No Title Yet.

Chapter 1 Cracked

Beep beep beep beep. “Ungh…” Laila mumbled as she groped for the snooze button. Beep beep beep. “Where is that stupid alarm clock?!” Her fingers fumbled and knocked over a picture of her and her brother. “Aha!” Beep bee… Laila Campbell sighed. Why do I always wake up at the best part of the dream? She thought as she picked up the picture frame and replaced it on her desk.

Haha! You were dreaming about that actor guy again. Her twin brother Laramie thought back. Laila and her brother had always been… different. Their minds were connected somehow, allowing them to communicate by thoughts. At first, they dismissed it as a twin thing, but eventually they found that, out of the five sets of twins at their school, they were the only ones like this.

So what if I was? He’s hot! Laila shot back.

He’s lame! You should have better taste, Sis. What is his name again?

Fletcher. Fletcher Wayne.

Like I said. Lame.

Laila ignored him. He’s turning 17 today.

And we are tomorrow. Laramie reminded her.

Me first of course.

“Haha!” Laila could hear his deep laugh from across the hall.

By three minutes Lie.

Whatever. Don’t peek at my dreams.

She slid off her bed and went to her closet then slipped on her favorite pair of designer jeans and a yellow off-shoulder sweater. She walked over to her full-length mirror and let out a small sigh. She had the kind of body girls spent hours in the gym for, without even trying, and a face that could make you stop and stare, not to mention perfect golden curls just past her shoulder blades. Her beauty set her apart from other girls, and even her twin was sexy male model material with sandy blond hair, a killer body, and the same big blue eyes.

Laila yawned and put her backpack on, grabbed the keys to her brand new silver sports car (versus her brother’s, also brand new, black sports car) and tromped downstairs to her breakfast.

“Hey honey! I hope you don’t mind cereal again today because I have another early meeting this morning.” Laila’s mother chirped as she entered the kitchen.

“Wasn’t expecting that.” Laila muttered sarcastically.

“Sorry what?” Her mother looked up.

“No problem, Mom.” She mumbled. “See you later.” Laila opened the pantry to look for some Chocolate Puff Cereal. She was a sucker for anything chocolate.

“Oh.” Her mother stopped and peered around her at the TV playing in the living room. “Isn’t that your actor friend?” Laila ran straight into the other room and turned up the volume, a big picture of the star filled the screen.

“Award winning actor Fletcher Wayne turned seventeen today, but in a strange turn of events quit his current production after allegedly walking several times face first into walls. His co-star Bethany Mills tells us that after he announced his resignation, she went to his trailer to try to talk some sense into him but he was packing all of his things and acting slightly disheveled and distracted. Many suspect drugs but family and friends say this is highly unlikely. We’ll give you an update as more information comes in.”

“Wow, so he finally cracked”

“Oh!” Laila started. She hadn’t even realized her mouth was hanging open and the remote control had fallen to the floor.

“You okay?” Laramie asked concerned.

“Yeah. It’s just so weird…”

 “Well I’m sorry about your “boyfriend”, but we’d better go or we’ll be late… Again.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Her brother thought a picture of her lying in bed asleep with her mouth wide open and the alarm clock saying 8:25 AM. Five minutes before school began.

He grinned. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Chapter 2 Imaginary Numbers

            When they got to RPS (Randall Private School also widely known as Rich People School), the second bell was ringing and only a few stragglers were left on the front lawn. Laila let Laramie out in front of the science building then parked in the east lot and ran to her American Literature class. Everyone was already there and the bell rang right as she sat down. Her teacher Mrs. Young, who was anything but,  looked up with her beady eyes and frowned disapprovingly. Laila worked up an apologetic smile and her teacher turned her attention to the rest of the class.

            “Please turn to page eighty-three in your textbooks. Read the chapter and answer the questions. When you finish, read your own books silently until the end of the period.” A collective groan went up around the room and Laila could have sworn she saw Mrs. Young smirk.

            Her next three classes went pretty much the same way, and by lunchtime, Laila was sick of bookwork.

            Hey Lie! Laila heard Laramie think.

            Hey. What’s for lunch?  She thought back.

            Macaroni, he laughed, I know how much you love that stuff.

            Ugh. She wrinkled her nose.

            Sure enough when she entered the cafeteria, the sickening smell of cheesy noodles surrounded her like a noxious orange cloud. Without a second thought, she headed straight to the salad bar.

