Callie giggled a bit at that, kinda surprised. Usually her accent was a dead giveaway that she wasn’t from Swynlake, but she figured someone from Norway might not know the intricacies of different English accents. So she just shook her head.
“Nah, I’m from—well, it’s kinda weird, I guess. I was born in the U.S. and I lived there till I was eight and then I went to live with…with my aunt in Greece because…well, I just did.” There was no need to get into that right now, not when Anna didn’t realize that it had been Callie’s “aunt,” Urania, who had sent all of Swynlake into Ancient times and ruled with an iron fist. She could save the tragic backstory and the baggage—and anyway, it wasn’t important nor was it something that even BOTHERED Callie too much, seriously. She was happy now! She had two AMAZING girlfriends, she had the BEST friends, she had Dr. Sweet, she had her mom, she was doing good, very good, so good.
“But we moved here, like, the beginning of last school year ‘cuz she got a job at PrideU. And now I’m in PrideU. She’s not here anymore though. Uh. Went back. But I wanted to stay for school, I think it’s a great university.”
Lying was harder than she thought it would be. Callie wrinkled her brows together. She wished she was someone who could lie easily, who could spin off stories that weren’t true at all. She could write stories, she knew that, but her stories were true things and when she wrote there was always something that was true. And it was easier to make things up about other people, not yourself. Callie hated being someone else.
But telling the truth, right now, would be harder. So she clamped it down on her mouth, though it wriggled defiantly and wanted to fling itself out in the air. No, Truth, now is not the time.
“I was homeschooled for most of my life,” Callie admitted. There, that was a compromise, a bit of the truth that was not the whole truth but enough of the truth that Callie felt comfortable. “So it’s been interesting—well, not bad at all. I like school a lot. It’s just…different ya know?” She gave a shrug. “I bet it’s also different in Norway! Man, I’m used to the super hot weather—but it must seem so warm here to you, but it’s always freezing for me.”
“US and Greece? That’s cool!” Anna met maybe a few Americans, but never an American from Greece! Plus, she mentioned her family (specifically, her aunt), and Anna loved to hear people talk about their families. “Wait, your aunt was a teacher here? That’s so cool! So, like, do you know the insides of the whole PrideU system? How everything works? Can you... What’s the phrase...? Oh! Play the system?” She began to rapid fire questions. “Wait, did I ever have your aunt? What did she teach?”
“I was actually homeschooled too!” she got a little excited. Anna had actually met a few people who had also been homeschooled, but finding another was always a miniature thrill. Made her almost think being locked away in your own home to be normal. When, in fact, it was not.
“Yeah, this is the first real classroom setting I’ve had myself. But I was never a fan of school. Or maybe it was just the readings. Safe to say my favorite book was a coloring book,” Anna laughed. She remembered all the books her parents tried to push on her. It really only ever worked if they managed to convince her that Elsa read it too. Little Anna was willing to do anything her big sister did. (Oh, how times have changed.) She still left plenty of doodles and silly comments in the margins in her spurts of boredom. That habit never did leave...
“It’s not even that cold yet! How are you freezing? I know freezing. And there’s usually negative numbers involved,” she teased. She assumed Greece had to be around the same temperature. Now that she thought of it, she wasn’t quite sure where Greece was. Was it closer to the equator, thus warmer? For some reason, she almost assumed all the main European, well known countries were all pretty similar. Safe to say, Anna was not well traveled nor did she learn enough geography while homeschooled.
“I mean, it’s not hot for me. Just like... More ideal temperature. Like a nice fall or spring day,” she shrugged. Anna was more than content in her t-shirts and skirts, with maybe a pair of tights or sweater when there was a breeze. Living here a year, she still didn’t understand how early people brought out their scarves and gloves. However, she was more than ready to take on the fall fashions. If only it was chilly enough for her to wear her cute, cozy sweaters... But alas, the days were still too warm and made her sweat.
titsay
turnnoffyourmind
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2087
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