Andrew Vance
22 Dec 2022, 06:55
Do You Know What I Know?
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Saturday: December 24, 2022 | 8:00 pm
A final thumbs-up from the photographer and Andrew's cheeks relaxed. After holding their smiles stiff for a minute, he and the rest of his choir group dismounted the stage to make way for the next troop's picture-taking. A successful end to the London Carols charity concert, hosted by an amalgamate of churches. The night was just beginning as the audience crowd dispersed, excitement and mirth tipping its highest on the eve of the long-awaited, most celebrated day. Refreshments in the reception hall beckoned Andrew and his younger brother Kyle hastily on over, while their older sister Stacy lingered in the decorated auditorium for selfies with friends.
The siblings had their own circles to attend to, and while mingling with other churches, meeting new people, was fun and all, Andrew soon found himself sidling up to one of his bandmates, Zuleika Morris, a newcomer to his local church in Romford. A pretty black girl his age, whom he'd taken a small liking to. Being fifteen, going on sixteen, it was about time he experienced some sort of crush, his family teased. For now, "friends" would do.
Time flew by as the two chatted, until his nerves crept in, remembering where he was, who he was with. Who he was without. "I better go check on my parents," he played it off coolly, excusing himself with a plate of stacked treats in hand.
He didn't feel safe without family close by. What the mind forgot, the body remembered, and his had not fully moved on from the repressed trauma and emotions involving his old school, That-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named. Since then, his parents had hovered over him more protectively than ever. Which was rather nice, for a middle child, soaking up any extra attention. A whole year of TLC yet still, separation anxiety pressured him at the least likely of times and places. Some wounds just take longer to heal, hopefully. He'd get over it. He had his whole new life ahead of him to get over it.
In the sea of festive red and green, he spotted his mother, who was all too quick to draw him in with a sheltering arm as he walked up to her.
"This is Andrew, my oldest son," Carroll presented cheerily to the other woman talking with her. A mild boast that her short, petite frame could produce such a tall, strapping heir - the tallest of the Vance family lot - just shy of six feet.
His height and looks defied expectation. Magic and Fate interwoven, perhaps the supernatural in his blood had boosted him a few inches, molded him after his father in order to torment the one who religious views wrestled the most with the very essence of Andrew's being. Since the truth came out to him and his family all those years ago, a small part of him felt an alien to the church he had grown up in. That what he was, didn't belong there. A dark blot against a holy white light. His veins corrupt with sorcery. Nothing could ever change him, or erase that fact from memory. Until the latter became possible, he simply had to fake it and live as normally as he had before.
"Hello." Andrew smiled courteously, not knowing what kind of conversation he had waltzed into between the two women.
"Three only," his mother twittered on about her brood while Andrew nibbled idly from his plate. "My youngest is thirteen, my oldest is eighteen; she just started university at Cambridge."
His eyes studied the other woman, glancing at the young boy (@Marius Brown) with her. Asian features were always a magnet to his Korean-Filipino mother, sniffing out those of similar ethnic background. His parents had donned green to compliment the red worn by him and his siblings for the perfect Christmas photo aesthetic. Andrew's all-black attire, popped with a cherry red tie, separated his role in the band from his siblings' white in the choir. Each group in the concert had their own dress code. If not judging from attire, then by face, the boy (Marius) came from a different church.
24 Dec 2022, 13:38
Do You Know What I Know?
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Good thing Uncle Julius had asked everyone to please take off their white and gold robes and gave them for him to collect before enjoying the refreshment. Goodness knew what would happen to them if the choir members kept on wearing them while munching chocolate cakes and sipping cups of warm tea, in particular the kids and the teenagers.
How Marius was still allowed to be a part of this choir and to take part in this charity was a miracle. Arguably, it might be because there were less and less people willing to, especially people his age. But considering how he had been absent from the whole practices save for yesterday evening and this afternoon, it was very kind of them to still keep him in the team. Uncle Julius, the head and the conductor of the choir, had always emphasised that they ought to remember that this was a form of service, that they were singing for God, so there should be no concern in regards of what others may say about their voice or talent.
Marius knew some people merely joined because their friends were there, or because their parents made them, but somehow everybody had a tendency to be very friendly to each other. Most members declared they were relatives who were not bond by blood, calling each other "cousin" or "auntie" or the like. Even Marius addressed the conductor as Uncle Julius, in spite of the fact that the man was not his real uncle.
