No. 5: Who Are We?

No. 5: Who Are We?

The Professor's office was decorated with items from the times he spent in South Africa on safari. A zebra skin was used as a rug in front of the fire place and high back leather chairs. A lion head was the focus of the room, hanging over the mantel. There was also a water buffalo, a hyena, even an eagle, but the lion was obviously his pride and glory.

The Professor was a man in his sixties, his thinning hair was styled perfectly. His half-moon glasses perched at the end of his nose. His green eyes twinkled happily, as he anticipated meeting their subjects, after waiting so long.
When the three teenagers knocked softly.
"Come in." He said, folding up the newspaper and laying it down on the mahogany desk that he had imported from Kenya.
He smiled as they walked in, lines crinkling in the corners of his eyes.
The young lady gave him a hesitant smile and waited for the boys to fall in step with her as they approached his desk.
"Oh I must say I am glad to see you three up and about. We were beginning to wonder if you ever would." He said with a smile, interlacing his fingers and resting his elbows on the desk.
"Well it seems we shock everyone, Professor....?" The older boy of the three, Vencint, asked.
"Ah yes, I am Professor Wallace." The man held out his hand,
The boy shook it with a firm grip and nodded.
"I assume there's no need to introduce ourselves." He said, his tone cool and suspicious.
The Professor folded his hands once again and nodded.
"Yes, I can see why you would be resentful towards me. But please, do not judge me until you hear all the facts. Alright?"
"Okay that's one thing," The youngest said, Cliff. "but the question is, when will that be?"
"You are a smart one. Come." Wallace rose from his chair and pulled out a cane from a collection in a basket next to the desk.
"Lets take a walk."

Outside, all the kids were gone, in classes, except for a few stragglers.
The day was a crisp autumn day, the warm sunlight made up for the cool breeze. Izzy was glad she had chosen a flannel shirt, but couldn't help wondering why the boys weren't shivering.
"I have a feeling you have lots of questions." Wallace said, breaking the silence as he pointed to a path with his cane, gesturing for Venn to go ahead.
"And I'd imagine the first would be 'do we actually have parents?' And the answer to that is yes."
A weight lifted off the three of them. One they didn't even realize was even there.
"Where are they?" Izzy asked. "How come they aren't here now?"
"And just exactly where is here?" Cliff cut in.
The Professor smiled as he looked around the garden they had walked into.
"We are on the outskirts of Washington DC." He pointed to the west with his cane again, and the three turned around to see a skyline filled with tall buildings.
"And I am afraid I don't know where your parents are. They weren't allowed to have contact with you."
"What?! Why not?!" Venn asked in shock.
Wallace shrugged. "That was the rule. It was either that or you three died."
"Died?" Izzy whispered.
"Yes. Died. Though unfortunately that is all I'm allowed to tell you on that subject.
"So why not just move us, and give us new names?" Venn asked.
"It wasn't normal people your parents were running from. They have a way of figuring things out, it wouldn't have worked. So the only hope we had, was to put you under. And I am quiet pleased that it worked."
The triplets were quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what it was that this man was saying.
"So...what now?" Izzy asked.
"Now? Now you try to keep your nose out of trouble, and to ensure that, you'll be staying here. There's a guest house that's got two bedrooms and it's own kitchen. I'm sure that'll be more then sufficient for you three. Classes start at eight o'clock sharp. I do believe your first class is math."
The Professor stood up and leaned on his cane as he reached into his pocket.
"Oh yes, why don't you three go shopping. You'll need some more clothes then the ones you've got right now."
He handed Venn a large wad of cash.
"Please don't be afraid to come visit any time you need to talk. My door is always open."
The three nodded, not having any words to say.

The guest house was nice enough.
What Izzy hadn't noticed before, was the fact that the whole school campus was decorated after the Spanish style. It was rustic, and quiet beautiful. Red tiles lined the roofs complementing the sun faded walls. There were many arches, and lots of greenery. When she took a closer look at the fountain she saw that it was decorated with a tiled mosaic on the bottom of the small pool.
The guest house was also styled the same way.
They walked through a large arch way to come to a patio  with a wood lattice over it. It was decorated with small lights that would look nice at night, wrapped around the edge of the roof. There was a wood frame love seat with rustic-colored cushions. A small matching chair was sitting across from it, a distressed table in between the two.

