House of Greeks Day 6
There was a sudden lurch and that was when my eyes flew open. We had made our connecting flight and were almost to England. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“It’s just turbulence.” Jay told me.
I thought he was trying to reassure me; he looked around worried and put his hand on his waist. I moved his shirt a little and I saw the outline of a gun. “Someone’s shot the pilot!” a flight attendant called.
I stood up along with two other people. We walked forward at the same time and I said, “How can I help?”
“Me too.”
“Me too.” they were both boys about my age. One was blonde and the other was a brunette.
“Can any of you land a plane?” she asked.
“I’ll try. I’ve been in simulators.” I said.
“Worth a try!” she said leading me to the nose of the plane.
There were two people moving the pilots away from their seats and I took the pilot seat. The brunette boy took the co-pilot seat and the blonde pulled out a flight manual. I grabbed the radio and looked at the plane number. England Airlines 77; quickly I pressed the button and said, “England Airlines 77 to base, do you read me?”
“Base to England Airlines 77, we read you. What is the problem?” a woman said.
“I am requesting emergency landing! Our pilots are both… um… unresponsive!” I said.
“Emergency landing cleared. What is your position?” the woman asked.
“The sky!” I said panicking.
“Calm down.” the brunette boy said.
“Okay you need to decrease your speed, change the position of the flaps, and then use the landing gear.” the other boy said.
After that he would call out to me what to do while the boy next to me calmed me down. It took a few minutes before we saw the airport and then that was when I got worried. “Just keep flying. Miss the airport.” someone whispered in my ear.
I turned my head slightly and saw Jay standing there. “No, Jay. I need to save these people’s lives.” I told him.
He reached to his waist and then said, “Where is it?”
“Where is what?” I asked.
“You know bloody well what!” he said. “How am I going to kill you without my gun?!”
The blonde boy dropped his manual and tackled Jay. I recalled what he had told me and while he was wrestling with Jay I landed the airplane. The police came on board and pulled the three boys apart, cause as soon as I had it under control the brunette joined the fight. “Where is my gun?!” Jay yelled at me as the fight was broken up.
“Who shoot the pilots?” the cop asked.
“Me!” Jay yelled. “She was supposed to die!”
The police looked at me and I pulled out the gun. “I took it from him without him noticing.” I said.
The cop took the gun and said, “I need to see the three of you kids on the ground. You are heroes today.”
We all nodded at him and he and another cop escorted Jay from the plane. “Thank you so much for your help.” I said to them.
“All I did was read and throw a few punches.” the blonde said rubbing his neck.
“All I did was try to calm you down and throw a few punches.” the other boy said.
I smiled as the blonde looked at him. “By the way, you hit really hard.” he said.
The brunette turned red. “Sorry. I was aiming for that guy. Jay was it?” he said.
“Yeah. I’m Alex by the way. And you?” I said.
“I’m Justin.” the blonde said.
“James.” the other said.
“It’s nice to meet you both.” I said hugging them.
Their touch felt slightly familiar to me. It was like I was feeling slight de jà vu. Oddly enough they both said, “De jà vu.”
“You guys felt it to?” I asked.
They nodded and then James said, “We should get off the plane.”
“Good idea.” I said. “I hate flying now.”
We all laughed and walked down the ramp. There was loud cheering the moment we appeared. I looked around and saw cameras flashing. “What are your names?!” someone shouted.
“Justin!”
“James!”
“Alex!”
We kept walking down the ramp. “Please come with me.” the cop from before said.
We nodded and followed him. He was talking to all of us about medals and media conferences about what had happened. I looked at the others and they looked just as humored about it as I was. “Excuse me, sir.” Justin said.
“Yes?” he said.
“I think we all just did it because it was what was right.” James said.
“This is all too much.” I said.
“We don’t need rewarded for anything.” Justin said.
“Our reward was meeting each other.” I smiled at my two new friends.
“Well that’s just touching!” Jay yelled as two other officers pushed him past us.
His hands were behind his back as the led him down the hall. We had walked into the airport. No doubt their parents were there. Mine? I didn’t the faintest clue where or even who they were. I didn’t remember. “Who is that guy anyway?” Justin asked.
“Well he was my friend.” I said. “I had no clue he planned on killing me.”
We laughed together and then the cop said, “Give me a minute to talk to some people.”
We nodded slightly and watched him walk into another room. I smiled at the two boys. One of them was wearing an engagement ring. “Justin! Who are you engaged to?” I asked.
“She’s a lovely woman. Her name is Kori.” he told me. “You remind me of her a little.”
“Really? Well I’d love to meet her sometime.” I said.
“Are you with anyone?” James asked.
“No. You?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure.” he said. “His fiancée’s sister Amelia seems like she likes me but I’m not really sure.”
“Is that how you two meet?” I asked.
“No. We used to go to a boarding school together. Our parents decided they wanted us to come back home so we are going back to school in England.” Justin said.
“Guys, they want to interview you.” the cop said.
I looked at the two boys. “Well?” I asked.
“Let’s do this.” James smiled.
I took their arms and we walked out to the stage. The room was crowded with interviewers. Justin and James both went pale. “Calm down.” I smiled. “They are just friends you haven’t met yet.”
