First chapter: here
Previous chapter: here
Meant to post this sooner, whoops... Oh well.
Full disclosure, I really don't know when chapter 7 will be out. (I want to finish chapter 8 before I post 7, and- long story short, it'll be a minute.) I might post some other fics I wrote a while ago in the meantime, so stay tuned for that.
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The walls of Double Trouble’s apartment weren’t that thick. So, the next afternoon, they heard voices at their door.
As they walked over to it, they heard one say, “But it is locked. We cannot simply open it.”
Double Trouble unlocked the door as quickly and quietly as they could, then flung it open. The conversation outside was cut short as the five clones standing there stopped to look, surprised.
“Oh!” said Will.
“Double Trouble!” said Jellylorum.
“It is I!” Double Trouble bowed dramatically, then smirked. “Next time you want to be let in, just knock.” They led the students inside.
Augustus narrowed his eyes. “Knock?”
“Yes.” Did the clones know how to knock? “Like this.” Double Trouble demonstrated.
“This?” Plato tried it.
“Yes, exactly. Just knock on the door when you get here, so I know you’re there.”
Will gave a curt nod. “Thank you, brother. We will remember that.”
“Brother?” Double Trouble repeated.
Will opened his moth to respond, then closed it.
Double Trouble sighed. “I’m not your brother, darling. I’m no sibling of yours, no clone of big brother Prime.” They shook their head. “And brother is far too masculine a word for me, you know?”
From the way the clones frowned and cocked their heads, they evidently did not know.
Double Trouble sighed again, more dramatically this time. They had to spell this all out, didn’t they? “Brother implies boy, which I am not. Use gender-neutral words for me, please. That would be sibling, in this case, though I’m not your sibling either.”
The clones’ expressions remained blank.
“G… Gender-neutral?” George Electra repeated.
“Yes, neither masculine nor feminine,” said Double Trouble. “Oh, you lambs don’t know a thing about gender, do you?” They gave a third sigh, this one more amused, almost affectionate. “Well, some people go by feminine words, some by masculine ones, and some by neither, and you just make sure to call everyone by the right ones. Even when you’re making fun of them; there are much more creative ways to that. Mocking someone by misgendering them is low.”
The clones still didn’t say anything, so they continued, “Horde Prime went by masculine words, of course—big brother. And I assume you all do, too, since you call yourselves brothers… But would you prefer something else?”
“Something else?” said Jellylorum. (Why did the clones always just repeat the things they didn’t understand instead of asking a proper question?)
“Yes… I’ve been thinking of you all as ‘he,’ and you call each other brother, but would you like to, say, try out different pronouns? Pronouns like she or they,” Double Trouble explained. “Though there are others, if you’re interested.”
Plato frowned in thought. “I think… I would like to try those.”
“Really?” Double Trouble smiled. “She and they?”
Plato nodded.
Before Double Trouble could reply, Augustus interrupted.
“We must use the words Lord Prime intended. We are his brothers. Do you reject his—”
“Prime is gone, brother,” Jellylorum interjected.
“Yes, Prime is gone. And”—Double Trouble didn’t even try to hide their disdain—“it doesn’t matter what he intended. You’re more than welcome to reject his anything. Horde Prime doesn’t dictate what pronouns you use, or anything else about you, especially not anymore; only you get to say. Do what feels right, express yourself how you like, and don’t worry what Prime would think of any of it.”
Double Trouble paused for effect. Their students looked at them, quiet besides some murmurs of hmm.
“Anyway,” said Double Trouble, “that’s wonderful that you’re trying those pronouns out, Plato. Are these in addition to he/him, or instead of those? And do you mind being called brother?”
“In addition, I think,” said Plato. “And of course,” they turned to the other clones, “I am still your brother.”
