Logan hit someone’s foot on his way to the front.
He tripped and almost hit the floor. Thankfully, his other foot was able to save him. He glanced over his shoulder and mumbled an apology. He met the sight of a tan girl with bleached hair.
“No, no, it’s okay,” the owner of the foot replied. She gave him a small smile, “It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, totally” She giggled breathily.
“So you can still walk?”
“Uh…” the girl furrowed her eyebrows, “Yes?”
Logan beamed, “Then, do you and your partner mind if you move to other chairs? Because we’d like to borrow yours.”
Alex scowled, “Is that how you borrow things?”
She passed by the same aisle without a hitch. It was one the times when she appreciated her thin stature and small feet. It also probably helped that she looked at where she was going—unlike someone.
“What’s wrong with it?” Logan frowned.
She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. Then, she faced the two girls. They had gone silent. Alex didn’t think much of it. She relaxed her eyes and curled her lips to a sheepish smile.
“I’m sorry about this. Is it okay if we borrow your chairs? We just need them for our act” she spoke politely.
The first girl gulped. She didn’t like prying into anyone’s business but the flyer made her curious. She looked up Alex’s real name and a list of articles appeared. They recounted the times that the young heiress made public appearances. None of them supported the claims of the flyers at all.
Alexandra seemed active in charity works. The articles provided a few candid shots of her, some with her mother and some alone. Then, there were ones about her homeschool experience. They explained how she desired to have a normal high school life but felt that her status placed a risk.
In order to convince her family, she needed to forego her name. The change of genders added security. Neither meant others harm.
The girl compared them with what she knew of Alex. She always kept to herself and never seeked attention. She let her work speak on her behalf.
If the girl focused on those alone, she would confidently say that the flyers were a bunch of trash lies!
She couldn’t say those outright at the moment though. She’d need to think of another way to show that she was on Alex’s side.
“It’s not a problem,” she finally replied, standing up. She didn’t even let her partner have a say in the matter, “We’ll just move to yours at the back.”
She grinned. She hoped they could see its sincerity. Then, she nudged her partner and headed for the back.
“Tell me…” Logan whispered to Alex, “Does your ‘boy’ charm still work on girls?”
“What ‘boy’ charm?” She asked sarcastically, “It was just a genuine request.”
She grabbed the armchair on its backrest and desk, carrying it to the center of the stage. Logan followed her example. They set the two chairs to face each other.
Once satisfied, they sat down. Alex brought out an elastic to tie her hair tips. The short ponytail rested at the base of her head. It pulled away any strands that framed her face. She wrapped the sleeves of her leather jacket around her shoulders and tied them over her chest.
Logan waited patiently.
When she was done, Alex slouched on her seat. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
A loud bang echoed in the room as her hand and upper arm slammed on the desk. The black flecks in her eyes darkened. She sneered at Logan.
“I don’t want to play Juliet, Duke! How many times should I say it for you to accept that?!”
Lauren was the first to react. She choked on her own spit, recognizing the words. Max blinked in surprise. They exchanged a look. No one in this class was unfamiliar with the dialogue.
At the front corner of the audience, Ms. Smith smiled to herself. She just knew that the pair wouldn’t disappoint her.
“And I don’t want to play Juliet either, Sebastian! How many times should I say it for you to accept that?!”
“We both can’t be Romeo! That’s not the assignment.”
“So give up and be Juliet” Logan scoffed.
Alex groaned and covered her face with the palm of her hand. She clenched her teeth, “Why would I be Juliet when the instructions state that girls would be Romeo? I know my rights, obnoxious egotistical basketball jock.”
“What did you say?”
Alex dropped her hand and stared at him. Her eyes were wide with an ‘I-Am-So-Done-With-You’ look, “Nothing, obnoxious egotistical basketball jock.”
“Oh, so…” Logan snorted, “We’re making up nicknames now? Then, you are skinny delicate pretty boy.”
“You think I’m pretty?” Alex blinked, tilting her head to one side, “I didn’t know you swing that way.”
Logan’s face went red and almost missed his cue, “No, I—! Just take Juliet’s role and do it for our grade.”
“Gee,” Alex smirked smugly, “It seems to me that you’re better suited for it.”
“I do no—”
“This conversation is over. Buh-bye.”
Alex walked to the podium. The desk had been moved to the middle. She ducked behind it and vanished from their sight.
Logan rose to his feet. He had hands placed behind his head. He walked around the empty space. He went from wall to wall. He took his time and gazed at the ceiling.
“Aw, man. I don’t even know Sebastian’s phone number. Dude keeps running away from me. How am I supposed to corner him?” He thought out loud.
Sighing in dejection, Logan stopped near the door. He ruffled his hair, “Gah! What am I going to do? My partner is uncooperative… should I visit his house?”
He opened the door and took one step outside, “Wait, this is not Sebastian’s house. Oops.”
An unamused snort came from behind the desk.
Logan went back inside, the door locks clicking together. He turned around and hummed. He tapped his fingers against his chin, “Where does he live again? I always see him on my way to school.”