They nodded and color returned to them. Neither of them managed to speak yet so I did instead. “Can I kindly ask you all to take your seats, please?” I asked pausing. They all sat down and then I continued, “If you have a question then please raise your hand. When we call on someone we would appreciate if you would give us and others the kindness you would them to show you.”
There wasn’t even a slight murmur in the audience. “How did you do that?” Justin whispered.
“Kindness.” I whispered back.
There was a man in the first row. “You there, guy in the black suit.” James said.
“Can I ask your names and ages?” he said.
“My name is Alex, short for Alexandra, and I am eighteen.” I said.
“James and I’m seventeen.” he said.
“Justin and I’m eighteen.” he smiled.
“Lady in the back with a purple dress.” I said.
“How did you all end meeting?” she asked.
“Justin and I have known each other for a few years now. We went to boarding school here in England. We went to America with my fiancée and were on our way back.” James said. “We didn’t meet Alex officially until after we landed.”
“Girl on the right, green dress.” Justin said looking at her.
“Have you even graduated yet? Has your fiancée?” she asked.
“No, we haven’t but we are this year.” he told her.
“Guy next to purple dress lady.” I said.
“Who was the man who shot the pilots and do any of you have a connection to him?” he asked.
“His name is Jay. He is a former friend of my family. When he noticed his gun missing he yelled something about being unable to kill me without it.” I said into the microphone.
A man brought the three of a few bottles of water. I opened mine and drank from it as Justin called on another guy. “Who was it that called base?” he asked.
“That was Alex. She was the only one of us who had even the smallest clue as to what to do.” James said. “Front row, black top.”
“My question is for Miss Alex.” she said.
“Yes?” I said putting the lid back on the water.
“How is it you have experience landing a plane?” she asked.
“I didn’t necessarily have experience landing one. At least not a real one. I’ve been in flight simulators at my brother’s request.” I said.
“I have a flow up question.” she said.
“What would that be?” I smiled.
“Why would your brother request you to do such a thing?” she asked.
“My brother is the most influential person in my life. He knew that it was something I’ve always wanted to do so he encouraged me to do it. He also encouraged me to take first aid training and CPR training.” I said. “He also instructed me in handling guns and taking them without getting caught.”
There was the slightest murmur in the crowd. “Pink skirt.” Justin said.
“Why would he instruct you in stealing guns?” she asked.
Carefully I pulled the gun from the podium where the cop had placed it. “This is the gun used to kill both pilots. If I hadn’t been able to take it from his waist I would also be dead, possibly all the people who had been on the plane included.” I said.
“Guy next to pink skirt.” James said.
“Justin, what led you to throw the first punch at Jay?” he asked.
“He was tempting Alex to miss the airport and risk the lives of all the people on board so I dropped what I was doing and kept him busy so she could focus.” he said.
“May I ask another?” the man said.
“Of course.” I said.
“What were you doing exactly?” he asked Justin.
Justin pulled out the flight manual. “I was reading the instructions on landing to her. As it turns out her mind wasn’t exactly clear on what to do in emergency.”
“Brown hair in the second row.” I said.
“James, what was your role in landing the plane?” she asked.
“Mainly I was just trying to keep Alex calm and level headed as she landed us. There was a moment when she hesitated due to stress but I calmed her down enough that she got her mind back in it and landed us safely.” he said.
“He also, when he knew I had it under control, joined Justin in keeping Jay occupied so he wouldn’t be able to get his hands on me. James is far too modest.” I said.
“Yeah, if it hadn’t been for my mate here, I’d possibly be dead or severely injured at the least.” Justin said rubbing his neck.
“We have time for one last question.” the cop said to everyone.
“Does anyone have a question for us?” I asked.
I waited a few seconds. “I do, ma’am.” the officer said.
“Please do.” I said.
“What do the three of you plan to do now?” he asked.
“Well I plan on going to school here like my brother wanted.” I said.
“I am going to go back and graduate. Then I intend to marry my wonderful fiancée.” Justin said.
“I have basically the same plan as Alex. I’m going to go back to the boarding the school I attended prior to going to America. When I graduate… well I’ll leave that up to destiny.” his eyes shone at the thought of his future.
“That’s all the time we have for questions.” the officer said.
James, Justin, and I walked down the steps into the back of the room. “Wait! Can we have a few pictures before you leave?” someone asked.
I smiled at the two boys. “Sure.” we said together.
“Alex if you could stand between the two boys, please.” a photographer said.
I moved to between them. “James, move in a little and put your arm around her. Justin, make sure we have view of your ring.” he said.
James his arm around my waist and Justin put his around my shoulders dangling his hand over so people would see the ring. “Nice big smiles.” the guy said holding up a camera.
I smiled brightly and the camera flashed. “The camera loves you three! Bring me a chair!” he called.
Someone grabbed a chair and sat it down in front of me. “Alex, please, sit down. Justin and James, stand behind her and both of you put your hand on her shoulder.”
I felt two warm hands rest gently on my shoulders. James on my right and Justin on my left. “Smile!” the guy said again.
I smiled and the light flashed again. “That should be good. Thank you so much.” he said walking away.
