A Common Language Read online

Dedication:

  To my family. Thank you for always standing behind me while I pursue my dreams…no matter how strange they are.

  A Common Language

  By Caitlyn Bogart

  Copyright 2013 Caitlyn Bogart

  Table of Contents

  Chapter one

  Chapter two

  Chapter three

  Chapter four

  Chapter five

  Chapter six

  Chapter seven

  Chapter eight

  Chapter nine

  Chapter ten

  Chapter eleven

  Chapter twelve

  Chapter thirteen

  Chapter fourteen

  Chapter fifteen

  Chapter sixteen

  Chapter seventeen

  Chapter eighteen

  Chapter nineteen

  Chapter twenty

  Chapter twenty-one

  Chapter twenty-two

  Chapter twenty-three

  Chapter twenty-four

  Chapter twenty-five

  Chapter twenty-six

  Chapter twenty-seven

  Epilogue

  Chapter one

  Notes

  Congratulations,

  You have been accepted to the Music College of the University of the Arts in Cambridge, England.

  Our world-famous campus is happy to welcome you into the ranks of our elite academy. We have reviewed your audition tape and believe you have great potential. We would be honored to include your unique abilities in our campus. Please arrange to travel to our campus, just south of Marshall Airport, Cambridge, to pick up your schedule, uniform, and room key at least three days before the beginning of the term on the 23 of August. We have included some personalized information for your convenience, including a bus schedule leaving the airport to campus and an explanation of our unique five-year program. Please be aware that we accept no late students, no excuses. Do not be late. Also note that every first-year student must try out for one sports team and every student, regardless of year, must be enrolled in the athletic program. Come prepared for try outs within the first few days of school. View the separate page and our website for more information about our varied extra-curricular activities or about your individual needs on campus. Please contact the Dean of Music Admissions, Thomas Allen, with any questions.

  Welcome. We are looking forward to a great year with your talent at UA,

  Thomas Allen

  The University of the Arts – Music College

  Somewhere in Spain:

  “My letter from the university came in today. They want me back for a fourth year. Isn’t that exciting, Mom?” Lupe announced to her mother at the dinner table, purposefully taking an oversized bite. She reveled in the disapproval in her mother’s gray eyes. She lived for moments like this. The university was where she wanted to be. Not this prison of a house.

  “You can do what you want, Lupe, but you are paying for it. You know how your father and I feel about this…phase.” As if to make her point, her mother nodded towards her daughter’s UA shirt. “And get your feet off the chair. Just because your father is away on business doesn’t mean you can act the fool.”

  “Fine by me,” Lupe finished her dinner quickly and packed what little she wanted to take from her ‘home’. The university was her real home--a home for the musically talented--with dorms. It was where she belonged. Talent was the only thing Lupe could rightly call her own. She was finished depending on her parents. After this year she wasn’t coming back.

  Somewhere in Russia:

  “Sasha. We got our ticket out of here, literally: UA is willing to pay for our plane ticket. Come on, there is nothing for us here. We have known that for the past two years. I say--after this year--we stay in England. Leave this place behind. We are all that we have left. England is safer for us anyway.”

  “I know that, Demitri. I know that,” Sasha sighed, grabbed his bag, and packed the things his brother handed him, not bothering to look at what they were. He trusted him enough to give him the right stuff. It was habit by then; without trust they had nothing.

  Somewhere in Japan:

  “Masashi Sou!!” She had been yelling for him for the past ten minutes. He was ignoring her, trying desperately to drown her out with the words on the page. “Masashi!”

  Masashi sighed and looked up from his music theory book. It wasn’t going to stop, was it?

  “Do not make me come up and drag you down here! You know I will!” He swung his legs off his bed, making some unnecessary noise so she would silence herself for a moment. He calmly walked down the steep thin steps to see his bubbly and easily excitable sister, Miki, holding an open envelope and a white sheet of paper; he recognized the University’s emblem on the top of the parchment.

