Chess
Spencer POV
Henri was weird. He was a bit of a jock, but not like a super jock like I expected. Alec was funny. Bella…Bella was difficult to describe. We walked around the French quarter. It really was beautiful. I hoped that Mom would find us an apartment soon. I hoped it would be one on of these streets. Alec talked as we walked. He was the clever one obviously. They all had shields. I didn’t have to try to keep them away from my head.
Henri asked me to come home with them for a bit. Mom hadn’t paged me, so I figured it would be fine. We caught a streetcar and got off in front of a pretty mansion. It was huge. I bet it had like 30 rooms. There were two men standing in front of the gates. They had guild uniforms. Henri must be guild. I reached towards the men. I could hear that they were guards for the house of Lebeau. Their colors were nice. They matched their words. I liked when peoples colors matched their words. Someone else walked up. Nope, nope, nope to many colors. I threw my shields back up.
We went inside. I was right it was huge. Henri gave me the tour. The under-ground floor was just a line of bedrooms with a set of bathrooms at either end of the hall. There were 25 doors. Henri said that 19 of them were bedrooms. The ground floor had a breakfast kitchen. A back kitchen where apparently the staff worked. I huge sitting room and two bedrooms. The next floor had the biggest personal library that I had ever seen. It was like that one scene in beauty and the beast. Either side of the library had a bedroom with an office and bathroom. The next floor had two bedrooms a huge office and two bathrooms. The top floor was set up like a dorm with a small living room a small kitchen with a bar and two bedrooms and a bathroom on either side. It was the biggest house I had ever been in in my life.
We went back downstairs. I got a weird feeling, and I stretched out my powers. I could feel Miss Mattie in the library I could feel the guards out on the grounds, there were more than just the two at the gate. I could feel someone else upstairs. A boy not much older than me. His mind wasn’t like any that I had ever felt. I brushed against it and he noticed it. I jerked back What the actual frick was he. Alec grinned at me “Ya play chess Penny” I grinned “As long as you don’t mind losing. That made Henri and Bella laugh. Bella’s laugh made me think of the elves in lord of the rings. I imagined that they would be like Bella.
I heard someone come down stairs. Uhoh it was the boy. The one who felt different what do I do what do I do. He was gonna out me as a freak to my new friends. I didn’t want that. Oh well it’s like Galadriel says. Even the smallest person can change the course of the river. I will not be afraid. I stood up and slowly turned around. Aragorn said we do not run or wane. I blink he was beautiful if I was to imagine a fallen angel it would be him. My hands itched to draw him. He had long auburn hair that was tied with a leather cord. He was tan, he had high cheek bones and no baby fat left. He was taller than me. I would guess that he was my age, perhaps a little bit older. His eyes said that he was used to smiling. His eyes…his eyes were red. The place where I would expect to see white was black. I was somewhat aware of Henri introducing me. I said my name and met his eyes at the right parts. When I met his eyes, it was like he was staring right into my soul. His colors swirled around him. There were so many. How could one person feel that much?
I gasped, or maybe he did. I am not sure. My eyes burned. Everything was suddenly far too bright for a moment, then it wasn’t anymore. I rubbed my eyes and looked back at Remy. He blinked and his colors showed me that he was surprised. He tilted his head. “So what grade ya gon be in Spensah?” he asked. I frowned and shook my head. He looked confused “Henri say y gon to our schoo, don ya know what grade yr gon into?” I bit my lip and fought to find words no no no not now this can’t be happening now. Bella spoke up. “A course he don know yet Remy he got a genius IQ they gotta tes im firs. Also he don like bein called Spensah his name is Penny.” I took a breath. Thank God for small miracles. I didn’t need words for the moment and Remy apparently wasn’t going to out me as a freak, but I guess when he physically looked different, he couldn’t talk.
Alec spoke up. “I was jus about to kick Penny’s butt in chess wanna watch?” Remy laughed. Wow… I had thought Bella’s laugh was pretty his was like….I don’t even know. “Sur I watch ya. Mae if de boy b a genius you gon lose frere.” I smiled at Remy. I liked the way he talked. It wasn’t as educated as Henri and Alec. It wasn’t gentle like Bella. It was some strange unique mix of street slang and proper French. I wanted him to talk more. I liked his voice. I made the opening move. Alec chuckled. “This is gonna be way easy.” He was right it was, the game was over in eight moves. Alec surrendered his king he looked shocked. Remy laughed again. I grinned at him.
“Ma turn” he said with a grin of his own. It was a grin that screamed of mischief. Maybe not a fallen angel, maybe a Celtic fairy instead. He sat down in Alec’s spot. I made the first move again. I could tell from Remy’s response that he was going to be a far more challenging opponent than his brother had been. Maybe I would actually lose. “So” Remy said. “Where are ya from. Are y agon be staying here? How ol are ya?” I bit my lip. My words hadn’t come back yet. A flare of panic went through me. If I didn’t answer he was gonna think I was weird, and I really wanted him to like me, but I couldn’t find my words right now. I was mildly aware that I had started rocking. I couldn’t find words but I could still communicate, maybe. I missed my old school where I had someone to interpret for me. Remy tilted his head. “You do talk much do ya.” I bit my lip. I didn’t know if that was supposed to be a question. I signed. “I talk sometimes, but other times words are too hard.”
