A Leap of Faith -Closed-

[RubyRose]

Ben was entirely grateful he hadn't been left to his own devices. If he had been told to find his own way to school, he would have been sunk. And the man continued the kindness of speaking English so that he could understand. Though this day was odd, there were a lot of blessings to be seen and appreciated. "Of course." He responded simply, still interested in how feminine and soft his voice sounded as instead of the one he was so used to. 


For a moment Ben was ready to admit defeat. There was no point in them both being late, right? Despite this man's help, it wasn't kind to drag him down with Ben. Still, the farmboy did not want to think about how lost he would be if he gave up now. He might be able to find his way back 'home' but then what? The scenery was nice, at least, and though the air was chilly it was brisk. It kept Ben awake and alert and it felt good. The pace on the bike picked up, and it was before Ben was mentally ready that he found himself at what could only be the University. It looked like every University Ben had ever seen- you know, when your high school guidance counselors spent all that time pushing brochures of opportunities in your face. 


She's pretty. Ben noted as he realized a girl was walking towards them. Not as pretty as... Anka... but still pretty. It was weird to think that he was prettier then anyone, but it was the honest truth. The body he wore was attractive. It would have been ridiculous to deny it. Ben kind of stared blankly as the girl spoke, wondering if he could understand now because he knew what language it was but there was no such luck. John's reply came wonderfully timed, and also explained what the girl had said. Or at least, Ben could only assume that she had been asking about them carpooling on a bike. 


"Oh..." Ben said, his reasoning taking a long time to catch up to what was going on. "Thanks. Sorry about that." He said, turning back and giving John an apologetic smile. "I can't remember anything from last night." He said, releasing a sigh and finding it interesting how even just sighing was different. Anka's sighs came out softer unlike his which were almost always heavy. He accepted thekey almost numbly and then stopped to look at the Pikachu. Pokemon is a thing in Sweden? Whoa... the things you learn. Ben said, finding the key ring fascinating. 


"What? What do we need to talk about? Don't we need to get to class?" John had already proven himself to be a friend. And I mean... this girl had brought Anka's bike, but still... Ben trusted John. He knew John. Sort of. As much as you can know someone in less then an hour. At any rate he was more comfortable remaining near John, and though he had no proof he and John were in the same class he was really hoping they were. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

John raised one of his eyebrows and looked at the two girls with a huge amount of suspicion before he left them to speak in private as by Hannah’s request. “Sure, go ahead and discuss your girly secret. I’ll go ahead and get us good seats.” He said, with a wink and he started for the broad stairs that lead to the entrance of the university building.

“He’s in an awfully good mood for being him on a Monday…” Hannah followed John with her gaze till he was out of earshot, then returned her attention to Anka. Sporting a rather inquisitive facial expression, she eyed her up and down, allowing her eyes to rest for a long while at Anka’s new Batman cap. “Nice bed hair and smudged make-up. and the same outfit as last night, save for the hat. One could think you didn’t get home to your room properly last night.” She said, with a sudden chill in her voice, almost as if she was accusing Anka of something that she didn’t mention. Had the real Anka been there she’d probably pick up on the fact that Hannah suspected her of having slept with John. A pretty farfetched suggestion to be honest, and Hannah wasn’t entirely serious. But then again, Hannah didn’t trust John for shit, and even if they were in fact friends, it was impossible not to get the feeling that the two hated each other’s guts sometimes.

“Heard anything from Sufjan? I mean… How are you feeling about it today? Did you tell anyone?” She changed her tone of voice into something that was more friendly and caring as she said that, probably realizing that she was being awfully harsh towards poor Anka given the situation. 

“Anyway, what I really wanted to talk to you about is if you have any plans tonight. See, Theo is going to some lame party with John tonight, so I was wondering if you’re busy or if you want to hang out at my place later. I figured we could invite Danielle, have her make us pizza and then watch a movie and play video games or something, you know, since we went all in with the drinking last night. But perhaps you have more exciting plans in mind than a quiet pizza night á la Danielle?” She said, with a slight shrug, clearly trying to keep all options open and not appear bland and boring for suggesting a quiet night over going to a party or something along those lines.

"Also... Why are we speaking in English?"


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Ben gave a half hearted wave as he left and then turned this attention to the new girl that spoke to him as if she was on close terms. Just the way she had held herself when she approached reminded him a bit of Mindy. He continued to watch John leave, nodding at Hannah's observation. John certainly did seem to be in a decent mood. 


"The makeup is bad?" Ben asked, dumbfounded. He should have given a shot to washing it off, he supposed... but it wasn't like he had been given much time to do so. Was it better to have smudged makeup instead of no makeup? Ben certainly wasn't going to try and put makeup on- not when he'd never done it before. He'd probably make it look smudged just from his own applications. "My room? Wait... what do you mean?" Okay, so maybe Ben had liked being around John because at least he understood the way the guy thought. But this girl was confusing him completely. 


"Do I have a planner I could check? Because I don't think I have plans but I'd hate to say 'sure, lets hang out with Danielle' and then cancel later." Ben pointed out before pausing. At first he had thought that 'hey, I'm pretty smart in coming up with this.' And then... well he remembered that if the phone was in Swedish, anything Anka may have written will also be in Swedish. He was so screwed. 