            After placing the olive tong back into the bin, she walked to her normal table with Jasmine, Nicole and Amber already eating (macaroni, ugh).

            “Hey girl! Happy almost birthday! Since it’s Friday and you dorks aren’t throwing a party, I’m telling you now.” Jasmine smiled playfully.

            “It’s alright. Thanks.” Out of the three other girls, Jasmine had always been the most genuine. Laila had always had a suspicion Nicole and Amber just hung out with her to get close to her “hot” brother. She never called them out on it though because when they inevitably left her, she would seem even more set apart than the rest of her high school population. As it was, she had so few friends because she was thought of as “untouchable.” Beautiful, popular, and smart, but with few close friends.

            “Speaking of birthdays,” Amber’s voice brought Laila back to the present, “Did you guys see that news segment on Fletcher Wayne?”

            “Oh my gosh, yes! Walking into walls? He must be on something good!” Nicole giggled.

            “I wish he would have at least finished that movie. There was supposed to be a scene of him shirtless!” Jasmine gushed.

            “Laila? Are you okay?” Nicole looked at her curiously. Laila had gotten quiet again and was staring at nothing.

“What? Oh. Sorry.”

“What’s up?” Jasmine’s look of concern mirrored that of her brother’s that morning.

“Nothing. Just tired I guess.” She faked a yawn.

Jasmine didn’t look like she believed her, but after a few seconds she joined Amber and Nicole’s comparisons between lip-gloss brands.

After lunch, Laila had art, her favorite class of the day and today they were working on pottery. She wet her fingers and turned on the wheel. The clay felt so good under her fingers. She loved the slimy texture and the earthy smell. She breathed it deeply. Nothing calmed her better than art. She let her mind wander. She found Laramie; he was working on a complicated math problem and his thoughts had a slightly strained tint, but as soon as he felt Laila, he became relaxed and playful.

Hey sis What’s going on?

Just working on my pottery. She showed him her still misshapen lump of clay through her eyes. She laughed. I just started.

I can see that. He laughed too. We’re doing imaginary numbers today.

I never understood why anyone would ever come up with such a stupid concept. Laila thought.

Tell that to Mrs. Canton. She acts as if this stuff is the best thing since Ramen Noodles!

Ramen Noodles? Laila giggled aloud and a few students looked up at her inquisitively.

It’s the best thing I could come up with! He began working on his worksheet again and his thoughts became jumbled with mathematical nonsense.

Laila mentally wrinkled her nose and thought, I’m outta here!

Laramie paused. Alright. Later, Sis. Your vase turned out nice by the way.

Laila smiled and looked down. She hadn’t even decided on a vase, but sitting before her on the now still pottery wheel was an attractive, simple vase.

Chapter 3 Nightmare

            When Laila got home after school, she was alone. Laramie had stayed to shoot some hoops with some of his friends and had said he would catch a ride from one of them, and her parents were still at work. She rarely had the house to herself, so she decided to have a girly day. Laila smiled. She hadn’t had a g-day since last summer when Laramie was at church camp and her mother and father were, well, at work.

            Laila went up to her bedroom and straight into her closet. She looked up. On the top shelf sat what she was looking for: a big shoebox, the one her authentic leather boots came in, and it was where she kept all she needed for a day like this. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled it down.

            The box was a little dusty and when she pulled the lid off, she wasn’t surprised the inventory was not much depleted. Inside were five different colored nail polishes, a nail kit, three rather old looking facemasks, several eye shadow compacts, a green eyeliner crayon, a bottle of bubble bath, and a plastic bag full of hair decorations. She set the cache on her bed and chewed her lip thoughtfully.

            I’m in the mood for a bubble bath. She smiled and pulled her hair up into a messy bun, securing the loose strands with bobby pins. Laila grabbed the bottle of bubble bath out of the shoebox and started for the door then stopped, glanced back at the box, walked back and grabbed a facemask and walked through the hall then into the bathroom. She set the bubble bath and mask on the counter and locked the door behind her.

            As she was waiting for the bathtub to fill up, she peeled off her yellow sweater and favorite jeans and she grabbed the bubble bath and poured some into the stream of water. Then she picked up the facial mask and ripped off the top of the packet. She squirted some of the gelatinous slop onto her fingertips. This was not what she expected.

            Oh nasty. Laila thought. She glanced at the quickly filling tub and sighed. Here goes nothing. She brought her hands to her face and shuddered as the sickly substance touched her skin. She smeared it around her eyes and mouth and then on her cheeks, chin and forehead, careful to avoid her hairline.

