Chapter 12: Alone time

“I’m boooooooooooooooored!” yelled Lindsey.

Obviously, no one answered. Her older brother had left the house hours ago to go and meet Shannon. It wasn’t something Lindsey was too happy about, truth been told. She still was wary of the gigantic MAJOR. Partially because of what she had done to her mother almost a year ago. And partially because she had realized that she didn’t like the idea of Alejandro moving away. She knew she should have been ashamed of herself to think like that, but she couldn’t help it.

Her Minor brother had been a constant fixture in her life, ever since she was born. He was in her earliest memories, taller than her at first, but so much smaller and kinder than the rest of her family… and she had felt his songs. It had been how she had called the way his mind had talked to her, when she was too young to even understand the word “bond”, let alone the concept. It was why, when the songs had ceased, replaced by the silence gnawing at the edge of her consciousness, she had had such difficulties dealing with it.

With a sigh, the young MAJOR got out of her bed and moved toward her newly furbished gym. It was at ground level, inside a very spacious room, which had been filled with equipment: traction bars, weights, bench presses, and even a running mat. It had all been courtesy of their parents: once they had learnt what Shannon had done, they had used a portion of the refunded money initially destined to rant the apartment to finance her passion.

Alejandro may well be making fun of her for her sudden dedication to bodybuilding, but for the young girl, it was something running in the family. Alaric had been the first to try it hand at it, and she had to admit that a considerable portion of her bratty behavior toward her other older brother came from jealousy at his perfect physique and absolute dedication to the grooming of his body and his mind. That he was her ‘Rando’s twin and thus closer to him that she could ever hope to be was the icing on the cake. Mostly.

Speaking of the titular Minor in the room, Alejandro himself liked to keep his body in shape. Truth been told, Lindsey thought it was a shame that he hadn’t a little more meat on his bones, but overall, she liked the lean but muscular look he had. And she had noticed how Izzellah Ivory’s eyes had followed the way he moved all those months ago, and she had deduced that she was into that kind of body.

Obviously, being a MAJOR, Lindsey couldn’t hope to achieve the “lean but fit” look if she went all in in bodybuilding… but being a MAJOR, not going all in into something was basically impossible. A taunt from her Papa, a dubitative look from her Mama, a mocking laugh from Alaric and a quiet but steady encouragement from her ‘Rando and she had dived head first into the fray, following a special diet and adding several dozens of kilograms to her growing frame.

Whistling one of her favorite tune, she began her stretching routine. Obviously, being a MAJOR, it was hardly needed, but she had seen her Minor big brother do it every time he went to show him how to exercise when she had first dabbled into it, and she had picked up this habit. She looked at herself, in her sport bra and clingy yoga pants. So far, she had virtually no curves to speak of, and only her bulging pectoral muscles allowed her to not be absolutely flat.

“My grand-mother’s mother had a considerable cleavage, perhaps you’ll inherit it” said the voice of Jules Ferrand in her mind.

“Yeah… but she was a Minor, and probably to thank for Alejandro dad…” whispered the soon to be teenager.

She, like all the children of the Ferrand family, never had the chance to meet their paternal grand-parents. They lived in South-West France, in some place that her Papa called le Gers, and while apparently there was some crazy good duck meat and other heavy cooking recipes that he really liked to try his hand at, they had never had a moment to travel halfway across the globe, and his parents were too poor to move… and too proud to take their son’s money.

They had had more chances with Ofelia’s side of the family. The Lorca were a very abundant and entirely MAJOR family from Northern Mexico. Apparently, they had always been far too poor and forced to live in slums to have a chance at intermingling with Minors before the Dark Age. And since then, her Mama had made clear that no mention of Alejandro had to be made with them, which had always left Lindsey perplexed. Ofelia was literally crazy with her eldest child, and yet, each time one of her kin came by or that she went to visit with the rest of her family, sans Jules, they had pretend that Alejandro wasn’t a thing…

Her reflection looked so… wanting! Her small brother had talked about how that cursed Sabrina Rodriguez was filling out in all the right places, when she remained desperately like a kid. A very muscular and powerful, and tall kid, but still. Winning Izzellah’s heart would be a battle and she knew that she was in a disadvantage, even if it was one where her trump card was her brother. Sure, the Rodriguez knew the Minor girl, but Lindsey was almost certain that she could still get the upper hand.

For starter, she knew how her kind, when it was as enlightened as the smaller teenager was, disliked nicknames and clinginess and the general possessive behavior of MAJORS. Sure, she still had to work on it, because she fell far too often into those pitfalls, but it remained something she was very conscious, it was almost ingrained in her mindset, thanks to Alejandro. All she had to do was to keep her calm and apply this knowledge.