"Oh... well I thought it would be a good idea to practice. You can never do too much practicing, right?" Ben offered lamely with an uncertain shrug. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Hannah sighed and rolled her eyes when Anka replied as if she hadn't understood a thing of what she had just said. Hannah was now quite sure that her friend was in fact just playing dumb in order to get out of explaining things. Though Hannah wasn't exactly excited about the realization she couldn't but smile at how silly she found Anka. And in the very same second her lips started curving upwards she completely lost all and any inquisitiveness about her at once. See, with her cat ear hat she really wasn't able to look anything but harmless and cute to begin with.


"You were really upset last night, so I actually didn't expect you to find a rebound so quickly. I guess it makes some sense, but still... Just make sure you don't do anything you'll later regret.” She warned, going with the idea that Anka actually had hooked up with John last night. Which was of course not true, and like stated, a rather far-fetched assumption all things considered. But that was Hannah for you, she was smart, and could connect the dots, only she did sometimes make a bird out of a feather which lead her to make false assumptions about things. “Speaking of which, yes, your makeup is a complete mess, and your hair even more so. But what did you expect when sleeping with it on?” She said, suddenly leaning forward to untangle some of Anka's hair for her as a friendly gesture.


“Err... Don't you use the calendar in your iPhone?” Said Hannah, looking rather uncomfortable by being asked about a planner. She didn't get why Anka would pretend to have forgotten about her plans for the evening considering what had happened. She had been crying over Sufjan for hours at end last night, and now she more or less forced Hannah to remind her of it? It seemed cruel, to them both. “Well, last night you said that you no longer have any plans for tonight because your original plans were canceled due to the Sufjan thing and all... So unless you made new plans already I'd say you're free.” She said almost boldly manner, but was clearly still being a bit careful and hesitant around mentioning the breakup in such a fashion.


“English practice, huh? I don't see why not, but then again you live in Flogsta, isn't English like the main language of that place anyway?” Hannah said and started walking toward the University building. She made a good point, there was many international students living in Flogsta, which meant that half of the time you'd have to go by English to make yourself understood there. In Anka's corridor about half of the residents were from places that did not speak Swedish or anything similar too it, so speaking English was actually an everyday thing for Anka.


“So, did you tell anyone about Sufjan yet?”


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Rebound... Ben's first thought, was of course, basketball... but sports didn't really work in the context of Hannah's words so Ben worked on focusing in, absorbing all the words she said. So... Anna-Klara was upset and whatever her friend... my friend?... whatever this girl is assuming, it has to do with being upset and 'rebounding.' So Ben wasn't stupid, not truly... but he was also a guy. A guy who had had some experience with girls but rebounding had never applied to any of his relationships. And then he remembered a time where he had been broken up with and the girl had been with another guy immediately and the term 'rebound guy' had come up. So... she thinks Anka... -I- got with someone after a breakup? This took an obscenely long time for Ben to process, and he barely heard what Hannah had to say while he did. 


"Wasn't thinking... and then I didn't have time." Ben said idly as pieces began to fit together on what was going on. "I figured as much." He added with a sigh, pulling out his phone and looking at the words before shaking his head and putting it away again. Ben's eyes sharpened a moment as Hanah explained that he himself, or well Anka, had said that he'd have today free. "Oh... well... let me phrase it this way, then. I haven't made plans since this morning and I don't remember making any new plans last night." He said, brightening at that question being solved. 


Ben shrugged about the question about Flogsta, but took a moment to repeat the name internally so that if he needed that info later he'd be set. He followed along automatically as Hannah began to head towards the intimidating building. "I didn't feel like bringing it up, actually." Anka replied. "And just so you know, I woke up in my own room today. Alone. Fully clothed. And hungover so... doing my makeup and hair just wasn't important." Ben hoped he was getting this role right. It seemed like something someone with a hangover wouldn't bother with. He knew when he had a hangover he certainly didn't want to do anything that took focus and chanced making his headaches worse. 


"Do you think I should tell John and Danielle?" He inquired after a moment, wondering if they had known and supported the relationship and how they'd feel about it apparently being over. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

”Well then, shall we say my place at six? I would ask you to come with me after school, but I'll need to clean the place up a bit before you guys arrive. See, last week was Theo's cleaning week which means no one cleaned for a week. It's now Monday and as such the first day of my week... And well, the mess has really reached some kind of record level to be honest.” Hannah seemd really happy when Anka made it seemed like they had decided on going with her plan of baking pizza and making today a quiet night at home. After all, it was a Monday, and even if it was Anka's birthday it was really not a good idea to party too hard, for they had another lecture in the morning. And, in difference of John, Hannah actually took her studies rather seriously.


“Really? Phew!” Hannah let out a mock sigh of relief upon hearing that Anka hadn't slept with John last night. She made the sigh extra out-drawn and wiped some imaginary sweat from her brow in a most theatrical way. “Fully clothed even? Did you, like, pass out once you got inside the door or what?” Hannah teased, being pretty much spot on about what had actually happened when Anka stumbled home last night without even knowing it.


