allegro -- for logs and threads

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:51:19 GMT

WHO JACKSON AND CLAIRE
WHERE PRACTICE ROOMS
WHEN SUNDAY NIGHT

He swore, it wasn't called stalking.

All Jackson had done was heard her practicing piano, something that he didn't catch her doing that often, and he was drawn to her. He stared into the window of the door to the practice room, not even realizing how weird he was being. But they hadn't talked a lot lately, and he missed her. Missed her so much that he would do almost anything, just to see her again.

Robert hadn't been so supportive of that. He knew that they had rather made up a little bit and everything, but things were still awkward and Jackson still felt a little awkward talking to Claire, ever.

Once she had ended her piece, Jackson sighed to himself and opened the door quietly, smiling in greeting.

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:12:47 GMT

Who: Wolfe and Nicole
Where: Nicole's dorm
When: just now.

Wolfe rolled his yes, walking down the hallway. This was silly. He knew it was silly. It was pointless and silly and never in recent memory had Wolfe done anything like this for a girl. But, well, Nicole said jump and jump he did, on his way down the hallway to make sure, in person, that she was his girlfriend.

Not like she was going to say no, right?

Besides. Wolfe was certain that he was a hundred times better than this Paul character, who Nicole kept bringing up. Wolfe couldn't lie, it grated his nerves and made him feel very...protective. Ugh. Girls.

Wolfe pushed the thoughts away from his mind as he reached Nicole's door, knocking twice before waiting to be answered.

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:51:27 GMT

WHO lenn-eh and lay-eth.
WHEN saturday night
WHERE everywhere, man.

Lenny felt so buzzed and it was so very exciting and wonderful and oh heck, he needed more gin.

It was probably a good thing that they were out in the open Main Street at Allegro, or else a lot of students would be really pissed off about the noise level. ...Well, a lot more students.

Lenny choked on the cigarette he was currently inhaling and spit at the ground for no apparent reason. Just to be dirty, he guessed. "Oi, fucker, give me that vodka. You're hogging it all," he complained to Laith.

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 15:52:50 GMT

Who: Georgie and Leo (Lenny?)
Where: the practice room
When: oh today I'd suppose.

Georgie had woken up at six in the morning on this fine Sunday to..well...practice. She always needed to practice, and more importantly, Sunday was the day of rest, so usually there was no one there to hear her practice her jazz songs. Today she was singing "Stormy Weather" because, well, the weather sucked and at least she wasn't singing Let It Snow, okay? She paused for a moment to take a sip of her water when she thought she heard something. What the hell. Who practices on a Sunday?

a little racey, a little dizzy

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:57:30 GMT

Who: Wolfe and Nicole
Where: Rick's
When: recently

The barristas all know Wolfe by sight now, always looking up as he enters the cafe and then automatically starting up his usual order with a series of whispers, like an all points bulletin being sent out. Wolfe just basks in the attention tonight, leaning on the counter as he waits for his coffee. It's just the start of evening, with the sun setting out the window.

A barrista places two coffee mugs in front of him with a silly smile. Wolfe flashes it back, charming and lingering, then puts a dollar in the tip jar and takes the coffee back to the table in the corner for Nicole. It's sort of starting to become their table, except Wolfe would rather die than admit that out loud.

"You owe me a dollar for the barrista's tip," he informed her casually, before taking a sip of his own order.

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 04:19:44 GMT

who Fanny and Felix
when after a BIG bitch fight in a practice room
where Felix's dorm

Fanny was pretty sure she had never felt more horrible about herself in her life.

It wasn't like she'd never been in a fight with her brother before -- heck, they'd have at least four fights a day. But both of them were always able to push their troubles aside and go back to making fun of each other the next day. It was always in good fun, even if both of them acted bitchy. It was just something the two of them did.

But this fight was different. It was harsh and bitter, and Fanny had stomped out of the room and into the girls restroom, bawling her eyes out this time. She didn't want to fight anymore. She wanted to have her brother back.

After she had calmed down a bit, it took Fanny several hours to get up enough nerve to actually, physically, walk to Felix's dormitory. She didn't know what to say or how to say it, but this time, she felt like she really owed him an apology, even if they'd both said horrible things. She didn't want them to be like this. She never wanted for them to be like this.

Fanny knocked on the door to his dormitory, looking a bit like a mess.

