A Slice of Life

A Common Joke

After switching from English to piano lessons, Aleksei made Jenna play some octaves to start with. He wasn't being a very good teacher today, however. He wasn't even paying attention to what she was doing, which was rather unfair since Jenna did try her best to teach him English.

Aleksei couldn't help it. Not when he knew Sam was only a couple feet away from them in the other room. Christ, he had it so bad. At this rate, Aleksei felt like such a stalker he might as well get on his knees and try to peek into his room underneath the door.

That reminded him of something Sam had said.

"Hey, Jenna," he asked, suddenly curious. His brows furrowed as he glanced at Jenna. "When someone asks if they should get down on their knees for you..." He tapped his fingers on the wood of the piano. "Is that a common double meaning joke?"

Jenna nearly choked on her drink when Aleksei asked her about that joke. She certainly hadn't expected him to start asking those kind of questions. Who the hell on earth made such a terrible joke anyway? Especially to a guy like Aleksei?

"Who the hell made that terrible and cheap joke to you?" she eventually asked him with a frown.

Aleksei already regretted his decision to ask. He should've just asked Google. Google didn't unexpectedly question him about who did it.

Aleksei cleared his throat, trying to win himself some time. "Nobody," he lied, feeling his face burn. "Just some guy at the gym."

Just some guy at the gym? Jenna kept staring at Aleksei with a frown. That sounded like too much of a coincidence to her. Bad humour? Guy at the gym? That had to be Sam. It was a textbook-Sam joke. "Please," she groaned. "Don't tell me Sam made that joke to you."

Aleksei's eyes went wide. He shook his head fervently. "No no no!" he sputtered, while his guilty expression had to spell out 'yes yes yes.' He was a terrible liar - mostly because of the fact that his pale cheeks flushed at everything.

"I knew it!" Jenna called out in victory. "It was Sam, don't even try to deny it. I know my brother."

Aleksei knew a losing battle when he saw one. Jenna was already convinced, and there wasn't anything he could say to make her think otherwise. Aleksei's stomach sank. "Okay," he reluctantly admitted. "But it was just a joke! He was helping me with my bike straps."

Jenna let out a laugh, amused because she was right. Aleksei's confirmation was gold to her. She kept laughing until she figured that Aleksei was probably getting uncomfortable, and he had no idea why she was laughing as hard as she was. It wasn't even something to laugh about, it was serious.

"Look, I'm not laughing at you or something," Jenna started explaining to him. "It's just... I have a hunch about Sam." She wasn't exactly sure how she was going to explain this to Aleksei. He had no idea what it was like to be a twin and just know things about the other. "I think Sam's into guys, and more specifically, into you," she eventually said, dropping the bomb without sugarcoating it.

Aleksei wanted to reply. He really did, but all that came out of his mouth was a puff of air followed by some sputtering. "No way," he was finally able to bring out, shaking his head. "Really, no way."

"Yeah, just..." Jenna smiled warmly. "I know these things, okay? He's my twin brother and we always know everything before we tell each other. We might bicker a lot, yeah. But I know him better than anyone and I'm pretty sure I'm right about this."

Aleksei hesitated. Jenna seemed pretty convinced. And she was pretty convincing.

"Really?" he asked. "No, a guy like that wouldn't go for me... right?"

"Think about it. He fought me to get to the sushi delivery. Sam doesn't even like sushi. Besides, it's just how twins work. I'm sure he's into you. And honestly? I haven't seen him like this before. But don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it. This secret is safe with me."

Aleksei swallowed and licked his suddenly dry lips. He looked over at the piano in the corner, still making sense of what he just learned. "Thanks," he muttered. "Let's continue playing?"

"Sure," Jenna replied with a smile. "Let's focus on piano."

Aleksei tried to do just that: focusing on the piano. But how on earth did Jenna expect him to do that after dropping that information about Sam on his head? He was grateful when Sam and Jenna's parents finally called them down for dinner.

Aleksei's stomach fluttered at the thought of being at the table with Sam now. He didn't know where to look when Sam took the seat across from him, and he nearly jolted when their feet accidentally brushed against each other under the table.

Robert cleared his throat to gain Aleksei's attention. He started questioning the boy like he usually did with new friends.

"So, Aleksei. You're from Russia. How did you feel about moving here? My wife Maria moved here from Mexico so we know what it's like to move to a different country."

"It wasn't easy at first, but I'm getting used to things," Aleksei offered the politically correct answer. Part of him just wanted to say: it's easier to be gay here so it's all good, thanks. But, of course, he refrained from saying that.

"And you were studying with Jenna," Robert said, continuing his cross examination. "Are you able to keep up in school, since it's a completely different language?"

"I had a private tutor. I was ahead of my class when I arrived," Aleksei replied, knowing exactly what ambitious men like Robert liked to hear and catering to it. "Study material tends to be straightforward text, and I have no issues with that. It's the subtle nuances of the language I miss."

"Oh, a private tutor," Maria replied with a smile, already turning to Robert. "Maybe we can get Samuel a private tutor to help with his grades," she suggested enthusiastically.

Robert shook his had instantly. "No, that would be a waste of money," he replied quite harshly, ending the conversation right away with his firm tone.

That tone and look struck a nerve with Aleksei. His facial muscles tightened, and he turned to Sam. "Yes, I suppose he couldn't possibly need a tutor. Since you're going to be a dentist, your grades have to be high, right?"

There. Perfectly feigned ignorance. Sometimes it paid off to be the 'foreigner' and to not 'always get the subtleties of the language.'

Sam smiled, thankful for Aleksei to help him out here. He took a couple of seconds in silence, just looking at Aleksei with a smile, before he nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty much a straight A student. I mean, not in every class, but the ones I need. And I'm looking into the best university to become a dentist."

Aleksei thankfully didn't need to deflect more underhanded comments from Sam's dad. He did have to answer a couple more questions; the simple ones. Like what kind of college do you want to go to? Ecology, aka saving the planet, appeared to be a good answer. Robert continued talking about the topic, leaving Aleksei able to mostly sit back and relax through dinner. Keyword: mostly. He had definitely not forgotten what Jenna said, and his eyes were drawn to Sam. Each time they made eye-contact, Sam smiled.

It only left Aleksei wondering even more if maybe, just maybe, Jenna was right.