“And well... I think you should tell them once you are ready. And by that I mean you have to get ready today, because you'll have to explain to Danielle why you're not with Sufjan later today anyway, and John... well, he'll probably find out sooner or later, because I think I sort of perchance accidentally by mistake and totally not on purpose happened to tell Theo about it last ni-...Imsorrypleasedontkillme!” She said, her speak accelerating in pace as she did. She also cowered away from Anka as if she was suddenly afraid of her, and put on the most innocent and regretful puppy eyes she possibly could. This act was Hannah's best defense; a submissive, cute and playful sort mannerism that got her out of trouble so often despite the fact that she was often letting others down. It simply wasn't possible to be take her seriously or be angry with her.


“Are you very angry?” She added, still playing her act by hiding behind and looking out from one of the open double doors that lead into the building.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Ben paused, thinking hard. "Danielle knows where you life, right?" It was probably a terribly stupid sounding question but if she didn't then Ben had no way to get to her house without looking like an idiot, or suspicious. For Ben it was important that these people didn't realize he was in there, instead of Anka. Of course there was only so much he could do, only so much he knew. If he ever made it back to his own body he was going to take lessons in Swedish so that in case this odd happenstance ever happened again he'd be ready. Or at least more ready. Granted it was possible he never would return, or that he would return and never come back. All this made his head hurt so he allowed the worrying cycle to fall to the back of his mind for now. 


"I don't remember but I'd assume that's what happened." He said with a small shrug of his shoulders. "I mean, I woke up like this so I must have gone to sleep like it." He said, running his fingers through his hair and getting them horribly tangled part way through. "Crying takes a lot out of you... I'm surprised I even made it home." He added just in an attempt to be more convincing. 


"Well then I'll tell Danielle and John both because I'd rather my friends hear it from me instead of someone you told." Ben said sternly, giving his supposed friend a reprimanding look. I know if I had a bad happening I'd be upset about someone else spilling my secrets to someone else. 


"Mad? More hurt... remind me not to confide in you next time." Ben said with a sigh, shaking his head before giving the girl a smile and a playful nudge with his arm to show he was joking. "It's whatever. People make mistakes. Even people who are your friends... so life goes on." He then pointed a finger at her, though. "If you want me to keep trusting you, though, I better not be hearing my secrets from other people until I tell them if I choose to tell them." He said, tone dark with warning. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Hannah shrugged and looked at Anka with some suspicion in her eyes as if something was amiss. “Erh... I know to not expect much from Danielle's memory, but I'd think she still knows where I live. She's been there like ten times, and you've been with her most of them. Because she isn't a goldfish, is she?” She said, humorously answering Anka's rather weird question.


The sudden tone of sternness in Anka's voice got Hannah's heart to skip a beat from fright. Not that she was actually afraid of Anka, but she knew she had wronged her friend and that was enough to trigger some bad feelings of guilt and shame inside Hannah. Her face betrayed her feelings, and she did avoid Anka's gaze as they walked across the big entry hall of the building. The hall was rather grand, and with all of it's statues, pillars, paintings in the ceiling and arced doorways, it actually reminded a little bit of a museum, or perhaps a smaller (and less magical) version of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter books that Hannah so enjoyed.


Hannah had been quiet for a few moments when they were climbing the stairs, heading for one of the smaller lecture rooms on the second floor and sadly not to the much fancier main auditorium, which was mostly used for bigger classes or on special occasions, and not so much for just any random art or literature lecture such as the one the girls were heading towards. “Anka, det var verkligen inte meningen att säga något till Theo, det hände av bara farten! Jag lovar att inte svika dig igen sådär, jag verkligen lovar. Asså, jag kan messa Theo och be honom att inte säga något om det till John om du vill det.” There was something genuinely and sincere in her voice, for she was really, really, regretful that she had told her brother about Anka's breakup. This was why she spoke in Swedish too, to make sure Anka understood that she was serious. And before Anka could respond she had already picked up her Android phone (which was almost completely covered in sticker stars and hearts) and started typing a text message to her brother.

Spoiler

“Anka, it really wasn't my intendion to tell Theo, it just happened anyway. I promise not to let you down like that again, I really do promise! Like, I can text Theo and ask him not to tell anything about it to John if you want.”

“Inte berätta vad?” Suddenly, John's voice appeared from behind them. For some reason he hadn't made it to the lecture room yet and was just about to catch up with the two girls and therefore happened to overhear their conversation. “Anka?”

Spoiler

“Not tell me anything about what?”

@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

"No, I guess she isn't a goldfish." Ben said with a laugh that was a little on edge because... what did goldfish have to do with anything? Was she referring to Danielle's memory? Here's hoping that she really didn't have the memory of a goldfish. If she did then she and Ben were both in serious trouble. 


Ben was not expecting the grandeur as he walked into the university. He had been to a college before, but it had been a glorified high school for the most part. Nothing at all fancy... but this. This was amazing. This is where Anka goes to school? Lucky! Of course Ben wouldn't trade even the most amazing colleges for the life he had right now, but it was still something he was awed by. He was so distracted he didn't even notice Anka's friend's odd behavior. He had meant the harsher tone as a warning but also in jest. 


Looking over at Hannah when she started with Anka, he tried not to get a blank expression when she began speaking in Swedish. He caught Theo, and John. And that was about it. None of the other words were even close enough for him to guess at, and they seemed to slip by so fast... it was like trying to hold water in cupped palms. So instead Ben was going to have to go off the girl's tone... and she sounded sorry. Which was pretty hard for Ben to figure out because he wasn't the most empathic of guys. And girls were usually the ones that had the ability to be more empathic anyway. 