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:56:10 GMT

WHO: Penny Tchaikovsky and Fanny Mendleson
WHERE: Their dorm room
WHEN: Right after getting settled in at the start of term

Penny stows her suitcase under her lofted bed and pushes the short dresser back into the space so you can't see all the junk behind it. Everything's pretty much in order - as much in order as it can be, for Penny's side of the room. Her walls are covered with posters - she's a big fan of Regina Spektor and Patrick Wolf, in particular - and a string of colorful Christmas lights is still pinned up around her side of the room, with hand-cut paper snowflakes taped up on her window.

"What are you doing for dinner, Fanny?" Penny asks with a small grunt as she vaults onto her bed.

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:45:03 GMT

WHO Rob and Jackson
WHERE their dorm room.
WHEN todayyy~

Jackson didn't want to admit it, ever, but he was a little bit worried about his roommate. It seemed like Robert had been acting a little bit strange lately. Usually, when this sort of thing happened, Jackson would leave his roommate alone until he was willing to talk about it. But this time, after all that had happened, Jackson was pretty sure his roommate wouldn't be the one to come to him first. So Jackson just watched him worriedly over the next few days, worrying what was going on.

It wasn't like Jackson was breaking any rules. He had kept himself away from Claire and away from trouble in general. He hated staying away from Claire, but he didn't really know what to do. Jackson had to keep Rob happy, and he thought the only way of doing that would be to avoid Claire and Rob completely. So he did. When Rob would be in the room, Jackson would go off to practice or just put his headphones on. Sometimes, he read. Jackson didn't have much of a social life as of late. Even so, he watched his roommate with a worried expression as Rob hunched over something at his desk.

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:44:22 GMT

WHO Fanny and Felix.
WHERE practice roooooms~
WHEN three days before classes start, in the morning.

Fanny couldn't actually believe what had just happened, and she wasn't about to admit it to anyone if she could help it. For the first time since she's been at Allegro, the usually-busy girl crashed on the couch in the lounge, sleeping soundly and sprawled out in an awkward position for all to see. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, her mouth was hanging open. She must have fallen asleep last night after the long hours in the practice room, and no one had bothered to wake her up. Once she had woken up, Fanny groggily got up and walked to the music computer lab to check her e-mail, just in case, before going to start another round of practicing. She did not, however, like what she saw as she read the school e-mail. Fanny didn't like it so much that she got up from her seat and stomped up to the empty practice rooms, somehow knowing that her brother would be up there. He was always in a practice room lately, but it was never for playing. It was always just for texting or sleeping or doing something else equally useless. All the same, she walked right up to the door and stormed in. "Have you checked your e-mail today?" she shot nastily at him, crossing her arms snottily.

Felix looked up from his sudoku (far more interesting than practicing) with confusion. "Huh?" he asked intelligently. "Why would I want to do that?" He only ever receives those pesky library overdue notices and the occasional spam.

She stared at him grimly. "We got our repertoire assignments today," Fanny told him hollowly, not even bothering to say anything else because she wasn't quite sure that she even could comprehend it yet.

"Oh, thanks for the heads up," Felix said, looking back to the puzzle. "I'll make sure not to look for another week. Why are you being so nice today?"

"You'd BETTER look today, asshole, because we've been assigned to play together." Fanny wrinkled her nose, frowning deeply.

His eyebrows raised. "Nope, I take it back, same old Fanny. Very funny. Don't you have, like, a stick to pull out of your ass or something? Quit joking, I'm practicing here." Felix gestured to the puzzle.

"I'm not kidding," she seethed. "We're playing a concerto together. I didn't even bother to look at which one yet because I'm HOPING that this is a horrible dream and I'm still asleep on the lounge couch."

Wordlessly, Felix pushed the sudoku book away and stood, moving to pinch Fanny's shoulder for her. "Any luck?"

She shook her head uselessly, looking completely agonized. "Do it harder, maybe you're not doing it right."

He pinched her again, harder. "Anything? Maybe it's my dream. Pinch me, maybe I'll wake up."

"Ouch!" she squealed, then quickly moved to pinch him. "Please God say this is a DREAM."

"Ouch! No nails!" Felix said, moving away and rubbing his arm. "Fuck, I'm still awake. Are you sure you didn't read the email wrong?"

"I'm positive! Why else would it say that we were playing a concerto? You're playing the piano part, and I'm playing the piano reduction orchestration part." Fanny pouted to herself. Oh, this was HORRIBLE.

"Hey, I get the important part," Felix said, brightening.

She rolled her eyes. "WHY did I sign up to be an accompanist this semester? This is all your fault!"

"My fault?" Felix echoed. "What did I do? I don't do anything, we both know this." Again, he gestured towards the sudoku book as evidence.