            Finally, it was evenly layered on her face so she rinsed the goop off her hands and turned off the bath faucet. Double-checking the door to make sure it was locked, she stripped off the rest of her clothing and stepped into the tub. She trembled with every inch that her body sunk deeper into the steamy water. The frothy bubbles came up to her chin and tickled as they popped. She was so comfortable in the hot water. Laila yawned; it had been a long day. Pretty quickly, she dozed off.

            Laila was in a grungy gray room that seemed to have no walls. What the heck? She thought. The room was completely empty everywhere she turned. No furniture and no people. Wait, what was that? She spun around and there was Jasmine, Amber, and Nicole sitting at a table that had definitely not been there before. They were talking in whispers so Laila could only catch a few words of what they were saying.

“Laila… can’t know… would freak… overprotective.” Jasmine was saying.

“What? What are you guys talking about?” Laila demanded. No one looked at her. “Hello?!” She shouted.

“Hi guys.” A familiar voice rang out from behind her.

“Oh thank God, Laramie, you’re here.” She turned to him but he just walked past her and straight into Jasmine’s waiting arms.

“Hey Baby.” He grinned.

 “Hi Sexy.” Jasmine leaned in and covered his mouth with hers and he responded intently.

“What?! No!” Laila shrieked and suddenly they disappeared and were replaced by Mrs. Young.

“Today we will be studying imaginary numbers.” Abruptly, several, very solid numbers appeared out of thin air and began to beat her from all directions as if to prove their solidity.

“Ow! Help me!” Laila looked frantically at the teacher, but Mrs. Young just smirked and stayed put. Laila put her hands up to shield her face and ran blindly trying to escape the rampaging numbers but she ran hard into a wall. She turned and dashed the opposite direction but also ran face first into an invisible barrier. Hysterical by now, she ran into yet another obstruction. She fell to the ground and curled up into a tight ball. All at once, the beating ceased. She looked up cautiously and discovered the numbers were gone, but in their place, not five yards away was Fletcher Wayne. Her heart fluttered and she hastily wiped some of her escaped tears from her face. “Fletcher, I…”

“Laila.” He stopped her.

“Yes?” She breathed, surprised he knew her name. He sneered two words:

“You’ve cracked.”

“NOOOOOOO!!!” Laila screamed.

            “Laila! Laila!” Someone was banging on the bathroom door. Laila jerked and opened her eyes. “Oh! Oh. Crap. Crap, Crap!” While she slept, the mask must have slowly dripped down her face because when she opened her eyes, the repulsive liquid stung them like crazy. “Ow. Ow. Ow!” She scrambled out of the now lukewarm water and grabbed blindly for the hand towel.

            “Laila? Are you okay? You were screaming.” Laramie’s concerned voice drifted through the door. “I’m fine. I just got some stuff in my eyes.” She found the towel and scrubbed her face furiously.

            “That’s why you screamed?” Laramie sounded confused.

            “No, I had a nightmare.”

            “In the bathroom?! Laila what’s going on?”

            “I fell asleep taking a bubble bath, okay?” It came out a little harsher than she’d intended, she still had the nightmare fresh in her mind. “I’m sorry Lare. I’m still just a little freaked.”

            “Care to share?” Laila knew what he meant. He wanted her to rethink the dream to him. She shuddered. “No that’s okay. I’d rather not relive it.”

            “Okay. You’re sure you’re alright?”

            “Yes. Thank you.” She rubbed the last of the goop out of her still stinging eyes and wrapped herself in a towel. She let the dirty water out of the tub and grabbed her mask wrapper, bubble bath and dirty clothes and went back to her room. 

After she put on her pajamas, she took out the remaining two masks and threw them away. Then she put the bubble bath back in the shoebox and re-stashed it on the top shelf in her closet. Laila glanced at her clock. It was still early, but she decided to go to sleep anyway.

            Good night, Laramie.

            Sweet dreams, Sis. She smiled and fell into a (thankfully) dreamless sleep.

Chapter 4 Surprise

            Laila woke up to the smell of bacon. She rolled out of bed and put on her favorite pair of fuzzy blue slippers. Breathing in a big lungful of the delicious smell, she ambled downstairs into the kitchen. Laramie was already sitting with a big plate of bacon and eggs in front of him.

            “Morning Lay.” He smiled. “Happy birthday.”

