world he didn't recognize. His first thought at seeing this place was that he was still asleep, still dreaming but even if he was he needed to get the beeping to stop. He listened for where it was coming from since the noise offender wasn't in plain sight and then stumbled out of bed. Not feeling the cold of the floor, he glanced down and was confused not only by the fact he was still wearing clothing but because there was something very wrong with his chest. A prank, then. It's been awhile since Joseph and Joanne have pulled something this elaborate though. He said, reaching up to press at the breasts he now had. What did they use, though? These feel pretty damn real...


Called back to reality by the annoying beep, he continued his search for the noisy alarm and found the sound coming mainly from a purse. Sorry, whoever this belongs to, but I am not listening to this anymore. He thought irritatedly, little remorse in his thoughts while he opened the purse and found a very odd thing come out. Looked kind of like a phone but also more high tech then any he'd ever seen. Ben supposed that really wasn't saying much, though. He began to stumble through getting the alarm to go away, before sighing and reaching up to run fingers through his short hair like he always did... only problem was his hair wasn't short. At first he considered a wig but... no, they wouldn't have gone so far as to glue a wig to his head. 


Forcing himself to remain calm, Ben began to search the area for a mirror and paused when he came across the notebook. "Is it possible that I've had a curse put on me or something?" He asked himself out loud, looking at images he found entirely disturbing. His mind was still processing things so slowly thanks to having just work up, and it seemed to piece together the puzzle at a sluggish rate. "I really need to find a mirror." 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Finding actual mirrors in Anka's room wasn't really easy unless you had a look around the entire place. The only real mirrors being the one over the sink in the bathroom and the tiny make-up mirror that lay somewhere in the chaotic mess and seemingly endless void that was her purse. Finding surfaces reflective enough to see your own face in wasn't really that hard once you really started looking however. The most obvious one was the window, which mainly overlooked the bicycle parking stalls and street below, but you could also see your own reflection in if you looked at it from the right angle. Then there was of course the reflective and glossy screen of her MacBook, which was currently residing inside a protective case that was places on the light wooden desk. And for certain there were many others.


All of a sudden, the iPhone buzzed and vibrated as it let out another, more melodious, beeping noise than before. It had received a text message that instantly showed appeared on the, now, lit screen. The message said:



----


From: John F


God morgon, och grattis på födelsedagen, Mary Jane!


Stor planer för kvällen? Eller får jag anordna en Corridor Crawl i din ära?


Vi kan planera mer noga när vi cyklar till föreläsningen om en stund.



Ses om ett tag! (Frukost i köket, jag fixar!)

Spoiler

Good morning and happy birthday, Mary Jane!



Big plans for the evening? Or can I arrange a Corridor Crawl in your honour?


We can discuss it later when we're biking to the lecture.



See you in a bit! (Breakfast in the kitchen, my treat!)

----


Now, John always called Anka Mary Jane. Why? Well, because he somehow thought that she resembled Mary Jane from Spider-man, for reasons unknown.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

It took a little doing, but eventually Ben found the bathroom, ergo a mirror. He had passed the window by on purpose because he couldn't trust the glimpse he saw, but upon reaching a mirror he could no longer deny it. He glanced in the mirror, backed away from it, looked in it again, waved at the reflection, poked his face slowly and then poked the mirror. "What the Hell?" He demanded, looking over himself once more. This was no longer something to remain 'calm' about... there was some freaky stuff going on and Ben was having so much trouble comprehending it. He left the room when he heard a phone beep and, by some miracle, made it to the text only to stare blankly. "What is this? Egyptian? Russian? What the heck?" He demanded, wondering who Morgon was and why he was apparently a God don't be an idiot Ben, if the rest isn't in English then that part probably isn't. Where is Google Translate when you need it? 


"Alright, so either I've gone insane or..." Ben tried to think of a better option. Something that could get him back home. And came up with nothing. "Nope. I've lost it. I've gone absolutely nuts. I can't read, I don't look how I'm supposed to." Trying not to have a panic attack, Ben thought rationally. He tapped his fingers against his thigh, noticing that they were more slender and smooth but not paying it too much mind. "Ridiculous. I'm being ridiculous... There has to be some kind of explanation." He said, doing the exceptionally crazy thing and having an outright conversation with himself. "Is it possible I died and was reincarnated? But... why would I wake up at this age? And why the hell don't I know what this language is?" He said, staring down at the words that may have well as been Greek or Spanish for all he knew. 