"You were the one that-- and you-- AUGH. I HATE YOU." Fanny stormed out of the practice room.

"Bye Fansita," Felix called, hardly bothered. Hmmm, where did that pesky two belong...

And she stormed BACK into the room, looking thoroughly annoyed as she did. "Why aren't you practicing?"

"Because I am doing sudoku?" Felix said slowly, her sudden fury making him question as well.

"Why aren't you doing that in the lounge? At least admit to the fact that you don't practice," she said in frustration. "Especially when you take up a perfectly good practice room in the process."

"I'm practicing my sudoku skills!" Felix explained. "Don't hate just because you suck at them." He filled in a box to make his point.

"In a practice room?" she asked, leaning forward and taking it from him.

"The light's better in here!" Felix tried to snatch it back.

She wouldn't let him have it back. "The light's better in here for a reason -- to practice."

"They don't say what kind of practice! Come on Fanny give it back!" Funny how Felix always lost his maturity around his sister.

She glared at him and crossed her arms stubbornly. "Make me," Fanny said immaturely.

He scrambled for her arm, trying to pull it down so he could grab the book back. "Fanny, come on!"

She pulled her arm away, pulling it as far as she could from him. And then she came up with the most brilliant idea she'd ever had in her life. Fanny shoved the sudoku book down her shirt and looked quite impressed with herself.

Felix gaped. "No fair! You're using your girlparts."

"So what?" she asked, grinning stupidly. "You use YOUR girlparts every other time we argue. I just happened to bust them out this time."

"Just because your roommate thinks I'm hot," Felix sighed, "Is no reason to be jealous, Fangasm. Just tell her how you feel."

"It doesn't matter what my roommate thinks; the fact still stands that I don't like her like that. In fact, I don't like her at all," Fanny mused. "And you need to practice still. Seriously. I want to hear something."

"Ugh, you're not my teacher," Felix said, unwilling to play at all. "And your boobs are shaped like sudoku."

"Why are you looking?" she asked, scandalized as she covered them up.

"Hard to avoid when you've got them all hanging out," Felix sniffed, turning away.

"What? I do not!" Fanny argued, pulling the sudoku book out of her shirt and looking down. "They are not!"

"Ugh, cover up, you look like a slutbag," Felix said, shortly before snatching his book away. "HAH! I win!!"

"I look perfectly-- OH YOU JERK!" she blew up at him, trying to snatch the book back from him.

Felix held it over his head, stretching on his tiptoes to keep it as far away as possible. "No no no it's mine get your own Fanana!"

She jumped up to catch it in her hands, but alas, she was a little too short. "Twins means never having to lose!" Fanny squeaked as she reached high for the book.

He covered her face with one of his hands to keep her down. "Twins means never having to tell your sister she looks like a slutbag," Felix corrected.

"Then don't tell me I look like a slutbag," she said, licking his hand so that he'd get it out of her face.

"Ew!" Felix shouted when she licked him, wiping it off on her shoulder. "Then quit looking like a slutbag!"

"I don't look like a slutbag! How on earth do I look like a slutbag?" She glared up at him, crossing her arms as she expected an answer.

"You just do," Felix said airily. "Get out of my practice room. I'm practicing here."

"You are not," she said with an arrogant tone. "What are you practicing?"

"Being fantastic, and you're interrupting so get out." Felix pointed to the door in case she forgot where it was.

This was why she hated him so much, Fanny thought to herself. Without another word, she turned and stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Ugh," Felix said to himself after she left, tossing his sudoku down onto the piano. He didn't much feel like working on them anymore at all.

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 01:42:45 GMT

who :: samantha and freddy
what :: a chitchat
where :: the library
when :: recently

Samantha was standing on her tiptoes on top of the stool and still couldn't reach the book she needed. "My New Year's resolution should be to get taller," she grunted to herself as she stretched as far as she could, still failing to slide the book off the shelf. She looked around for any signs of spying eyes, and then scaled the shelf, climbing to the top and dropping the book she'd needed to the floor with a thud. After nearly slipping and falling to her certain demise, Samantha made it down from the shelf, no thanks to the awful stool and her short legs.

Of course, the book was useless in the long run.

{DA FLY NUYUR!!!}

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:23:47 GMT

Who: DJ NICKY & CORBEE 5000. Anyone else is welcome to come over ~~and trash the place~~.
Where: Irvings' place o' residence.
When: TONIIIIIIIGHT. NEW YEAR'S PARTY, MOTHAFUKKAH.