            “Oh my gosh!” She gasped.

            He raised an eyebrow at her. “You didn’t forget did you?”

            “Uh… No.” She hastily tried to cover her accidental divulgence.

            He didn’t fall for it. Having linked thoughts had its drawbacks. “You dork. How do you forget your own birthday?”

            “I don’t know.” She walked to the stove and fixed herself a plate of eggs and bacon quite a bit smaller than that of her brother’s. She sat down next to him and looked around.

            “Where are Mom and Dad?”

            Laramie frowned. “Where do you think?”

            Laila’s heart sank. “Work? But it’s our birthday and it’s Saturday!”

            “I know Lay. I know.” He hugged her. “I told them you’d be upset but nothing I said could make a dent in their plans.”

            Laila pushed away her plate. Suddenly she lost her appetite. “It’s like they don’t even care about us anymore.” Angry tears filled her eyes. She wiped at them. She hated letting Laramie see her cry. It was bad enough he could feel her pain through their connection. With much effort, she plastered an indifferent smile on her face. “Oh well. It’s not a big deal. I think I’m going to go to the mall and wind down, so I’m going to go get ready. Want to come?” What she really needed was some alone time to think, but she didn’t mind if he wanted to come.

            “No. I’ll let you have a little alone time.”

            “Okay. Thanks Lare.” She meant more than just for letting her be alone and she hoped he knew that. She started walking to the stairs and then stopped and turned back to him. “Oh. And Lare?”

            “Yeah?”

            “Happy Birthday.” And with that, she disappeared up the stairs.

            When laila got to the mall, there just so happened to be an open parking spot close to the mall entrance so she pulled in. She grabbed her red leather bag and clicked the lock button on the key to her sports car. It issued a girly, high-pitched beep and she started to the awning coved door to the mall. Seeing as how she lived in Beverly Hills, the mall she was at was pretty fair sized and there were two levels. She decided it would take about two laps around to get ger thoughts in order.

            It had really upset her today that her parents had chosen work over her and Laramie… Again. The last time they missed something important had been Laila’s piano recital, before that had been Laramie’s state championship soccer game and there were countless others: last year’s prom, their academic awards banquet, their eighth grade graduation, their first day of middle school, and even their parents day in elementary school.

            Laramie had always tried his best to support Laila as best as he could for all three of them and had even tried to block the door one time to keep their parents from leaving. Of course, their father had thrown out the whole “If you don’t let us go to work, how will we feed you?” argument, and although totally absurd, it had worked and Laramie never tried that again.

            Over time, Laila and Laramie had learned to not even bother inviting their parents to anything; their absence had become a part of daily life. The one constant in her life had been their birthday, a day set aside by their parents to put on their “big happy family” façade, but even that had been cruelly ripped away. Her one thread of hope had been that one day they would be proud of her or even just take a little time to try to get to know the young lady she’d become.

            Laila’s face got hot with emotion and she glanced up at her surrounding. She was on the second floor next to a brightly colored pet shop. Automatically, she went from feeling miserable to excited. She walked up to the window and looked at all the cute puppies playing with each other. They all looked up at her and crowded toward the window with their tails working overtime.

            Toward the back, an extra small, pure black fluffy puppy was darting back and forth trying to find a path through the bevy of canines. The small dog jumped up on the back of one of the others and tried to steady itself just as the pup it was on shook it off and it disappeared into the mob. Laila giggled and it reappeared in the rear of the enclosure.

            Laila walked around the display and in through the door.

            “Hi. How can I help you?” The voice came from a boy about her age with wild red hair and a long pale face full of freckles.

            “Uh… Yeah. Could I see the little black puppy in the display?” The boy squinted at her then smiled a goofy grin.

            “Oh! You mean Corn.”

            Laila gave him a strange look and said, “No. I mean the puppy.” The boy walked over, opened the enclosure and with what looked like much difficulty extracted the tiny dog.

            “Yep. This is Corn, but Corn is just short for her full name.” He set the wriggling ball of fur in her arms.

            “And what’s that?”

            “Ah that would be Miss Cornelia Fancy Pants.” Laila gaped at him. The red haired boy began to look a little uncomfortable and when Laila kept staring he broke the awkward silence.

            “Well this pet shop gets a lot of animals and sometimes we have to be very… creative with the names.”

            “Yeah, I can see that.” After a few more uncomfortable seconds the boy spoke again.

