Wunderhein Academy: Book 1- Awakening

“He kissed you?”

“Boris, keep your voice down.” Kitten hissed, trying to shush her friend as if afraid someone might overhear their conversation. It was impossible of course. They were taking a short cut back to the dorms by one of the underground passages. Boris promised her that hardly anyone used them anymore. From the stink of the place, she could guess why. She burst out giggling as they kept walking. “Actually I think I kissed him. I’m not sure.”

“Oh wow.” She turned to Boris and found him staring at her in semi-admiration. “I didn’t think Ivan was into anyone. I mean everyone’s so scared of him. And there’s the rumors...”

“Rumors?” Kitten tilted her head towards him as they continued walking. A shiver ran down her back as she read bits and pieces of graffiti off the walls they were passing. “What rumors?”

“He had a boyfriend once.” Boris lowered his voice as if he was worried someone might be behind them listening. He looked back before reaching out to navigate the walls of the passage they were walking down, his voice lowered into a whisper. “No one knows who.”

“Ivan had a boyfriend?” Kitten gasped. “Our Ivan?”

“No-one knows for sure what happened.” Boris added. “It was before I came here.”

“Where do you hear this stuff?” Kitten gathered her energy and jumped over the hole in the ground that took up a bit of space. She peered down it for a moment. The stone cover had been moved away and the dirt under was uneven, as if someone was digging in it.

“Mostly from my friends.” Boris confessed as he looked into the hole too. His face lit up for a moment as he bent down and pulled out a long worm. “Worm pit.”

“What?”

“It’s like a place for pet worms. Only their not pets.” He offered it to her but she shook her head. He seemed to consider what to do with it before sadly throwing it back.

“What are they? Things to throw down Lexie’s shirt?” She giggled. “Or mix in Dmitri’s drink.”

She stopped laughing when Boris didn’t laugh.

“You eat them.” He replied simply. “Or mix with Salt-water drinks.”

Kitten felt her face turn green.

“Here, this way.” Boris indicated the exit of the passage they had been traveling inside. She entered the dimly lit alley happily, breathing in the fresher air in great gulps. Boris had been right. The underground passage had been filthy and stank like a urinal, but it had saved them a span of time to get back to the dorms before they were missed.

The alleyway wasn’t much better. It was a small space of stale air mixed with moss and stone.

“So what was it like?” Boris asked, lowering his voice a little.

“Huh? What was what like?”

“You know. IT!” Boris blushed slightly, kicking at the ground with his hands behind his back like a child. “The kiss.”

“Nice.” Kitten confessed with a soft smile. The memory of the incident made her feel warm inside. “Really nice. He tasted like cookies.”

“Oh” Boris looked away sadly for a moment. “...ok.”

“Hold on,” Kitten’s eyes widened. She reached out and grabbed Boris’s arm. “Don’t tell me you have a crush on Ivan!”

“Huh? No! No! No! I mean...” Boris quickly denied her accusation before biting his lower lip. “I never kissed anyone. And you always see those Pretty Boys or guys with those boyfriends and now you’re talking about it.”

“So you’re jealous?”

“Just feeling a little left out I guess.” He smiled weakly. “I mean it was always the two of us but if you’re with Ivan...”

“I’m not with Ivan. It was a kiss.” Kitten corrected, pulling Boris into a hug. “ Don’t worry; you’re still my little rat. Now and for always.”

“Really?” Boris looked up at her hopefully.

“Really really.” Kitten rested her face on the youngsters head, smelling the earth that seemed to cling to him. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feel of him in her arms. “Even if I did get a boyfriend.”

“Thanks Kitten.” Boris grinned, automatically hugging her.

“I know!” Kitten pulled away from him and snapped her fingers. “I’ll kiss you. Then you know what it’s like.”

“But shouldn’t a kiss be for someone special?” Her friend looked horrified at the suggestion.

“Well, you’re special to me?” Kitten frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“Mama always said kissing a girl made her have babies.” Boris bit his lip worriedly. “What if you had babies?”

“I think I should be having a lot of babies by now if that were true. I mean a lot of guys here were handling me pretty roughly for a while remember.” Kitten replied coldly. “To be honest, I don’t believe in a lot of things my mama used to say anymore.”

“You don’t?”

“Our teeth haven’t fallen out yet from eating the cookies Ivan slips to us at night.” Kitten pointed out. She didn’t add that nothing had happened to her hair on nights she skipped brushing it when she was so exhausted she couldn’t even change clothes to sleep.

“I guess.” His face slowly lit up. He darted forward in excitement as his voice dropped to a whisper. “I want you to kiss me. Like Ivan kissed you.”