Ohmigaw. When Corinne had mentioned earlier that day that their party was a "scandalision waiting to happen" well, she was right about one thing. Maybe they had been a bit naïve thinking it would be okay to tell everyone about her party, which was off-campus and thus very desirable to attend and not get busted for noise levels or booze in the dorms. Corinne had managed to bribe her older brother into buying them some alcohol, but most of their plans for the night revolved around "Cool Jams 2014" (they made a special playlist and stuck it on his iPod for the occasion, featuring songs like Jenny From the Block and Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)), Twister, and major snackage.

But now, the Cheez-Its had been sucked up like a vacuum. Chips had been ground into the cracks of the hardwood floors and rugs (okay so maybe the first time it was Nick's fault for accidentally dropping the bowl). More than three people had slipped in the same puddle of apple martini outside the kitchen. With Britney belting out Toxic from the fly stereo he brought over, he carefully stepped around the mess, fanning himself with both hands as he peered around in the kitchen at unfamiliar faces. Who the fuck were all these people? And where the hell was his China Girl?

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:10:35 GMT

who: IRVS AND ONE NICK.
where: IRVINGS' HOUSE.
when: DINDIN. YESTERDAY.

Cor was excited, she was thrilled. Her new best friend, college edition (!!), was coming over for dinner tonight. The only problem was, while her brother, Hamish, remained relatively unmoved, and her mom grew happier that her only daughter was bringing a boy home, her dad was 'not happy'. It was beyond Cor's understanding why. It was just Nick, her King Bee, her King of Sparkle, her BFF. Where was the harm? Apparently her mother knew. Cor went to help out in the kitchen to see why.

"Why is Poppa Elf all weird?" She asked as she barged through the doors. Her dad got really into the holiday season, wearing an elf hat on Christmas day. Cor took to calling him Poppa elf the year she saw the movie from which it came. Her mother had responded with a confusing, "You're father is having a hard time accepting you growing up." Still way over Cor's head. What the heck did best friends have to do with growing up? 'Absolutely a very little' is the answer you're looking for, thank you.

"What for?" She demanded. Her mom shook her head and told her, "Your dad just wants to keep you under his wing forever is all. You bringing a boy into the house is telling him it's time to let go." Of course, to Corinne, this still didn't make sense. "But he's just a friend, mom, it's not a big deal." To that, her Momma Irving just raised her eyebrows in a knowing manner. Cor made a face. If only her parents knew.

After that she vacated the kitchen and stationed herself on the sofa. While she waited for Nick to arrive and the meal to be finished, she tried to imagine her families reactions to her extraordinary friend. She giggled to herself visualizing her family, all neat and tidy and probably a little overdressed and then threw Nick in the picture, everything but subtle.

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:11:37 GMT

who: JJ and whoever?
when: oh, today. maybe before dindin
where: on campus (holy crap that's vague.)

JJ had been back at Allegro a few hours now. The first thing he did though was use the restroom and then unpack so he hadn't really seen any of his friends. And now he was bored. Staying in his dorm room held no more excitement than sitting in his house. With an exhale that implied the act too so much effort, he got off his bed and started wandering through campus. Maybe he'd see a friend. Maybe he'd see Viv.

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:53:43 GMT

WHO. fanny and felix
WHEN. after her post -- HUGGING IT OUT AOSDFJAKLS
WHERE. various hiding places~~

Fanny did not want to be found. Ever. Not in a million years. In fact, she never wanted to see her brother again. She'd be totally content with, you know, never seeing him ever. Maybe he'd move to Siberia; she still had hope. Deep down inside, maybe she really did want to love him and everything, but seriously, he was annoying as fuck and why the hell did everyone love him anyways?

Fanny was curled up behind the forgotten Christmas tree in the student lounge, hoping and praying not to be found.

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 03:26:39 GMT

WHO Jackson and Robert.
WHERE their dorm room for ~*~DRAMA~*~
WHEN afternoon.

It was in the middle of the afternoon, and Jackson knew he would be safe to do what he'd been meaning to do for days. He was going to make the fourty-seventh mixed CD for Claire, the one that had been loading up on his iTunes list for ages under the name "trip to Ontario." Jackson knew that Robert wouldn't find it like that, uninterested in a place like Ontario.

Once he had burned the CD, he took it out, along with his humongous pack of colorful sharpies. Like he normally did, Jackson began to make intricate designs on it, on the bottom a little message: "For Claire ♥". Jackson sighed to himself as he colored little red hearts around her name. This was pathetic, wasn't it?

