‘Now, do you really think I will answer that when her brother is around?’ Logan answered in his mind but the words that came out of his mouth was, “Do you really think you’re worthy enough yet to find someone for yourself?”
With those words whispered into the air, Logan got up and left the cafeteria.
Alex gulped.
The drama she just witnessed left everyone speechless. Jae watched as Logan walked away while Colin and Max watched him. As for Alex, she felt like she just saw something she shouldn’t have seen. Never had she heard a fight break out between the twins. Their reputation in school was too big to miss any gossip about them—even if she tried.
“I’m not hungry. I’ll go shoot some hoops.” Jae finally spoke. He didn’t look at them as he picked up his lunch tray and left. Max soon followed his example.
Alex eyed them as they walked out of the cafeteria. Max had placed a hand on Jae’s shoulder but his best friend simply shrugged it off. When she turned to look at the rest of the school, they seemed to be mimicking her movements. That meant the entire thing didn’t go unnoticed.
“They’ll be okay.” Colin spoke up.
“Huh?” Alex looked at him.
He ate the last bite off his plate and wiped his mouth with a tissue, “Since you’re a part of this circle now, I think you should know a few things.”
Alex’ heart raced at the sound of ‘since you’re a part of this circle now.’
Colin smiled at her kindly and explained, “Jae and Logan don’t really have a good sibling relationship. Oh, they’re civilized to each other, of course. They don’t exactly feel like sharing it with the rest of the world. Not to mention, they don’t want their folks to worry too much about them. Most of the time they ignore the bad blood between them but… ” he sighed, “Time doesn’t always wash things away. We can only wait for them to finally find peace.”
He gave her one last ruffle on her hair before he got up and left.
For the first time since the first day of school, Alex found herself alone at her table.
The quiet seemed surreal and it seemed like everyone else had something to do.
What about her? What was she to do?
Alex sat with her thoughts, pressing her lips together. The incident had opened her eyes and woke up her mind. Colin’s words swirled inside her head. They were true. Not everything washed away with time. Especially not lies… and now, those lies had come between two siblings.
She needed to do something… but what?
The answer had been staring right at her for days… and it was something she should have done in the first place.
With a bit of determination, she took her lunch tray, placed it on the ‘return’ counter and ran.
Logan had been walking to the laboratories for his next class without his knowledge. His feet somehow directed him to it, probably from routine. His mind, however, circled around Xandra’s phone and the words he spoke to his brother.
It had been years since he brought that up yet the wound felt fresh. As if someone had picked on the scab and blood poured out like it was new… but what happened was too big for him to brush away and Jae hadn’t really done anything to fix it. That just meant he didn’t care enough to.
As he tried to climb out of his dark thoughts, a hand pulled him away from the hallway.
“What the—” Logan began to say as the door closed, “Who—”
“I need you to get that phone back.” A voice sounded in the darkness. A bulb lit up above Logan and he found himself to be inside a janitor’s closet.
“Alex?” He exclaimed.
“Sshh” Alex held up a finger against his lips, “Don’t let people find out we’re in here.”
“Why are we in here?” Logan asked her, whispering, “Why not talk to me in the hallway like a normal person?”
Alex glared at him and murmured sternly, “Because, genius, I need your help to get that phone back from Jae.”
The topic brought Logan’s temper back, “But isn’t that your sister’s problem? You know she really needs to stop losing her phone.”
“Shut up” Alex pushed him lightly, “Besides it wasn’t her phone that fell. It was mine.”
“Yours?”
“Yes, but it was an accident! I would have picked it up if I knew it fell!” Alex explained, “No one in their right mind would leave their phone intentionally you know!”
“Huh?” Logan breathed out. It felt like he was listening to a Geometry lecture instead of Alex. All these lines and numbers on the board that made no sense. Even with all the formulas, he couldn’t comprehend just exactly what was in front of him and what he was hearing.
Alex closed her eyes and sighed, holding her hands up in a prayer. When she opened her eyes, she stared straight into Logan’s green ones, “Ugh, Logan. You’re a smart guy and I appreciate that you placed a veil in your eyes to ignore the truth but believe me when I say… I don’t have a twin.”
“What?” Logan blinked a few times, trying to wake up from a daydream of him in class.
Alex held his shoulders, pushing him down slowly and pulling him closer, “My name is Alexandra.”
Logan blinked.
…
Then, he blinked again.
…
Logan.exe has stopped working.
…
“Alex… Xandra…” He mumbled, testing it in his lips, “Alex, Xandra.”
Alex rolled her eyes and let go of him, “It’s one name, Logan, not two.”
“Holy sh—!”
Before Logan could finish, he found his back pressed against the wall behind him, a hand on his mouth and Alex’ breath on his nose. The flecks in her eyes crystallized like obsidian.
“Keep your voice down. Do you really want people to find out we’re in this closet? Because I’m pretty sure they don’t think I’m a girl!”