Remy surprised me then. He spoke and signed “Slow down” I felt my eyes go wide. I signed again a little bit slower. He nodded and signed back. “You can sign though, when words are hard. You can sign and not use words.” I nodded. “That works most of the time.” I signed “But sometimes, I just can’t figure out how to answer.” Remy nodded. I moved and Remy signed. “How old are you?” I held up ten fingers. He looked surprised, but then again everyone did. I was small for my age and I was a genius so yeah. “How old are you?” I asked him he held up ten fingers and then two. So he was twelve. That was only a bit older than me.
“What grade do you think they will put you in” he asked. I held up seven fingers. His colors flared and his face light up. I think it was excitement “Me too” he shouted out loud. I hadn’t been expecting him too shout and I wasn’t prepared for it so I flinched and covered my ears. Henri smacked Remy on the back of the head. “Don’t shout we are in the house.” I frowned at Henri. He didn’t seem to be able to understand my sign so I signed to Remy a little apprehensive. “Does he hit you a lot?” Remy looked startled and then he laughed. “No No” He signed. “It is not like that at all. Henri would never do anything to actually hurt me. Yes he smacked me , but if was only hard enough to catch my attention, not hard enough to hurt me. My father would be furious if Henri ever harmed either of us.” I frowned but Remy’s colors agreed with his words so I let it go.
We kept playing. Every now and then Remy would sign a question and I would sign back. I was vaguely aware of Henri Alec and Bella playing Mario behind us. This was nice. It was like having real friends again. Maybe these people could be my real friends. I heard the front door open. I reached out with my gift. Someone else was here. He kind of felt like Henri. He had even stronger shields then Henri though. I moved my pawn. Remy frowned contemplating what to do next. A man walked into the room. He was tall…Like super tall…like 6’6 tall. He looked too much like Henri and Alec to be anything but their father. I wondered for a moment why Remy looked so different then I shrugged it off. Maybe Remy looked like his mom.
I took Remy’s queen. He looked up at me shocked. “I tink we fon Zugzang” he said dryly. I giggled and signed. “If you had moved your rook you would have had me in three moves.” He looked at the board and laughed. “So close, yet so far.” I ducked my head and started to reset the board. Remy turned to his father. “Hey Papa, how was work.” The man chuckled. “Far longer than I wanted it to be” I liked his laugh to. It was warm His eyes said that he used it a lot. There was a sadness in the colors around him even though he was laughing. It always confused me when peoples colors did that. He was bubbly blue, but at the same time he was dotted with a deep purple. It was strange. I never understood how a person could have such conflicting colors.
I looked back at Remy. He smiled at me. He looked back up at his father. “Did you see Bella found me a new friend and Henri decided to bring him home.” Remy’s father laughed. “I did see that, it’s usually Alec that’s bringing home strays.” I didn’t understand why that was funny, but I figured that I would just follow Remy’s lead for now. I gave Remy’s father a small smile. He smiled back. “It’s good to see Remy making new friends. I am Remy’s Papa Jean-Luc, and you are?” I bit my lip and flicked my eyes over to Remy. Remy understood. No one else ever had before. He spoke up. “Papa di is Spensah Reid He go by Penny. He not talk much. He gon be in my grade nex year. He a genius an he a mutant, but I not sho what he do.” Remy said bouncily.
I felt my heart rate speed up. Shit he told them. Now they knew I was a freak. Shit What do I do now. Remy’s eyes shot over to me. Mattie stepped into the room and smacked Remy just like Henri had earlier. “Fool boy” she said shaking her head. “What you tink sayn a fool ting yike dat. De boy not tell no one abou what he do. You know how hard it cn be finden a place an he was jus getting comfordable. Honestly boy learn som tact an use dat ting in yr head!” She smiled at me. “It be alri here chil aint non gun judge ya here fo bein you. I tink yr gun fit in here jus fine. An who knows maybe you help teach poh Remy some tact” I wasn’t sure how to repond to that, but she didn’t seem to be expecting a response. She smiled at me and eld out her hand.
“You come on now wit me to da kitchen it be getting yate an you need to ca yr Mama an yet her know you stayn fo dinnah.” I took her hand and we went into the kitchen. She looked down at me seriously. “Nevah be ashamed of who ya are Penny. Yr gift is amazin an its pat of ya jus as much as yr arms or yr eyes. Don be ashamed of yr autism eitheah it’s who ya are. It’s how da good lord made yah an he not make no mistakes chil. I’m da one dat taught Remy to sign so when ya haven trouble wit ya words ya cn come ta me an I help ya.” I nodded. She smiled at me an ruffled my hair. “Good boy. Now ca yr Mama. Let her know dat you made some friends today an one is gon be yr classmate nex yr an yr haven dinnah wit um. Tell her aftah dinna. De odes one gon drop ya off back at de hotel.” She didn’t wait for a response. I got the feeling that she wasn’t a person that ever needed to she probably just said stuff and people took her words as law. I put in my Mom’s number. Things were about to get really interesting.