“And I can count on ‘Rando for more direct help even!” she joyfully told her reflection, who still seemed dubitative.

Turning away from the mirror, the young MAJOR walked toward her weights. The lighter was at 120 kg (265lbs) and so far her upper limit was 650 kg (1433lbs). She hadn’t realized how incredible it was until she had seen Alejandro gawking at her. Learning that even the smallest weights were 50 kg (110lbs) heavier than what the Minor could lift at his best had been an enlightening experience. Up until that time, her sense of protection had been rather… off.

Alejandro had spent so much time holed up in his room, in their home, back in Old Creek, that the urge to step in the line of fire for him had been rather dulled among the Ferrand family. But now that it was just the two of them, Lindsey couldn’t help but worry about him. What if he strains himself working out and I’m elsewhere, perhaps at school or with the friends I hope to make here? What if someone barge in and try to kidnap him? What if I’m not strong enough to prevent the other students from bullying or abusing him?

It was the kind of never ending questions which plagued her now and, so far, she hadn’t found an adequate answer to any of them. More often than not, she had to hope that Shannon Matthewson, of all peoples, had more plans to interfere into their life, because the only thing she was quite sure off, after her two bonding experiences with Alejandro, was that the gigantic black woman was madly in love with her brother.

With a huff, she seized one of the medium sized weights, one in each hand and slowly and purposely lifted each of them, in a perfectly synchronized movement. Bringing each of them to be eye level required almost no effort at first, but she knew that if she kept at it and went for the two hundreds or more repetitions, her arms would still tire and be sore the following day. Still, it was what she required, to be sore from head to toes. It would be proof enough that her body would produce a considerable amount of new muscle fibers and it would earn her much needed strength, in the event she needed to assert her dominance over the Rodriguez girl.

“Just wait, Miss Ivory. You’ll see that you’ll feel safe and secure with me around. I may not be a volleyball champion or something, like your step-sister, but I’m very educated, so I’m sure that the two of us could go really far together!” she grunted, feeling perspiration forming on her brow and her palms.

She couldn’t help but smile at the simple mention of the Minor and Sabrina’s familial relation. The other MAJOR could well pretend that they weren’t sisters, heck, even Izzellah could, but Lindsey wouldn’t let her rival any respite on that front. Their parents were doing more than dating, it was obvious that they would marry each other sooner rather than later, and surely, both would admit that forming a bond with a step-sister was kind of distasteful.

Of course, she couldn’t just use this tactic. Earning a Minor’s interest would be a trial in itself, one she had to be careful to not botch early on. ‘Rando had been quite clear that any resort to the station of their parents or how fluent she was in various languages, or her lofty aspirations to become a brilliant geneticist had to be toned down. Izzellah mother had died years ago and her father was as blue collar as one could be, so she risked alienating the Minor teenager if she made too much of the rift between their social position, irrespective of their nature, of course.

Lindsey had to admit that it would probably be the hardest part. She was bound to make mistakes, to rush things a little too much, but she was confident that almost all of it would be salvageable. Not so if she came out as an arrogant and elitist brat just out for some Minor’s ass. Which would be kind of hard to pull off, considering that she was kind of arrogant and bratty, it was something a lot of her friends, back in Old Creek, used to tell her.

“It’s now our fault that Mama and Papa moved into this small town because of high level jobs, instead of the usual menial work out there…” she grumbled to no one on particular.

And that’s the kind of attitude which will drive Izzy away, leaving you alone at home while ‘Rando will enjoy family time and Alaric will find someone and you’ll be left behind, like an unnecessary and unloved pet. The sudden thought sent shivers down her spine and distrupted her perfectly timed routine. She even let a weight slip of her hand before catching it promptly. Her arms were shaking madly now and the young girl crumpled on the floor, crying.

“What is wrong with me!” she yelled, hoping for an answer even as she knew that nobody could come and offer her one at that time.

The MAJOR let her grief pour out, unable to contain it. Teenage angst also meant that every dark thought or even simply fragment of ideas which were like cutting glass to her were coagulating and bubbling up to the surface. She was used of feeling like an outsider. Her family was loving, but she had no memory of her life before the Incident, and it set her apart. Even among the children, she was the not twin and the youngest.

And with the other children of Old Creek, she was the wealthy kid, or the sister of the Minor holed up in his home. Which meant that there always was a certain distance between her and her friends, considering that all the other MAJORS in age to work with her parents had chosen to stay nearer to Winton Heights or the suburbs of San Francisco, instead of moving into a sleepy harbor basically left behind by economic growth.