            “So… do you want her? Corn?” he asked hesitantly. Laila looked down at the miniature ball of fur in her arms and Corn looked back with soulful pleading eyes. Laila knew her parents wouldn’t care, they never did. And money was not an issue, she had unlimited access to her family’s considerable fortune. She looked back up at the red haired boy and grinned.

            “Yeah.” She looked back at the pen of puppies and pointed to a large white pup and said, “I’ll take that one, too.” She needed a birthday present for Laramie after all.

Chapter 5 Surprise

            On the way to her car, Laila had a heck of a time juggling two puppy carriers with wiggly puppies inside and a bag full of toys, food, hygiene care tools, food bowls, collars, leashes and breed type manuals, all of which the boy had convinced her was all necessary for your first dog. She scowled. He was probably back there laughing maniacly at his luck. He’d no doubt get a payraise. Each dog was around four hundred dollars, and all accessories included, the total was just short of one grand. Laila was thankful for her close parking spot now, and as she reached her car she set down both carriers and the bag full of merchandise. She dug her keys out of her red leather purse and unlocked the doors and trunk. She stuck the dogs in the back seat, Corn first, then the white puppy she’d found was named Jake, and put all the doggy gear in the trunk.

            Laila looked around and saw that strangely, no one was in the parking lot. That was strange in itself, but with only one week of school left, it should have been full of teenagers stocking up on summer neccessities. Laila shrugged and as she shut the trunk, a wave of unbearable pain suddenly washed through her body. The pain was so intense, her knees crumpled beneath her and she instinctively curled up in the fetal position. With her perfectly manicured fingernails scratching the damp parking lot concrete, Laila opened her mouth to scream but only a whisper of sound escaped her lips. Just when she closed her eyes and prepared to meet death, the pain was gone. All except a small lingering headache.

            When she could work up enough strength to stand, Laila took hold of her car and rose shakily to her feet. Laila quickly found her brother’s thoughts.

            Laramie, something just happened.

            I know, Lay. I felt it too. Laila felt something out of place in his thoughts, something he was trying to hide.

            What are you hiding, Lare?

            He ignored her question. Are you okay to drive?

            Um… Yeah. I think so. She already felt a lot better.

            Okay, Laramie thought back. Come home, but be careful.

            Alright. I’ll be there soon. She walked slowly around to the driver’s door and climbed in. What could Laramie be trying to keep from her? They always told each other everything; it was almost impossible to conceal anything from each other and they had just stopped trying to after a while. Laila started her car. The drive home seemed to take an unusally long time. When she pulled into her driveway, she took out the dogs and supplies and lugged them up to her room, setting the supplies in her closet and the dogs shut in her bathroom. As she walked out of her bathroom, Laila glanced over and noticed her alarm clock was blinking 12:00 so she took out her iphone which read 6:47 PM and set her clock accordingly. Laila realized with a grin she still wouldn’t be officially 17 until 10:10 PM so she still had a while to wait.

            Laila, are you home?

            Yeah, I’m in my room.

            Come to the backyard!  I need you.

            Are you okay? Are you hurt? She ran out of her room and flew down the stairs to the heavy double doors that led to where her brother was. She grasped the door knob and opened the door.

            “SURPRISE!”

            Laila jumped and nearly toppled over but she caught herself just in time. She looked up at all the people around her and saw Amber, Nicole, Jasmine and some guys she knew through Laramie as Chet, Ryan, and Cooper, all smiling at her expectantly. She looked down at the table between them and saw a cake that read “Happy Birthday Laila and Laramie”.  She smiled what probably looked like an excited smile but was really one of relief. Laramie wasn’t in trouble and he wasn’t hiding anything serious, just a surprise party!

            “Wow, guys! This is great! Thank you so much.”

            “It was your brother’s idea.” Nicole smiled a suggestive smile at him that he ignored expertly.

            “So what’s on the agenda, little brother?” Laila teased.

            “Well right now we’re gonna sing to you and then eat cake!” He laughed and on cue everyone began to sing a rather off-key version of Happy Birthday, making sure to sing both Laila and Laramie’s name at the appropriate part.

            After they ate the cake, all of it thanks to Chet and Cooper, they settled down in the small den and turned on the new X-Men movie. No one really paid attention to the movie though because they were too busy talking. Throughout the night, Laila paid very close attention to the way Laramie and Jasmine acted toward eachother. Thankfully, nothing out of the ordinary was exchanged. In fact, Jasmine seemed very interested in Ryan. Laila had to admit he was rather attractive, though she thought it was probably due to his nose which was very similar to that of Fletcher Wayne’s.

