What is... "Home?" (Hetalia Fanfic, W.A. '13 Finalist)

Chapter 43~!

"Okay, girl, let me see what you got," Feliks said from the ground floor, which was my cue to walk up to the front of the stage and strike the poses we'd practiced.

I did just that, striding with confidence and striking a casual pose with my arms crossed loosely and a faint grin before switching to look like I'd just been laughing. This continued, pouts and serious stares and carefree expressions, until I'd run through all the ones I knew. Trust me, he'd coached me in a lot.

Feliks clapped a couple times when I'd finished. "Great job, and we'll practice more on, like, Monday. Okay?"

I nodded. "Right. When are you going to tell me what the flags on my nails are for? It's annoying having to wear gloves all the time without knowing why I have to."

"I'll tell you when you see the totally gorgeous clothes I've got for you to wear." Feliks stood and flipped on his phone, showing me the pictures he'd taken after doing my makeup a couple days ago. "Are you, like, ecstatic as I am?"

"If ecstatic is synonymous with nervous as hell, then yeah!" I replied cheerily.

"Hey, I told you it was gonna be, like, a snap!" Feliks insisted as he put a hand on my shoulder. "You're already getting good, so just a few more practices and you'll be totally ready!"

I smiled at my new friend/employer/coach. "Thanks, Feliks. Maybe you're right."

"Girl, I know I'm right. Poland is, like, always right."

I giggled. "I know, you've only said it, like, a million times."

"Copycat!" he said mirthfully, smacking my shoulder lightly. I laughed and we left the studio, on our way back to Gakuen.

~~~

I stretched my arms up over my head as I went through the door into the dorm building. "And now to have a study date. Yay, math." I said that last sentence sarcastically, by the way.

"Ah, Malcolm!" America shouted as he zoomed into the building and stopped by me, breathing a little harder than what was normal. "Do me a favor and take these to my room? I gotta get to practice, like, now."

"Um, sure," I said, accepting the stack of papers he held out to me. "What sport?"

"I'm playing super hardcore track for this team across town, but it's practically Olympic level so I gotta start practicing early. See ya!" He raced back outside, his track bag bumping his leg with every other step.

"Have fun!" I yelled after him before turning back to the staircase. I stopped by my room on the way to America and England's to drop off my bag and open the curtains to let in the seasonally rare sunlight. "And now to drop this stack of loverly papers off," I said, petting Zip briefly on my way out.

"We're going to watch a movie when you get back, right?" Ko asked just as I was about to close the door.

I stuck my head back in the room. "Depends. If Mattie doesn't show up soon we might, okay?"

"'Kay!" Ko chirped.

"Is that his name?" Kumajirou asked from Matthew's bed.

I deadpanned. "One of them, yes."

"How many names does one guy need?" he wondered. "No wonder I can never remember..."

"I'm pretty sure how many names he has has little to do with that,"I replied. "Be right back, you guys."

I strolled past the eight or so doors between my room and America's, noting how quiet it was. Was no one else in their dorms right now?

"Weird..." I muttered to myself before stopping in front of the door I knew was right.