by Allegra Skye
“It’s too soon to tell,” she said quietly.
“You’re right,” her father said, more cheerful. “These things take time.”
“What takes time?” Her mother was annoyed. “The town is wonderful, the people are exciting. Why be a downer at a time like this?”
Her mother always felt that Keira and her father were downers when they didn’t go along with what she wanted or felt. Keira wanted to get away from the table, and get to her room. She was tired after her first day, had homework to do, and wanted to start it immediately. She loved reading and writing. It took her into a different world, showed her a new way of thinking. It saved her from being like them. The very last thing in the world she wanted was to be like her mother.
Keira scraped her chair away from the table and excused herself. “I’ve got lots of homework. I’m going to get started.”
“What’s the big rush?” Amanda said. “Why don’t you hang out for a while?”
“Keira’s always running away,” her mother chimed in, “and then wondering why she’s not happy. She never gives anyone a chance.”
Keira didn’t like being spoken about as if she weren’t there. She was used to her mother saying things like that, though.
“I’m not running anywhere,” she said. “I’m just going upstairs to do my homework.”
“How about you, Amanda?” her father said. “Don’t you have homework as well?”
“I can start later,” Amanda said, picking up her spoon to finish dinner. “It’s not such a big deal. It’s only the first day.” Then she and her mother started to prattle again about the pocketbooks they could get at Nettles, a department store in town.
Keira pushed her chair from the table to go to her room.
“Why don’t we hang out later,” Keira said to Amanda, knowing full well that they seldom did, although Keira always wanted to.
“Sure,” Amanda said. “Whenever.”
Keira went up to her room. Her new room in this new house didn’t really even feel like hers—it felt like a stranger’s. Her stuff was already strewn all over it—with her clothes all over the floor, and her books and markers all over the desk—but still, a lot of her stuff was still in boxes. She somehow just couldn’t bring herself to fully unpack, the way Amanda had. There were lots of pictures in there she knew she should take out and hang on the walls, to make it less sterile, but a part of her just didn’t feel up to it. They had moved her one time too many, she guessed.
Keira changed into sweat pants and a sweat shirt and curled up on the bed. Keira thought of Amanda. She felt that Amanda had always been disappointed to have her for a sister. The two of them could hardly relate to each other, which was so unusual for identical twins. Amanda made up for it by having lots and lots of her own best friends. Keira made up for it by reading about different places and people, and planning to go there as soon as she could--when she was older.
It was going to be a long year ahead of her, but then it would be over. She was a senior now. She’d graduate and go away to college. She didn’t know where yet, but she couldn’t wait to leave. But, still, there was this year to go. She didn’t really know what to expect, but she had the strong feeling that whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good.
*
The next day they both got to school early. Amanda leaned over to Keira before they went to their different first classes.
“Smile at people,” Amanda whispered, “be friendly. You’re not going to the death chamber. People are saying you look so glum.”
Keira didn’t like that at all. She had no intention of trying to become Amanda. She knew who she was and wouldn’t pretend she was feeling something when she wasn’t. Both her mother and Amanda kept trying to change her, to make her more like everyone else. It wouldn’t work, though. Keira knew she was different from her mother and Amanda and that no matter what she did, they would never know who she truly was.
Thankfully, her first class went quickly. The nasty girls only turned around once, to see if she was there. Most of the time, they just snubbed her. Mr. Wright kept talking about The Catcher in The Rye, which actually caught her interest.
“Holden Caulfeld is a perfect example of teenage rebellion,” the teacher was saying. “Nothing makes him happy. He’s expelled from school for poor academic achievement and spends his time criticizing others for being phony and superficial.”
Keira sat up, interested.
“It’s worth thinking about this character,” he continued.” This book asks us look at our values and the way we relate.”
Keira looked around to see how the others were responding. Almost not at all. They seemed to be listening with blank eyes, except for one cute guy, sitting to the side of her. He was paying attention, tapping his pencil on his desk as the teacher spoke. He had tousled sandy hair, was tall and cute. Keira always did better with guys than girls. She glanced over at him, as Mr. Wright spoke.
Maybe Amanda was right, she thought. Maybe she should give someone a chance.
Keira leaned back in her chair, tossed her hair back over her shoulders. She was Amanda’s twin after all, and Amanda was so beautiful, maybe Keira didn’t actually look as bad as she felt.
The teacher paused a few moments during the lecture and Keira turned towards the cute guy next to her and gave him a long look. He must have felt it, because he suddenly looked right at her. She forced herself to smile.
No reaction. He glanced at her blankly, then turned away.
Keira was bummed. That really went over like a dead weight.
The class ended and the kids got up. The guy next to her stood up and without even saying a word, rushed away.
Keira ambled along to the door, feeling worse than before. Just as she got to the door, one of the girls in the class came over to her. She was on the heavy side, with a pretty face and long, brown hair.
“Hey Keira,” she said.
“Hey,” Keira said and looked away. At least someone remembered my name, she thought.