            Twice she had to leave the room and take medicine because of the headache that had stayed with her since her episode at the mall, but it didn’t get any better if not worse. Ryan and Jasmine went into the kitchen to make popcorn for everyone just as the movie was ending, but no one seemed to be leaving so it didn’t matter. Before long, a nasty burnt popcorn smell filled the house.

            “I guess I better go check on them.” Laramie rolled his eyes.

            Laila grimaced. “I’m going to go get some fresh air.” Truthfully, the smell was intensifying her headache tenfold. She stepped out of the double doors and walked to their very dark full sized gazebo. The only light came from the back porch a fifty yards away.

            Her iPhone vibrated in her back pocket and she took it out. It was an email from her mother:

            Hello Laila. Happy Birthday. I’m sorry we couldn’t celebrate. By the way, your father and I will be out of town until Tuesday. Call only if it’s very important.  <Trish Campbell>

            She exited out of the browser and in big numbers across the screen it read 10:09 PM.

            Hmm… I’m almost seventeen. I wish my headache would go away at least. Just as suddenly as at the mall, pain wracked her body leaving nothing untouched. Even her teeth ached as if her gums were being sliced with a scalpel. She breathed in shallow gasps, the sharp air grating her lungs. Another wave of pain and her knees crumpled under her. She thought with enough urgency as she could muster, Laramie! HELP!, and as she began to lose conciousness, she saw her phone, which had fallen to the ground. It said darkly: 10:10 PM.

            Someone was shaking her. Laila groaned as she sat up. Most of the pain was gone but her body still felt the phantasms of the horrible feeling. She slowly opened her eyes. It was the middle of the day!

            “Laila what happened?” Laramie asked from behind her.

            “Lare! How long was I out?”

            “About two minutes.” Laila looked at her phone uncomprehendingly. It read 10:12 PM.

            “Well how did it get so bright outside?”

            “It’s pitch black!” Came his worried reply. She finally turned to look at him.

            “Oh my God!” He scrambled away from her. He looked frightened.

            “What? What’s wrong?” She looked down at her body for any sign of blood.

            “Your eyes!” She picked up her phone and looked at her reflection. She let out a tiny shriek. In her reflection all she could see were two literally glowing green eyes. “But I have blue eyes…” She trailed off dumbly and the clock changed to 10:13 PM and Laramie fell, writhing, to the ground, but he didn’t black out, instead his skin began to emit a glow which grew brighter and quickly became too much for Laila’s newly sensitive eyes too bear so she had too shut them and cover them with a hand.

            “Laramie what’s going on?”

            “I don’t know!” He gasped. “Laila, listen to me. You need to go inside and get everyone to go home”

            “But Lare-” She was cut off.

            “I’ll be fine. I don’t hurt anymore.” He said. Laila stopped short and realized that was true. She didn’t hurt at all either except when ray’s of Laramie’s light penetrated her hand and got in her eyes.

            “Me neither except your light kinda hurt’s my eyes.” Instantly his glow went out. She knew this becasuse the warmth it had emitted had disappated and suddenly she was cold. She cautiously removed her hand from her still very green eyes and stared at her twin.

            “How…?” She whispered. He glanced down at himself and looked at her with huge blue eyes.

            “I don’t know.” He murmured again.

            Someone opened one of the back doors and a rectangle of light spilled across the ground.

            “Laila. Laramie. What are you guys doing?” Amber’s soprano voice drifted to them.

“Um. Nothing.” Laramie called back. “Look Laila, new plan. I’ll go in and get them to leave. You go around the front and put some sunglasses on to cover your eyes.” He started for the door and turned back to her. “We’ll figure this out Lay. I promise.”

Chapter 6 An Unexpected Offer

She watched as her brother disappeared into her house and she took off around the side and snuck in the front door. Luckily, the lights were off so she could see perfectly as she took the stairs by twos. At the top of the stairs she slowed down and went to her room. She walked to her dresser and grabbed her designer sunglasses with her back to her full length mirror. She took a big breath and slowly turned to face herself. As she caught sight of herself, she took a step back and bumped into her dresser. She gasped. Unlike the reflection in her cell phone, now she could see her whole face. But it wasn’t her, it couldn’t be. The glowing green eyes had changed everything. The face staring back wasn’t the pure beautiful visage of Laila Campbell, no this face was something different. Although still gorgeous, this face was dark and unfathomable, even dangerous in it’s obscurity and it scared her. She jammed her sunglasses onto her face and although it didn’t darken her vision at all, it hid the glow of her eyes fairly well. When one last glance at the mirror didn’t reveal anything new, she walked down the stairsand helped Laramie usher out their friends.