@Wavebird (Is the Phone buttons and stuff in Swedish too? Like 'reject call' and 'text message' etc??)

 

[Waverly]

There was really nothing betraying the location of the room geographically. Looking out the window one could only see the same old boring rows of grey brick buildings which really wasn't typically Swedish in any shape, way or form, if anything they were as anonymous as anonymous buildings get. But there was at least the snowy and northern-looking landscape with firs and pines, which suggested that the place was at least... somewhat far north in the world (unless it was the southern island on like New Zealand, but yeah right).


Knock knock knock!


Suddenly there were three heavy knocks on the wooden door that lead from Anka's room out into the corridor. The door sounded rather thin and hollow, for it wasn't a very heavy set door or anything, more like an ordinary indoors kind of door and not a real front door sort of deal. The fact was that both doors, walls, and floors were all very thin, allowing sound and noise to almost freely travel between any two adjecent rooms.


”Vakna nu, sömntuta! Gotta hurry the fuck up om vi ska hinna käka frukost innan plugget börjar!”

Spoiler

“Wake up, sleepy head! Gotta hurry the fuck up if we're to eat breakfast and make it to school in time!”

Said a man's voice coming from the other side of the door. He had a friendly kind of voice and it sounded like the man, whoever he was, was in a good mood as he talked.


@RubyRose


((And yes, the phone would most probably be in Swedish. Is the Swedish thing working out for you? Or is it just confusing?))

 

[RubyRose]

It was frustrating not knowing what was going on, and what the language was on the phone, and what he was supposed to do. Ben wasn't really much of a reader, but Joanne was... and this kind of made Ben think of a book. But this was supposed to be real life, right? Still, what if the only way to get back home was to play this through right? What if there was no way back home? Rubbing a hand over his face and back through the hair that was so much longer then he was used to, he froze at the knock that came from the door. He turned to look, not registering how loud the sounds were or how they filled the small room; his back had broken out in an icy sweat from the unknown of what was behind the door.


Ben really shouldn't have been surprised that the language spoken from the other side of the door was the same weird language he assumed was on his phone. Though one part made sense. For a moment he thought his brain had clicked into gear and was understanding the language now, so he looked down at the phone hoping for answers but it was still the weird language. "One minute." He said, only realizing just how... feminine his voice was now. He had a is that my voice? Is that my voice?! moment, but he shoved it aside. Why he hadn't noticed it sooner, he had no idea but he noticed now. "Could you speak English, please?" He added after a moment of thought. "And repeat what you just said? I'm um... wanting to practice English today." He added a little lamely. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Whoever was on the other side of the door waited a few seconds before he replied to the sort of unusual request to repeat everything he had just said in English. “Sure thing, weirdo... So, I was wondering if you're going to come out from that room of yours soon? We'll have to start munching some breakfast soon or we'll be late for class.” The voice spoke English rather well, and even though there was a faint foreign accent to it, it wasn't completely easy to determine that he wasn't a native English speaker. “Oh, and read the text I sent to you!”


“Breakfast will serves in two minutes, be there or be square.” Said another voice, this time it was the voice of a woman and was clearly not at the same level of English as the man's voice. The woman had a much more defined foreign accent and didn't appear to really have control of her phrasing.


The people outside of the door was John and Danielle. Both of them lived in the same corridor as Anka and John were also in the same class as her. Because of this the two had quickly become friends and used to bike to university together each morning. Danielle on the other hand had been in the corridor for over a year when Anka and John moved in, but she had quickly become found of Anka and turned out to be a very caring (if a bit strange) friend and was something of a corridor-mom to everyone who lived there. Too be sure, none of them were the kind of people Anka would hang out with back in Stockholm, but they had sort of become her new family whether she likes it or not, they often cooked and shared meals together and had the same routines.


Right as of now the two had put together a fancy (by Flogsta standards) breakfast for Anka. It consisted of a tiny salad, a glass of orange juice, and oatmeal cooked in the microwave with some lingonberry jam and milk to go with it. Danielle, had even lit a candle and placed in a glass on the table in the common kitchen/dining area of the corridor. The table was pretty roughed up by the many years it had managed to survive Flogsta; more or less everyone that had ever lived in the corridor had carved their name into it or at least written on it with a pen. And considering that there were twelve rooms in each corridor and that at least half of the rooms got a new owner each semester... Well, you can imagine what the poor table looked like.