“No. You get your own kiss.” Kitten leaned closer, closing her eyes. “A special Boris kiss.”

She felt his lips tremble under hers. His oversized teeth were scraping against her bottom lip.

Without warning he turned his head and began tugging gently at her lip, his tongue now sliding over it.

It felt weird and nice at the same time. Like he was trying to coax her to open her mouth. She could almost taste the Sunshine and earth that she usually smelt on him.

Surprised she opened her eyes and pulled away.

“Boris?”

“Sorry.” He blushed. “I saw some guys do it once and...”

“It’s ok.” She smiled, cutting him off. “It felt nice.”

“Really?” He looked up at her with uncertainty.

“Yeah. A lot.” She rubbed her bottom lip. “A lot, a lot. It’s not fair. I hate being a girl. I wish I was a boy.”

“But why?” Boris looked confused. “You’re such a pretty girl.”

“But I’m so weak. My lips feel so soft compared to yours and Ivan’s.” She continued to rub her mouth. “It’s nicer kissing you guys. I bet it would be nice to even kiss Lexie and Dimi. My lips feel like jelly trying to fall in.”

“I liked kissing you.” Boris blushed slightly. “You taste like sleep and dreams.”

“Really.” She grinned back. “Good dreams?”

“Really good dreams.” Boris smiled shyly.

“What do you think Lexie and Dmitri taste like?” She began. “I bet Dmitri would be cigarettes.”

“Maybe.” Boris frowned. “His mouth is hard. I heard a nurse complain about that once.”

“What does that mean?”

“I dunno.” Boris pouted. “I asked the Captain but he told me to mind my own business. Then I heard him yell at Dmitri about it afterward.”

“Idiots.” Kitten frowned before recalling the two from that morning. “Hey, do you know why Lexie was so tired this morning?”

“Probably because of the fight.”

“What fight?” She asked. her jaw dropping.

“Dunno. He and Dmitri came back to the room and were covered in blood so left again with their bathroom stuff. They were talking about some kid. I thought they meant you.” Boris sulked. “I wish I was there. I wanted to watch.”

“Why do you want to watch Lexie fight so much?”

“To learn.” Boris replied quickly. “He’s not strong, he’s practical. When he fights he makes his move count. He keeps telling me not to worry about being short because it fools the other guy into thinking they can beat me and that makes them lose.”

“Does that work?”

“Not all the time.” Boris admitted. “Some of the big guys scare me. Some of them are super strong.”

Kitten thought over his words for a moment, recalling the fight she watched with Balco.

She stopped as something on the wall caught her eye. She walked towards the wall, running her hands over the graffiti that had followed them out.

“Are you alright?” Boris checked, stepping back to follow her.

“This says Aleksei is a Pretty Boy.” She found herself. “I saw one like it in the bathroom too.”

“There’s lots of those. I hate them.” Boris growled. “Losers that are afraid of our captain put them up.”

“People call me that sometimes.” Kitten spun to look and Boris. “You said it earlier too. What is it?”

“They’re the girls in the group.” Boris took a step forward and touched the words. A wave of fleeting anger hit his face.

“But I am a girl in our group.” Kitten pointed out. “So I’m a Pretty Boy then?”

“No.” Boris drew back. “The captain won’t have them.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I didn’t either when I first arrive only the Captain tried explaining it to me.” Boris tilted his head and placed a hand over his chest. “When you care for someone, then it’s because of what you feel here. Then it doesn’t matter what makes you both different because you see each other here.”

“Go on.” Kitten leaned forward, not wanting to admit that Aleksei’s words sounded kinda smart.

“It’s not like that with Pretty Boys.” Boris continued. “They’re like nurses for the guys that don’t like going to the nurses. Like Dmitri in reverse or something.”

Kitten felt the colour fade from her face. “So if someone calls me a Pretty Boy…”

“It’s like saying you’re useless to the team,” Boris blushed. “And you’re only with us because the Captain and Dmitri think you’re pretty and want to use you.”

Kitten froze. Then she burst out laughing. When she finally stopped, she found Boris looking at her in confusion.

“How blind do you think that guy is?” She pointed to the sign on the wall. “If he thinks Lexie is pretty instead of me? I mean, my name should be there. I’m actually a girl.”

Boris looked at the wall before slowly answering. “I guess…”

“Hold on.” Kitten grabbed her marker and went back to the wall, carefully scratching Aleksei’s name out and inserting her own above it. “There, better.”

She stepped back to examine her handy work with a smile.

“Thank you.” A small whisper next to her made her turn her head. She looked at Boris who was staring at the wall as if it were the most precious thing in the world. She placed her arm around him in a semi-hug.

“You’re welcome.” She whispered back, smiling.