Jessica Wakefield brushed her spun-gold hair back from her face and lifted her chin in the mirror. Narrowing her eyes, she scrutinized a spot on her chin. She scrubbed at it fiercely, and then stepped back, throwing herself on her twin sister's bed.
"It's no use, Lizzie!" she wailed, kicking her feet up in distress. "I'm an absolute mess. Nothing can save me. You should just go to this party without me. It's probably for the best." With a mournful sigh, she turned on her stomach and buried her head in the immaculately made bedspread.
Elizabeth looked up from her position at her desk. Seeing that Jessica was wrinkling her bed, she scrunched up a piece of paper and tossed it at her head. Jessica swatted it away.
"Must you kick me while I'm down?" she mewed pitifully.
"I apologize," Elizabeth said dryly. "Now may I ask why you're so depressed?"
With surprising energy, Jessica shot up into a sitting position. "Be-ca-aause," she said. "I've worn everything in my closet at least one hundred and thirty seven times. And I can't afford anything new because I have to pay Lila back for the money she leant me when we went shopping last time."
"Can't you just borrow something of Lila's?" Elizabeth asked.
"I would, but she's so fussy about her clothes," Jessica whined. "Honestly. I spilt a tiny bit of seafood sauce on one blouse and I'm banned from ever wearing her clothes again!"
"She wouldn't even notice if you just went to her room and stole half her wardrobe," Elizabeth mused. "I bet she hasn't even worn much of it."
Jessica rolled her eyes. "It's a bit more difficult to break into her place now," she reminded Elizabeth. "She doesn't live on campus anymore, remember? Her and Bruce finally bought that beach-house."
Elizabeth tapped her pen against her notepad. "That's right. What a waste of money."
Jessica looked shocked. "Liz! How can you even think it would be a waste? I ..."
Elizabeth tuned out as she stared at her sister. They were mirror images, but those who knew them could tell a thousand stories swearing that the two were nothing alike. While Elizabeth regarded a good night to be sitting back in her room with a good book, or at the movies with her best friend Nina Harper, Jessica couldn't think of anything more boring. While Elizabeth was at university for her education, Jessica was there for the fun, freedom, and most of all, boys. Her weekends and her weekdays were spent at her sorority house, at the movies, bars, clubs and anywhere else she fancied. Studying never seemed to be an issue for her, while Elizabeth prided herself on her excellent academics and her enormous contribution to the university publication.
She felt a rush of affection for her sister. They might be two very different young women, but they had been through a lot together ever since they moved out of their home and began university. Elizabeth recalled with a shudder the attempts on her life by William White, Jessica's assault from jaded footballer James Montgomery, and the up and down relationships she and her sister had experienced. She thought back to Todd Wilkins, her long-time high-school sweetheart, and Tom Watts, her first real relationship since she'd arrived on campus. Of course, there had been a couple of disastrous dates... Scott Sinclair, Finn Robinson... and finally...
"... and she's even got her own steam room!" Jessica finished, throwing her hands up in the air. "I would kill to own a beach-house."
Elizabeth spread her hands out wide. "Hey, our little complex isn't too bad, is it?"
They both looked around fondly at their duplex, off-campus place they shared with Nina Harper, Neil Martin, Jessica's homosexual best friend, and Sam Burgess, the dirty slacker who they had met on a cross-country road trip for a television show. Jessica nodded, pretending to be resigned. "It's not much, but it's home!"
A stereo blasted to life downstairs, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Although there are a couple of things I wouldn't mind changing," she muttered, pushing back from her desk and standing to stretch.
Jessica clapped her hands over ears dramatically. "I wish Sam had moved out to a beach-house," she grumbled.
Elizabeth didn't respond, instead biting her lip and crossing the floor to her wardrobe. Her sister still had no idea that she had shared quite a few steamy kisses with Sam Burgess, and Elizabeth intended to keep it that way. Jessica's evident distaste for the good-looking slacker was enough of an indication that Elizabeth should be staying away from him. "Well, we better get dressed, I guess."
Jessica bounded out of the door, calling over her shoulder, "If you find something hot, tell me!"
Elizabeth slowly, mechanically, sorted through her clothes. She had a couple of nice party dresses, but they were nothing compared to the bursting-at-the-seams wardrobe Jessica boasted. Nothing seemed right for the party they had both planned on attending that night.
