Flashback Circa 1976
Flashback
Alexei was proud to say he’d made a friend. He’d like to believe he was too old to care for such mundane things. But he, in fact, was not.
He figured as much at his quick steps up Cassius’ front porch, swinging the unlocked door open and throwing off his shoes by the rack.
“Shoes,” Cassius’ voice sounded from somewhere deep inside, and Alexei barely made it past the entrance before silently groaning, turning back to place them properly on the rack and straighten them the way Cassius and his obsessively organized mind liked.
When Alexei made it into the kitchen, where he found Cassius leaning against the island counter, head hunched over a shuffle of papers, he couldn’t keep the words inside him for longer, “I made a friend today.”
Cassius lifted his head, his square glasses, the ones Alexei had once joked were fake, sat atop the bridge of his nose.
The concentrated look that only a moment ago overtook his face slipped away into an easy smile. “Really?”
Alexei dropped his backpack on the floor before shoving off his coat and hanging it around the back of the chair. “Yeah. We’re paired for a project in English, and we just… I don’t know, we got along. He asked to sit with me during lunch.”
Cassius removed his glasses with one hand, closing the file in front of him with the other. The only words Alexei caught were Eldridge and Blackwood.
Or perhaps they were a place. Alexei didn’t bother pondering.
He still hadn’t figured out what Cassius did for a living. The older man evaded any questions that may give even the tiniest of hints as to what earned him such a cushy lifestyle.
“What’s his name–no, wait, let me guess. Is it…”
“You’re not going to guess it.”
“Oh? What makes you so sure?” Cassius teased, picking at the fruit bowl between them and aiming a grape for Alexei’s forehead.
“It’s very… serendipitous.” Perhaps Alexei hadn’t learned to use the word properly, since he’d only recently read it in one of Cassius’ books, but he felt proud once it was out.
The green grape, Alexei’s favorite, tapped against his forehead and fell to the counter where he picked it up and popped it into his mouth, grinning. “You just won’t.”
“Hmm,” Cassius hummed and turned away to pull something out of the fridge, his large and shiny appliance brimming with food that would put Alexei to shame if he had any, thankfully, he didn’t. “Winston?”
“No.”
“Alistaire?”
“Nope.”
“Huh… Magnus?”
“... No, I–... What? What is up with these names? I’m not exactly friends with King Arthur’s court.”
Cassius slid what looked to be a very mouth-watering pasta salad over to Alexei, and the boy had to close his mouth to stop any drool from coming out without his say-so.
Cassius chuckled and shrugged, eyes meeting his. “How would I know what you people call each other here?”
Alexei straightened and threw an accusing finger at him. “See? Again with the non-American talk. Just tell me where you’re from.”
This time, Cassius laughed. “I can’t hand you just about every piece of information about me. Where’s the mystery?”
The younger boy deadpanned, “Some might call that thinking a step in your plan to kidnap me. I’m still a minor; in case you forgot.”
Cassius raised an amused brow. “You come here after school almost every day out of your own free will. You also eat all my food and take up the entire couch. If anyone’s accusing anyone of kidnapping, it should be me, of my house. House napping.”
Alexei stuck his tongue out in a child-like manner before scarfing down a spoonful of pasta. Once he’d swallowed it down and Cassius’ words settled into his mind properly, he grinned smugly. “That’s not a word.”
Cassius rolled his eyes and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Alright, smartass. Pull out your homework since you’re so clever.”
The young boy’s eyes rolled upwards before he groaned and threw his head back, reaching down to pull out his notebook and flipped to the last used page. A single question was scrawled hastily in the first line.
“So… what subject is it today?”
Alexei curled his lip. “History. We have to write a whole page to answer this question: Why are peaceful actions better for maintaining the rights and freedoms of citizens?”
Cassius paused his nodding with a grape just about near his lips. “Your teacher assigned it?”
Alexei hummed.
“Huh.” Cassius raised a single brow and muttered, “Talk about conditioning.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Well, how are you going to answer it?”
Alexei shrugged in response, looking as lost as Cassius expected him to be.
“Okay. How about this, let’s unpack the question, what are peaceful actions?”
Alexei thought for a moment before responding, “Umm… handing out flyers and making posters.”
“Going door-to-door, organizing peaceful protests?”
“Yeah, that too,” he answered sheepishly.
Cassius nodded along. “Okay, so we both agree on examples. Now, why do you think these efforts are the only solution?”
Again, the young boy thought for a moment before answering with confidence, “Because they are–...”
He paused and blinked, trying to work out his answer a little longer, looking a little more pressured with every second spent in silence.