The twelve-year-old excused himself from the dressing room and found Mum. She was the only family member who accompanied here, while Dad and his brothers attended a Holy Mass that started at seven (an hour ago), and actually made him a little sad. However, he could understand that it would be impossible for his younger brothers to stay awake and concentrate if they were to attend a ten-o'-clock one.
Mum was talking to another lady. She did not call him or tell him to greet the woman, almost never did unless the person was someone she had known prior to the chat, but he supposed he had to as he was lurking around. Soon thereafter, the lady's son also came and she introduced him to Mum, informing her that he was her middle child, with one elder sister and a younger sibling.
"How do you do, Andrew?" asked Mum before turning back to his mother. "It's nice, isn't it? Cambridge is such a good school, I hope she'll love it there. Marius here is the eldest, we have four boys and one girl."
Marius felt Andrew's eyes upon him, so he looked back at the dark-haired boy, giving him a friendly smile and a polite nod. He had no idea what to say though, so he was silent.
How Marius was still allowed to be a part of this choir and to take part in this charity was a miracle. Arguably, it might be because there were less and less people willing to, especially people his age. But considering how he had been absent from the whole practices save for yesterday evening and this afternoon, it was very kind of them to still keep him in the team. Uncle Julius, the head and the conductor of the choir, had always emphasised that they ought to remember that this was a form of service, that they were singing for God, so there should be no concern in regards of what others may say about their voice or talent.
Marius knew some people merely joined because their friends were there, or because their parents made them, but somehow everybody had a tendency to be very friendly to each other. Most members declared they were relatives who were not bond by blood, calling each other "cousin" or "auntie" or the like. Even Marius addressed the conductor as Uncle Julius, in spite of the fact that the man was not his real uncle.
The twelve-year-old excused himself from the dressing room and found Mum. She was the only family member who accompanied here, while Dad and his brothers attended a Holy Mass that started at seven (an hour ago), and actually made him a little sad. However, he could understand that it would be impossible for his younger brothers to stay awake and concentrate if they were to attend a ten-o'-clock one.
Mum was talking to another lady. She did not call him or tell him to greet the woman, almost never did unless the person was someone she had known prior to the chat, but he supposed he had to as he was lurking around. Soon thereafter, the lady's son also came and she introduced him to Mum, informing her that he was her middle child, with one elder sister and a younger sibling.
"How do you do, Andrew?" asked Mum before turning back to his mother. "It's nice, isn't it? Cambridge is such a good school, I hope she'll love it there. Marius here is the eldest, we have four boys and one girl."
Marius felt Andrew's eyes upon him, so he looked back at the dark-haired boy, giving him a friendly smile and a polite nod. He had no idea what to say though, so he was silent.
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Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire - these are the things to fear.
Andrew Vance
2 Feb 2023, 02:06
Do You Know What I Know?
A bright-eyed nod and muffled 'mm-hm' from Andrew in reply to Mrs. Brown conveyed the formality that he was doing just fine, thank you, without voicing himself into the mothers' conversation.
"Five? How wonderful," Mrs. Vance went on, she and Andrew reciprocating friendly smiles in Marius' direction. "Well, Stacy's been settling in nicely at Cambridge, so far. Veterinary medicine is her course. She's our horse girl. Andy here is our future pilot." Her tiny hand squeezed Andrew's arm dotingly. Great. Pinned to his mother's side, he couldn't walk away now. "Bent on joining the Royal Air Force. He's fifteen, now." While flattered, Andrew couldn't help but cringe, wishing his mother would talk about anything other than him.
"And how old are you, Marius? Any dreams for the future?" Mrs. Vance flicked her gaze between the boy and his mother. Of course, Marius was still young. Andrew hadn't known what he was going to be either, until the Curse altered his plans. Once a hopeful prospect of the wizarding world, now settled on a muggle path. "You said he was part of the program?" His mother glanced to Mrs. Brown. "Andy's part of the band. Trumpeter. My other two are in the choir - where are they?" No doubt she intended to introduce Stacy and Kyle as well. Sparing a glance around, she deferred the question over to Andrew, who shrugged obliviously.
"Anyway, our house is open to you if you ever come by Romford…" Slowly, Andrew inched his way out, backing away from the adults' conversation. There were other places for him to be, people to talk to, yet the Christmas spirit and lively atmosphere had put him in a socially generous mood; on a whim, sparing a moment of fellowship for @Marius Brown as he drifted by.
"Mums." He shook his head lightly with a playful tease. "Always gotta talk about us. Sorry about mine keeping yours up, she really likes making friends." He almost felt bad for Mrs. Brown getting her ear chatted off by his mother. "Marius, right? I'm Andy. Where're you from, again?"