Ben spun around when he heard a familiar voice, but was disappointed that he was speaking in Swedish. Whatever thing has put me in this situation, I wish they could have given me a clue into Swedish so I wasn't so completely in the dark. Ben sighed, tangling fingers in his messy hair. Giving it his absolute best guess since Hannah had mentioned John's name, and now his voice sounded 'curious' Ben assumed that it was a continuation of their earlier conversation. And prayed that he was close to right. 


Now how to break it to a friend that you were now single again... and pretend to be upset about it though Ben didn't really feel any remorse over the situation. "My life has just lost a person, by their own choice..." Ben said, giving John a sad smile. "And I'm going to miss them but if they don't want me anymore, I'm better off without them." He finished, straightening his back and trying to look brave about his words. He was pretty sure he came off looking absolutely ridiculous. "At least I have amazing friends to help me get by, right? I don't need him anyway." It may have seemed Ben was avoiding to say Sufjan's name. He totally and completely was... he was afraid of pronouncing it wrong, despite having heard it a couple times already. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

At first it seemed as if John couldn't understand what he was hearing, his eyes were wide with surprise and his mouth actually gaped for a second before he came to his senses and could access the situation. “Did you br-... I mean, did Sufjan break up with you? What an idiot, he don't know what a mistake he just made.” He said, shaking his head. “Are you alright though?” He added, with a voice that showed some concern.


“And yes, of course you have us. We're there for you, are we not, eh? Hanna?” He said, giving Hannah a nudge with his elbow.


Hannah sighed and rolled her eyes, she was not happy with John knowing about this so soon. Not because she thought he'd somehow take a shot on Anka, but because she the way he made other people's problems his own, and how he always tried to wind up in the centre of the room even though he really didn't have anything to do with it. And perhaps there was also a tiny bit of rivalry going on, you know, who would get to comfort their sad friend? If she was being honest, she had felt rather good about herself for being the one Anka choose to confide in last night, and now that she had made a fool about herself by telling her brother... well, perhaps Anka would choose another confidant? And if that happened to be John? No way....


“Hey listen, if you want to talk about it we can skip class and go to a cafe or something. What do you say? Who needs freaking lectures anyway, all they go through are in our books anyway.” John suggested. It wasn't surprising that he did, see, he had studied many subjects and taken many classes during his 6 years on the university, and he'd flunked about half of the classes he'd taken, and this was why, because he really didn't give a shit.


“Are you serious? We're already here and the lecture starts in like two minutes, there's no way we're missing out on this lecture, John. Come on Anka, let's go seat ourselves.” Protested Hannah in a grumpy manner and grabbed Anka's arm to drag her with her to the lecture room.

@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

I guess right! I have got to be one of the luckiest people... Ben was so very proud of himself he almost forgot to pretend sadness. He forced his gaze to the ground, did an imitation of Mindy's ridiculous little 'shoulder roll' that she would call a shrug, and attempted to look morose. His mouth was too far down in a pout, but he didn't notice, as he nodded at John's question. "I'm... okay. Could be worse." He said slowly, flickering a sad gaze up at John and then back to the floor. Ben tried to think of something sad, but in the end he just mimicked Mindy when she was sad. 


"You both are and I'm very lucky to have both of you." Ben said, more then anything just glad that they had switched to English again. Ben wasn't the best at observing human emotions, so he was oblivious to Hannah's unhappy mood. She had been the one edging him on to tell John and Danielle -or at least he thought she had been- so hadn't felt he had done anything wrong. From the feel of it, Ben was starting to get the impression that Hannah was the better friend since she'd been the one Anka had told... but perhaps John had been busy that evening? Maybe it was just a girl thing, just like his stronger trust in John could be because of a guy thing.


The prospect of skipping class appealed to Ben, but he warred with the thought of being irresponsible. Whether he was 'borrowing' this body, or simply had been moved to it he didn't want to miss out on college classes. Still, what if they're all in Sweden? He wouldn't be able to do much in a Swedish class, but he could... try, right? What if I'm called on? Oh god, what have I gotten myself into? I should have just stayed home... The panic welling in Ben's chest was mainly from fear. If he was found out, people would think Anka was going crazy. Worse, if they believed him, they may send him off to the scientists to be dissected. All he could really hope for was that this was some weird dream that he'd wake up from some day.


"Hannah's right... we should probably go to the lecture. But thanks, John. I mean... if you hadn't 'driven' the both of us all the way here, I might have taken you up on it." He said, allowing himself to be pulled along behind Hannah on impulse. When it came to his usual body, it was pretty often that he had to allow himself to be pulled around by Mindy. If he just stood still, she wouldn't have been able to do anything with him. Ben was then swept up in the lecture room... the college he had gone to had been small. This was grand from what he was used to. "Anything exciting in today's lecture?" He whispered to Hannah as they took their seats. 


@Wavebird 

 

[Waverly]

Hannah was happy that Anka hadn't gone with John's idea of skipping class. Not that she had gone very far to stop them if they actually was going to try it, but it felt somehow good to know that was a good influence. In fact, it actually occurred to her already that John was often Anka's bad conscience while she (or well, mostly Danielle) was the good one. “Well, it's technically a lecture about semiotics with Lasse, but I think we're also going through some things we need to know before the exam. Don't you read the curriculum?” Hannah answered. It was possible to notice a faint hint of annoyance in her voice, and that was due to the fact the she appeared to be the only one in the group that actually cared about her grades and education. Good conscience alright.