James walked around the chair and stood in front of me. He held out his hands for mine and when I took them, he pulled me out of the chair. I laughed softly. “Come on, we have a cab waiting for us.” he said smiling.
I walked out of the airport and then saw a cab waiting for us. As we approached it the window went down. “Miss Amelia!” the driver said.
I looked behind me and saw nothing. Justin elbowed me. “I think he meant you, Alex.” he whispered.
“Excuse me, sir. Were you talking to me?” I asked.
“Of course! Your Amelia from America.” he said.
“No. I’m Alex from America.” I said.
“Oh, I’m sorry for mistaking you for someone else.” he said.
The three of us got in the backseat and Justin gave him an address. We smiled and laughed all the way to the school they had been mentioning during the interview. “So where is this place anyway?” I asked.
“Are you kidding? It’s right here!” James said pointing the school building.
“This place is so… familiar.” I said.
“Really?” Justin asked. “You’re the first Alex we’ve ever had here.”
“Well it’s an honor.” I smiled.
We walked into the house. “Welcome to…” James began.
“Anubis House.” I said blinking.
“How’d you know that?” he asked.
“It just… sounded right.” I said. “Like I said before… de jà vu.”
They nodded and a few people came downstairs. “Justin! James! You’re back!” two girls said. “Just wait until Tiffany finds out.”
“Jamie, Amy, this is Alex.” he said.
“Hi.” I said with a smile.
They looked at him like he was crazy. “This isn’t Alex… this is Kori!” Jamie said.
It was Justin and James’s turn to look at them like they were crazy. Kori? Why was that name so familiar. And what about Amelia? Why was her name so familiar to her? “No, I’m Alex.” I said.
“Justin! Is that an engagement ring!?” Tiffany asked.
He looked at his hand and smiled. “Yeah, Kori and I are engaged.”
Tiffany put her arms around me. “Congratulations!”
“Don’t say it to me… Say it to him!” I said pushing her off me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“Of course.” I said rubbing my arm.
“What took you so long to get here!? You were supposed to be here hours ago!” Mitchell said.
It was weird how I already knew all their names. Even when Justin and James had introduced themselves I had already had a faint idea who they were. “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.” Amy said.
“That’s fine. I’ll find my own way.” I said walking up the stairs.
I went around the hand rail to the room at the end of the hall. The door was open so I went in. On the wall was a poster of my brother Brad. He was from England because my father Rufus had raised him away from me and my sister. His accent was real while mine was fake.
He was a famous English singer and when he made a music video he usually had me in it playing guitar or drums. There was a knock on my door and I turned. “Hey, Justin.” I said with a smile.
“Something is really strange.” he said. “They called you Kori. That’s my fiancée’s name.”
“Really?” I said, “That name… is really familiar. And who’s Amelia?”
“Amelia is her sister.” he shrugged.
I shook my head. “That’s weird. Both names are really familiar.” I said.
“So are you.” James said from behind Justin.
“I had the same feeling. Like someone brainwashed us just enough to try and kill us.” I said with a serious look on my face.
They looked at each other and then me. We all burst out laughing at the same time. “For a minute there I thought you were trippin’!” Justin said.
I laughed again and looked at them. They looked as familiar as they sounded. Justin was tall, blonde, and skinny. James was my height, had brown hair, and thin. “James… turn around.” I said.
He gave me a confused look and turned around all the same. I touched the back of his head and started moving his hair. Seconds later I found what I was looking for. James had stiches in his head. “What happened to your head?” I asked.
“I fell down stairs in America. Don’t tell anyone. How did you know the stiches were there?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I said slowly.
“Weird.” Justin said.
“Very.” James and I said together.
We all laughed again. “Hey, guys are you coming for dinner?” Austin asked.
“We’ll be down shortly.” Justin said.
“Can I see your ring?” I asked.
“Sure.” he said as he slid it off his finger.
He handed it to me and I looked at it carefully. “It’s pretty.” I said smiling.
I handed it back to him. “Thanks.” he smiled. “You know, you look a lot like Kori. I can understand why the cab driver thought you were her.”
“But he called me Amelia.” I said.
“Amelia and Kori are identical twins. Kori came here saying she was Amelia.” James said shrugging.
“This was her room for the three days she was here.” Justin said.
“Then we went to America with her. I fell down the steps at her house and went to the hospital. Next thing I remember I’m on the way to get on the plane.” James said.
“And I was Kori proposing to her then her mother whisked me to the airport.” Justin said.
“We should go down to dinner.” I said.
“Yeah.” they said.
We headed out the door and I led them down the stairs. “What made you think I was trippin?” I asked.
“Brainwashed? Really, Alex? Anyone would have said that.” Justin told me.
“Welcome to House of Greeks, by the way, Alex.” Austin said.
“Thank you, Austin.” I said.
I saw down between him and Mitchell, much to the disliking of Amy. “So new girl who looks like Kori,” she said, “Who’s your crush?”
“Uh, Amy, it’s my first day here. I don’t really know any of you.” I said.
Austin looked like his face was split with joy. “What do you do to pass time, Austin?” I asked.
“This and that.” he shrugged. “Mostly I study though.”
“Because he’s no good at pranks.” Jamie said laughing.