  “What have I told you about opening my mail? Just because I am younger than you doesn’t mean you can ignore my privacy,” he said very calmly to her, knowing full well it would do no good. She did this all the time.

  “You got accepted for your second year!” Miki was glowing, “Wait, weren’t you already accepted?”

  “You have to audition every year to prove you are a good investment for the university to make and it helps with the scholarship process,” he explained, glancing at the letter, anxious to get his hands on it. She extended the letter towards him. “Thank you,” he said honestly, but with a touch of venom for her sake. He grabbed the letter and read it. She was right. He almost hit his head on his door frame as he went to pack his things. It was always hard to leave his family and he wanted to give himself as much time as possible.

  Somewhere in Romania:

  “Yo, Dragen! Put that guitar down for two seconds, you got mail,” Dragen sighed and headed to the back of the bus. “Looks like we’re losing our driver for another year, boys,” Stefan called to the rest of the band. Stefan was the drummer and unofficial leader of the band. He was the best at inspiring every member to work their hardest. And he always performed eloquently with crazy fans and interviews.

  “Aw man, come on, Dragen. The last guy was awful!”

  “Hey! It’s his dream, who are we to deny him the music that we taught him?” Stefan put the complaints to rest. “Well? What are you waiting for? Let’s get you packed.”

  Dragen just nodded gratefully as Stefan cleared the way to his suitcase.

  Somewhere in France:

  “Percival!” His mother ran into the room smiling brightly. She wouldn’t look at him, keeping her eyes upwards.

  “Mother, how many times do I have to tell you? I go by Percy now.”

  “My apologies,” She curtsied with a smug look on her face. “Unfortunately I won’t get a chance to get used to that. Not for the next five years at least….” She let her sentence taper off to catch his interest.

  “What in the Earth are you….” He caught a glimpse of the paper behind her back. She held it up for him to see. Watching the realization set in on his face, she smiled from ear to ear.

  “You got a full-ride scholarship for all five years!”

  “But, that has never happened before--not ever in the history of UA--I researched it,” Percy couldn’t believe his senses. This was not happening. Nothing this good had ever happened to him. This could be the fresh start he had been dreaming of.

  “Look for yourself,” he said, handing over the ivory parchment. Percy read quickly; his mother hadn’t made a mistake. He ran onto the terrace and screamed like a mad man to the world that his dreams had come true.

  Somewhere in the United States of America:

  “Kallison Marie Hardford, get in here right now!!”

  “What now?” Kalli ran down the hallway, her fuzzy socks slipping on the hardwood floor. Especially at times like these, d
istractions kept her young.

  “What the heck is this?” Her mom was leaning against the kitchen sink holding up a thick piece of paper. Kalli recognized UA’s emblem on the top.

  “Is that--?”

  “It is an acceptance to….” She looked at the paper. “University of the Arts in Cambridge, England. It says here you got a full scholarship, 5 years. Wow they must want you really bad,” Kalli screamed and jumped around the kitchen. “You aren’t going,” Her mother’s voice crashed through her joy like a bundle of rocks over her head.

  “What?” Kalli exclaimed, hardly able to believe her ears. “Mom, this is what I’ve been working for. It’s my dream! This is my life! Dad wanted me to go. He applied me before…” Kalli’s eyes slid to the floor. The past few weeks had been so hard.

  “Well that wasn’t your father’s choice to make in his position,” her mom said. Her voice was cold. “You are not going to some school on the other side of the world. You are 17 years old. I’m not letting you go on some grand adventure to England. You are going to go to the college right here,” She added. “I was young once. I understand the appeal, but it’s not happening.”

  “But, Mom!” Kalli protested.

  “No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You aren’t going and that’s final,” Her mom went back to cleaning the dishes, turning her back on the tearing Kalli. Her decision was made and nothing her daughter said would change that.

  “Fine!” Kalli yelled. She ran back to her room and slammed the door. She pulled out the already-packed suitcase from under her bed. This was her only chance. She was leaving tonight and that was final.

  ***