“Well, we’ll all use them for you.” Double Trouble looked at the other clones pointedly, giving Augustus an extra-hard look. Everyone was just standing in the apartment, with the class all in a sort of semicircle facing their teacher; Double Trouble pulled Plato out of the group and into the front and center next to themself. “Well, I am impressed with Plato’s curiosity and their willingness to experiment, or possibly her bravery in speaking up for her true self. Why don’t you all give them a round of applause.”
Jellylorum began clapping, while Will dropped to his knees and chanted a strange cry that could’ve been anything from yes to hail to hyah. George Electra Coricopat looked from Jellylorum to Will and back again, befuddled, as if unsure which of them to copy. Augustus stood still and quiet.
“Applause as in clapping,” Double Trouble clarified, “maybe with some cheering mixed in.” They started clapping to demonstrate.
Jellylorum, Will, and George Electra began clapping politely like Double Trouble had, and soon even Augustus joined in, and it grew to loud cheering. Plato looked bewildered, but smiled.
Double Trouble grinned proudly. “That’s it. Now, if any of you ever want to use different pronouns, don’t hesitate to tell me. But if no one else has anything to say, I suppose we should get on with the lesson…”
Double Trouble climbed atop their crate (this crate was pulling double duty as a side table and platform; oh, they would so like a proper stage). “We are going to unlock your emotions today, clones. You can practice pulling faces all you want, but it will never seem real if you can’t get yourself to really feel what your character is feeling, really get into their skin. First, I want you to tell me: how do you feel right now?”
Judging by their expressions, it seemed the clones mostly felt confused.
“I feel…” Will began, then paused. “How can you tell?”
Jellylorum said slowly, “I think… I feel… interested? In learning this?”
George Electra Coricopat nodded. “Interested, but… what is this feeling? What do you call it? Worried, that I will not do well enough.”
Double Trouble resisted the temptation to make a Wicked reference (“What Is This Feeling?”). Instead, they just nodded. “Anyone else?”
“Yes, I am interested,” said Plato. “Curious.”
“I am… unsure about this,” said Augustus. “I am not sure I like it.”
Double Trouble chuckled at that. “Well, I suppose that’ll do,” they said. “Now, I want you to ask yourselves that regularly—How am I feeling? You can try it with people around you, too, try to guess their feelings from tone, expression, words. Practice makes perfect and all.”
“How do you feel, Double Trouble?” said Augustus.
“Well- I-” Double Trouble stammered. All eyes were on them, and for once they weren’t loving the spotlight. Trying to regain their cool, they said, “I suppose I feel surprised—I wasn’t expecting you to ask that.” How did they feel? And what could they tell the clones? “I’m here to teach you. Oh, I know…” They grinned at their idea. “Why don’t you try to guess what I’m feeling. It’ll be good practice…” This would be good. They could be quite unreadable when they wanted… “In fact, why don’t we try that as a game. I act out an emotion, and you all try to guess it.”
They’d start easy. Subtlety had its place, but melodrama was fun too. Double Trouble put an arm to their forehead. “Oh! The heartbreak! What ever shall I do?”
“You are feeling… distressed,” said Jellylorum.
Snapping back to normal, Double Trouble said, “Anything more specific?”
“Sad?” Will tried.
“Despair?” suggested George Electra.
“Yes, I’d say despair sums it up nicely,” said Double Trouble. “Very good. Now, let’s see one of you try, and see if we can guess the emotion. Coricopat?”
“Yes?” said George Electra Coricopat.
“Why don’t you go next. Act out a feeling; let’s see what you’ve got.” Double Trouble moved to stand next to their students, and gestured for George Electra to take center stage.
Double Trouble noticed the look of genuine discomfort that flashed about Electra’s face before being replaced by a blank expression. (Oh, he didn’t get stage fright, did he?) Then he carefully widened his eyes and opened his mouth, slowly gasping a bit as he did so.
It was just as they’d practiced, one of those mechanical expressions they’d drilled. Double Trouble waited for one of the other clones to guess.
“Surprise?” asked Plato.
“Yes, surprise,” said Augustus. Will and Jellylorum nodded and murmured in agreement.