“Not true.” Justin said. “He’s very good when I’m the one with the ideas.”
Everyone but Austin and I laughed. He looked rather glum about what Justin had said. I elbowed Austin lightly and waited for him to looked at. “Smile, please. You know he’s just messing with you.” I said.
He nodded and smiled a little. “Oh, Austin’s got a crush on the new girl!” Tiffany said.
I turned red and said, “Oh, Tiffany’s got a crush on James!”
She turned redder than I had. Austin started laughing like mad. “I could learn from you, Alex.” he said. “You really have a knack for embracing people.”
“What can I say… it’s a gift.” I said smiling at Tiffany.
She glared at me in hate. “Yo, chillax, Tiffany. She’s just messing with you.” James said.
“You are just messing with her right, Alex?” Justin whispered.
“Of course.” I smiled.
Trudy came out of the kitchen and put down a few pans of pizza. “Eat up, kids.” she said.
“Thanks, Trudy, this looks amazing.” I said.
There was a regular cheese pizza and then there was also a pepperoni pizza. Quickly I pulled my long brown hair back and put it in a ponytail. Mitchell handed me the pan of cheese pizza and I took a slice of it. I handed it to Austin and smiled. “What do you do to pass time, Alex?” he asked.
“I play guitar and drums.” I said taking a bite of the pizza. “This is amazing Trudy!”
“Thank you.” she smiled.
“Really? That’s cool.” he said glancing down.
“James plays guitar and Justin is a really good singer.” Tiffany said.
“You should form a band!” Amy said.
I laughed and said, “I don’t like to perform in public.”
“That’s too bad.” Austin said. “I bet you guys would be great.”
“Besides we’d need a bass guitarist.” James said.
“Austin…” I started.
“What? I don’t play.” he said quickly.
“I was going to ask if you could hand me the water.” I said.
“Sorry.” he said handing me the pitcher of water.
“It’s okay.”
I poured myself a glass of water wondering if he was hiding something. Quickly I finished eating my dinner and excused myself. “I’m going to give myself a tour of the house.” I said smiling.
I got up from the table and walked down the hall. There were two rooms on the right and I looked at the names. Justin and Austin shared a room and James and Mitchell shared the other. Quickly I walked into Austin’s room. There was a guitar lying on his bed.
A smile slipped onto my face as I walked towards it. I picked it up and looked at the name on the back. It was Austin’s guitar. He walked into his room. “What are you doing!” he asked grabbing his guitar.
“I knew you were hiding something, Austin!” I said closing the door.
“Please, don’t tell anyone!” he said.
“Chillax. I wasn’t going to. If you want to keep it to yourself then that’s up to you.” I said. “Can you play bass?”
“Yes, I can.” he said smiling a little. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Calm down.” I told him.
He smiled and put his guitar back on his bed. “Why do you care?” he asked sitting on the bed.
“I was just curious.”
“Well did you find what you were looking for?”
I nodded and smiled. “What you were hiding.”
“Please don’t tell anyone.” he pleaded.
“I’m not going to. But if you ever want to play for someone, let me know. I’d be happy to listen.”
“Really? You will?”
“Of course.”
He smiled and looked at his guitar. “Same to you.”
“I’ll talk to you later. I’m going to go to bed. Good night, Austin.” I said.
“Night.”
I opened his door and walked out of the room. Quickly I ran up the stairs and went to my room. “Alex?” Amy said from my door.
“Yeah?” I said.
“Stay away from Mitchell. He’s mine.” she said.
“I don’t like him like that. He’s cool but I’m not interested.” I told her.
“I don’t believe you. I know you like him.” she told me.
“Listen to me, Amy. I don’t like Mitchel. I like someone else.” I said.
“To bad he’s engaged. You’re a man stealer!” she said.
“I don’t like Justin either! I like Austin!” I yelled.
“You what?” she asked.
“I like Austin. Now get out of my room.” I said pushing her and closing the door.
I lay down on my bed and stared at my ceiling. It was blue like the rest of my room. There was a poster on the wall of my brother and I figured who ever had the room before me was a fan of his. After closer inspection I saw he had autographed it.
To the best sister ever, I love you Kori
Brad
I had to do a double take. I knew for certain I didn’t know of a sister named Kori. Someone knocked on my door. “Alex?” Austin called.
I opened the door and gestured for him to come in. “What’s up?” I asked.
“I heard you fighting with Amy.” he said.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. She was getting so annoying.” I said. “Amy kept saying I’m a man stealer.”
“That’s just Amy for you. She doesn’t think girls can be just friends with Mitchel.” he said with a shrug.
“That’s stupid.” I said sitting on the bed.
“Yeah. It’s good being me. I can be friends with whoever I want.” he said with a smile.
“Who was this Kori girl?” I asked looking back at the poster.
“The girl Justin is engaged to apparently.” he said with a laugh.
“Seriously. Tell me about her.” I said.
“She looks a lot like you. Smart, kind, and talented.” he said. “Really good singer and she played guitar as well.”
“Weird.” I said looking at the poster again.
“I guess I’ll let you get to bed now.” he said.
“Good night.” I said.
