by Kia Tyler

Created on: January 13, 2009

Chapter 14
"The Enemy of My Enemy"

After a quick shower and a hearty breakfast downstairs in the dormitory cafeteria, once again with each bite, basking gratefully in the fact she no longer had to steal leftover food, Max set out towards one of the few features that set this campus apart from others across the country-The Dome.

"Indoor gymnasium," she could hear her father's impressed voice saying, as they read over college brochures a year earlier.

Max closed her eyes, wishing with all her heart to be back in that moment, any moment, were her parents were alive again.

A loud noise broke her from her dreams. She soon realized it was music.

As there, in the center of the breaking fog of the quad, stood the figure of a large man playing a set of bagpipes. He was dressed in the proper Scottish attire, including a kilt, eyes closed, swaying back and forth as music flowed from the bagpipes, every note seeming heartfelt and deliberate.

As other students bustled by to their prospective classes, Max could do nothing but stare, filled with wonder at the sight she was sure was common in Scotland, but mystifying in an inner-city.

Max took a moment to immerse herself in whimsy with the man as he turned away from her, closing her eyesimagining the sea splashing against the rocks, and the man atop his grassy hill above them, playing loudly to the moss-covered rocks, the rolling sea, the cloud-patched sky, anything that would listen.

She could feel the pride of his people pulsing though him as he played, and suddenly understood the song. She knew it was far older than him, than her, than America itself. She could see ranks of kilts marching into battle to this song, the pride in their hearts overwhelming the enemyand then suddenly, the music stopped.

She opened her eyes abruptly to see the large man directly in front of
herstaring at her, head tilted to one side, a curious smile on his face. As she stood there face to face with him, though she hadn't recognized his back, she could recognize his face clearly now. He was one of the Veruccas.

"Mornin'
Max." he said, cheerfully.

Max smiled at him, noticing the heavy Scottish accent his voice now had. She also realized this was the first time she'd ever heard him speak in a normal, un-animated voice.

"Morning." she answered back, and then trailed offashamed to admit she didn't remember his real name.

"Me name's Daniel." he piped in cheerfully, accent even more noticeable. "Not a worry, most don't remember it, what with all the antics on a regular

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