Lindsey kept crying for what seemed like hours but probably only lasted twenty minutes or so. Finally, she managed to control herself once more. She sniffled quite inelegantly and wiped her tears and her snot. Her longue black hair were a mess now, and her eyes were all puffy and red. Still, she had to carry on with her session, it was basically all she could do right now anyway. School hadn’t started yet, so she had no homework, Alejandro wasn’t here so she had no one to speak to and she didn’t want to call her parents, for fear of sounding unable to cope with the changes in her life.

She let the weights roll on the floor, and moved toward the bench press. She put the heaviest set on and proceeded with her program. Now, she wanted to tire herself so much that she would fall asleep as soon as she would touch her bed. Grunting and swearing, she spent the following half-hour making her arms and back scream in pain. Then came the squats and the running, which took most of the evening, until she collapsed on the sofa, exhausted. And just then, her phone ringed.

“Yeah?”

“How many times have I told you to tell your name when you pick up your phone?” grumbled the voice of Alaric.

“Don’t know, don’t care, and I’m far too tired to deal with your shit right now, Al’!” spat the young MAJOR.

“Listen you…” begun her brother before stopping himself and very audibly trying to calm himself with deep and slow inspirations and expirations. “ Okay…” he finally said. “I’ll be the bigger man here, and keep it cool.”

“Oh really? Don’t you want to also be the modest one too?” grumbled Lindsey, less aggressively than before.

“We both now that I’m not the modest twin” teased Alaric, appeasing the tension, for the moment at least.

“True that. So, why are you calling?”

“Well… I’m worried about Alejandro”, revealed his twin.

“Why, what happened?” immediately asked Lindsey, shooting up and ready to exit the house to rush to her older brother’s help without even realizing it.

“That’s the thing… I’ve no idea. I’m trying to call him and he doesn’t pick his phone.”

“Perhaps he has forgotten to charge it?” offered the MAJOR pre-teen.

“Come on. He isn’t that oblivious about his phone!”

“He had it less than three months ago, Al’. And I can tell you that he keep forgetting it everywhere in his house.”

“His house… Jesus I still can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Yeah, me neither, but focus!”

“Yeah, sure, sorry. So, I keep trying to call him since last hour and he just doesn’t pick it. What is he doing?”

“Well… he’s with Shannon, probably fucking like rabbits” offered Lindsey, who let herself fall back on the sofa in delight.

“Oh come on, he isn’t like that!” countered Alaric, rather weakly.

“They had sex the very first day they were left alone. And six months ago, after the picnic, I spotted Shannon doing the naughty with him in the park!”

“What!?” yelled Alaric. “How could she even managed it with her size? In public!?”

“Well, she just picked her up, got close to a tree and kissed… lower and lower” revealed Lindsey with a Cheshire grin.

“I can’t believe it. He never told me about it!”

“Why would he?” asked Lindsey, a little suspiciously.

“Well…herm… Oh, fuck it, I guess you’re old enough to know but… We keep each other in touch about that kind of things. Or at least we did, I guess…”

“You mean you two talk about your sexual life? Gross!”

“It’s perfectly natural between guys. Plus, I’m his twin, it was my duty to try and help him get some, you know? Even if most of the time, he didn’t really like talking about it…”

“Yeah, probably because you were the only one who had sex with everyone at home, moron!” laughed Lindsey.

“It’s not true! Plus, I really tried to take him in a ride to you know… lose his virginity and all.”

“You wanted threesomes with my ‘Rando!?” screamed the pre-teen, horrified.

“Oh come on, it isn’t so terrible. Plus with me around, he would have felt, you know, kind of secure.”

“And ashamed of himself probably! But I thought he didn’t know what you were doing, he always told everyone that…”

“Bro code, of a sort. We keep silence about it. Well, we kept it, as long as we were honest with each other. Too bad he didn’t share the news with me!” laughed Alaric.

“Boys…” grumbled Lindsey.

“Eh… Well, I’ll let you to do whatever you want, little sis” offered her older brother. “Bye. Have a good night!”

“Yeah, you too!”

The phone biped, signaling the end of the conversation and the young girl found herself staring at it, hoping that he would call back. Tears formed again in her eyes and her lower lip began to shiver. She bawled out in pain, retreating into a fetal position. It made no sense to her, but talking with Alaric had actually brought back her feeling of isolation. I wonder if it’s what ‘Rando has been feeling all his life? She suddenly wondered.

This idea managed to push back her sorrow enough for her to calm down a little. She was still emotional and felt like a wreck, but at least she was able to cope with it in another way, perhaps a little more productive. She was still sad, but she also felt a little ashamed of herself. She was in a house designed mainly for MAJORS, not its Minor’s owner, despite its accommodations. She lived in a world tailored for her kind.