He placed his hands on his hips.
Alex popped out from behind the desk. She had removed both the hair tie and the jacket. She looked just like she did earlier—except for the pink lipstick on her lips.
She visibly froze when she and Logan locked eyes. Hers gradually widened, her eyebrows rising up as well.
If sound effects could be added, the audience would hear her scream internally.
“Sebastian?!” Logan yelled. He assessed her from head to desk, “Are you a girl?”
Alex walked around it, choosing the direction away from Logan. She fidgeted with her hands. She tapped on random parts of her body. Should she shield herself?
What was one supposed to do in this situation?
“Pfftt, me? A girl? You must be joking” Alex denied awkwardly. She blew a raspberry, her expression lighting up, “I mean—I’m not Sebastian. I am his twin sister, Viola.”
She beamed at Logan, pressing her wrists together. She tucked her chin on her palms and cupped her cheeks.
She giggled in high pitch, “Do you like cheese? My favorite is gouda.”
The gesture was meant to portray a poor attempt of changing the subject.
Logan fell at a loss for words. Never in his wildest dream did he think Alex could act like a cute young girl. She reminded him of those lolita videos—minus the costume.
“O-Oh, yeah?” He stuttered. Then, his thumb nudged the tip of his nose, “If you’re really his twin, call him right now.”
Ha! Logan exclaimed mentally. I got you now!
Alex dropped her hands, seeing through his intentions. They both knew this didn’t happen. He just wanted to get the upper hand again. She bit her inner cheek.
Well, two could play that game.
“He’s not here,” she explained. Then, she stuck out her bottom lip, “Sorry. Don’t mean to be rude but please leave.”
Logan’s expression became a deadpan one. Her tone and her face didn’t match. She clearly meant to be rude.
“You can always call him in his cell” he smirked and folded his arms over his chest.
Alex rolled her eyes, unfazed, “He’s outside, riding his skateboard. It’s very dangerous to skate and use your phone.”
She stepped down the podium and began to walk away, “Sorry again. Absolutely not possible.”
Logan grabbed her upper arm and yanked, “Just try it.”
Alex tried to peel off his grip but Logan had no intentions of letting go. He was taking this act too far! The original play had a number of characters when Viola revealed her real gender and identity. They scraped that one immediately and considered the movie version.
Again, there were too many characters.
They figured Ms. Smith expected them to use this scene—Lauren had suggested this play for the same reason. They couldn’t pick another scene but the reveal. Two sources already seemed improbable. Thus, they only had one left to use…
Real life.
Since they only had 15 minutes to prepare, they realized that enacting what happened was the best option. It also gave them a chance to tell their perspective. It felt like a win-win. When would they ever get the chance again?
Except, none of these ad libs seemed necessary! They didn’t push the progress forward. What was Logan thinking?!
“Fine.” Alex grumbled. She took her phone and dialed a random number. A voice mail picked up, “See? No answer.”
She tugged her arm back again.
Logan still didn’t budge. He snatched her phone and pressed it against his ear, “It says that the number is unreachable.”
“His phone is always on airplane mode while skating” Alex shrugged.
She attempted to free herself for the third time. When Logan refused, she had enough. She used her free arm and jabbed his side, “Are you seriously recreating the things you wished you said back then?”
The realization came to her as she said it. Logan seemed ready with these lines. He wanted to put her on the spot. It was the only explanation!
Logan’s hold finally loosened. She didn’t waste a second and moved away from him.
“What if I am?” He admitted. Then, he glared at her, “I caught you already but you made a fool out of me.”
“I only emphasized what was already there.”
“You—” He groaned and dropped the topic. A series of amused laughter rang in his ears. That was good. They just need to keep this up.
Logan crossed his arms over his chest, squinting, “How come I don’t see you at school then?”
“Uh, we… don’t go to the same one?” Alex answered with an unsure voice, “Who says we need to?”
“Never seen you around town either.”
She gave Logan an amused look. Her shoulders shook, “Maybe you thought I was Sebastian.”
“Fraternal twins can’t be that similar.”
“You just say that because you look nothing like your twin” she pointed out.
Logan took a step forward. His eyes drop to the floor, a smug look on his face. Then, he smirked at Alex, “How did you know I have a twin?”
Alex gawked in return. Those must have been some long nights. He practically saw through all the loopholes in her dialogues. The small flame inside her ignited.
A familiar sensation flowed in her veins.
…
…
…
…
…
She smacked the back of his head, “Bruh, Sebastian is not mute. He isn’t Harry Potter either who is oblivious to a lot of things around him.”
Logan scowled, rubbing the sore spot. He shrugged casually, “You do have a point there…”
He ran out of amo. He had imagined these conversations way too many times before… but Alex loved to ruin his perfectly planned comeback lines.
Would he ever win?
“Are you really not Sebastian?” He sighed in defeat.
Alex chuckled, “Sebastian and I really are twins, Duke.”
