Chapter Eighteen: Trick Shot and Welcome Gift

Heart arrhythmias: a group of conditions in which the heartbeat is irregular, too fast, or too slow. Can be prompted by sudden impacts against the heart, sudden panic, dips in electrolytes or be a sign of a more serious illness.

*

I leant against the doorframe of the gaming room that afternoon, watching Amada play his online Raiders of Dungeons game. He spoke video game jargon I barely comprehended as his fingers and thumbs smashed the buttons of his controller. Amada seemed very invested in his current magical quest.

I pondered what Mr Romano wanted me to do. Because Amada wasn't a girly guy, he played video games and spent a lot of time on the computer. The problem seemed to be he wore girl clothes out of strange necessity and was incredibly introverted. I assumed he wanted me to turn Amada into a man, but how was I supposed to do that? I'm not even a man. I don't know how to teach someone to be a man.

And another thought, how do I go about this? Do I blatantly tell him that his Father isn't comfortable with his choices? Do I force him to do some things I liked? Ease him into it? Find some common ground? Just blatantly steal all of his skirts and tell him to go to school in pants or nothing?

I could feel the hundred-dollar bill pressing against my pocket. I didn't want to think of this right now. With a light step, I retreated down the hallway and into the kitchen where Bonnie and Mia were watching TV. Bonnie turned in her chair when I came in, smirking. "What's the two-year-old having a hissy fit about?" she asked as she rolled to me. I didn't realise I was stomping.

I sighed as I opened the fridge, "Nothing. Just had some weird news."

Bonnie scoffed as she went back to the TV. After a while I noticed Fritz sitting on her lap, happily accepting belly rubs. "What're you two doing?" I asked.

"Just channel surfing," Bonnie answered, "What about you? Are you grumpy because your alone and no one wants to play with you?"

I took some water out of the fridge and rolled my eyes, "Ha-Ha very funny."

"Very true," Bonnie murmured changing the channel.

I sat next to Mia, who upon seeing me shuffled closer and laid against my shoulder. I took no mind to it. "How's your day then, Mia?" I asked.

I felt her small shoulders shrug against me; her eyes too focused on the TV to attempt a game of charades. She was chewing on her tiny fingernails, occasionally making a loud clicking sound. I sighed a touch too loudly, prompting Bonnie to turn off the TV and face me. "Okay, what's wrong?"

I shook my head, "Nothing is wrong, it's just nothing's right." I placed the water bottle on the table.

"Thanks for the profound nature of your vagueness, Dr Seuss," Bonnie jeered as Fritz climbed up her shoulders and draped around her neck like a scarf. "What isn't right then?"

I paused, wondering if I could tell Bonnie. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else," I said.

Hearing this statement, Mia sat up and looked at me, giving me both of their attention. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Spill." Bonnie leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands.

Her eagerness was off-putting, and I almost changed my mind. When I hesitated, Bonnie remarked, "If you don't tell me now my imagination will make it worse."

"Make what worse?" Estelle strolled into the room and, without warning, hopped over the back of the lounge and sat on both me and Mia. "Oh hi, Mia." Estelle ruffled her hair. "Didn't see you there, too busy trying to flirt with him." She poked me in the chest.

I pushed Estelle off me and sighed.

"Landon's grumpy and has something he wants to talk about," Bonnie said smugly.

Estelle made a dramatic gesture, "Oh Landon, is it that time of the month already? We have ways of combating this. You have to be willing to talk about it," she informed taking my hands. Her humour was falling flat for me as she dropped my hands and sat on the edge of the coffee table. "Is it about your meeting with Mobster Romano?"

I puffed out my cheeks before saying everything that had just happened; the meeting with Mr Romano, his proposition to try and de-feminise his son and how he was willing to pay me for it. "Why can't I have a normal school experience?" I wondered aloud when I had finished, "I've been to the Middle East, Australia, and Indonesia, and got home-schooled by monks, nuns and rabbis. Why can't I have a normal start to the year?"

Bonnie made a boo-hoo gesture, "Poor Landon Becks, he has Dorm Guard duties." She mimed a crying gesture, "You think it's a walk in the park for any of us?"

"For some not a walk at all…" Estelle grumbled.

Despite Bonnie's attempt at being callous, she did offer a sympathetic look. "But on a serious note, that's rough. Are you gonna tell Amada?"

I slumped, "I don't know. Should I?"

Bonnie shrugged, "I wouldn't, personally. What he doesn't know won't kill him, right?" Bonnie stated with a dismissive shrug.

Estelle seemed just as lost but tried to make it more light-hearted. "It could be good for both of you. You'd finally have a friend to do manly man things with." She stood up and flexed her muscles. "Yeah! Testosterone!"