They entered the lecture room, most people had already taken their seat in the theater. Hannah quickly looked over their chances of getting good seats far back, there were no three seats in a row vacant up there, which meant that they'd either have to sit up front, close to the professor, or split up. She turned to Anka and John. “Where do we sit?”


“In the front!” A voice could be heard from the stage. It was Lasse, or Professor Strand as was his proper title, just that no one ever used it, they simply said Lasse, which was nickname for Lars - his first name. Not that he, or anyone else, minded, it was simply not a custom anymore to call your professors by your title in said country this day and age. “I always feel so lonely over here when all the students huddle up at the far end of the room. Say, why are we speaking in English, miss Limone? All of you are Swedish from what I know, are you not?”


Suddenly, Hannah, John and Anka was the very centre of attention. Everyone was looking straight at them, wondering why in the world they were speaking a different language. With so many eyes on her Hannah didn't function properly and was left standing there, speechless. Luckily, John was good at this sort of thing; “Well, we're just doing some good ol' practicing, nothing you need to mind, sir. So, where would you have us sit? Row 2, seats 10 through 12?” John said in a humorous manner (heck, there were no numbering for rows nor seats in the hall), making Lasse smile in amusement.

“Så bra, då har John förklarat hur situationen ser ut och vi kan börja. Eller har fröken Anna-Klara något att tillägga dessförinnan?” He asked, and naturally he had to revert to Swedish for Anka, just to make things harder on poor Ben.

Spoiler

“Very well, now that John has explained the situation and we may begin. Or is there anything miss Anna-Klara wish to add before we start?”

@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Ben nodded, trying to soak that in but he had no idea what semiotics even were. He was beyond screwed if he was in the body of some kind of genius because he certainly was not. He wasn't dumb by any stretch of the imagination, but he certainly was no prodigy and he would never be one. It's a good thing I didn't go to college... if this was part of it I'd never have made it through the class. Ben thought to himself, sighing as he wondered how he was going to deal with this if this was his life. What if it is? Should I see about making plans to move to a place that speaks English where I can farm? He decided drastic decisions should be saved for later. "Of course I did... I just forgot what was going on today, that's all." Ben said quickly. 


Freezing, Ben looked up at the man who had spoken, cold sweat beginning to bead along his spine. "The front sounds like a great idea..." Ben said with forced enthusiasm, trying to smile instead of grimace. At John's fast answer to the question, Ben shot a genuine grateful smile back at him and nodded. He began to make his way towards the front and only picked up that he was being spoke to in Swedish when he caught 'Anna-Klara'. He looked up in surprise, and shook his head out of reflex in a 'I don't understand what you're saying' manner. He took a seat in seat 11, and hoped that whatever he'd been asked he hadn't been expected to respond more then that. Or that he had responded incorrectly -which he was sure he did but he was avoiding the teachers eyes and hoping they just moved on. 


This was going to be a very long day. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

“Verkar inte som så. Nåväl, ska vi börja? Inom semiotiken menar man ofta att...”

Spoiler

“Doesn't seem like it. Well, shall we begin? In semiotics there's often this idea of...”

And so it started, the professor lifted all and any attention he had directed towards the three friends and instead occupied himself with holding his lecture. Normally, once a lecture started Hannah was quick to pick up pen and paper to take notes and to follow the lecture. But this time, even John got more text scribbled down on his notepad than Hannah did, and that was despite the fact that he was looking at his phone every know and then instead of listening. Now, that was expected from John, but what was rather unexpected was Anka – she wasn't acting like she used to. Hannah found herself constantly looking at Anka's pencil, hoping that it would start making the notes it otherwise always did during class. See, Anka was the kind of person to take extensive notes of everything the lecturer mentioned, and to make mind maps and that sort of thing. But that was not the case today, and it was impossible for Hannah not to notice.



I wonder if there is more to this than just the Sufjan things... She thought to herself as she glanced at Anka, noticing how she looked rather confused about the lecture.


“I can tell you're not doing to well today. So why don't you leave it up to me to take notes, hmm? See it as an extra birthday present. You just sit back and relax.” Hannah whispered in Anka's ear, taking her notebook and started making the same sort of excessive notes that she would otherwise expect from Anka. And so she did for the rest of the lecture.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

29th of February, 2012 - Birthday Bash


Though the fence had been a lot of work, Eugene had done most of it. He had Ben and Mindy both help out at some parts, but since it was no fun going to a birthday party sweaty he did most of the work and only had Ben help when it was absolutely necessary. Otherwise he had Ben stay distracted with 'busy work' to try and play the part he had been assigned in getting Ben out of the house and keep him occupied. Mindy helped with that as well, but she was beyond glad when it was time to head back to the house. Uncle Eugene waved them off, promising to catch up with them in a moment. 


The lights in the fair sized blue farmhouse were dimmed, the windows unnaturally dark. Everyone was, of course, hiding behind furniture while a shimmery 'Happy Birthday' was strung across the ceiling. Because even though Ben was an adult, his mother still went through all the trouble. There was a small stack of neatly wrapped presents in the corner and a beautiful cake hidden away in the kitchen. 