@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Class? Ben could feel a sense of panic rising in his chest, but he forced it back down. Panicking never helped anything. Whatever this was, whatever was going on, Ben was determined to play the part right. If it was a dream or a step into an alternate world, it didn't seem fair to do something wrong. The biggest fear he was coping with at the moment was the fact that it was more then likely this school would also speak in the language he didn't understand. Still, it was a problem he could work around... at least he hoped he could. 


"This state of dress..." He said, looking down at the fully clad body he was now inside of. "I guess this will do for a second day. Hopefully no one notices." Because there was no way Ben was going to change. There was a level of wrong in even considering it. He knew if he had someone inhabiting his body he would not want someone ogling his body. Or well... actually... he probably wouldn't care all that much. It was more... he knew Mindy hated being looked at as an object and not a being and Ben was a guy and he knew what would happen if he changed his clothes. So he opted out, straightened the clothing he wore, grabbed the purse and the phone, and headed downstairs. He paused, glancing back at the door and wondered if he should lock it or if he even knew where the key to lock it was. I only have two minutes to figure out where breakfast is. And to be with the people who could hopefully guide me to class, wherever that may be.


After dealing with the door, he headed out and attempted to find his way to breakfast. He got turned around once or twice but after a deep breath and a redetermining of his goal he managed to find breakfast. He was taken aback by the table, and then at what he would call a meager breakfast. Then looking down at himself, it made sense she wouldn't be a heavy eater but... did they really have no meat? Don't be picky, Ben. Food is food. And... don't assume it's for you, either. "Is... um... so about breakfast? Is this for me?" He wondered if they would notice his English was accented differently then there's... but he had never been good at mimicking and any attempt he made at the accent would sound even more false then his speaking normally. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

If the corridor was a  T-shape, then the ’stem’ was the long hallway with all twelve rooms in it, and the leftmost part of the ’roof’ was the kitchen. The opposite roof-part was a small and narrow living-room kind of deal with a old television set and a few chairs and a sofa as well as a door that led to a balcony that was shared with the other corridor on this floor of the building. In the precise middle of the ’roof’ was the entrance that led to the stairwell and elevator.


When Anka entered the room, both John and Daniella looked a bit surprised. But Danielle’s surprised mug would soon turn into a sly smirk as she eyed the girl that had just entered the kitchen. ”Yes Sunshine, is your breakfast. We cooking it for you all morning.” She said in the same manner as before, confirming that English wasn’t exactly her strong suit. ”Varför måste du prata engelska? Vi är ju i Sverige, hjärtat.” She added, in a questioning tone of voice.

Spoiler

"Why do you have to speak English? We're actually in Sweden, Sweetie."

John, however, gave Danielle a nudge by way of telling her to lay of it, and then said with a broad smile and a theatrical manner of voice: ”Congratulations! Dear Anka, our favorite 20-year-old! Welcome to the freedom of being able to go to Systembolaget. Also, welcome to not being a lame-ass teenager no more! Now that you’re all grown up, you can officially be on the cool-squad!” When he was done with his speech he handed a small giftbox over to Anka, wrapped in red present paper. Not that it was possible to see it since the present was still wrapped in paper, but it’s insides contained a very stylish purple and yellow baseball cap with a Batgirl print on it. And that was what John meant by the ’cool-squad’ that he had just humorously made up. For the cap in the present box was actually very similar and of the same brand as the Batman cap that John himself was currently wearing. John actually had the typical John-outfit today. Batman Cap, Ramones t-shirt, trashy jeans. Surprisingly enough he had actually trimmed his beard a little today, not that Ben would know the difference.


Danielle was also clad as one could expect, straight jeans and a green kind of blouse. She wore her dark brown hair tied up in a ponytail as always. She as well placed a small gift on the table, one that wasn’t wrapped in any paper - A flower. ”And here are for you also! A… Pelargon. It’s called Black Knight. Is perfect because why you get from John.” She said, smiling as if she was proud that she hade made the connection between the flower’s name and Batman (which was actually called The Dark Knight, but that wasn’t the kind of thing Danielle kept track off).