Cassius smiled, wise and kind. “There’s nothing wrong with saying you don’t know. Even better, there’s nothing wrong with saying that a question isn’t well-worded or even correct.”
Alexei lifted his head and met the older man’s face. “Can a question be wrong?”
“Of course. Is the question of why the sky being red an incorrect question?” It was clearly rhetorical, but Alexei nodded, nonetheless.
“Sometimes, it’s important to move away from the crowd to look at the bigger picture.
If you don’t agree with the question because it is worded wrong or riddled with misconceptions, you need to speak up about it. ”
“What do misconceptions mean?”
“An opinion that is wrong, essentially.”
“Okay, so what is the right way to answer?”
Cassius snapped his fingers. “Aha, now we’re getting to the interesting part.
You see, because of the use of the word ‘maintain’, your teacher is inviting the idea that because our rights and freedoms are established, they are forever protected and cannot be tampered–messed with, ever, and therefore, there is no reason for violence. Do you agree with that?”
“No… I mean, what if they’re not always protected?”
Cassius tilted his head to the boy with a glint of pride in his eyes. “Well then, now you have your answer.”
Alexei scrunched his face in confusion. “That our rights and freedoms might not always be protected… So peaceful actions… aren’t always the solution?”
“Precisely.”
Alexei looked almost hesitant. “But she’ll hate me. She’ll give me an F.”
“Ah, but remember what I said about moving away from the crowd? It might actually teach you something.”
“But you’re teaching me that violence is the answer. Last week you were on me about fighting in the schoolyard. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?”
Cassius laughed, a loud and hearty laugh.
“There is a world’s difference in petty violence that leads to nowhere, and violence that changes regimes, brings about social and political change.
The kind that brings people out of misery and poverty.
Just look at historical events.” He raised his arm in no direction.
“Like the French Revolution–or the Russian Revolution. There are moments in time where violence is the only answer because those that are responsible for protecting our rights and freedoms gave up pretending they care. And they’ve grown too powerful and untouchable for posters and gathering together in the cold for a cause to make a difference. ”
Alexei seemed to have lost himself somewhere in the third or second-to-last sentence, as the older man let his words get away with him as his passion grew with each passing second.
Cassius sighed at Alexei’s expression and only reached over to ruffle his hair before moving around him.
“Listen, how about this, write what you feel will get you the best grade. But always do your own research and hold on to what you believe is true.” He paused and checked his watch before straightening.
“I’ll be back. Forgot something in my car. ”
On his way out, he picked up Alexei’s bag, going to most likely hang it by the door.
Alexei wanted to ask what exactly he’d forgotten, being the nosy child that he was, but held his tongue. Or rather, was distracted by the delicious meal in front of him.
When he finished his food and Cassius had still not returned, Alexei looked around in silence, taking in what he already grew familiar with, before moving from the kitchen to the living room and throwing himself against the couch.
Still, Cassius had not yet returned.
Alexei, upon lifting his head, caught the sight of something shiny sticking out from between the cushions, fishing his hand in to pull it out.
His search revealed a silver locket, unattached to a chain, that could only belong to Cassius.
He admired the pretty thing, the intricate carvings and smooth finish. He rather liked it. His nimble fingers pulled at the opening to see what would be revealed inside.
He didn’t make it far when the front door sounded along with Cassius’ voice, “Alexei, did you finish your food?”
The boy in question jumped, dropping the locket onto the floor, its clatter ringing against the hardwood. For a moment, Alexei sat frozen, wondering that if he stood still, Cassius would believe him invisible.
That thought passed for barely a moment before his common sense rushed back to him and shook him into action.
He stood and kicked the locket under the couch, promising himself that he’d return to find it later. “Yeah. It was great, a ten out of ten.”
Cassius rounded the corner with a look of suspicion as Alexei stood tall or at least tried to appear so.
“Really?” He looked dubious and Alexei should have known.
“Because this is the first time you’ve complimented my culinary skills.
In fact, if I remember correctly, you once called my soup ‘runny snot’. ”
Alexei cringed. “It was a figure of speech. But a… complimentary one.”
Cassius approached, huffing out an amused breath before dropping onto the couch, Alexei following him. “And what about the chicken you said was as dry as the Sonoran Desert?”
Alexei pulled his hood over his head, groaning. “That was… okay, I was only messing with you. I wanted to use Sonoran in a sentence.”
Cassius gaped at the boy. “So, you’ve loved my food every time? And you never told me?”
Alexei smiled innocently. “Water under the bridge?”
By that point, Alexei had completely forgotten why he’d been so excited to reach Cassius’ place. He’d completely forgotten about the friend he’d wanted to tell him about.
How different in personality they were, but how similar in name.