Bonnie laughed, "Please, Mia probably has more testosterone that boy." In response, Mia kicked Bonnie's chair, forcing her to roll back slightly. As she returned, she continued muttering with a smirk, "Manly man things…"

"You guys aren't helping!" I exclaimed.

Estelle exhaled as she sat back down on the coffee table. "Well it's clear you have three choices here; tell him, don't tell him, do nothing. If you don't tell him, I'd recommend making sure he never finds out you're getting paid to do it," Estelle informed, "And if you do tell him, you'll need to make sure he understands what you're trying to do. I may not know a lot about the twins, but I do know Amada isn't stupid and is extremely sensitive.'

"I doubt you'd want to offend that weirdo," Bonnie added.

"And if you do nothing," Estelle continued, "Then Amada may or may not get shipped off to some military correctional place filled to the brim with testosterone-fuelled idiots."

There was a long pause between us at the realisation of that. Even Bonnie seemed frightened by the idea of it. "So… doing nothing isn't an option," Estelle cooed.

I sighed loudly, "Okay, fine. But where would I start then? Mr Romano said that the twins look up to me, but Amada has shown zero interest in anything that I do."

"Well, what do you do?" Estelle asked.

I shrugged, "That's the thing. I don't do anything spectacular or overly masculine. I cycle, watch the football and study," I threw my hands in the air.

Bonnie sounded exasperated as she released a screech of a groan. "Think back, Landon. What has Amada seen you do?" she asked, "What is his impression of you?"

I blinked. "You mean my self-defence stuff?"

Bonnie winked, "Bingo. He's an awkward, gangly, feminine looking stick figure. You're a tall, athletically inclined-"

"Sexy haired, toned guy," Estelle quickly added.

Bonnie paused at the description, considering it, before continuing, "And you recused him from kidnapping and rescued some random from a group that terrorises people," Bonnie listed, "You are a God to him."

Mia started searching her pockets for something.

"If you hang out with him, I'm sure exposure would be enough," Estelle suggested, "Watch a sports game. Play Darts. Hire one of those hand operated football game things."

Bonnie smirked at the suggestions, "Honestly if you can get him to wear pants in public, you're already a step int eh right direction," she said, "He does not have the legs to pull that off."

Mia found some paper in her pocket and picked up a pen from the coffee table, after a moment of scribbling, she passed the note to me. "'Ask Amia what Amada likes to do. Find something to bond over,'" I read aloud.

"Sounds like a lovely place for you to start," Bonnie stated taking Fritz off her shoulders, "Until then, good luck with your problems, I'm going to my room." She reversed from the lounge and started for the doorway. Mia gave me a quick hug before running out of the room after her sister.

Estelle gushed, "Aww, Mia likes you."

I pressed my hands against my face, "Seems to be a theme." I stood up, "Any idea where Amia is?"

Estelle grabbed the TV remote and shrugged, "She's probably somewhere in the dorm. She shouldn't be too hard to find." She turned the TV on and started singing the theme song to a reality TV show. I took my leave after that.

*

Just when I began my sweep of the house, I caught a glimpse of the backyard, seeing Amia's black hair pinned back as she rolled around a soccer ball along the grass. She had switched from the school uniform to a blue sports shirt and black shorts. I ventured outside and watched her footwork. She was attempting a flick trick behind her back but kept kicking it the wrong way and tripped.

In her moment of distraction, I ran forward and intercepted the ball. "And he steals it," I announced, "Can she steal it back?"

At the challenge, Amia smiled, a sudden spark in her eye, as she attempted to reclaim the ball. She wasn't great, but it was hilarious watching her try. After a few minutes of her trying, she surprise-tripped me, and I hit the ground, momentarily stunned. She placed her foot on the top of the ball and beamed an accomplished smile, "I did it."

I laughed as I rested my head against the grass to stare at the sky, "I call a foul, but alright."

Amia kicked the ball over to me, and it nudged my side. "Wanna play a game?" she requested, "We can try shooting? Best of five."

I sat up and looked around the backyard, noting a lack of goals to kick into, "Using what?"

Amia shrugged, "I usually use those trees," she informed pointing to two large trees planted a few meters apart from each other.

I considered them a moment before nodding, "Sure." I stood up and walked to the trees to be the goalie. Amia positioned herself in the middle of the yard and started some kicking drills, running in zig-zags and doing tricky twirls before finally striking the ball and sending it towards me. It had some power and a strong spin to it, surprising me when I went to catch it and it fumbled from my grip to roll into the goals.

"One point, me!" Amia cheered jumping in delight.

I was still stunned, "Are you in the soccer team?" I asked as we switched places.

Amia tossed me the ball and shook her head. "Daddy doesn't let me do any contact sports aside from basketball," she informed, "I can only do stuff like track or tennis otherwise."