“Bye guys! Thanks for coming. I had a great time!” Laila plastered on a smile. As soon as the last person was out the door Laila collapsed on their couch.

“This is too weird! Why is this happening to us? What is this?” Laila looked at Laramie, his brow was furrowed and he looked very concentrated.

“Lare?” He looked up at her slowly.

“What if…” He hesitated. “What if this has something to do with this?” He tapped his head and thought to her. We’ve always  known this wasn’t normal. Maybe there was more to it we never knew about.

Suddenly there was a light rap on their front door. She tore her thoughts from his. “I’ll get it.” Laila told him. “Amber probably forgot something as usual.” Laila opened the door and froze. It wasn’t Amber, instead standing in their doorway was a woman with startlingly white hair and deep purple eyes that were now trained on her. “Hello. You must be Laila.” She pronouced it Lay-la and Laila was quick to correct her.

“Um. Laila actually. LIE-LA.”

“Ah. Laila. My apologies.” She took her hand and shook it warmly. Laramie walked up behind her, puzzled.

“And you’re Laramie.” It was Laramie’s turn to shake her hand. The mysterious woman looked past them into their manor.

“May I come in?”

Laila glanced uncertainly at Laramie and he shrugged. “Sure.” The woman stepped gracefully over the threshold and Laramie led them to the smaller of their two family rooms. Laila had no idea who this weird-eyed stranger was or what she wanted but she decided to play hostess anyway for the time being. “Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea… Wine?” Laila asked.

“No thank you. I think we should just get down to business.”

Once again Laila looked up at Laramie for help and Laramie spoke up.

“Um… Excuse me but, who are you?”

The woman’s purple eyes widened and she threw her olive skinned hands up. “Oh my! I am so sorry. How rude of me.” She stood up and Laila got her first good look at the stranger. As before, the first things that stood out were her big purple eyes and shockingly white hair that was cut into a contemporary bob style, but as she looked longer she realized the woman had a very strange sense of fasion. She was wearing a black and silver corset over a blue peasant blouse with a florid, calf length, hankercheif skirt. Rainbow striped tights and black ballet flats completed her ensemble.

The woman’s voice interrupted Laila’s analysis and she looked up. “I am Arietta Addison, but you can call me Addie for short.” The woman beamed at them and Laila grinned uncertainly.

“Uh… Hi Addie. What—er— “business” are you talking about?”

“I am here, in light of recent events, to invite you to enroll in school at Watercourse Academy. You are each eligible to apply for a full scholarship if you wish, but that, in all probabiltity, wouldn’t be necessary for you two would it?” She winked.

“Watercourse? I’ve never heard of it. Is it nearby?” Laila asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Addie frowned slightly.

“Well it’s not in Beverly Hills. It is the Oregon Northwest Extension in the Tyro Educational Network and I realize that’s far, but if you decide to come, we provide living quarters for you. ”

“Oh I see. It’s a boarding school.”

What do you think, Lare?

I think we need to get her out of here so we can try to figure out our little problem.

“Thank you for your time Addie, but I don’t think we’re interested in transferring schools, especially since we only have one week left at Randall Pri—” Laramie was cut off.

“That is irrelevant. Our school is year-round and you haven’t even heard about our unique student body or our gifted program yet.” Addie grinned mysteriously.

“No really, it’s okay—” Laila started.

“Laila.” Addie interupted again.

“Um… Yes?”

“Would you please remove your sunglasses?” Laila’s jaw dropped and she glanced quickly at her brother who had tensed up and was already looking back at her. What do I do? Laila didn’t even try to hide the panic in her thoughts. No doubt this woman would make a scene and Laila would be condemned as a freak.

Tell her you just had your eyes dialated.

But it’s almost eleven o’clock! Suddenly a rush of cool calmness settled in her mind and she saw Laramie’s body relax. Laila relaxed too. After all, nothing bad would happen, she was sure. Laila reached up and took off her sunglasses. Immediately she had to squint and shade her eyes from the ceiling lights. “Ah. That makes two. Limited telepathy and night vision.” Addie muttered to herself. She turned her attention once again to Laila’s confused face and spoke up. “Tell me dear, have you tried turning it off?”