He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. I sighed and lay down on my bed. After another glance at the poster I fell asleep.
“It’s just turbulence.” Jay told me.
I thought he was trying to reassure me; he looked around worried and put his hand on his waist. I moved his shirt a little and I saw the outline of a gun. “Someone’s shot the pilot!” a flight attendant called.
I stood up along with two other people. We walked forward at the same time and I said, “How can I help?”
“Me too.”
“Me too.” they were both boys about my age. One was blonde and the other was a brunette.
“Can any of you land a plane?” she asked.
“I’ll try. I’ve been in simulators.” I said.
“Worth a try!” she said leading me to the nose of the plane.
There were two people moving the pilots away from their seats and I took the pilot seat. The brunette boy took the co-pilot seat and the blonde pulled out a flight manual. I grabbed the radio and looked at the plane number. England Airlines 77; quickly I pressed the button and said, “England Airlines 77 to base, do you read me?”
“Base to England Airlines 77, we read you. What is the problem?” a woman said.
“I am requesting emergency landing! Our pilots are both… um… unresponsive!” I said.
“Emergency landing cleared. What is your position?” the woman asked.
“The sky!” I said panicking.
“Calm down.” the brunette boy said.
“Okay you need to decrease your speed, change the position of the flaps, and then use the landing gear.” the other boy said.
After that he would call out to me what to do while the boy next to me calmed me down. It took a few minutes before we saw the airport and then that was when I got worried. “Just keep flying. Miss the airport.” someone whispered in my ear.
I turned my head slightly and saw Jay standing there. “No, Jay. I need to save these people’s lives.” I told him.
He reached to his waist and then said, “Where is it?”
“Where is what?” I asked.
“You know bloody well what!” he said. “How am I going to kill you without my gun?!”
The blonde boy dropped his manual and tackled Jay. I recalled what he had told me and while he was wrestling with Jay I landed the airplane. The police came on board and pulled the three boys apart, cause as soon as I had it under control the brunette joined the fight. “Where is my gun?!” Jay yelled at me as the fight was broken up.
“Who shoot the pilots?” the cop asked.
“Me!” Jay yelled. “She was supposed to die!”
The police looked at me and I pulled out the gun. “I took it from him without him noticing.” I said.
The cop took the gun and said, “I need to see the three of you kids on the ground. You are heroes today.”
We all nodded at him and he and another cop escorted Jay from the plane. “Thank you so much for your help.” I said to them.
“All I did was read and throw a few punches.” the blonde said rubbing his neck.
“All I did was try to calm you down and throw a few punches.” the other boy said.
I smiled as the blonde looked at him. “By the way, you hit really hard.” he said.
The brunette turned red. “Sorry. I was aiming for that guy. Jay was it?” he said.
“Yeah. I’m Alex by the way. And you?” I said.
“I’m Justin.” the blonde said.
“James.” the other said.
“It’s nice to meet you both.” I said hugging them.
Their touch felt slightly familiar to me. It was like I was feeling slight de jà vu. Oddly enough they both said, “De jà vu.”
“You guys felt it to?” I asked.
They nodded and then James said, “We should get off the plane.”
“Good idea.” I said. “I hate flying now.”
We all laughed and walked down the ramp. There was loud cheering the moment we appeared. I looked around and saw cameras flashing. “What are your names?!” someone shouted.
“Justin!”
“James!”
“Alex!”
We kept walking down the ramp. “Please come with me.” the cop from before said.
We nodded and followed him. He was talking to all of us about medals and media conferences about what had happened. I looked at the others and they looked just as humored about it as I was. “Excuse me, sir.” Justin said.
“Yes?” he said.
“I think we all just did it because it was what was right.” James said.
“This is all too much.” I said.
“We don’t need rewarded for anything.” Justin said.
“Our reward was meeting each other.” I smiled at my two new friends.
“Well that’s just touching!” Jay yelled as two other officers pushed him past us.
His hands were behind his back as the led him down the hall. We had walked into the airport. No doubt their parents were there. Mine? I didn’t the faintest clue where or even who they were. I didn’t remember. “Who is that guy anyway?” Justin asked.
“Well he was my friend.” I said. “I had no clue he planned on killing me.”
We laughed together and then the cop said, “Give me a minute to talk to some people.”
We nodded slightly and watched him walk into another room. I smiled at the two boys. One of them was wearing an engagement ring. “Justin! Who are you engaged to?” I asked.
“She’s a lovely woman. Her name is Kori.” he told me. “You remind me of her a little.”
“Really? Well I’d love to meet her sometime.” I said.
“Are you with anyone?” James asked.
“No. You?” I asked.
“I’m not really sure.” he said. “His fiancée’s sister Amelia seems like she likes me but I’m not really sure.”
“Is that how you two meet?” I asked.
“No. We used to go to a boarding school together. Our parents decided they wanted us to come back home so we are going back to school in England.” Justin said.
“Guys, they want to interview you.” the cop said.
I looked at the two boys. “Well?” I asked.
“Let’s do this.” James smiled.
I took their arms and we walked out to the stage. The room was crowded with interviewers. Justin and James both went pale. “Calm down.” I smiled. “They are just friends you haven’t met yet.”
