The Elephant Gate

Kevin was happy with his lessons, not only the familiar subjects of math and science, but the history of his new country as well. He was now sure he wasn't on the Earth that he was familiar with, even though some things reminded him of home. In fact, with the exception of remembering his parent's faces, his memories of home were becoming blurry in the face of so many similar things like cars and electricity.

Once their schoolwork was done and Teacher Joy had released them, Surikitiyia jumped out of her chair. "I want you to go with me somewhere." She grabbed his hand and, as usual, all but dragged him out of the room. He resignedly followed; sure she was getting him into some mischief.

It turned out to be a music room. Glass-fronted cabinets lined the walls. They were filled with various stringed instruments. He only got a glimpse of everything before she pulled him to the grand piano in the middle. She opened the gleaming black fallboard and sat down on the bench, motioning him to sit next to her.

She smiled, and started a lively tune. Wait, he knew this one. "Back home, we call it 'Heart and Soul'!" he said excitedly, "I'll play too!"

As the two of them became engrossed in their musical play, they didn't notice an audience gathered by the open doors.

Thadchai motioned the schoolteacher away from the pair, into a corner of the hallway.

"I would like to ask you a few questions about your impression of Noy Kevin so far, Khun Joy." She thought for a moment.

"It's a little soon to tell. He clears has knowledge of math and basic physics, but his sentence structure is different from native children, as is his speech pattern. And he has little historical knowledge. It's as if he has never been to Pratheptikundee or even heard of us."

Thadchai let her comment pass. "I would like to increase the days he spends training. Do you think his schoolwork and classroom learning will be negatively affected?" She shook her head.

"He has an eagerness to learn, and it won't be long before he is caught up in all subjects. In fact, he will more than like surpass the princess in a short amount of time."

The captain thanked her, and they walked back to the music room together just as the other servants began clapping.

Kevin blushed furiously, afraid he was in trouble. When he looked past the servants and saw the captain and his teacher smiling, it eased him. In any case, Surk'ya was waving at everyone.

Everyone dispersed, leaving Thadchai and Joy. "Well done, Noy Kevin," she said, "did you ever have music lessons before?"

Kevin shook his head. "I just know the song from home. I don't really know how to play the piano."

"I'm going to expand the time you spend at our training facilities, so I'm afraid there won't be any time to learn a musical instrument. Unless you would rather do that…?" Thadchai already knew the answer, but it was fun to tease the boy.

"Oh no, Cap'n Thadchai! I'd rather be with the animals and stuff!" Kevin cracked the biggest smile the captain had seen so far; it was infectious and he felt his own lips lift in response. "Okay, son, no music. For now," he added, in case the teacher didn't approve. When he didn't hear anything, he turned and saw her staring at his face in wonder.

"Um, what's wrong, Khun Joy. Is there something on my face?" He wiped at his cheek.

She seemed to snap out of her reverie, and quickly looked down to hide her face. "It's nothing, captain. Excuse me, I have to clean up the study room." She fled to the safety of her domain. Once she got there, she fanned her flaming face. "The captain is certainly handsome, especially when he smiles." She mused.