“Yes.” Electra Coricopat beamed. “That was a surprised face.”
“Indeed it was,” Double Trouble half-sighed, keeping any dismay or exasperation in their voice faint enough that their students didn’t notice it. “It’s a good start,” they said (when giving critique, it was generally best to start with something positive), “and that hint of a gasp was a nice touch. But see if you can do more, and make it seem more natural. A sharper gasp, perhaps? Or, lean back a bit, even take a step back—recoil, almost.”
George Electra nodded curtly. “Yes. I will try. Apologies.”
“Nothing to be sorry for.” Double Trouble put a hand on their pupil’s shoulder. “Just something to keep in mind for next time. I only told you to help you learn. No one’s perfect on their first try; constructive criticism helps you grow.”
“Imperfections are to be cleansed,” said Will, and Augustus nodded. “Or… at least, that is what Prime believed.”
“Well, there’s no magic cleansing ritual that will make you a good actor, so you’ll have to learn the hard way,” said Double Trouble, smirking. “So, we’d better keep practicing…”
They continued this game until everyone had had a turn portraying an emotion; each of the other clones did one of the basic expressions they’d practiced before.
After that, Double Trouble tried teaching the clones a bit more about body language, showing them ways to convey different emotions and such. The clones listened carefully, but they were still only learning to replicate the movements Double Trouble showed them, not how to truly channel emotion in their performance. Who knew what it would take to teach them that?
And after that, well, Double Trouble was frankly rather tired of the whole thing, and figured their students might be too. “I think you all deserve a break. A little treat…” Their students watched with interest as they went over to their record player, and thumbed through the records on the shelf below it. “Speaking of feelings…” Double Trouble pulled out their Wicked record (it wasn’t hard to find; in order to travel light, they could only hang onto a handful of soundtracks) and put it on. “I have a song for you.”
Double Trouble couldn’t help themself—and why should they? When the song began, they began singing along, shapeshifting between Galinda and Elphaba as they did. It was easy enough at first, when the characters were trading off lines, to alternate between the bubbly blonde Galinda and the sharp, green-skinned Elphaba. Soon they were staging a whole dance number, with themself playing both leads, and when the duet entered full-swing it involved a lot of twirling and shifting between characters so quickly they blurred together. The clones all stared between them and the record player, with a look that might have been awe.
When the crowd part of the song began, Double Trouble flung themself into the group of clones, who looked at them, bewildered. For the big finish, they spun back to center stage, and as Elphaba, in keeping with the song, yelled “Boo!” at Galinda—who, of course, was also them.
Slightly out of breath but grinning, they shapeshifted back into themself and took a bow.
Jellylorum started clapping, and one by one the other clones did too.
“Oh, thank you, thank you.” Double Trouble beamed, and bowed again.
Perhaps they should end the lesson there, on a high note. Anyway, as always, Double Trouble had more to do today… “Do you think I should add that to my next cabaret—my show at the tavern?” they smirked.
They hadn’t been serious, but George Electra nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes.” Jellylorum and Will nodded with equal passion, and Augustus and Plato gave small nods of agreement as well.
“What was that?” asked Will. “That… song?”
“Really?” Double Trouble chuckled. “Well, then, I’ll consider it. And that was ‘What Is This Feeling?’ from Wicked. Glad you liked it. Remind me to play you more songs next time…”
“There are… more?” said Augustus.
“Of course there are more, darling!” Double Trouble laughed. “There are, what, sixteen, seventeen more songs just from Wicked, not to mention— Well, I played you ‘The Naming of Cats.’”
“And you will… play more for us?” repeated Plato.
“Of course! In fact…” Double Trouble looked out the window, checking the light and the position of the moons in the sky. “It’s not too late yet; I’ll play you some right now.”
And so, instead of taking a break before their night show like they’d planned, Double Trouble and their students spent the next hour and ten minutes listening to the Wicked soundtrack. None of them regretted anything.