She headed for the door, and padded across the carpet towards Jessica's room, which was wide open. Jessica was looking at herself in her full-length mirror, holding a bright turquoise dress against her body.
"I wore this at our Theta rush party a couple of months ago," she said animatedly. "But I'm not sure whether anyone would remember it. Of course, there were pictures taken..." her voice drifted off, and she tossed the dress back onto a growing pile on her bed. "No. Back to closet it goes."
"I think you mean back to the rubbish heap," Elizabeth corrected her, automatically reaching for the dress and heading towards the closet to hang it up. "This place is a tip, Jess."
Jess ignored her, reaching for the next thing in her closet. She slipped a peach-coloured skirt from its' hanger, and held it lovingly against her. "Peach washes me out," she complained, throwing it back. "I may as well throw everything I own away."
Elizabeth sighed, and rummaged through the closet. She extracted a beautiful geometric-print dress, which had long sleeves and hit around mid-thigh. "Is this new?"
Jessica barely glanced at it. "Kind of. I borrowed it from Denise Waters. I think she bought it a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't fit her. You can wear it if you like," she added generously.
Elizabeth pulled it off the hanger. "I think I might. I've got a pair of shoes that will go great with it."
"You can pay me back by lending me those slingbacks you bought for New Years," Jessica said triumphantly, pulling out her dress of choice. It was a gauzy black dress, with a tight fitted bodice and a short, flippy skirt. "I wore this on a date with Cameron Haze a couple of months ago. He took me to some foreign movie at the Cineplex. Thank God no one saw me."
She slammed the door shut and shimmied into the dress, admiring herself from different angles. "That was easier than I thought!"
Elizabeth eyed the mess she had made. "Cleaning it up might be a little harder."
Jessica flapped her hand at her twin. "Don't rain on my parade. We're going to look fantastic, Lizzie."
Elizabeth slipped on the dress, almost baulking when she saw how short it was. "This is practically a shirt," she complained. "I'm taking it off. It isn't me."
Jessica raised her hand. "If you take that off, I'm not going to be responsible for my actions. Come on. We don't want to be late, do we?"
Elizabeth giggled, picking up a matching black purse. "Jessica Wakefield, worried about being late?"
Jessica laughed, her eyes twinkling. "I guess my curiosity has gotten the better of me. Randy Mason drops off the face of the planet, and then suddenly decides to throw some big party and hires out the Student Centre? Something has to be up."
"Maybe he's had another makeover," Elizabeth suggested, linking arms with her sister as they walked downstairs.
"I think one makeover is enough for a lifetime," Jessica surmised, and Elizabeth knew she was remembering the time she had dated Randy after he had arrived at university, minus the glasses, puppy fat and high-waisted beige pants.
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we'll have a good time," Elizabeth replied. She grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter and shouted, "Sam! Nina! We're going now!" Neil was working late and would meet them at the Student Centre afterwards.
"I'll be there later!" Nina yelled back from her room. Elizabeth waited for a response from Sam, but it didn't come.
"Sam!" Jessica tried again. "Do you want a lift to the Centre or what?"
No response.
"Sam!" Elizabeth hollered at the top of her lungs.
Sam's head popped up from the couch, his hair messily spiked and his eyes droopy. "No need to yell," he retorted drearily.
Elizabeth crossed her arms. "We're leaving now. Do you want a lift or not?"
Sam sat up a little straighter, and his eyes widened as if he was seeing Elizabeth for the first time. "No," he managed. Coughing slightly, he adopted his too-cool attitude. "If I go out, I'll get there myself."
Jessica spun on her heel. "Whatever." She stalked out. "Coming, Liz?"
"Yeah," Elizabeth said softly, her gaze still locked on Sam. "See you later."
She felt Sam's eyes on her as she walked out, and with the ghost of a smile on her lips, she swung her hips slightly. Maybe tonight would be the night that he finally got his act together. Maybe tonight would be the night that they became an official couple.
She caught sight of her reflection in her car window as she went to unlock it. Her hair was tousled, and she quickly ran her hand through it. She wore only a hint of mascara and eyeliner, and a plum lipgloss. Needless to say, she thought she looked pretty good for someone who had spent less than ten minutes on her appearance.
Maybe tonight would be the start of something different.