John just sighed at Danielle for spoiling the contents of his present. He looked at Anka, still smiling slightly. ”Well, birthday girl, have a seat, open up the present. Eat up. We’ll have to leave in a few minutes.”


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Multiple things felt so different from his regular body. Like smiling. He pulled his mouth into a smile at the woman's words, trying to figure out how much humor to respond with since it was obvious that the breakfast hadn't been cooked. "So very kind of you." He said in an attempt to mimic her playfully snide tone. When she spoke in the strange language, he just shrugged and looked away. It was obvious that a question had been asked but it wasn't like he knew what was being asked or even how to answer back in the proper language so he decided shrugging was his best bet. He tried to make a guess at what she could be asking but she could be saying anything from 'how was your morning' to 'why do you have a purple donkey' for all he knew. Maybe she was asking why he wanted to speak English... still, he could do nothing more then shrug and look at the floor. 


She's 20... or I'm 20. Didn't I just turn 20 at home? When I went to bed it was the night before my birthday. What if the reason people are so different when they turn 20 is because people switch bodies? It was a well known fact people change while they grow up... so Ben thought it was a fair guess. Still, dread swept through him. If he stayed in this body he'd be at a serious disadvantage because he didn't even know what language they were speaking in. Did you catch your current name is Anka, Ben? He forced himself to focus on what was being said around him. He needed to learn as much as he could as quickly as he could. 


"That really doesn't give me much time to enjoy this wonderful meal." He pointed out with a playful smile before tearing into the gift. He didn't understand the flower thing at all so aside from smiling he didn't comment as he opened the gift. "Wow, cool." Ben said and meant it to some degree. He had never been the biggest Batman fan but even he could appreciate a cool hat. He immediately put it on and realized it was just like the one Anka's supposed friend was wearing. "The hat and flower, and breakfast are really great guys. Thank you." Ben said before shoveling the breakfast down. If he was good at one thing it was wolfing through breakfast and he had everything finished within the time limit of minutes. He then tucked the flower behind his ear in a way he'd seen Mindy do before and got ot his feet. "So, to class?" 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

John smiled at Anka when said she liked the hat. He hadn’t been sure she would like it since she had never showed any interest in comic book characters before, but then again, she had gladly watched the entire Batman trilogy with him a few weeks ago (when they were supposed to be studying), and she did seem to be at least a bit into games and movies in general. Besides, he knew that she liked to hang out with Hannah, Theo’s ultra nerdy little sister, so that said something as well.


”Glad you like it. And before you say anything, I know that’s not Mary Jane, but I figured Babs was similar enough. Smart girl, red hair, good looks. Besides, if you had a Spider-Man cap you wouldn’t belong to the cool squad with me, so.” He said rather humorously and winked at Anka, throwing in a few hidden compliments while he was at it. Him doing something like that wasn’t entirely uncommon. In fact, during class he was so in Anka’s face that Hannah had come up with a theory about it. She was certain that John had a thing for Red Heads. According to her, John had always been chasing after girls with copper hair in school, so that made perfect sense. But Hannah wasn’t alone with these observations, see, John’s current shower of compliments directed towards Anka didn’t pass Danielle’s radar either.

”Har du något du vill berätta för henne, John?”

Spoiler

"Is there something you want to tell her, John?"

She said in a playful tone by way of challenging him, smirking a she did. Danielle, too, had a theory. She was convinced that John secretly fancied Anka, but hadn’t made a move yet because she had Sufjan. Which was something she actually respected him for. Not that it stopped her from having some fun on his expense.


John didn’t take the bait though, he just put a stone face on and looked at Danielle for a short while without saying a word, then he looked back at Anka. ”Mhm! Off to class!” He said and got up from the table. ”I’ll just go get my jacket, meet you down by the bikes, Mary Jane.” Then he headed away from the kitchen and towards his room.


”Not worry about the dishes, I take care of them. It’s your birthday.” Said Danielle, who already started cleaning the table and tapping up water in far from fresh kitchen sink. She walked up to Anka and gave her a quick surprise hug and whispered in her ear. ”Du börjar likna John…”

Spoiler

"You becoming more like John..."