Inside was just as well appointed as the exterior.
There was arches that led into each of the rooms. There was a small kitchen that was stocked with food of all kinds. The two bedrooms were at opposite sides of the house, separated by the living room and dinning room.
"I'm taking this room." Izzy announced as she looked into the room that had the turret in the front of the room gave it a nice touch. She especially liked the window seat under the tall windows.
"Aw! I wanted the room with the pink walls." Cliff complained.
She turned around a punched him in the arm.
"You are so bad!" She said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, we all know that." Venn shouted over his shoulder as he walked across the house to the other bedroom.
Cliff rolled his eyes and followed his brother.
She smiled and went straight over to the window seat.
Looking out and seeing a tababuia tree. It looked dead, hinting that the autumn chill had gotten to it.
She sighed and looked around. Despite the Spanish decor outside, her room was styled in the Victorian era.
She had a white, canopy, queen sized bed with white silk sheets and a pale pink quilt on top. The walls were indeed, painted a light pink. Above the desk was a white trimmed, oval mirror that was almost big enough for her to walk through, there was also a white wardrobe leaning against an empty wall.
There was another small table near the window with a glass mosaic table top in the form of butterflies perched on roses. There was a small  white wrought-iron chair near the desk. All in all she liked her new room, but the thought was shadowed by alienation. She felt out of place, off kilter, alien. She felt like she didn't belong even though in her head she knew she had every right to belong here, and to feel welcomed and loved. But her feelings weren't in sync with her mind.

Izzy wanted something to tell her that this was all some kind of huge, complex dream and she was still sleeping. Running over to the big oval mirror, she pulled her feathered side bangs away from her forehead, and ran her fingertips lightly across the pale skin.
There was no evidence of the three stitches she had just yesterday. No scar, no imperfection that would have let anyone guess she had ever fallen on concrete and split her head open.

When she couldn't find the scare, she felt defeated. The reality of what had really happened her whole life settled down on her shoulders like one of those cartoon anvils. Nearly crushing her spirit.
She curled up on her bed in a small ball, fresh hot tears pouring down her cheeks.
"Sis?"
Iz didn't respond to Cliff's voice, he wasn't sure if it was because he had called her sis, or just because she was too wrapped up in her own thoughts.
Once he had gotten over the initial shock, he found it easy to see how they were all related, they had had a strong bond in their old lives, and he hoped it would last.
"Izzy, what's wrong?" He whispered as he climbed up onto the bed with her but was careful to keep a distance between them.
Venn was standing in the doorway now, watching the small girl cry her eyes out on to the sheets.
They were all feeling similar emotions, they might not be the same, but they had a good idea of what the others were going through. Venn knew that if they were going to get through this they'd need two things, each other, and God. It was the only way they could come out with out scars.
"Come here." Venn spoke up moving to the other side of the bed and pulling the girl into his arms.
Cliff just sat there slightly awkwardly. Venn had more experience with girls and knew when they needed a shoulder to cry on, so he didn't do anything other then just being there.

The three sat there for a long while, taking quiet comfort in each other's presence. Crying at times, or just being silent, either way they knew they needed each other.
They never left each other for longer then to go to the restroom. When night fell, they camped out in the living room. Pulling the sheets off their beds along with any pillows they could find and snuggled up with each other on the floor.
Isabelle was glad for the reassuring warmth of the boys on either side of her.
It had never been said aloud, but they knew in their hearts that they really were siblings, and they had already been treating each other like it.
Their dreams were fitful, the only thing stopping them from screaming in middle of the night was the constant reminder of the others lying next to them. Izzy visited the one dream that had always stayed with her over the ten years and realized with a pleasant shock that the two boys running around on the beach with the dad. Her dad. Was Venn and Cliff. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before, but it only made her want her parents. She had never known them, other than this one memory, but she still wanted them. A part of her forced her to remember at least she had found her brothers, and at least she wasn't alone anymore.

.:+++:.

Cliff rolled onto his back and starred up at the ceiling.
Izzy had curled up against his side, her head rested on his chest, her breath was warm. She still had that innocent look on her face, making her seem younger then sixteen.
Venn's back was lined up with hers on the other side. Cliff let out his breath slowly, not wanting to disturb his sister.
He glanced at the clock that was ticking steadily
"Seven thirty?! You've got to be kidding me." he groaned. the sound of his voice woke Izzy up with a start. She froze when she saw what, or who, she was lying on, before quickly scrambling off.
"What's all the yelling about?" Venn's voice was groggy from sleep that still hung over all of them.
"Didn't Professor Wallace say classes started at eight?" Cliff asked. Everyone groaned loudly. Venn threw himself back onto his side of the cot. Where as Izzy threw the blankets off and crawled out from in between the two boys.
"I know we don't really feel up to it, but it would be a good way to get our surroundings. We don't have to be social or anything but at least we can see what's going on."
"You make it sound as if we're spies and have no clue what's going on." Cliff grumbled, but followed her lead and got out of the jumbled mess of blankets.
"Wasn't it you that wanted to the last school we went to be turned into a spy training center?" Venn asked, his voice muffled by the pillow he had his head buried in.
"But that's just it," Izzy continued. "we don't have a clue."

.:+++:.

