“Why are you here in the middle of the week? Don’t you have school tomorrow?”
Emily stretched her arm and pointed a finger at Alex, “Don’t you dare try to change the topic.”
Alex hissed, making Emily laugh. Oh, Emily knew all too well that her cousin loved her a lot. If Alex felt this grumpy, it only meant she had juicy stories to look forward to.
“But unlike you, I answer questions pointed my way” Emily laughed, “It’s Freccia Preparatory Academy’s Foundation Week starting tomorrow. We have extra-curricular activities going on until next Friday but I’m not about to stick around for that when I can stay here.”
“I still have school though, Em” Alex pointed out. She took another slice of pizza, “I can’t hang out with you that much.”
“Are you kidding?” Emily scoffed playfully, “Don’t worry about me. I can entertain myself. I have enough web novels, movies and tv shows to keep me occupied.”
“But don’t you do that at home too?”
“True but you know what the difference is? The imperial family authorities aren’t around. Do you know what that means? I get to spend my time on my own terms! If that is not more desirable than ‘fun’ school activities, I don’t know what is” Emily explained.
Alex chuckled. Of course, Emily found the perfect plan for her week off school. Since Aunt Lilly spent a lot of time at the office, Emily would be alone for most part of the day and she could get her own food just fine.
“Enough about me” Emily interrupted. She scooted over to lay down on her stomach next to the pizza. She placed the pillow under her chest and tilted her head up to stare at her cousin, “Last time I heard you worried about how to get your phone back from Lorenz.”
“Logan” Alex corrected her.
Emily waved her hand, “Whatever. Did you get it back?”
“It’s a long story, Em” Alex tried to stall, taking a bite off the pizza. She knew it wouldn’t work on her cousin but she still felt like giving it a shot.
“Oh, well then, let me see” Emily said, glancing on the imaginary watch on her wrist, “Look at that! I have a week and a half free! I got time for this.”
Then, she slapped Alex’s thigh, “Stop being such a baby. Tell, tell, tell!”
Alex swallowed the pizza, “I did get it back.”
“And?” Emily pressed.
“And the end.”
“Ohohoho, missy. If you want tell me, I could always go ask Aunt Lilly and the devil himself, Lochlan—”
“Logan.”
“Yeah, yeah, that one. Do you trust him enough to tell this story?”
Emily snorted a laugh at the frown on Alex’s face. It appeared almost instantly after she asked her question. This Loki guy must be an entertaining fellow to rile up her cousin just by the thought of him.
“Fine” Alex sighed reluctantly. She put down the pizza slice and placed an elbow on her thigh, cupping her cheek. She gazed up at the ceiling and recalled the events as if it had been a film she saw in theaters, “Aunt Lilly found out that I told Logan I had a twin.”
Emily gasped dramatically, “Did you get in trouble?”
Alex gave her a deadpan look. Her cousin truly didn’t hold back from showing her interest, “No, I didn’t but she did say I should just tell him the truth.”
“And did you?”
“… eventually.”
“Then, what happened first?”
“I snuck into the basketball team’s locker room.”
“What?” Emily half-yelled. She gaped at her cousin. That had to be the most daring thing Alex had ever done, “Why did you do that?”
“To get the phone back, of course. I wouldn’t even be near that place if I didn’t have to” Alex could almost smell it. She wrinkled her nose. She should finish this part of the story soon or the scent of wet dog would be stuck in her head, “But then, I couldn’t find Logan’s locker. I didn’t know which one had been his. Eventually, I ran out of time and someone walked in.”
“Was it Lorcan?”
“Logan” Alex replied on reflex, “Yeah, it had been Logan. I had my wig on that day in case someone caught me. I could just say I got lost.”
“Wait, wait, wait” Emily said, “You mean to say you went there as Xandra? Did he fall for you?”
“Yeah, a girl sneaking to the boys’ locker room is very romantic.”
“Depends.”
Alex scrunched her eyebrows, “Depends on what?”
Emily shrugged, “Depends if the girl is attractive. I bet you looked like a Barbie doll that day. I would have paid to see it.”
“You want to hear this story or not?” Alex reminded her.
“Go on, please!”
“Since Xandra came like Logan wanted, he handed the phone back. But then… then, I lost the other one.”
Emily bursted out laughing. She rolled to her side, holding her stomach. Alex sighed and watched her cousin enjoy her misery.
“Aw, man. I shouldn’t find it funny, I know but… geez” Emily wheezed in between laughs, “The irony of it all is just too funny! You get one back then, lose the other one. You sound cursed.”
Alex groaned. If she could choose a word to call the incident, it would be: Cursed.
“Okay, okay, I’m done” Emily breathed out. She sat up, crossing her legs. She needed to fill back the air her lungs lost.
“Are you sure?” Alex teased, “Do you know who found it?”
“Who?”
“Logan’s brother, Jae.”
Emily found herself in another fit of giggles. Alex could only smile in amusement. At least, someone found it entertaining.
“Am I hearing a love triangle here?” Emily asked, “You, Locklyn and Jacklyn.”
“It’s Logan and—never mind. You are just doing that on purpose.”
“Well, I find it cute when you correct me.”
Alex pointed a finger at Emily. With dry humor, she said “Abuse. That is abuse, Em.”
Emily fluttered her eyes, “But you love me.”
“Not enough to tell you the rest of the story.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Emily said. She reached out to tug on Alex’s arm, “I’ll behave. I want to hear more.”
The corner of Alex’s lip turned up, “No more abuse?”
Emily drew a cross on her chest with her finger and raised her right hand, “I swear.”
“Good. So this is what happened…”
True to her word, Emily behaved while Alex kept her up to date about her life—with the occasional verbal reactions. If kids wanted a bedtime story so they could fall asleep, this story didn’t make the cut.
Emily’s energy proved it.
“Let me get this straight ” Emily interrupted, “When MockingJae found your phone, he decided to look for you like you’re some sort of Cinderella. Then, you decided to tell Lorghan that you and Xandra are just one person in order to get it back. In the middle of all of this, somehow Lauren found out your secret but promised not to tell anyone? Am I on the right track here?”
“Yes, that’s mostly what happened” Alex nodded.
Emily clicked her tongue. Where was the juicy story she had been looking for?