“Where’s your next class?” the girl asked. “Maybe we’re going in the same direction.”
She was nice enough, Keira guessed.
“My name is Nora,” the girl said. “The first few days are always rough.”
Keira appreciated that. “They sure are,” she said as Nora walked alongside her in the hall.
As they walked, some of the girls who’d giggled at her passed by. They were slim, extremely pretty and dressed exactly the same, perfectly from head to toe. They looked at someone else, pursed their lips, and broke into giggles again.
“Don’t pay attention,” said Nora. “That’s Prissy Gane and Stacey Allen. They’re rich, they’re popular. They think they own the entire place, that nobody’s as good as them.”
Keira felt bad for Nora.
“There’s a pretty big bunch of them in senior class,” Nora went on. “They all live in Everstock. How about you?”
Keira didn’t want to answer right away.
Nora turned and looked at her, waiting for an answer.
“We just moved in,” Keira said.
“Oh,” said Nora and started to move away.
“Wait a minute,” Keira said. “I’m nothing like them.”
“I don’t live in Everstock,” Nora said. “I’m from Cummingsville, the town on the other side of Junction 101.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Keira.
Nora looked at her and shrugged. “For now, maybe,” she said. “But kids from Everstock and Cummingsville don’t really get along. They don’t pal around. Ever.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Keira said. “But I’m not like them.”
It seemed as though Nora sighed a little sigh of relief. “Most people in Everstock think no one can touch them, that they’re on top of the world. If you don’t live there, you can’t break in.”
“Break into what?” Keira asked.
“Give it time,” Nora said. “You’re new here. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Nora was in Keira’s next class, and so was Amanda. Keira knew very well that Amanda would barely notice Nora. When Keira got to class, Amanda was there already, laughing with a group of girls. Keira walked a little closer and saw that one of them was Prissy Gane. It made sense. Prissy and Amanda were talking as if they were old friends. Prissy even motioned to a few other girls to come over and meet Amanda. They all came. Keira walked over to the group, but hung back for a minute, as Nora took a few steps closer, too.
Prissy suddenly saw Keira and was about to start giggling again, when she looked at Amanda, and then quickly back at Keira. Her head went back and forth a few times.
“Oh my God,” she suddenly said, “are you two related?”
Amanda just smiled.
“We’re twins,” Keira piped up, causing Nora to lurch away from her.
“That’s amazing,” said Prissy. “Just amazing. I never would have known it.”
Amanda tossed her hair back over her shoulders, and looked out of the window, as if watching something.
“I mean I can tell now that you two are related,” Prissy continued, right in Amanda’s ear, “but you look so different. It’s weird.”
“We are different,” Amanda replied, in a lilting voice. “No two people are just alike.”
Keira turned back and walked over to Nora, who had retreated into the background, watching.
Just then, Tom, the guy they’d met in the principal’s office, came bouncing into the classroom, and headed right over to Amanda.
Keira shuddered. This place was different from the other school she’d been to. Even though things had been hard there, too, it was nothing like this. This place had a strange atmosphere.
The teacher started to speak as Keira and Nora took their seats. He was an older man, Mr. Nordgren, with a tired face.
“Pay attention and listen,” said Nora. “He doesn’t pass you, unless you work.”
“That’s fine with me,” said Keira.
“Me, too,” Nora agreed.
“Okay, class,” Mr. Nordgren said to them, went to the blackboard and picked up some chalk. “Let’s review the reasons for the American Revolution again.”
Some of the kids snickered softly and rolled their eyes. Others were paying attention. Keira noticed that Tom, who was sitting right next to Amanda, was jotting notes as the teacher spoke. He seemed to be a good person. And so good looking. Amanda got lucky again.
“There were several causes of the Revolution,” Mr. Nordgren continued. “Let’s list the economic, social, moral and philosophical causes. Then we’ll find other ones.”
Keira liked this teacher and was interested in what he had to say. Something about him calmed her—maybe it was his rumpled suit, or low-key way. She leaned over and listened.
“When something takes place in our lives,” he continued, “we have to understand all the causes. We can’t be satisfied with just looking at the surface of things.”
Most of the kids weren’t listening. But Keira’s heart started to beat as he continued to talk. She sensed he had something important to say.
“Before a huge revolution takes place, before there’s war, death and bloodshed,” he said loudly, “many small acts have taken place that pave the way to this.”
Nora leaned over and asked Keira if she needed to borrow a pen. Keira was so fascinated, she hadn’t written down a word he’d said.
She stopped and thought. For some reason, his last quote really struck a chord. Many small acts. Many small acts had to take place to pave the way to the revolution. She thought of her Mom. Of her many small acts of meanness. Of these girls all around here. Of their many small acts of meanness. Keira felt something brewing inside her. She didn’t know exactly what it was. It was a sort of intolerance, an intolerance to the way people treated her. Her entire life she had just been a doormat, had let people get away with saying and acting anyway they liked. But something was blooming inside of her that was saying Enough. She felt that soon, just maybe, she’d be strong enough to make them stop treating her this way, to stand up to all of them.
