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That made her start to worry, and as she and the messenger arrived at Proctor Reynolds office, with the imposing sign posted above the doorway, she braced herself. In spite of the bracing, she was still gobsmacked when the door was opened from the other side and she stepped into the impressively large office space. She reeled as soon as she took in what was inside.
It was Sam.
He was older, to be certain, but there was no mistaking the twinkle in his sable brown eyes and the face that, except for being large and having a more chiseled jawline, was a mirror image of her own.
She flew into his arms. He was dressed nicely, in a tan cashmere coat and scarf, and he smelled like a pine forest on a sunny winter morning.
Moni at last stood back. He was definitely more mature, but had the same unruly mop of silver blonde hair as he had always had and the same adorably authentic crooked smile.
Moni was crying. Tears of joy wouldn’t stop falling and she kept flicking them away from her eyes so she could take in his appearance.
“Oh myGod, where have you been? You grew up and filled out, and I guess you are a realmenschnow!” she said, complaining cheerfully. “Talk fast, before I fucking faint!”
Realizing that she was in Proctor Reynold’s office, she shot an apologetic look toward the school official saying, “Ohwow, I’m sorry. I am just overwhelmed. I’m really sorry to curse in your office!”
“Completely understandable,” the Proctor said in his usual prim sounding tone. “Now, I think webothneed to listen towhat your prodigal brother has to say, so why don’t we have a seat. I always hesitate to call students out of class but when your brother showed up at Pitchfork Prep Academy asking for you, and also asking if he could be considered for emergency admittance to the Academy, well… I don’t believe I have ever heard of a similar case in the history of the school, and we have had some strange situations crop up, I assure you! First of all, I wanted to ascertain that heisyour twin brother, and not someone claiming to be! I believe your reaction to seeing him has told me everything I need to know!”
“Yes, yes, this is my twin brother, Sam,” Moni said as she and Sam took seats together while still holding onto each other’s hands. “I haven’t seen him since our eighth birthdays… We, my parents and I, always believed that he was abducted. We even waited for a ransom note, but never received one!” She turned to Sam, who was looking as happy as she felt.
“I guess it’syourturn, Sam. Where have you been?”
Sam leaned forward. “I wish I could remember,” he replied, with a tinge of sadness in his tone. “I know that it sounds unbelievable, but I don’t remember anything past our eighth birthday, when we were playing hide and seek!”
Proctor Reynolds frowned deeply as he looked from Sam to Moni, and then back to Sam.
“I’m sure you realize that it would take some very dark and malevolent magic to erase over eight years of memory,” he said in a serious tone. “I can only assume that, as your sister just said, your family postulated, you must have been taken because of your gifts in Magicae. Gifts that you share with your sister, Antimony, I’m sure. It is quite common for twins to have the same gifts.”
Moni turned to Sam again. “Sam, what’s the very last thing you remember?” she asked him. “Very last memory?”
Sam’s handsome brow buckled for a moment. “I was hiding in one of the closets in our room,” he told her. “I had discovered that there was a small square door in the back corner of it that opened into an attic space. The door was so small that only a kid could get through it, and I was convinced that it was the perfect hiding space! I crept in and closed the little door behind me. It was pitch black in that attic space, and dusty. After a few minutes I started to get a feeling of dread, not just the willies but a feeling that something—or someone—was behind me. I was about to abandon my perfect hiding space and crawl back into the closet when I heard a chuckle in my ear. It wasn’t a nice sound, it caused me to get prickles on the back of my neck and I panicked and threw myself forward toward the door to the closet space .I never made it, and the same voice saying, ‘Oh no you don’t!’ is the last thing I remember. And then I show up here, in clothes I don’t recognize and a body I am just getting used to and, well, it’s been atrip, to say the least!”
After conversing for a few more minutes, Proctor Reynolds had Sebastian Crockett fill out a series of forms and then handed him a key.
“There is a small room that students don’t seem to care for in the same hall as your sister’s room. You are welcome to stay there until we get all of this sorted out. In the meantime, I would suggest you keep your conversations with other students at Pitchfork Prep casual. Please, tell no one what we have discussed or the unusual circumstances surrounding your arrival. What matters is that you are Antimony’s brother, you are here now, and I am sure, since you are her twin, that you will make considerable contributions to the Academy. Can we all agree on that?”
CHAPTER SIX-SUSPICIONS
Moni spent many days after the return of Sam pinching herself and feeling as though she were walking on air. She’d introduced Sam to Luca, Shady, and Broody, and as far as she was concerned he fit right into the group.
Moni had never felt the slightest need to apologize for her lifestyle or non-discriminatory sexual proclivities, but she did feel an obligation to let him know that she was not only friends with Broody and Luca but also occasionally lovers, and that she occasionally hooked up with Shady.
Sam seemed to be as open-minded as she was, and told her that while he was glad that she felt able to confide in him, her confession wasn’t necessary and that her private life was her own business.
“Now that I have you back, Sis, I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable or question any lifestyle choice you made for yourself… And I have to tell you that while I am more attracted to Shady than Luca or Broody, I have to admire them, even as a guy I think they arebothhot asballs!”
Moni had to laugh. It was the first time Sam had used off-color language, which made sense because, as far as she knew, he’d been kept apart from society for several years. In someways, his speech patterns were naive and more “coming-of-age” than one would encounter in a male witch that had been raised in the same society and time period thatshehad.
They got along swimmingly, and that was why she found it so disturbing when Broody and Luca, with whom she’d been spending less and less time, asked if they could speak to her alone, just the three of them.
“Look, I know I haven’t had as much time to hang out with either of you, and Shady, but I’m trying to help Sam acclimate to Pitchfork Prep Academy. Just yesterday afternoon, I had to tutor him in riding on his Pitchfork! Boy was all kinds of clumsy at first. It even took off without him, if you can believe it!”
Broody looked at Luca, and both of them turned back to her. Broody gave her an oblique look.
“That’s, well, just fascinating, but weseriouslyneed to consult with you, in private, without your dear brother, Sam, present… Can you meet us in the Library, third sub-cellar Archives, say, immediately after dinner?”
Still perplexed, Moni nodded her assent. She was still thinking that the fact that she’d been spending so much time with her long lost twin was bothering them, and they missed her and were maybe jealous that Sam was occupying nearly all her waking hours since his arrival. Well, that was understandable, but she thought they were being immature. At least Shady understood that, after missing many years together, years that they would never be able to get back, she and her twin, Sam, had a lot of catching up to do.
Moni sighed deeply.Men! They were so selfish, and whiny when they didn’t get enough attention!