Isabelle didn't want to rush through her shower, in fact the boys argued she didn't even need one since she had just taken one yesterday, but she felt the salt on her cheeks from her tears yesterday, and all night. She felt crabby and didn't want to be in a bad mood around other people.

Finally, they were ready to face the world once again. Though they were rather reluctant.
They didn't have any books, and no directions so they did the best with what they had.

Izzy almost died on the walk up to the main building where they assumed the office would be. People shot the three glances that held things all the way from fear, to absolute loathing.
"Well I guess it's going to take a lot to fit in." Venn muttered.
"Why are all the girls shooting me death glares? Do I look that bad?" Izzy muttered.
Cliff chuckled and slung an arm around her shoulders.
"Because you're a natural born pretty and you don't need make up to prove it." He said with a confidant smile.
Izzy looked up at him with wild eyes in shock.
"What?! I look horrid, how on earth could that be the reason?!"
Venn joined in on Cliff's laughter and came up on Izzy's other side, creating a human sandwich.
"Just stick close to us and we'll keep you safe. That's what brother's do right? protect their younger sisters from all the guys lining up at the door?"
Iz groaned and shook her head.
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, at least not any time soon. I mean seriously, I've been floating around in blue gel for ten years. I swear my skin is always going to have this permanent shade of blue! Oh look! there's the front office." She pointed to a sign that pointed to the office on a small post that had several signs holding onto it's iron arms.
It pointed to the main building so they hadn't actually found much, other then the fact that they knew for sure now that the office was in the main building.

Venn and Cliff shook their heads and let her go as she quickened her step with her head down and shoulders hunched forward.
Cliff groaned quietly.
"Why is it that girls never see it?" He asked half-heartedly, not really expecting an answer.
"Uh because our society makes them believe they're ugly unless they can fit into a size zero and know how to apply eyeliner just right." Venn stated. Even though Christie had never existed he still had the memories.
"Yeah okay but why is it that it's always the ugly girls know they're pretty and use it to their advantage, but then all the beautiful girls are completely clueless and think themselves ugly?"
Venn just starred at him for a minute, shocked that Cliff had even noticed that. Of course he noticed. He growled at himself. Just because he's never had a girlfriend doesn't mean he hasn't noticed girls before. Venn just shrugged with a grin on his face.
"I hear you, I hear you. But lets go catch her before she throws herself down the pit of despair.
Cliff chuckled and followed his brother into the main house.

He had never really paid attention to how the house looked earlier, his mind was other wise occupied. But now he got a good look. Every thing was trimmed in dark wood, giving it a rich feeling. It really just looked like a big mansion on top of a hill. Everything showed how much money this guy had, a lot of money. Cliff's stomach turned at the sight of all this. He couldn't help but think this use to be him.

Him with all the money, fame. Now he was a nobody left with nothing.

Tons of kids streamed past them, running to their next class, or break. Some of them glanced our way, then went back for a second glance.
He sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets as he followed his brother into the office door.
"...Oh I found it!"
Cliff jumped as a high pitched voice screamed in his ear. There was a crash from somewhere to his left, followed by a thud that could only mean human flesh came in contact with something hard.
"Are you okay?" Izzy had her torso leaning over the counter top, standing on her tip toes most of her weight was on the counter.
Venn had a his head cocked to the side as he saw his sister trying to get over the barrier that was in her way. But then his attention was pulled to the muffled answer she received.
"Yep! All's good. So - oh...wow."
The two boys met the eyes of a small petite girl, who couldn't be older than seventeen. She had soft hazel eyes but her eyebrows where hidden by thick, dark bangs. Her hair was long and as strait as a pin. She wore the usual teenage girl attire. Short skirt, high heels, (which probably caused her fall to begin with) a slightly baggy t-shirt that had the Union Jack on it, with a denim jacket over it to complete the look.
"Yeah it said you had brothers..." She whispered to herself, glancing down at the file she had tucked between her arm and her chest. She quickly fingered through it and nodded to herself while muttering again.
"It just didn't tell me they'd look like that..."
Izzy let out a snort but tried to hide it. Venn and Cliff glanced down at themselves to see what on earth was wrong with them.
"Well never mind that!" She said quickly, her eyes lingering on Venn just a second too long for Isabelle's comfort.
"Yes?" She said to keep the girl moving. Her eyes tore away from Venn and she put on a hasty smile.
"Here's your schedule, along with a map and directions. I hope you enjoy your time here. Bye!"
By the way everything was rushed, the triplets got a feeling she wanted them to leave.
They scurried out of the office just as the door slammed shut behind them.
"Well...she's...an interesting character..." Venn said slowly.
Izzy and Cliff broke out in fits of laughter, causing more glances from the kids walking past them.
"That's to put it mildly Venn." Iz declared, her eyes sparkling from the tears of laughter from spilling over. They all captured the moment and hid it in their hearts. Praying that they had lots more like it.