“I don’t know how. Laramie turned his off but he doesn’t know how he did it.” Laila didn’t have the slightest idea why she was confiding in someone she met only five minutes before, but the calm still made her mind feel a little fuzzy and strange.

“Laramie had the green eyes, too?” Addie raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

“No he glew. Or glowed.” Laila giggled stupidly. “I don’t know how to say it.” Addie scrunched up her eyebrows and looked deep in thought.

“So that’s two for each. Hmm. Interesting. Well I’m afraid I’m running low on time, I have another last minute pick up to make in Oklahoma in two days. Lucky you three have august birthdays so if you decide to attend you can begin only a little bit behind.”

“So there are more like us?” Laramie broke in.

“Of course, Sweetheart. Many more.” Addie smiled. “Close your eyes, Laila. Let me help you.” Laila obediently closed her eyes and felt fingertips on her eyelids. Warmth similar to that emitted by Laramie’s glow seeped into Laila’s eyes from Addie’s fingertips. Soon she felt the pressure lifted and Laila opened her eyes warily. The light no longer hurt her eyes and when she looked at Laramie he looked stunned. “They’re back! They’re back to blue!” He exclaimed.

“What did you do?” Laila turned to Addie, she was more curious than scared.

“I turned it off.” She said simply. “Now I know all this must be very stressful for the both of you, but I will be needing your decision quickly. I’ll give you a few minutes to discuss and if you opt to attend Trikwon, I’ll walk you through from there.”

“Okay.” Laila and Laramie left Addie and went to their other den, still littered with popcorn. It would have been easier to just stay in the room with Addie and think to each other, but it would also have been incredibly awkward for her, the only one not included in the silent conversation.

As soon as Laramie shut the door behind them, Laila couldn’t hold it in anymore. “I want to go!” She blurted.

Laramie frowned. “I don’t know, Lay. We should think about this.”

“Lare, this could be it! They have the answer to all this.”

“We don’t even know where this place is.” He said doubtfully.

“I have a feeling. This is what we’ve been waiting for. I just know it.”

Laramie sighed heavily and sat down. “Won’t you miss it?”

Laila knit her eyebrows together. “I don’t understand.”

“If we go, Lay, this is it. It’s the end of our charade.” He hesitated. “This is us admitting we aren’t normal and we can’t come back to the life we’re living now. Nothing will be the same.” Laila looked at the ground and looked into his eyes. This way of life held nothing for her. Always an outcast, she now had a chance to fit in and she was going to take it.

“I’m ready.” She whispered. Laramie smiled gently.

“Well then I am, too.”

Chapter 7 A Long Night

Laramie stood up and they both walked back to where Addie was sitting patiently on their couch.

“Ah, so what’s your decision?” She smiled cheerfully as if she already knew.

Laramie glanced at Laila and she stepped forward. “We accept your invitation.”

“This is great news! Everyone will be so excited. Now you both must pack everything you need and drive to the airport around eight o’clock tommorow morning. Someone will be waiting for you and don’t worry about your cars, they will arrive at the academy within the week.”

Addie was talking so fast now that Laila’s head was spinning.

“…I’m sure you’ll love it there. Almost everyone is quite friendly, and don’t worry about your parents. An email will arrive shortly informing them of your recruitment to a prestigious boarding school. I don’t believe they will ask too many questions and you don’t have to tell them about your gifts if you’d prefer not to.” She said with a knowing look.

“Yeah, we’d absolutely prefer not to.” Laila grimaced.

Addie stood and began walking towards the door. “Well I had better be off now. Do you have any questions?”

“Are pets allowed?” Laila asked innocently. Laramie looked at her questioningly but she ignored him.

“Yes.” Addie replied wrinkling her brow. “But no ferrets, please. Archie already has one and one is already more than enough.” With that, she opened the door and her hankerchief skirt swirled in sudden wind and she disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly, the fuzzy calm that had been present since Laila took off her sunglasses disappeared.

“Oh wow. Did that just happen?” Laramie reached over and pinched her.

“Ow!”

“Yeah.” Laramie grinned. “It happened.”

“So I guess we should get packing then.”

“First, I have a birthday present for you.”

“Oh my gosh!” Laila looked up at the ceiling toward Laramie’s present which was probably peeing all over her bathroom floor. “Me too. I almost forgot!”