Exactly what Danielle meant by that was probably lost on Ben, but she was actually thinking about the fact that Anka’s hair and make-up was in a right mess after the night, and that she was still wearing the same oversize sweater, shirt, and leggings as yesterday. It was more like John to have messy hair and wear the same clothes two days in a row, not Anka.


She then made a short hop backwards away from Anka and tilted her head. "Have a nice birthday! I see you when you come home, hun!" She said, with a broad smile and waving with her hand.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Ben was a guy... he was actually really oblivious to John's compliment. Like, he accepted it as a compliment. Yeah, the body I'm in is pretty. But didn't consider for a moment it was anything but a nice, comment. He didn't see it as flirting... maybe on another day but there was so much to process and plan for that his brain didn't have enough capacity to pick up on anything else. Most of John's comments about a spiderman hat went over Ben's head in general. 


And then they were speaking the odd language again, and Ben was wondering how he could go about asking what language it was without sounding weird. He actually came up with an idea he was pretty proud of, since he wasn't always the idea type of guy. "You speak our home tongue so beautifully," He complimented Danielle though he wished he knew what she had said. "Too bad the English word for it is so... so... what was the English word for it again?" He inquired, trying to look puzzled. 


"Right... to the bikes." Which Ben did not know where was. Did he risk getting lost? He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture as he watched John leave, and was caught off guard when he was enveloped in a hug and something foreign was whispered into his ear. He heard 'John'... or he thought he did but wasn't sure. Was he being asked something? Accused of something? He had no idea... so he just smiled awkwardly and waved, following his way to the exit. And then he didn't go any farther for fear of getting lost. "It's okay to wait for John here, right? I hope he comes this way." Ben said to himself, realizing that was kind of a crazy thing to do and not caring. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

”Tongue? Means that dialect…? Accent? Well, it’s a well known fact that west coast Swedish is the best accent. We sound happy and friendly, not like you from Stockholm. But I’m glad you finally realise.” Said Danielle who didn’t really grasp the entire tongue-thing. But she had taken the bait anyway and made a guess at what Anka was talking about, for Danielle was always looking for just any reason to mention anything related to her west coast heritage, which was a very big part of her identity. And by that she turned to the sink and started washing the dishes, perhaps smiling even broader now than she did just a second ago. Wort nothing was the fact that she wasn’t only cleaning the dishes the three of them had used for breakfast, no, there was a right mountain of dishes, cutlery, cups and glasses that had been left unwashed by some of the other inhabitants of the corridor. See, many of them were to careless and too lazy to wash their own dishes, hadn’t it been for Danielle taking upon herself to wash and clean, the place would’ve been a complete mess in a matter of days.


Once John had fetched his jacket and things he hurried to the stairwell, jumped into the elevator and rode it down from the 7th floor all the way down to the entry level. Well there he went from the elevator and outside, finding both Anka and many bicycles that stood in long rows. A handful of bikes had fallen over, either due to the wind or because people were jerks who for some reason threw them there. ”I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again, from the bottom of my heart…” John said and as he just passed Anka, headed straight to his bike took the lock off his bike and hopped on it. Once on he rode back to Anka and finished his sentence: ”…I fucking hate Mondays.”


”Hey, where’s your bike? I can’t see it anywhere.” Said John, and looked around, searching for the old copper coloured bike that belonged to Anka. ”Stolen perhaps? Did you remember to lock it yesterday?”


Even though Flogsta was a safe place for people, it was far from a safe place for bicycles. Most bikes were old and not very expensive, but still, all of them had heavy locks to keep them safe from the winding up in the hands of one of the many bike thieves that relied on the students to keep business afloat. Forget to lock the bike just once and chances were it was gone by morning, a hard truth that many a student had come to face after forgetting to lock their bike on a drunken night.


"Some birthday present.... I can give you a ride on the rack if you want." John added as he patted the rack on his rusty old bike.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

So I'm from Stockholme.... Ben thought, listening to kind woman who had been more help then she realized. And they speak Swedish. Putting a name to the language made Ben feel a little bit better about everything, even if he was still completely and entirely lost on just what they were saying in Swedish. So.... on top of that, I must be in Sweden, right? Ben had been pretty decent at Geography once upon a time. He had liked mapping things out and studying maps but he hadn't been so good about remembering cultures, city names, or anything along those lines. I wish I could remember all the places Swedish was spoken at. At least I have a guess where I am. Overall, that one question had answered a lot for Ben. Though there were still so many more but he doubted they were ones that Danielle could answer. 


