Cotton candy, lollipops, and rock and roll: Vivian and Charlie — twins of Dr. Jane Wanninger and Dr. John Morrell, both English faculty — have a lot of games to play.
It was a bright and cheerful Sunday afternoon when Vivian and Charlie skipped down the sidewalk towards the infamous playground. The energy in the air was electric with joy as the fac-brats (faculty’s children) whirled around the swings and slides.
The twins were filled to the brim with awe of the world around them. They were beaming with readiness to shine under the spotlight of two sophomores (Lucia Zhang ’25 and I), a list of questions, a camera, and a voice recorder.
Favorite colors, the most accurate indication of one’s personality, was the first trial presented to Vivian and Charlie.
“Purple, pink, red, blue and… that’s all,” Vivian said.
Charlie flaunted a subtle but powerful palette of red, green, and blue.
Letting the world know her favorite thing to do, Vivian stated, “play[ing] I-spy with my little eye.” Thus, we began to play. Something green was the goal. The gravity of the air was heavy with intricate guesswork. Another child, eager to join the game of I-spy, shouted the answer from the very top of the playground: the green slide!
“I spy with my little eye… something red!” Charlie said.
A second round began with competitors already warmed up from the first. Guesses were thrown out like icebreakers on the first day of class. The red staircase? The red railing? The red door?
“The red coo-coo house?” Vivian asked. “Then what is it?”
The rest of us sat stumped without an answer, only to find that it was just out of our sight: a tiny red bike, hidden behind us.
The twins then revealed their favorite foods: lollipops for Charlie, and cotton candy for Vivian. They’re also both fanatics for rock and roll. Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard is Vivian’s personal favorite. Charlie loves Starship’s We Built This City. Charlie’s love of rock and roll fuels his rockstar dreams; meanwhile, Vivian aspires to be an artist.
“I speak dinosaur, so I bet I’ll be a dinosaur… roar roar roar roar roar roar,” Charlie said when asked what animal he would like to be. According to himself, the roars translate to “jump up.” Perhaps in the future, he’ll be the key to unlocking the secrets of our prehistoric past.
“I have a good butterfly noise (*butterfly-esque squeaks*),” Vivian said. “I kinda can talk like a dolphin not a butterfly.”
When asked the silliest thing they could think of on the spot, imagination and child-like wonder took hold.
“Where dinosaurs wear the party hats and go to a party with other humans… and eat all of them!” Charlie said.
Vivian says how “sometimes my brother does like wiggles,” which she gave us all a memorable demonstration of.
Crushing their first interview yet, the four-year-old future artist and rock and roll star are already prepared for whatever games Loomis Chaffee will throw at them next. Remember to stay on the watch for potential Cretaceous-era imposters during your next party. You never know if a pack of velociraptors in a trench coat could sneak their way into Winterfest.