They nodded and color returned to them. Neither of them managed to speak yet so I did instead. “Can I kindly ask you all to take your seats, please?” I asked pausing. They all sat down and then I continued, “If you have a question then please raise your hand. When we call on someone we would appreciate if you would give us and others the kindness you would them to show you.”
There wasn’t even a slight murmur in the audience. “How did you do that?” Justin whispered.
“Kindness.” I whispered back.
There was a man in the first row. “You there, guy in the black suit.” James said.
“Can I ask your names and ages?” he said.
“My name is Alex, short for Alexandra, and I am eighteen.” I said.
“James and I’m seventeen.” he said.
“Justin and I’m eighteen.” he smiled.
“Lady in the back with a purple dress.” I said.
“How did you all end meeting?” she asked.
“Justin and I have known each other for a few years now. We went to boarding school here in England. We went to America with my fiancée and were on our way back.” James said. “We didn’t meet Alex officially until after we landed.”
“Girl on the right, green dress.” Justin said looking at her.
“Have you even graduated yet? Has your fiancée?” she asked.
“No, we haven’t but we are this year.” he told her.
“Guy next to purple dress lady.” I said.
“Who was the man who shot the pilots and do any of you have a connection to him?” he asked.
“His name is Jay. He is a former friend of my family. When he noticed his gun missing he yelled something about being unable to kill me without it.” I said into the microphone.
A man brought the three of a few bottles of water. I opened mine and drank from it as Justin called on another guy. “Who was it that called base?” he asked.
“That was Alex. She was the only one of us who had even the smallest clue as to what to do.” James said. “Front row, black top.”
“My question is for Miss Alex.” she said.
“Yes?” I said putting the lid back on the water.
“How is it you have experience landing a plane?” she asked.
“I didn’t necessarily have experience landing one. At least not a real one. I’ve been in flight simulators at my brother’s request.” I said.
“I have a flow up question.” she said.
“What would that be?” I smiled.
“Why would your brother request you to do such a thing?” she asked.
“My brother is the most influential person in my life. He knew that it was something I’ve always wanted to do so he encouraged me to do it. He also encouraged me to take first aid training and CPR training.” I said. “He also instructed me in handling guns and taking them without getting caught.”
There was the slightest murmur in the crowd. “Pink skirt.” Justin said.
“Why would he instruct you in stealing guns?” she asked.
Carefully I pulled the gun from the podium where the cop had placed it. “This is the gun used to kill both pilots. If I hadn’t been able to take it from his waist I would also be dead, possibly all the people who had been on the plane included.” I said.
“Guy next to pink skirt.” James said.
“Justin, what led you to throw the first punch at Jay?” he asked.
“He was tempting Alex to miss the airport and risk the lives of all the people on board so I dropped what I was doing and kept him busy so she could focus.” he said.
“May I ask another?” the man said.
“Of course.” I said.
“What were you doing exactly?” he asked Justin.
Justin pulled out the flight manual. “I was reading the instructions on landing to her. As it turns out her mind wasn’t exactly clear on what to do in emergency.”
“Brown hair in the second row.” I said.
“James, what was your role in landing the plane?” she asked.
“Mainly I was just trying to keep Alex calm and level headed as she landed us. There was a moment when she hesitated due to stress but I calmed her down enough that she got her mind back in it and landed us safely.” he said.
“He also, when he knew I had it under control, joined Justin in keeping Jay occupied so he wouldn’t be able to get his hands on me. James is far too modest.” I said.
“Yeah, if it hadn’t been for my mate here, I’d possibly be dead or severely injured at the least.” Justin said rubbing his neck.
“We have time for one last question.” the cop said to everyone.
“Does anyone have a question for us?” I asked.
I waited a few seconds. “I do, ma’am.” the officer said.
“Please do.” I said.
“What do the three of you plan to do now?” he asked.
“Well I plan on going to school here like my brother wanted.” I said.
“I am going to go back and graduate. Then I intend to marry my wonderful fiancée.” Justin said.
“I have basically the same plan as Alex. I’m going to go back to the boarding the school I attended prior to going to America. When I graduate… well I’ll leave that up to destiny.” his eyes shone at the thought of his future.
“That’s all the time we have for questions.” the officer said.
James, Justin, and I walked down the steps into the back of the room. “Wait! Can we have a few pictures before you leave?” someone asked.
I smiled at the two boys. “Sure.” we said together.
“Alex if you could stand between the two boys, please.” a photographer said.
I moved to between them. “James, move in a little and put your arm around her. Justin, make sure we have view of your ring.” he said.
James his arm around my waist and Justin put his around my shoulders dangling his hand over so people would see the ring. “Nice big smiles.” the guy said holding up a camera.
I smiled brightly and the camera flashed. “The camera loves you three! Bring me a chair!” he called.
Someone grabbed a chair and sat it down in front of me. “Alex, please, sit down. Justin and James, stand behind her and both of you put your hand on her shoulder.”
I felt two warm hands rest gently on my shoulders. James on my right and Justin on my left. “Smile!” the guy said again.
I smiled and the light flashed again. “That should be good. Thank you so much.” he said walking away.
