Stanford opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. It hadn't been so bad—that first week at Backupsmore College. It wasn't his dream school, but—it was school—and he lived to learn.
Rolling over, he looked at the bed across the room. His roommate, Fiddleford McGucket, was still asleep. In that first week they had become fast friends—and Stanford was glad for that—as there was a hole in his heart.
He got out of bed and went over to the window. Outside were the crowded streets of New Jersey.
"Stanley, where are you? "Stanford mumbled aloud.
A couple of weeks before, Stanford had had the chance to get into a prestigious college across the country. When the recruiters came, however, his perpetual motion machine, which the recruiters were there to see, did not work. Stanford had found evidence that his twin brother Stanley had been there, and automatically assumed that he had sabotaged the machine on purpose…
A tear came to Stanford's eye.
"Stanley, how could I have done that to you? How could I have assumed you did that on purpose? "
Behind him there was a yawn, then a voice with a thick southern accent said, "Hey there, Stanford, ready to start a new day—are you okay? "
Stanford wiped a tear away and turned to his roommate. "Yes, Fiddleford. Did you sleep well? "
He wiped away another tear, and his roommate frowned, getting out of bed. He pushed his thick hair out of his eyes and stood, his pajamas looking decidedly too big for his slight frame. He walked over to the young man by the window. "Stanford, what's wrong? "
The young man sighed. "I'm—I was just—missing my brother is all. "
Fiddleford looked distressed. "Aw, I'm sorry. I was an only child, myself. Older or younger?"
"What? "
"Your brother. "
"Oh—"
Stanford cast another glance out the window. "We're—we're identical twins, actually. "
"Wow."
Fiddleford looked at the floor a moment, then up at Stanford and smiled. When they first met, Ford couldn't help but notice that the blue of his roommate's eyes reminded him of the shallow part of the ocean where he and Stanley used to run on the beach.
"I know I'm not much," Fiddleford said, "-but I'll do my best to fill the brotherly role if you want. "
Stanford grinned down at his roommate and let the tears fall. One of the worst things about Backupsmore was that he hadn't made many friends. He had to say that aside from his brother, Fiddleford McGucket was the best friend he'd ever had.
"Thank you, Fiddleford." He said. "I really appreciate that. "