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 04:38:35 GMT

WHO :: wolfe and nicole
WHAT :: a concert?
WHERE :: Rick's Cafe
WHEN :: tonight

Her damn B string wouldn't tune. Completely normal for her guitar. She just made everything else just as sharp, and thought it was a bonus that it'd piss off anyone with perfect pitch. Benny's set was wrapping up, and Nicole would be next on the small stage of Rick's Cafe, playing for the same know-nothings that usually graced Rick's. She never felt nervous performing here. No one knew a damn thing about music. She did it for $100 and the free tea.

Benny was finished, so Nicole jumped onto the stage after he climbed down and just dove into a song. No introduction, no hesitation. She just strummed and sang. Lonely men built lonely cities. Her voice just sang.

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:50:04 GMT

WHO Elena and Sasha
WHAT This weird little Russian triangle is FIXED.
WHEN Tuesday
WHERE Sasha's apartment
STATUS complete

It was Tuesday, finally and Sasha found himself waiting once again, for Elena. He'd never been a particularly patient person, at least when it came to people his own age, but for Elena, he found he was willing to wait for hours on end. It's true, he didn't really have to wait for hours on end, since they hadn't really set a time, but he didn't mind so it was all okay. He started to pick out a tune on the piano while he waited, assuming Elena knew it was okay for her to come in whenever she arrived.

Elena hesitated as she stepped up to his door. Was she supposed to knock or just go in? She didn't really know how to act at these sorts of things, being rather inexperienced and new at all of this semi-social business. This was Sasha, though, and for some reason, she felt rather comfortable with him. Thinking this soothed any of her nerves quite a bit -- she normally got extremely skittish before meeting someone. Stepping up to his door, she knocked firmly. Elena was rather looking forward to this, she thought to herself.

"Come in," Sasha yelled rather gruffly at the door. He hadn't meant to be so unwelcoming, but he was just so into the music. Surely a musician like Elena could understand.

Elena flinched just slightly and turned the knob, opening it and stepping inside. She smiled in greeting as she took a seat on the couch several feet away from the piano, giving him space until he was done with what he was doing.

Sasha tapered off before the piece was actually over, not wanting to offend his guest. He turned around on the bench to face her, smiling. "Elena. How are you? I'm sorry I was so...err..." He flailed his hands a bit, searching for the right word. "Mean? Rough? I do not know. But it was not polite, and for that I am sorry."

She smiled hesitantly and shook her head. "No, no, that's okay, I understand! You were working and we didn't set up a time." Elena looked over at his music curiously. "If you're not finished, I'm perfectly happy to wait. I could go outside again if you'd like."

Sasha shook his head quickly. "No, no, not at all. It was nothing, I was just waiting for you to arrive." He stood, suddenly remembering his manners. "Would you like something to drink, perhaps? Before we start?"

"Um," she started awkwardly. "Um, sure! I'd love something to drink, if it's not too much trouble." Elena shuffled her feet.

"No, no, not at all," he replied, moving into the small kitchen just off the small living room. "I am sorry my apartment is so small," he called to her from the kitchen. "But it is really all we could afford." He emerged again holding two glasses. "I hope water is okay."

"No no, don't worry about it," she said quickly. "My dormitory room is much smaller than this, and it's much better than being in that little box of a practice room all day. Water will be just fine, thank you," she said quietly, taking the glass from him in thanks.

Sasha smiled again and took a sip of his own water and then set it down on the small bookshelf next to the wall, next to a framed portrait. He accidentally knocked it, sending it flying to the ground. He frowned at it and picked it up, wiping the dust off the glass before replacing it on the shelf. "I thought I told Anna to move that.." he muttered.

Elena was about to say something about how it was just fine and she didn't mind, but something in the picture distracted her. Elena stared at the portrait, not knowing what she had just seen. She shook her head, thinking that she was just seeing things as he wiped it off. But when he put it back, Elena was still again. "Is... is. Who is that?" she asked, pointing at the picture.

Sasha furrowed his brow and looked at the picture again. "My aunt, I believe. My mother's sister. I have never met her. She moved away before I was born and never came back to Russia."

The glass of water slipped from her hands, but she caught it quickly before it could spill, fortunately. After that little scare was over, she set it down and stared at Sasha with a very serious expression. "No," she whispered.

Sasha's eyebrow quirked and he looked at the portrait again. "Yes," he said in reply, quite confused. "That's my Aunt."

She shook her head. "No it's not," Elena whispered. Quickly, she looked into her bag and pulled out her wallet. Her hands shook as she took out a photograph -- the very same photograph, in fact.