"Right." Ben agreed, because he also hated Mondays. They were just not good days. "Mondays suck." He added so that he didn't sound quite so sheep like, just agreeing with everything John was saying.


When he asked about Ben's bike... well Ben even looked around like he would have spotted it, but he was going to have to go off of John's knowledge and if he didn't see it then there was no luck for Ben. "I don't remember." He said, brows furrowing. He actually did attempt to remember but his yesterday he had been on a ranch. He had been in his mother's house where everyone spoke English and he would have been out doing his chores. And in the evening he didn't have a bike to lock up so... and just because he attempted to remember what this person, Anka, had done yesterday he had no luck figuring it out. 


"If you don't mind... I mean, I guess I could stay home but I doubt I'd like that choice tomorrow." Ben said, thinking about the days he had skipped school in his youth. It was the next day that usually caused the most trouble. So without further amble, Ben got about as comfortable as one could riding along on someone else's bike. "Thanks." He added, because it felt like the right thing to say.


@Wavebird 

 

[Waverly]

”Of course I don’t mind, in fact I’m happy too! You’re so light it doesn’t make much difference anyway. Besides, it’s your birthday, you get free favours today. Just you remember… I’ll expect some favours too when it’s my birthday.” John said and allowed Anka to hop up behind him on the bike, and then set off towards the university.


The first few meters of their ride was carried out in a wobbly and shaky manner, and it was rather obvious that John had been exaggerating how little impact Anka would have on his biking. But given a few minutes to get used to the extra weight John soon got the situation under perfect control, and swift as the wind the rusty old bike carried the two students along the bicycle path nicknamed as Flogsta Highway and towards the central parts of Uppsala.



Despite the wintry weather, snow, wind and ice, the two arrived safely at the University only ten or so minutes. John really had pushed it, not only had he given Anka a ride, but he’d also made the trip to the university in less time than normal. If this was because John was stressed, trying to impress someone, or simply due to the fact that he got to choose the pace himself this time around was hard to tell.  At any rate, they were now there - The University Building. 

Spoiler

There were many buildings all over town that was used by Uppsala University, but the one that hosted today’s lecture was by far the best one according to Anka. It was an old stone building from the 18th century or something, it lay in the centre of town and was surrounded by a beautiful park with many different old threes, statues, rune stones and what not. But even if it was certainly a beautiful building on a beautiful spot overlooking the equally beautiful cathedral in Uppsala it wasn’t what made it special, no, the fact that it stood on the same spot that the original university from the 15th century had once been was what made it stand out. Uppsala University, the first university in Scandinavia and one of the world’s oldest and most influential throughout history. It felt like an important place, and like the wings of history was ever present at the place. But then again, Anka was the kind of person to romanticize such things in a way that gave them way more credit than they were actually due.


As the two parked the bike, a girl about their age came towards them. She was dressed in a white coat and had a black beanie with cat ears on. It was Hannah.


”Hej, hur är läget? Fint att ni samåker, some riktiga ena riktiga miljötomtar.” She said and chuckled slightly, clearly happy to see them, but just as clearly asking a question.
 

Spoiler

"Hi, how are you? It's nice that you're car-pooling*, like a pair of real environmentalists."


*The Swedish translation works for any kind of vehicle, it directly translates to 'together-traveling'.

”It’s no laughing matter, Hannah, we think Anka’s bike got stolen…” Said John in tone of voice that was way more serious than he had been earlier today.


”Stolen? Oh my, exactly how wasted were you last night Anne-Claire? Don’t you remember that you left your bike at my place and decided to take the buss home instead? I even brought it here for you, look.” Said the girl and pointed towards Anka’s bike, which she had parked not far away from where they now stood. The fact that she was suddenly speaking in English didn’t come as a surprise John, and hadn’t come as a surprise to Anka either if she had actually been there. See, Hannah was, if anything, a playful person, so it wasn’t at all surprising that she followed court without question.


”Here’s your key back.” Said Hannah and handed Anka a tiny key attached to a Pikachu keyring. ”The Pikachu is a present, birthday girl. Congratulations on becoming 20! And… erhm… We need to talk. In private.” She said, clearly meaning for John to leave.


@RubyRose