Grinning like a fool, Mindy gazed up at Ben. "Are you ready for this?" She teased with a nudge of her arm against Ben's. Everyone would jump out and shout surprise as soon as Ben stepped through the door, lights flashing on brightly and a house of smiling cousins, siblings, an aunt, and Ben's mom all paying attention to Ben. 

 

[Waverly]

Anka halted her steps just in front of the door, looking at her supposed cousin with eyes that were giving of a vibe of actual fright and nervousness.


"Should I be worried? I mean, exactly what do I have to be ready for? I'm supposed to looked surprised and all that, right?" Said Anka in an attempt at sounding like she had this under control, but the fact was she was almost panicking. Heck, there was no way she would make it through something like a birthday party without people thinking her crazy. If the were guests she would be unable to know their names of know who was friends and who was family. And what is they had any kind of traditions or rituals with birthdays that she didn't know off?!


Americans eat cake, sing a birthday song, give presents wrapped in paper and blow out the candles on the cake, right? Just like home. Who knows, you might actually enjoy this Anka.


"Ok, here we go..."


She managed to muster enough courage to open the door, slowly entering the room inside, trying to pretend like she was not ready for anyone to jump out. But even though she knew what was going to happen her heart was beating like a Jane against an anvil. This could only spell trouble.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

"Relax, Ben. It's not like they're going to bite or anything. Just smile, laugh, act surprised and happy, and auntie and the rest will eat it up." Mindy said brightly, patting her cousin on the shoulder with a wide smile. 


As soon as Ben stepped through the door, properly into the living room, Mindy flicked on the lights and everyone jumped out of their hiding spots all but screaming "SURPRISE!!" Though there was no confetti, plenty of noisemakers were played- more then likely items saved from the New Years party held only a couple months previously. 


Of course, the next thing they did was begin singing 'Happy Birthday', Mindy skipping off to go get the cake and bring it in with 21 candles to blow out. "Remember, you have to get them all or the wish won't count." She said with a mischievous grin. Of course, she had recently picked up a couple of trick birthday candles and had switched a few out so that there would be a few candles that would re-light, even after Ben blew them out. Once Happy birthday was finished, there was a chorus of 'Make a Wish, Blow out the Candles, Happy Birthday Ben' and plenty more indecipherable congratulations and chatter. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Even though Anka had been prepared it was hard for her not to sweat from nervousness when everyone jumped out from their hiding places and sang and shouted birthday wishes as the confetti started to rain down all over the room. There was something about being the centre of attention in this body that made her uncomfortable, almost as if she were in disguise and anyone who looked at her might suddenly realise that she was a perpetrator.


“Woah! You guys, really? Again? You get me every year!” She said laughing and took a step back, putting on her broadest smile as she was trying her best to act like someone who acted surprised. A steep order for any actor to be honest, but she sort of pulled it off in a... way that was at least convincing enough.


When the cake and candles arrived, and Anka leaned forward to blow out the candles, she instinctively tried to put her hair behind her ears to avoid lighting it on fire. But in this body she didn't have her ordinary, long, red, hair. No, she had much shorter hair, and there was simply no use putting it behind her ears, because the chances of it getting close to the candles were slim to nil. Basically, she just looked like a fool for putting her short hair behind her ears, and she instantly blushed from embarrassment when she realised this fact. And things didn't go better after that either, for no matter how hard she blew, the trick candles didn't give in! “Damn candles...” She tried over and over again, till she was out of breath and had a face that was red as a tomato (from both embarrassment and exhaustion).

“It seems that I need to work on my...” Oh my god, what is that word in English!? Is it even possible to translate a phrase like that? “...condition? You know, my so I don't get out of breath and can manage to blow out the candles.” She explained, almost stammering on some of the words, her smile having turned into a dorky kind of smirk.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Ben's mom caught onto the trick after a moment and shook her head at Mindy. "Your wish will still come true, whatever it was. And your... condition? Is fine." Fine wrinkled formed on her forehead a moment along with a smile before she licked her thumb and finger and then pressed them over the trick candles so that they would finally go out and not reignite. Mindy was too busy laughing to care as Mindy's mom came over and began cutting up the cake. 


"Don't forget! The Birthday Boy gets the first bite! And the corner piece with the most frosting!!" Mindy called as cake and ice cream was passed out on paper plates. Ben received his first, of course, and then everyone else lined up and waited. There wasn't a ton to go around, but enough that everyone got a fair piece and a scoop of ice cream. It was regular vanilla cake, made from scratch, with an icing made from whipping butter and powdered sugar together with a tiny bit of milk. Nicely moist, and very sweet, with a nice raspberry spread that was also homemade. 


Once the cake had been eaten, Ben's mother got dinner underway and Mindy started pulling over presents. One was a new tackle box for fishing. Another was a new pair of work gloves. Another was a gun cleaning kit, and yet another was a book on how to make your own homemade animal traps. The last was a bag of butterfingers, Ben's favorite candy bars. In truth, for Ben, it would have been a really good year. 


"We'll be cracking open some wine with dinner tonight. Blackberry that your uncle made." Ben's mom said with a tender smile as she came back to the kitchen. "Your first taste of alcohol. Oh I'm so excited." She said with as much of a squeal as anyone had ever heard from her. 