James walked around the chair and stood in front of me. He held out his hands for mine and when I took them, he pulled me out of the chair. I laughed softly. “Come on, we have a cab waiting for us.” he said smiling.
I walked out of the airport and then saw a cab waiting for us. As we approached it the window went down. “Miss Amelia!” the driver said.
I looked behind me and saw nothing. Justin elbowed me. “I think he meant you, Alex.” he whispered.
“Excuse me, sir. Were you talking to me?” I asked.
“Of course! Your Amelia from America.” he said.
“No. I’m Alex from America.” I said.
“Oh, I’m sorry for mistaking you for someone else.” he said.
The three of us got in the backseat and Justin gave him an address. We smiled and laughed all the way to the school they had been mentioning during the interview. “So where is this place anyway?” I asked.
“Are you kidding? It’s right here!” James said pointing the school building.
“This place is so… familiar.” I said.
“Really?” Justin asked. “You’re the first Alex we’ve ever had here.”
“Well it’s an honor.” I smiled.
We walked into the house. “Welcome to…” James began.
“Anubis House.” I said blinking.
“How’d you know that?” he asked.
“It just… sounded right.” I said. “Like I said before… de jà vu.”
They nodded and a few people came downstairs. “Justin! James! You’re back!” two girls said. “Just wait until Tiffany finds out.”
“Jamie, Amy, this is Alex.” he said.
“Hi.” I said with a smile.
They looked at him like he was crazy. “This isn’t Alex… this is Kori!” Jamie said.
It was Justin and James’s turn to look at them like they were crazy. Kori? Why was that name so familiar. And what about Amelia? Why was her name so familiar to her? “No, I’m Alex.” I said.
“Justin! Is that an engagement ring!?” Tiffany asked.
He looked at his hand and smiled. “Yeah, Kori and I are engaged.”
Tiffany put her arms around me. “Congratulations!”
“Don’t say it to me… Say it to him!” I said pushing her off me.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.
“Of course.” I said rubbing my arm.
“What took you so long to get here!? You were supposed to be here hours ago!” Mitchell said.
It was weird how I already knew all their names. Even when Justin and James had introduced themselves I had already had a faint idea who they were. “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.” Amy said.
“That’s fine. I’ll find my own way.” I said walking up the stairs.
I went around the hand rail to the room at the end of the hall. The door was open so I went in. On the wall was a poster of my brother Brad. He was from England because my father Rufus had raised him away from me and my sister. His accent was real while mine was fake.
He was a famous English singer and when he made a music video he usually had me in it playing guitar or drums. There was a knock on my door and I turned. “Hey, Justin.” I said with a smile.
“Something is really strange.” he said. “They called you Kori. That’s my fiancée’s name.”
“Really?” I said, “That name… is really familiar. And who’s Amelia?”
“Amelia is her sister.” he shrugged.
I shook my head. “That’s weird. Both names are really familiar.” I said.
“So are you.” James said from behind Justin.
“I had the same feeling. Like someone brainwashed us just enough to try and kill us.” I said with a serious look on my face.
They looked at each other and then me. We all burst out laughing at the same time. “For a minute there I thought you were trippin’!” Justin said.
I laughed again and looked at them. They looked as familiar as they sounded. Justin was tall, blonde, and skinny. James was my height, had brown hair, and thin. “James… turn around.” I said.
He gave me a confused look and turned around all the same. I touched the back of his head and started moving his hair. Seconds later I found what I was looking for. James had stiches in his head. “What happened to your head?” I asked.
“I fell down stairs in America. Don’t tell anyone. How did you know the stiches were there?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I said slowly.
“Weird.” Justin said.
“Very.” James and I said together.
We all laughed again. “Hey, guys are you coming for dinner?” Austin asked.
“We’ll be down shortly.” Justin said.
“Can I see your ring?” I asked.
“Sure.” he said as he slid it off his finger.
He handed it to me and I looked at it carefully. “It’s pretty.” I said smiling.
I handed it back to him. “Thanks.” he smiled. “You know, you look a lot like Kori. I can understand why the cab driver thought you were her.”
“But he called me Amelia.” I said.
“Amelia and Kori are identical twins. Kori came here saying she was Amelia.” James said shrugging.
“This was her room for the three days she was here.” Justin said.
“Then we went to America with her. I fell down the steps at her house and went to the hospital. Next thing I remember I’m on the way to get on the plane.” James said.
“And I was Kori proposing to her then her mother whisked me to the airport.” Justin said.
“We should go down to dinner.” I said.
“Yeah.” they said.
We headed out the door and I led them down the stairs. “What made you think I was trippin?” I asked.
“Brainwashed? Really, Alex? Anyone would have said that.” Justin told me.
“Welcome to House of Greeks, by the way, Alex.” Austin said.
“Thank you, Austin.” I said.
I saw down between him and Mitchell, much to the disliking of Amy. “So new girl who looks like Kori,” she said, “Who’s your crush?”
“Uh, Amy, it’s my first day here. I don’t really know any of you.” I said.
Austin looked like his face was split with joy. “What do you do to pass time, Austin?” I asked.
“This and that.” he shrugged. “Mostly I study though.”
“Because he’s no good at pranks.” Jamie said laughing.