"Where'd you learn to kick like that?" I queried.

"I get bored," Amia informed, "A lot of time on my hands. I sometimes watch the boys' soccer team play, one of them even gave me some pointers, that's where I learned." She stood in the stance of a goalie. "Ready when you are."

My goal attempt wasn't as elaborate as hers. I nudged the ball forwards, so it gathered momentum and kicked it along the ground in the right corner of the tree goals. Amia didn't reach it in time, falling to her knees when she tried and watched it roll behind her. "Damn," she cursed.

"So how come you can play basketball? Seems like a pretty heavy contact sport," I informed as we swapped again.

Amia dusted off her knees, flicking away strands of grass and dirt. "Probably because I did it with Amada," she informed, "We started out together, and then he dropped it cause he wasn't any good." She made a goal attempt, this one less intense, and I managed to block it. "I don't think he knows I still do basketball, to be frank," she confessed putting her hands on her hips in thought, "I don't think he's come to one of my games since I was maybe twelve."

I widened my eyes, "Three years?"

She didn't seem bothered by this, shrugging it off to take her position at the goals. "Just Daddy priorities," she stated readying herself. Like before, I managed to get it past her and she growled in annoyance.

I tried to talk about Amada. "Does Amada play any sports?"

Amia raised an eyebrow as she placed the ball on the grass before her. "I think you've asked me that already," she thought, "But no. Anything physical beyond DDR or Wii Sports isn't even on his radar." She made the gesture 'goes over his head' with a whistle, "He comes to my games though, so that's nice." She made a kick and my fingertips barely touched it, but it rolled behind the scoreline and counted. "Why do you ask?"

"Wanted to see if there's anything we could do together," was the first thing that came out of my mouth, and without a filter I just rolled with it, "You girls are great and all, but it would be nice to have a guy to hang out with, you know?"

Amia scoffed, "Amada isn't exactly guy material."

I shrugged, "Nevertheless, I wanna try and hang out with him. What does he like to do?"

Amia bit her lower lip in thought as she furrowed her brow. At first, I thought she couldn't think of anything, but she started mumbling, leafing through things that Amada liked to do, but perhaps I wouldn't like. She made a face, "Nothing I think you'd like," she confessed.

I kicked the ball back to her, "Try me."

Amia flicked it back, allowing me to catch it as we swapped spots. "He likes Raiders of Dungeons," she informed, "And he likes his anime, and chess, and…" she paused and smirked, "Running away from Ashley Morris." She giggled at the last one.

It took me a moment to remember who Ashley Morris was, before recalling the first day of school where Amada switched places with Amia when a girl from P.E class was chasing him. The Ashley girl had ripped Amia's blouse to prove she was Amada but was utterly baffled when she saw Amia's bra.

I smiled at the memory, "How often does that happen?"

Amia chuckled, "More often then you'd think. Amada is beginning to fill out. He's not going to get away with being a girl for much longer."

I went for the goal half-heartedly, and Amia caught it, happy with the accomplishment. "Are you okay with that? Amada dressing like you?"

Amia considered the question with a focused face as she rolled the soccer ball between her hands. "Yes, I'm okay with Amada doing whatever he needs to do," she stated, "If he feels more comfortable dressing like me when we're in public, then that's entirely up to him."

I pried, "You don't get embarrassed or anything?"

Amia smirked, "Of what? We're twins; people think it's cute." Despite her apparent acceptance of it, there was the slightest hint of annoyance, but I couldn't tell if it was directed at Amada or my questions.

"Aren't you worried though? I mean, people are going to find out eventually, and not everyone is going to as accepting or understanding as-" I felt a sharp ache in my chest as something winded me, the surprise and sudden pain knocking me over as a soccer ball rolled away from me.

My hands trembled as I clutched my chest and tried to sit up, managing to arch my head and see through blurry eyes an angered Amia, her eyes were hateful, her hands clenched into shaking fists as she stomped back into the house, leaving me on the ground.

I was in considerable pain, the shock of it causing everywhere but my chest to turn cold. I dropped my head back and focused on the purple coloured sky, clenching my teeth to help endure the pulse of my heart. "I'm fine…" I gasped, tears spiking my eyes, "You're… fine Landon…" I grimaced as my hand curled around a handful of dirt. I didn't need to monitor my heart rate, I could feel it drumming in my ears and send pins and needles over my body in waves.

I steadied my breathing, taking slow but short breaths as anything larger hurt my chest. "This is just, this is anticipated pain," I reminded myself, "There's nothing… nothing wrong with you." Despite my reassurance, I winced every time I took a deep breath.