@Wavebird 

 

[Waverly]

The cake and ice cream was good. Really good! And once everyone had gotten a piece of cake they seemed more focused on gulping desert than on the birthday boy, which was something that was very relieving for Anka. She didn't really handle the pressure well, which was of course quite understandable. But now that they all sat down, had some cake, and chatted, she actually enjoyed the moment. Being with a real family, a friendly and well-meaning family that seemed to loved her (well, Ben) wasn't really that bad. Now, her parents from... the life she remembered, had probably loved her as well, but birthday parties were seldom this cozy, with everyone around. They'd go to dinner at a fine restaurant, and sooner or later her mother would start reciting all the things Frida had done when she was the age Anka had just become! Frida was always the main character, even when it was Anka's birthday! Yuck!


But as with all good things, they must come to and end. When the cake was eaten they had started with the presents. And when they were all unwrapped Anka didn't understand a thing. She sat there, turning pages in a book that actually filled her with a feeling of disgust, and she was pretending to like it! Smiling broadly and feigning interest. Why? To make sure the sweet family members that had gifted it to her wouldn't feel bad of course!


“Wow, thanks a lot you guys! Can't wait to... trap myself some animals in one of these... contraptions. And the other things too! Wow! I'm so happy!” She said in a happy voice when she opened a page that showcased some curious manner of snare-trap.


“So... Do I do this often? Hunt and kill animals?” She asked, with a sudden hint seriousness in her tone. It was a strange and silly question, but by now she was starting to become too curious (and quite frankly angry) to really mind what she was saying and doing. Besides, it was not like it could get much worse anyway, since she had already mistaken the tackle box for a toolbox (which she of course said out loud).


It was as if this Ben had somehow betrayed her. Sure, fishing wasn't that bad, she could live with that. The idea of getting a gun cleaning kit for ones birthday was... unbelievable and alien (because guns are not a thing in Sweden). But what actually got to her was the book about hunting traps. Was that the sort of things Ben was into? Catching poor defenseless animals and have them suffocate while twisting in pain from a snare!? She really didn't hate people who hunted animals, but the descriptive and graphic nature of the trap book had triggered her imagination, and she wasn't imagining cute scenes.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

Things were only slightly strange with Ben's response in most of the family's opinions. As good as the happy voice was, they had been expecting a thrilled happy dance or something... well... more then what Ben gave them when he got the gun cleaning kit and the trapping book. Maybe he's just tired. Mindy thought to herself... He has been a little off all day. Tomorrow I'll check to see if he could really show his appreciation when he's not so tired. She decided, because she knew how her parents and Ben's mom had scraped money together to get really good gifts for his 21st birthday. 


Still, at least he was happy and didn't pull anything weird like he had a couple times already. That was appreciated at the very least. 


"Not really. I mean you like to fish a lot and you do a lot of shooting at targets, but you only tend to shoot animals when there are ones endangering our animals, or when we have to put an injured animal down... and sometimes you hunt because we need the meat and can't afford to buy it or butcher a cow at the moment." Mindy explained, ticking them off on her lips. "And you only tend to build traps to catch bunnies and the like in so they're not ruining Auntie's garden and sometimes we eat them and sometimes we take them somewhere for a long drive and let them loose in a sanctuary or something." Mindy shrugged. It was an odd question but she had learned to just answer those. 


"One time you brought home this giant deer and we made deer jerky and deer burgers and it was the best." Ben's youngest brother said enthusiastically. 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

Ok, so Ben wasn't a cold-blooded killer. He was just doing what had to be done at a farm, killing wild animals to protect livestock and whatnot. And that Anka could totally let happen (even if she found it a bit sad that it had to be that way). But then there were the bunnies. They kill and eat bunnies! Her already upset mind was again triggered from knowing that this body that she was in, Ben's body, had more than once caught, killed and devoured cute little bunnies! See, Anka didn't like the idea of eating meat, but she accepted and didn't normally have any problems with people who did, but bunnies was a special case. Every time someone mentioned that they had eaten bunny she instantly felt sad and angry, and now that she knew that she (well, Ben) had also committed to this monstrous crime, she felt sick.



Why bunnies was a special case? Well, when Anka was a little girl she got a bunny for her birthday. A bunny which she loved over all else in the world. Nasse was his name, which was actually the Swedish name for Piglet from the stories about Winnie the Pooh, but five-year-old Anka figured that the scaredy little bunny reminded enough of the character to name it thereafter. Nasse had lived a very good life, and got lots of care and love from Anka. In return, Nasse gave Anka the one thing she had always been denied; being the favourite sister. See, Nasse was afraid of Frida and tried to bite and kick her whenever she tried to handle him, but with Anka he was calm and cuddly as a bunny possibly could be, and that actually meant a lot to Anka. Anyway, after ten years of lasting friendship, Nasse passed away, something that Anka never really got over, even to this day.


But before her thoughts wandered off all too far, Anka managed to gather herself enough not to start crying or look enormously sad. Instead, she looked at Mindy, forcing a smile to appear across her face. “It's a good thing I have you to keep track of me... and all my... killing bunnies.” By the end of the sentence her tone of voice had grown cold, and she was breathing a bit heavier than usually. It was turning out very hard for her to keep this happy-act up even for a short moment.