“Not true.” Justin said. “He’s very good when I’m the one with the ideas.”
Everyone but Austin and I laughed. He looked rather glum about what Justin had said. I elbowed Austin lightly and waited for him to looked at. “Smile, please. You know he’s just messing with you.” I said.
He nodded and smiled a little. “Oh, Austin’s got a crush on the new girl!” Tiffany said.
I turned red and said, “Oh, Tiffany’s got a crush on James!”
She turned redder than I had. Austin started laughing like mad. “I could learn from you, Alex.” he said. “You really have a knack for embracing people.”
“What can I say… it’s a gift.” I said smiling at Tiffany.
She glared at me in hate. “Yo, chillax, Tiffany. She’s just messing with you.” James said.
“You are just messing with her right, Alex?” Justin whispered.
“Of course.” I smiled.
Trudy came out of the kitchen and put down a few pans of pizza. “Eat up, kids.” she said.
“Thanks, Trudy, this looks amazing.” I said.
There was a regular cheese pizza and then there was also a pepperoni pizza. Quickly I pulled my long brown hair back and put it in a ponytail. Mitchell handed me the pan of cheese pizza and I took a slice of it. I handed it to Austin and smiled. “What do you do to pass time, Alex?” he asked.
“I play guitar and drums.” I said taking a bite of the pizza. “This is amazing Trudy!”
“Thank you.” she smiled.
“Really? That’s cool.” he said glancing down.
“James plays guitar and Justin is a really good singer.” Tiffany said.
“You should form a band!” Amy said.
I laughed and said, “I don’t like to perform in public.”
“That’s too bad.” Austin said. “I bet you guys would be great.”
“Besides we’d need a bass guitarist.” James said.
“Austin…” I started.
“What? I don’t play.” he said quickly.
“I was going to ask if you could hand me the water.” I said.
“Sorry.” he said handing me the pitcher of water.
“It’s okay.”
I poured myself a glass of water wondering if he was hiding something. Quickly I finished eating my dinner and excused myself. “I’m going to give myself a tour of the house.” I said smiling.
I got up from the table and walked down the hall. There were two rooms on the right and I looked at the names. Justin and Austin shared a room and James and Mitchell shared the other. Quickly I walked into Austin’s room. There was a guitar lying on his bed.
A smile slipped onto my face as I walked towards it. I picked it up and looked at the name on the back. It was Austin’s guitar. He walked into his room. “What are you doing!” he asked grabbing his guitar.
“I knew you were hiding something, Austin!” I said closing the door.
“Please, don’t tell anyone!” he said.
“Chillax. I wasn’t going to. If you want to keep it to yourself then that’s up to you.” I said. “Can you play bass?”
“Yes, I can.” he said smiling a little. “But that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Calm down.” I told him.
He smiled and put his guitar back on his bed. “Why do you care?” he asked sitting on the bed.
“I was just curious.”
“Well did you find what you were looking for?”
I nodded and smiled. “What you were hiding.”
“Please don’t tell anyone.” he pleaded.
“I’m not going to. But if you ever want to play for someone, let me know. I’d be happy to listen.”
“Really? You will?”
“Of course.”
He smiled and looked at his guitar. “Same to you.”
“I’ll talk to you later. I’m going to go to bed. Good night, Austin.” I said.
“Night.”
I opened his door and walked out of the room. Quickly I ran up the stairs and went to my room. “Alex?” Amy said from my door.
“Yeah?” I said.
“Stay away from Mitchell. He’s mine.” she said.
“I don’t like him like that. He’s cool but I’m not interested.” I told her.
“I don’t believe you. I know you like him.” she told me.
“Listen to me, Amy. I don’t like Mitchel. I like someone else.” I said.
“To bad he’s engaged. You’re a man stealer!” she said.
“I don’t like Justin either! I like Austin!” I yelled.
“You what?” she asked.
“I like Austin. Now get out of my room.” I said pushing her and closing the door.
I lay down on my bed and stared at my ceiling. It was blue like the rest of my room. There was a poster on the wall of my brother and I figured who ever had the room before me was a fan of his. After closer inspection I saw he had autographed it.
To the best sister ever, I love you Kori
Brad
I had to do a double take. I knew for certain I didn’t know of a sister named Kori. Someone knocked on my door. “Alex?” Austin called.
I opened the door and gestured for him to come in. “What’s up?” I asked.
“I heard you fighting with Amy.” he said.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. She was getting so annoying.” I said. “Amy kept saying I’m a man stealer.”
“That’s just Amy for you. She doesn’t think girls can be just friends with Mitchel.” he said with a shrug.
“That’s stupid.” I said sitting on the bed.
“Yeah. It’s good being me. I can be friends with whoever I want.” he said with a smile.
“Who was this Kori girl?” I asked looking back at the poster.
“The girl Justin is engaged to apparently.” he said with a laugh.
“Seriously. Tell me about her.” I said.
“She looks a lot like you. Smart, kind, and talented.” he said. “Really good singer and she played guitar as well.”
“Weird.” I said looking at the poster again.
“I guess I’ll let you get to bed now.” he said.
“Good night.” I said.
He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. I sighed and lay down on my bed. After another glance at the poster I fell asleep.