Eventually, I settled into a new rhythm.
Training with Ivan, Sadid and eventually Ahmed became a new norm. I also had to keep up appearances with Sofie, do my best to make sure she wouldn’t suspect anything. It wasn’t that hard to be perfectly honest.
It was an agony I couldn’t even begin to explain, but it was also only for a short period of time. The semester eventually pushed through, and Christmas vacation was around the corner.
I would finally go back to Greece, see Iraklis and my parents again. One good thing about this was that I didn’t lose any love for them–if anything, Jacob’s life helped me appreciate them all even more.
Sure, I hadn’t talked to Iraklis in a bit, but that was fine. We’d gone through patches like this before, and we were able to pick our friendship back up quickly.
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. I was alone in my dorm, packing things up for my trip.
“Who is it?” I asked, dropping the shirt I was holding. I tensed up as silence hung in the air. I’d been the man who knocked once, coming in and killing the resident. And I was surely damn better than this guy–I mean seriously, he let me stew, prepare myself.
“It’s me,” came Birgit’s voice from the other side. It was quiet. Small.
So unlike her, I felt the rage creeping up my neck again.
But I didn’t say anything. I just took a deep breath and opened the door. She was wearing a woollen shirt and sweatpants, looking around with an annoyed look on her face.
“Took you long enough,” she grumbled, walking in.
“Not longer than it took you to answer me.”
“It’s not easy, you know,” she snapped back. “I have a life. Coming here every week, it disrupts it.”
“Well, I like to think it’s worth it. Besides, you’ll be back home in a couple of days. Back to the cold, dark abyss you call Denmark.”
“Hey!” She pointed a finger at me. “Careful how you talk about Denmark. I will freeze your balls off.”
“Sorry, sorry. My point still stands.” I held my hands up in mock surrender. She was exaggerating, and so was I.
“No it doesn’t.”
“Alright.” I gestured for her to sit while I got back to packing. “Have a seat and I’ll correct my error in judgement: You'll be back home in a couple of days. Back to the wonderful abyss you call Denmark.”
She squinted her eyes at me. “You really don’t know what Denmark’s like, do you? We knew each other for, what, six months? You never went there?”
“Never came up. Although we did watch a lot of Danish WPW editions. I like to think I got a good idea of the culture from that.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
She giggled at that. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
I stopped what I was doing. It was stupid, but this was the first time she’d called me an idiot since we’d reunited. I knew she didn’t mean it, so I didn’t mind, but I was pretty moved.
Last Christmas, I’d spent the final school day arguing with Maria’s posse. She wasn’t there herself, but their repertoire wasn’t all that different even when they were alone.
“I’ve been told,” I said eventually, shutting my suitcase down. “Any plans for vacation?”
“Dunno,” she said, crossing her arms. “Atlantis isn’t really a Christmas place, is it? No snow, no riding the train to get our tree and no Risalamande.”
“Back up a bit. Atlantis?”
“I don’t really like to spend Christmas at home. Mum’s always working, and Dad calls a bunch of business partners to dinner–and I assume you know how I feel about them.”
Yeah, I did. And I hated them almost as much as I hated Paragon–both as Alex and as Jacob. I wanted to go and hug her, tell her that everything would be alright and invite her to spend Christmas with me.
I refrained from the hugging part, but I still made my offer.
“You can’t be serious,” she said, actually scoffing at the idea.
“My folks like you, and I only have one other friend, I think I can manage that big of a circle.”
“Yeah, but I can’t.” She was angry now. Really angry–it became so cold, it was like we were in Denmark, or even Greenland. “Did you ever stop to think about how I would feel about this? What I’d want?”
I let out a sigh of my own. Again, it was stupid, but I wasn’t angry with her.
“Look, we still have a couple of days. Just think about it. It’d be fun. I could even teach you a couple of games. Maybe even beat you for once.”
She actually smirked at that. “You wish.”
“Speaking of fun, I have something else for you,” I said, reaching into my nightstand. “Something to do today.”
“Yeah?”
I pulled an old World Power Wrestling DVD. “Five years ago. Bruiser Macho, Verge, and an all-star cast, filmed straight from Atlantis and the North American Institute.”
She widened her eyes at me. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“There’s only one question you need to ask yourself. Birgit Stine Paulsen,” I took a deep breath, trying to get my inner fanboy in check. “Are you ready to witness history?”
And Birgit burst out laughing. She looked at the box, and a look I couldn’t quite read covered her face. Still, a small smile formed and she agreed to it.
“Fine, but on one condition. We get snacks, ones that I will pay for.”
“Of course,” I said, setting up my laptop. I knew better than to fight Birgit on paying. I just had to take my chances whenever I got them, and be sly about it. Granted, slyness wasn’t exactly my strong suit, but I’d managed.
It felt nice, not having to worry about Charles or Paragon for a bit. It wouldn’t be long before we had to face off against them, I knew that, but I also knew that I needed this. And Birgit did too.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” said the announcer, walking across the ring, “The battle of the ages: Live from Atlantis Academy, where the heroes of tomorrow are born, shall rise the champion of today! There’s only one question left to ask yourselves!
“Aaaaaare you ready to RUMBLE!?”