Annnd there went Sasha's brow again, furrowing away. "But that's-" he pointed to the picture in her wallet and the framed one on his shelf. "How did you- What is- What are you- What?"

Elena bit her lower lip, her eyes welling up. "She is my mother," she said, barely even able to whisper.

No no no no that wasn't possible. Why was she crying? Oh god, when had Sasha's life gotten so complicated? He sat down on the couch next to Elena, wanting to...hug her or something. "She is really your mother? I mean. Really?"

She nodded her head, covering her face with her hands. Elena couldn't believe this. After all this time, she had been so obsessed with finding her family, and here was her cousin, right in front of her.

Why was she doing that? Oh no, was she crying still? Oh god, why did Sasha fail so miserably at social interaction? "Elena. Elena why are you-" he put a hand on her arm, not knowing if it was okay. "Elena, are you alright? Tell me what's wrong. Please."

Elena wiped her eyes and shook her head. "Nothing, nothing, I'm just being silly, really." She looked up at Sasha -- her cousin, her FAMILY, and back down at her knees. "I just. I've been looking for my family all this time and I lost hope of finding any of you and. And you're right here."

Sasha laughed slightly, relieved, and took her face in his hands. "Elena. I do not think that is a reason to cry, unless those tears are happy ones."

"I don't know," she said, astonished by herself. "I think I'm. I don't know. Overwhelmed?" Elena suggested. She smiled goofily, sniffling. "It's nothing, really. Just silly business."

Sasha smiled at her and wiped the tears from her cheeks before pulling her into a bear hug. "Well," he said, "since we are family, I must now protect you against everything. You tell me when someone is bothering you. I will kill them. No questions asked."

She hugged him right back, absolutely stoked to have family to hug. It was much different than anyone else. Somehow, she KNEW he was family. She wrapped her arms around him delicately, grinning into his collarbone. "Same to you, cousin." It felt so oddly wonderful to say that aloud.

Sasha laughed into her hair. Well, that certainly explained things, didn't it? It explained why he was so weary of Sergei for no reason. Usually he would not care, but whenever Elena mentioned him, Sasha would get a bad feeling. He pulled away from her and patted her head. "Well, that was certainly an interesting lesson, was it not?"

Elena laughed and nodded her head. "It certainly was," she said quietly, laughing to herself. "I guess this kind of changes things, doesn't it?"

Sasha blinked at her. "In what way?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. But. Well." She grinned. "I have a family, Sasha."

Sasha grinned back at her. "And I am very glad to be a part of it, you know. You wil have to meet Anna! Oh, she'll love you. She loves everyone."

Elena nearly squealed in excitement. "I'm going to love her, I just know it! Oh this is just what I wanted for Christmas."

Sasha laughs quietly, absolutely delighted that she's so absolutely delighted. "I am glad I was able to give it to you! Now, I think I will have to explain this all to Anna." An idea suddenly occurred to him. "Would you like to see other pictures?"

Her breath hitched. "You have other pictures?"

Sasha nodded. "I think Anna does. She brought them with us when we left. I did not know. I believe my mother gave them to her."

"My aunt?" she asked, a slow smile forming on her face. "What's she like?"

Sasha's expression dropped. "It would probably be better if you didn't know. I am sure she was wonderful before she met my father. Unfortunately, I never knew her then."

Elena's smile faded. "Why?" she asked quietly. This was one thing that she really did want to know. She had spent so long wondering that she wanted to know.

"Why what?" Sasha replied.

"Why can't I know?" she asked. "I want to know."

Sasha frowned. "Because somethings are better not to know. Some things don't need to be known for you to still love your family."

Elena frowned right back at him. "Oh," she murmured, staying silent for just a few seconds. "What about the rest of our family?"

"Most of them are nice. Most of them, my family excluded," Sasha told her rather reluctantly. "Your parents left because of mine."

She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean, Sasha?" Elena murmured. "My father said they left because of unresolved business."

"Yes, there was a fight, Elena. Between our parents." Sasha himself only found this out through letters. "But we should talk about it. It's no good to dwell on it. I will go get those pictures, yes?"

She frowned. "Okay," Elena whispered, secretly wanting to talk more about it. She thought she deserved to know.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Sasha said. "I just can't talk about it. Maybe Anna will tell you someda, but I cannot."

She nodded. "No, I understand." A pause. "Well no I don't, but I'm sure I will with time."

"It's just...hard," he told her, trying to explain. "My father...was not a good person. Is not a good person. There is a reason Anna and I left, and a reason your parents left."