As Keira was thinking all this, she had let her eyes wander, and was gazing out the large classroom window, into the courtyard. As she looked, she couldn’t believe it, but there, suddenly, a boy appeared, walking across the lawn. How was it possible? she wondered. He was clearly cutting class, and doing it openly, walking brazenly in front of the whole school. How could he be so bold? How could he get away with it?
Keira’s jaw dropped as she watched him, casually strutting across the way.
More than that, more than anything, he was striking. Gorgeous. Other-worldly. Weather a tight, black leather jacket, with a shock of blond hair, he walked with a cool, collected confidence she’d never seen before, as if he had all the time in the world, as if he weren’t afraid of anything.
And then—even more shocking—he suddenly, as if sensing her gaze, turned and stared right at her. To Keira’s utter surprise, their eyes locked.
His eyes, she could see even from this distance, were steel grey, the color of an ocean on a stormy day. They shone with the power of the sun, and Keira felt her heart pounding as it never had before.
Keira blinked hard, certain she must be imagining things.
And when she opened his eyes, just as quickly, he was gone.
It was not possible. The courtyard was closed on all ends. There was no possible way he could have crossed that quickly. Keira was so shocked, she actually stood from her chair, craning her neck, gazing out in all directions.
“Keira?” came the teacher’s voice.
Keira suddenly noticed the thick silence in the class, noticed everyone staring at her.
“Is there something out there more fascinating than this lecture?” the teacher continued.
The class burst into laughter.
Keira reddened, and slowly slunk back down into her chair.
Eventually, the teacher started lecturing again, and the kids turned back around, letting it go.
But Keira couldn’t let it go. Ever.
She had just seen the most beautiful—and most mysterious—boy of her life.
And he had vanished into thin air.
CHAPTER 3
No matter what, the family always gathered for dinner at six. It was a tradition, both in their old home and here as well. If their father was working late at the hospital, they gathered anyway, without him.
Their new home had a separate dining room with a big oval, oak table and brand new dining room chairs, with red upholstered seats. Their mother set the table perfectly, somewhere around five o’clock. Then she prepared dinner.
When Keira was little she liked knowing that everyone would be together at least once a day. Now it was irritating. She was forced to sit there and listen to the family’s small talk, whether or not she had anything to say. Most of the time there was nothing she felt she could share - except with her father, maybe. But she didn’t want to talk to him in front of everyone. She wanted time alone with him to tell him what she was thinking. Of course, she seldom got it. He was much too busy, worked too hard, and every spare moment he had, he was with her mother.
Tonight, Keira was late. The family was already seated and Amanda and her mother were talking about plans for the weekend.
Keira walked in and took her seat. She was flustered, unable, all day, to stop thinking about that boy. She hoped they didn’t notice it. The last thing she wanted was more questioning from her mom.
“You’re ten minutes late,” her mother looked annoyed.
“Sorry,” said Keira.
“That’s all? Sorry. You kept us all waiting.”
“I was in the bathroom,” Keira said. “I didn’t feel so well.”
Her mother exhaled, the way she sometimes did when gearing up for a fight. Keira could feel one coming. Her mom would just never let things go.
Usually her father stayed quiet during these battles and Amanda just looked out the window and
pretended it wasn’t going on.
Tonight, it was different. They had all just moved to this new town, and their routines had been shaken up. Everyone was just a bit uneasy, even if they didn’t show it.
“I told you, I don’t feel so well,” Keira repeated to her mother.
“When do you ever really feel well?” her mother shot back.
“Go easy on her, Madge,” her father said to her mother then, almost out of nowhere.
That really took her mother back. “Why?”
“We’re all still settling in. New routines and all,” he said.
“That’s nonsense, just nonsense,” her mother said. “How come I don’t always have an upset stomach, no matter what the weather is, or what’s going around town? It doesn’t help to make excuses for Keira.”
Keira often wondered what her mother would do if she weren’t around? Who would she find fault with, let her bad mood out on?
Her father just shrugged, and then, at that moment, thankfully, Amanda’s cell phone rang.
“Go ahead, pick it up. You never know, it could be important,” her mother said, although at dinner they usually didn’t take calls.
“Hello,” Amanda answered.
She got quiet and listened.
A little smile began to play at the corner of her mouth. “How great to hear from you Tom,” she said. She put her hand over the mouthpiece, excited. “It’s that cute guy I met at school,” she said with a smile.
Her mother’s face flushed for a second, and her head flipped back with a victorious smile. “A date,” she whispered to the father.
He nodded pleasantly.
“Yes, of course,” Amanda continued, “I’d really love to.”
Keira shivered. Tom was already asking Amanda out.
“Well, let’s talk more about it later,” Amanda said then. “I’m in the middle of dinner with my family. No, of course, I’m thrilled that you called. Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Great. We’ll talk later. I.M. me around 8.”
She hung up, her eyes shining.
Her mother leaned towards her, overly excited.
“Tell us all the details. Don’t leave a single thing out.”