"Five? How wonderful," Mrs. Vance went on, she and Andrew reciprocating friendly smiles in Marius' direction. "Well, Stacy's been settling in nicely at Cambridge, so far. Veterinary medicine is her course. She's our horse girl. Andy here is our future pilot." Her tiny hand squeezed Andrew's arm dotingly. Great. Pinned to his mother's side, he couldn't walk away now. "Bent on joining the Royal Air Force. He's fifteen, now." While flattered, Andrew couldn't help but cringe, wishing his mother would talk about anything other than him.
"And how old are you, Marius? Any dreams for the future?" Mrs. Vance flicked her gaze between the boy and his mother. Of course, Marius was still young. Andrew hadn't known what he was going to be either, until the Curse altered his plans. Once a hopeful prospect of the wizarding world, now settled on a muggle path. "You said he was part of the program?" His mother glanced to Mrs. Brown. "Andy's part of the band. Trumpeter. My other two are in the choir - where are they?" No doubt she intended to introduce Stacy and Kyle as well. Sparing a glance around, she deferred the question over to Andrew, who shrugged obliviously.
"Anyway, our house is open to you if you ever come by Romford…" Slowly, Andrew inched his way out, backing away from the adults' conversation. There were other places for him to be, people to talk to, yet the Christmas spirit and lively atmosphere had put him in a socially generous mood; on a whim, sparing a moment of fellowship for @Marius Brown as he drifted by.
"Mums." He shook his head lightly with a playful tease. "Always gotta talk about us. Sorry about mine keeping yours up, she really likes making friends." He almost felt bad for Mrs. Brown getting her ear chatted off by his mother. "Marius, right? I'm Andy. Where're you from, again?"
27 Mar 2023, 08:25
Do You Know What I Know?
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Was this how most parents talked to each other? Marius had always thought adults' conversations were boring (as they usually chatted either about something he did not understand or about something very trivial that was not worth the time or energy, such as the weather), but he supposed sharing stories about families was not so bad.
Except that this lady was talking non-stop; but then again, people who spoke with his parents usually did exactly the same. "And then they'll 'end' the conversation by bidding each other long goodbyes," he said inwardly, in his mind a reel showing the proof playing.
In the replayed clip in his brain, his mum would tell the other party let's chat again sometime, walk a few step away, and then stop to tell them something like, "Oh right, I just remember" (or stop because they called her to say something similar). This three-step process would then be repeated for about two more times, thus resulting in the appropriately-dubbed 'long goodbye'. Or, so he thought!
His thinking was interrupted when the lady asked about his career ambition, to which Marius replied, "Twelve, Ma'am. I think I'll be a teacher." His answer was polite but short, having little interest to elaborate it.
While the mothers began talking to each other again, their children somehow managed to slip away. Andrew, the other lady's son, apologised for her constant chat, but Marius answered, "That's all right. I bet all parents are like that. Once they start talking to each other, it's very difficult to stop them, unless we kids tell them we're in pain or we have homework to do so we need to go home right now."
The elder boy then confirmed if the second year's name was Marius, as well as asking where he was from. So the Hufflepuff nodded and said, "I'm from Claybrooke Magna. It's a small village, and it takes us more than two hours to travel there from London. What about you?"
Except that this lady was talking non-stop; but then again, people who spoke with his parents usually did exactly the same. "And then they'll 'end' the conversation by bidding each other long goodbyes," he said inwardly, in his mind a reel showing the proof playing.
In the replayed clip in his brain, his mum would tell the other party let's chat again sometime, walk a few step away, and then stop to tell them something like, "Oh right, I just remember" (or stop because they called her to say something similar). This three-step process would then be repeated for about two more times, thus resulting in the appropriately-dubbed 'long goodbye'. Or, so he thought!
His thinking was interrupted when the lady asked about his career ambition, to which Marius replied, "Twelve, Ma'am. I think I'll be a teacher." His answer was polite but short, having little interest to elaborate it.
While the mothers began talking to each other again, their children somehow managed to slip away. Andrew, the other lady's son, apologised for her constant chat, but Marius answered, "That's all right. I bet all parents are like that. Once they start talking to each other, it's very difficult to stop them, unless we kids tell them we're in pain or we have homework to do so we need to go home right now."
The elder boy then confirmed if the second year's name was Marius, as well as asking where he was from. So the Hufflepuff nodded and said, "I'm from Claybrooke Magna. It's a small village, and it takes us more than two hours to travel there from London. What about you?"
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Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire - these are the things to fear.