"I know," she murmured, nodding. "I know there's a reason, or else we would not all be here right now. I just. I wish I could know."

Sasha nodded sympathetically and patted her shoulder. "I will find those pictures, yes?"

"That would be wonderful," she added with a small smile. "I'd love to learn more."

Sasha nodded again and left for a moment to go into the room he shared with Anna. He rooted around her side of the closet for a moment before coming out with a gold box full of photos. He set it down gently on the couch and sat on the floor, opening it carefully.

She peeked over at the box, her curiosity getting the best of her. She wanted this to start quickly so that she could get a story. Elena was excited just to know.

Sasha picked up the first photo, one of the more recent ones. He smiled. It was him and his sister. Anna was on a swing and Sasha was behind her, hugging her and smiling. Anna was laughing. "This is my sister and I, in the park in St. Petersburg. On a good day." One of the last, he refrained from mentioning. "I was oh, about six, perhaps, and Anna is four, maybe? Yes. Four." He sighed at the photo and put it face down on the couch.

"She's beautiful," Elena commented, grinning from ear to ear. She was ecstatic just to be a part of this.

Sasha smiled and picked up the next photo, a wedding photo. His mother and father. "My mother and father," he said slowly, showing Elena. "Their wedding."

She held the photo closer to her face, staring at her aunt and uncle. Elena could detect the little similarities between her and her own mother's face. She handed the photo back to Sasha, biting her lip as she smiled, trying to keep from crying again.

Sasha turned that picture face down as well, picking up another one. He moved slowly through the photos, stopping to tell who each of the people were, if he knew. Most of the photos had names written in Russian on the back, but some were illegible. Mystery family members made it more interesting anyway.

Elena stared intently at each photo, listening to what he had to say to each of them, each one more interesting than the last. She smiled whenever she spotted her mother in pictures.

Sasha watched Elena's face as he went through the pictures. He tried to find as many as he could with her mother in them, but it seemd as though they had left them in Russia. No doubt they were destroyed by now. When the box was empty, Sasha sighed. "And that is all I can tell you right now, I think."

She nodded, wiping her moist eyes with her sleeve. Elena stared up at Sasha. "Thank you," she whispered.

Sasha held her face again and pressed their foreheads together. "You're welcome."

Elena grinned and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. This was so so important to her.

Sasha could tell that it was important to her, and he felt so lucky to be able to help her with her quest for her family. How funny was it that they ended up at the same college after all those years?

{Father Christmas is a slut.}

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:04:38 GMT

Who: Laith Dohm and Lenny van Bëte.
Where: Dorms.
When: On this joyous day, good chap.

Christmas was balls. Hanukkah could keep it's menorah. And oh yeah, Kwanzaa? Go fuck yourself, you pitiful little rip-off. Laith had stayed in bed for a better portion of the day, half-reading the worn copies of Dostoyevsky he had bought back in New York and... well, it wasn't terribly difficult to figure out that the other half of his mind was preoccupied with bitterly insulting religious observances. To himself, but not out of choice because he would've complained to Lenny, his roommate, but the boy was currently elsewhere doing whatever it was he did. Rape pianos or something.

Despite the obvious fact that the school was rather unfortunately located in the middle of Nowhere (also known as the Midwest, in the States; or affectionately, Hell, by a certain Englishman), and that a winter storm had blanketed the country with heavy snowfall and ice-slickened roads, Laith decided that it was as good of a time as ever to complete his holiday brooding by opening the window. He lazily flung The Brothers Karamazov at his bed before propping himself on the windowsill and lighting up a cigarette.

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:57:49 GMT

Who: Sergei and Elena
Where: at the practice rooms
When: few days ago

He was about to do something very silly.

Sergei stopped himself with the thought, in the doorway to his apartment. He was about to make the ten minute walk through the winter snow all the way to the Allegro campus, simply to carry a cello back to the room of a girl he hardly knows. A girl who fell asleep in his car on what might have been a date. Sergei wasn't sure if his ego was willing to take the hit in calling it one.

Yes, he was about to do something very silly, but, as Sergei tugged his dark hood over his head, shading his eyes from the glint of the snow falling on the sidewalks outside, he reflected that perhaps it would be worth it.

(Assuming Elena did not fall asleep this time.)

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:37:50 GMT

WHO: Sasha and ANYONE
WHERE: The practice rooms
WHEN: today!
WHY: Because I want to!
RATING: tba
STATUS: incomplete

Sasha had never really been a fan of Christmas. Generally it was the time when his father would lose whatever job he had managed to get and get even drunker than usual and take it out on the family. Sasha, in particular. He didn't like to remember. He'd left that life with Anna when he was 16. There was nothing that could make him remember. He and Anna had started new traditions, like actually buying a tree and if they had any friends, he was sure they'd send them Christmas cards. This year he'd even bought Anna a few small gifts with the money he'd earned secretly, giving lessons to more children than usual while Anna was at work.

