Whispers

 
 
The phone rang in Remy's room. He was one of the few students with a personal line.

Piotr looked up interestedly as Remy continued to ignore it in favor of their card game.

"Aren't you going to answer that?" asked the gentle giant.

"Non." Remy viewed his cards impassively. "Raise ten."

"Why not?"

Piotr wasn't much of a multi-tasker and Remy resigned himself to explaining so they could get on with the game.

"It's fifty-fifty whether it's Belle or Julian," he said, "making those odds far too high for another death threat before noon. And if it is Belladonna and I've ignored her fifteen times already, it's a hundred percent chance I'll get a death threat no matter which one is calling."

"Death threats?" Piotr looked alarmed and set down his cards, much to Remy's dismay. "Should we tell the Professor?"

Remy waved one hand dismissively. "Chalk it up to the dayjob. Let's just play cards already."

"But this could be serious," Piotr insisted, clearly out of the loop on what was and was not to be taken seriously once a man made plans to marry into a family of Assassins with a two out of four approval rating and a hefty temper from any of them.

Remy eyed Piotr skeptically. "If it's Julian, he's serious. If it's Belle, she ain't." He shrugged. "What else is new? Game?"

Piotr frowned but picked up his cards.

"The Hallelujah Chorus" played a refrain in Remy's head.

Kitty's head suddenly appeared through the door. "Piotr? The Professor said he'd like to talk to you for a minute."

Remy heaved a loud sigh while Piotr excused himself politely and Kitty giggled. Remy scowled. He absolutely hated not finishing a game.

Then he cocked his head appraisingly. "Chaton."

"Oh no. I gotta go." She backed out with a warding gesture and took off after Piotr. "Don't you even think about it!" she called out behind her.

Remy sighed and crossed his arms to stare at his cards. Now what?

The phone rang--again.

He groaned.

But he still didn't pick it up.

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Rogue yelled in sheer frustration at the seventeenth time the phone in the suite below hers started ringing.

"That drat boy needs to answer his phone!" She was trying to do her homework. She was trying to concentrate. And it just kept ringing and ringing and--

There it was again.

"That's it!" Rogue threw down her pen like a gauntlet and marched out of her room to give whatever boy occupied the ringing room a Mississippi-River-sized piece of her mind.

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"Just answer the phone!" Rogue yelled for the fifth time through his bedoom door.

"Non!" Remy shouted back. "You don't even know who's on the other end!"

"Blast it, swamp rat!" She banged her fist on the door. "Turn off the ringer then!"

"Non!" He crossed his arms sullenly.

Good thing he was a Thief, he mused as she fiddled with the lockpick again. His door would have fallen to her efforts already if he hadn't made... enhancements.

The phone stopped ringing.

All other sounds ceased as they held their breath to see if it would last.

His cell phone rang.

Remy groaned.

Rogue yelled. "Pick up the phone!"

It was Belladonna. It had to be. And by now, he was so, so dead.



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