I closed my eyes and waited for the discomfort to pass. Gradually, my hands stopped trembling, and breathing didn't cause a cold sweat. My heartbeat faded from my eardrums, and soon I could feel the cold of the grass I was lying on, as opposed to the chilling sense of dread that had run through me.

My head started throbbing from a headache as I pressed one of my arms to my head, compressing the discomfort. I heaved a sigh as I rested my forearm against my eyes, "Well that worked…"

In my blindness, someone tapped me on the arm. I opened my eyes and looked up at Robyn's face, a concerned expression looking at me upside down. She was leaning over me and offered a small gesture, her movements comforting looking but I had no idea what she was saying to me. I tried sitting up, hiding my wince from my deaf friend, as I turned to face her. She offered me a charming smile as she signed, "Okay?"

I wondered how much of a mess I looked but made a smile and mirrored her gesture. "Okay."

She tucked some loose hair behind her ear before pulling out a notepad and pen, writing down a quick note before handing it to me. She wanted to ask why I was lying on the grass in the late afternoon.

My smile became less forced as I tried to remember certain phrases, in the end managing a very incomplete and broken sentence. "It's a beautiful afternoon," I tried to sign, "Good time to lie down."

Robyn tilted her head as she watched my hesitant gestures, her absent smile widening. I didn't know if I mis-signed it or not, but before I could ponder further, she held out her hand for me to take. Robyn helped me to my feet, which I relied on much more then I thought I would, and held my hand all the way back to the dorm. When we entered, she told me to wait in the hallway as she disappeared through one of the doorways.

"You all good?" Ava asked. I jumped, turning to see her sitting at the bottom of the stairs. She seemed counter startled by my jump. "Calm down, I'm not that invisible," she chuckled standing.

I sighed and apologised, explaining I was just a bit jumpy.

Ava didn't look into it. "That why you were outside?" She gestured with her head to the backyard, "We saw you through the window."

I leaned on the stairwell railing, attempting to look casual, but in reality, my left foot still felt weird. "It was a nice afternoon, lost track of time after kicking the ball around with Amia," I informed, "Good place to lie down."

"We have blankets for that," Ava informed leaning by the railing next to me. "Robyn's got a surprise for you. An initiation gift from our small dormitory."

"Is that why I'm waiting here?"

Ava nodded, looking over my shoulder at a running Robyn, who was frantically signing at her. Ava laughed as she spoke and signed, "No, I didn't tell him anything," she assured, "I would never ruin the surprise." She backed away from me and sat down on the stairs as if taking in a show.

Robyn stuck her tongue out at Ava as she stood in front of me and started signing, I didn't recognise the gestures, but Ava translated. "You've been here for a short time now, Landon, but you're contributions and dedication to our dormitory is beyond expression," Robyn signed, "And as a little thank you, I made you this." Robyn held out a small yellow box tied with a teal green ribbon.

I wasn't expecting a gift, but I gladly accepted it.

"I hope you like it," Robyn added at the end. She started rocking on her heels as she stared at the box, waiting for me to open it.

I balanced on my own as held the box with both hands, delicately pulling at the ribbon to untie it and lift the lid. The more I opened it, the more visually excited Robyn became, even making indistinct noise as she lightly tapped her knuckles together. I withheld from opening it to watch her make such an impulsive gesture; it was adorable.

I did eventually lift the lid and found a pair of bright orange monster themed slippers with big green eyes and pink fabric I assumed to be a tongue. I took the shoes out of the box, the orange fur soft to touch as I examined them.

"Do you like them?" Ava translated when Robyn started signing again. Ava chuckled, "Alexis told me you liked Monster Munchies."

I couldn't withhold my laughter as I held the slippers close, without having to try them on I could tell they were an odd shape, but I loved the gift and was determined to sign that to Robyn.

I nodded to her, "Yes I like Monster Munchies," I informed, Robyn looking to Ava fleetingly to double-check what I just said, "But I love these more," I tried to sign, "Thank you, Robyn."

In a bout of pleasure, she raised her hands and shook them happily. I took a glance at Ava for translation. "It means applause, she's clapping," Ava informed copying the gesture herself.

It was infectious how happy Robyn looked as she continued to sign applause. I said thank you again and sat down on the stairwell, taking off my shoes to test the slippers. As I predicted, Robyn had made the shoes an odd shape, one of the monster's eyes bulged slightly and pressed against my big toe, but when I stood up in them, they worked fine.

Robyn noticed the strange look and expressed concern for me, asking if they were still okay.

I nodded, "They're perfect." I held my hands out for a hug, which seemed to surprise Robyn at first, but she quickly accepted it, tightly wrapping around my waist and resting her head against my chest. The pain I felt before had wholly evaporated now, replaced by Robyn's warm embrace.