Still, Sasha didn't like Christmas, which is probably why he found himself avoiding his apartment today, instead of being there and spending time with his sister. Instead, he sat in front of a piano in one of the practice rooms, well, practicing. And "practicing" really means he was picking out random notes slowly, just for something to do. It's not like he had any friends to be hanging out with instead.

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:51:10 GMT

WHO :: rob and claire
WHAT :: ~~a lover's romp~~ practicing
WHERE :: rob's favorite practice room
WHEN :: right now. NOW.
WHY :: because ilu.
RATING :: pg?
STATUS :: open

Putting aside his Bach Invention, Rob stared at the keys of the piano. He hadn't seen Claire in a few days. Things were feeling weird with her. It wasn't the way it used to be. It wasn't exciting and new; it was growing old and serious. Part of him knew he should be scared. Some of him felt excited. Another part... it just felt like playing piano.

With little thought, Rob roped together chords and a melody, stringing it along with crescendos and trills, all of it sounding like Claire to his ears. All of it making him more and more lonely.

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:44:21 GMT

Who: Wolfe and Nicole
Where: Rick's, the cafe in town
When: oh recently.

Wolfe arrives at Rick's just in time, apparently, for the rush hour crunch. The line is about five people long, busy for this small college town, and he sighs a little bit in frustration. For a moment Wolfe considered just leaving and heading back up towards campus, he'd only come in because he was passing by on his way back from the grocery store, paper bag cradled in one arm. The little slob of a kitten in his dorm had been recently refusing to eat Wolfe's leftovers, and he couldn't very well let the ugly thing starve, could he? Wolfe wasn't sure whether or not he was allowed to be annoyed at having to by cat food for a cat he didn't actually set out to own.

Still, the rest of the walk to campus was uphill and Wolfe wasn't exactly clamouring to make it. He sighed and leaned against a wall as he got in line, arrogantly sure that waiting had always been something that happened to other people.

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:36:37 GMT

Who: Sergei and Elena
Where: one of Sergei's shows
When: Friday

The crowd wasn't roaring, not exactly, but it was still as warm a welcome as Firebird could expect. They were still working on their fanbase in Illinois. It wasn't the most punk rock of states.

Backstage, waiting to go on, the band was warming up and goofing off, just killing the last few minutes before their final set. Sergei himself was rocking back and forth on his shoes, guitar around his shoulders, picking out the rhythm again idly. He was trying to see out into the crowd, wondering more than he'd like to admit if Elena had managed to show up.

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 04:35:17 GMT

Who: Sasha and Elena
Where: the cafe
When: twenty minutes after Sasha's post

Sasha, in all honesty, didn't exactly know why he was sitting at a table five minutes early to meet a girl he'd never met around school. That couldn't possibly be a good thing for him to do, right? He'd spoken to this girl maybe once before and now he was meeting her for coffee. Well, tea in her case.

Dr. Thorsen was always telling Sasha he needed more friends. Maybe this girl could be his friend. Maybe. If he didn't frighten her away. Oh, he wished Anna was here to help calm him down. Sasha tapped his finger on the table as he waited for her to arrive. God, what was wrong with him?

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:59:04 GMT

who Elena and Sergei
when Friday afternoon after finals
where practice room hallway

Elena felt like she was done. She couldn't handle it anymore. She didn't want to practice anymore. She was sick of being the only one in the practice rooms after juries. All she heard were a few people, a familiar pounding of piano a few doors down from her. But Elena was so sick of everyone else slacking off just because juries were over. It wasn't like they weren't still required to practice.

It was, however, frustrating. The music coming from other rooms around her usually fueled Elena up, motivating her to practice harder and more efficiently. It was the minuscule part of her competitive streak sneaking in, she thought.

But when there was no one there to compare herself to, no one there on the other side of the wall to make it easier for herself to practice. It was just Elena and her cello. When she had finally had enough, she stood, slamming her cello in its case and shoving it in her humongous locker. There was no way that she was going to practice any longer -- for at least another hour. Opening the door, she stalked out quickly, staring at the floor but not exactly expecting to bump into someone. "Ах! Сожалею," she murmured quickly by accident, not actually meaning to say 'oh, I'm sorry,' in Russian.