Alejandro had had to live as the sole representative of his species in Old Creek, and she marveled at how he had been able to cope with the feeling of isolation it probably produced. She didn’t thought that she had the mental fortitude to do so herself. She slapped herself on the face and got up, trying to busy herself so much into the moment that she would forget about the difficulties she was experiencing living in New Orleans.

She went to the freezer and retrieved a huge piece of bull-meat, something probably big enough to feed a Minor for a whole week, even if he was eating it three times a day. She hesitated a moment and finally elected to not add anything to it. She should have taken some vegetables, but she hadn’t the patience to prepare and then cook them separately, so she simply put the meat in the microwave and waited for it to be defrosted enough to be put into the stove that she was pre-heating in the meantime.

Suddenly, her phone rang again, with another ringtone this time, one she recognized as Alejandro’s. She rushed to it, trying her best to get rid of her snot and clear her throat. I don’t want him to think that I’m just a poor little girl. I need to be able to project autonomy and confidence! If I can’t managed to convince him, I’ll never be able to seduce Izzellah, she decided. So, she took one or two seconds to prepare herself before picking the phone.

“Yes ‘Rando?”

“Hullo Little Lin” said her Minor’s older brother voice from the other side of the phone.

He sounded kind of muffled, as if he was talking to her through something or was whispering, and she wondered what was happening. She hadn’t much time to wait until she understood the reason of this voice he had, when he heard a powerful grumble thundering through the phone. Apparently, he was with Shannon. As in, really close with Shannon.

“Everything okay?” she asked, a little embarrassed now.

“Yeah. I just called Alaric, and he told me that the two of you had managed to keep a cordial and civil discussion.”

“Yup, it’s quite a progress, right?” offered the pre-teen.

“Yeah… if only it wasn’t to talk about my sexual life…” groaned Alejandro, clearly amused.

“I… Huh… It’s Alaric fault!” tried the young MAJOR, quite conscious that it was a rather weak defense, once fitting a younger girl perhaps.

“Yeah… He told me that you were the one who talked about sex first, you know. And about a certain innocent kiss in the park!”

“Innocent my ass! It was…” begun Lindsey, before being interrupted by her brother.

“I know what it was, thank you! Anyway, I keep forgetting, or trying to forget that you’re at that age and… Shannon, stop that!” he suddenly yelled, his voice losing his muffled quality, just as a powerful giggle erupted from Lindsey’s phone.

“What happening?”

“She’s teasing me is what’s happening…” sighed her ‘Rando, but he didn’t sound really dejected. “And as I was saying, you’re at that age, so it’s normal for you to talk about it. But that’s why I think it’s a bad thing for you to stay in the house like that, Little Lind.”

“What? Why would you think that?” wondered Lindsey, quite confused now.

“Well… from what I got, you were always kind of a loner in Old Creek, and I think that you need to shed it if you want to have a happy life here in New Orleans. I don’t want you to miss some great opportunities because you wouldn’t want to leave the house. I mean, a gym at home is great, but would you promise me that, from tomorrow onward, you’ll go at the school’s? You’ll be able to make friends and possibly get some coaching to help you better build yourself.”

“I… you can coach me…” weakly protested Lindsey, who was ashamed to actually feel relieved that her brother was finding the time to care about her and make sure that she would have a great experience so far from home.

“I can only help you for the basis. Alaric would be a better help, but he never liked talking about bodybuilding much… when he wasn’t trying to convince me to participate in one of his adventures with a girl. Trust me, if you want to make true progresses, you’ll need a MAJOR coach, I can only help you so much.”

“Hey! You told me that this call would be short!” complained Shannon, her voice drowning out everything her ‘Rando may have been trying to add for Lindsey’s advantage.

“I swear I’ll go to the gym tomorrow morning! Call me up before coming home!” quickly yelled the young MAJOR, trying to convey her message as quickly as possible, before the gigantic woman that was with her older sibling grew even more impatient.

“Great! See you tomorrow then!”

“What!? No!” interjected Shannon, quite unhappily apparently.

“Come on, don’t be like that…”

“The day after tomorrow, please…. Please…” begged the billionaire in a very girly voice.

“I’ll call you back Little Lind” simply replied her ‘Rando before cutting the call short.

Lindsey returned into the kitchen and prepared her food. Tomorrow would be a big day. She would do as her brother had asked, it was the less she could do. As often, just talking with her had calmed her down and drove away the last remnant of her insecurities. She would make good friends here, she would get better in her own skin and she would be a serious contender for Izzellah Ivory’s interest.

“Or at least I’ll try” she admitted to herself with a little smile.