“So, anyone know what we're having for dinner?” By now she had realised what horrors might lurk around the corner. Judging by what these people seemed to enjoy, there was no doubt there was going to be a freshly slewn animal for dinner. Probably cooked rare, with bloody juices all over it. Of course, that in itself wasn't the problem, the trick was getting out of having to eat it without letting down or disappoint Ben's family, they were good people and were so caring and loving toward her. They were trying their best, perhaps she should try harder too? It wasn't fair to them to be herself, she had to try to be Ben.


@RubyRose
 

 

[RubyRose]

Mindy could see it. And she wasn't the only one. The forced smile... Ben's smiles were rare and when they appeared they were genuine. So the weird, almost glass smile across his face reminded Mindy more like the girls in her class who were always putting on faces to get people to like them. Still, it was Ben's birthday. Rules were you could do and be pretty much whoever you wanted as long as you didn't break any laws. So if Ben wanted to give doofy smiles and seem off and weird, who was Mindy or any of the rest of them to judge. 


"You tend to keep track of yourself, actually." Mindy said with a teasing smile. "I mean... I help you clean out the rabbits when you decide we should eat them but you decide when we eat them and when we let them go... and usually we let them go because we have enough meat from other animals." She continued to explain, trying to placate Ben a little. 


Still, at Ben's next question Mindy couldn't stop herself. "Bunny stew..." She said, a slow smile creeping across her face before Ben's sister punched her arm. 


"Are not. I don't like eating bunnies and Mom promised we wouldn't eat them on Ben's birthday." She said angrily. Mindy threw her hands up and laughed.


"Okay, okay. We're probably having mac and cheese, chili, and hot dogs. The best comfort food in the world." Mindy said with a broad smile.


"Separated because some of us don't like hot dogs." Ben's youngest brother added matter of factly. "And some of us don't like chili and cheese mixing. So we get to decide and mix as we want instead of Ma just throwing it all into a giant pot like she used to." 


@Wavebird

 

[Waverly]

“Oh thank God! From now on we should not eat them, let's set them all free hereafter?” She said, pretending to be pretending to be relieved about the fact that bunny stew was not on tonight's menu. Anka's eye had actually twitched at the mention of bunny stew, she had been close to snapping. And she was more than happy to be able to relax as it was made clear that Mindy had just been pulling her leg. And she could further relax once she heard what kind of food would actually be for dinner; macaroni and cheese was completely enjoyable as long as it was just plain macaroni and cheese without any freaking meat in it. All she really had to do was to dodge the hot dogs, and that didn't sound all that hard.


Mindy made Anka curious. Her way of commenting things Anka said or did was odd. Sure, she provided good answers to any question however odd it was, but perhaps they were too good answers? And then there was the bunny-stew joke... It was as if she knew Ben was actually Anka. Was there a possibility she was in on this? Did she know or was it just a random act of chance that made her comments be very spot-on from time to time again? Anka decided she had to find out.


Only problem was... she didn't know how. Perhaps she could just try to say something that could give her away and see if she got a reaction?


“Hmm... I think I'll go for the Mac 'n cheese. Heck, it's not like the real me like hot dogs anyway, right? What will you go for... erh...?” She said to provoke a reaction from Mindy, though she turned to Sarah, whom she didn't know was her sister just yet. Heck, she didn't even know her name, and as such came off as a right doofus not knowing his sister's name all of a sudden. Also, something was strikingly familiar about the girl, something that Anka couldn't quite pinpoint. It was just like she'd seen her before somewhere... Or was it just her minds playing tricks?

An actor I recognise perhaps?! Is this really some sick version of the Truman Show?! No Anka, you're being paranoid. You've never seen her before.


@RubyRose

 

[RubyRose]

"Geez, bro, what's gotten into you? You going to turn into a veggieterrian and become all ridiculous and animal loving?" Ben's brother asked with disgust, pronouncing vegetarian wrong on purpose. It was something they joked about every now and then because eating your own animals that you named could turn people away from meat. Or at least the meat that they once knew as an animal. Not any of them, though. Except for their family... Sarah got a little squeamish sometimes and Joseph and Joanne didn't like eating the cows they had raised but most of the time the family didn't turn away even if they knew the animal to begin with. 


"Leave him alone, Michael." Sarah complained, giving Michael a hard shrug. 


"What? Are you saying that Ben is becoming some kind of sap, Sarah?" Michael demanded. 


"That's not what she's saying at all. Just that if Ben does want to become a pure veggie eater, or save bunnies, or whatever that's his choice and you're not allowed to scoff at it. That being said... I just can't imagine Ben giving up meat ever so we have nothing to worry about." Mindy added, glancing over at Ben and though she sounded confident her gaze was uncertain. With all the weird things that happened to day she wouldn't be surprised if she found out up was down. 


At Ben's next comment, Mindy grabbed his arm and forcibly dragged him into another room while Sarah and Michael started up a new argument and the others went in to help Ben's mother with cooking or dishing up plates for dinner. 


"Dude, what the heck? The real you? What are you even saying?" Mindy demanded, her face scrunched up in irritation and anger. "The 'real' you does like hotdogs. And eating bunnies. And any other kind of meat. Would never allow anyone to steal his bacon without at least some serious complaint and a revenge plan later on. So tell me, have you been doing some freaky friday shit with someone or are you just... tired? Did that dream mess with your head or something?!?" Mindy was in a mini frenzy, fear of actually having lost her cousin... or her cousin having lost his mind working her into a panic.


@Wavebird