"Try to be like the turtle - at ease in your own shell." Bill Copeland

I know my story starts from the day I was born but let's face it; my life was pretty boring as a kid. Now it really begins when Stella and I were 16 years old, when we found out who our real birth dad was.

It started out as a normal day; waking up with horrible bed head, being almost late for school, and dancing with the guys in The Ally. The actual announcement happened at dinner. I knew something was up the moment I got back to school but didn't know what. Mom and dad were acting extremely jumpy and slightly nervous.

At first I thought that I was going to get into trouble but after going through all my recent escapades I realized I haven't really done something trouble worthy lately which is actually pretty rare. My next thought was that mom was pregnant since sitting through health class in school can start to make you think that anyone who is slightly panicky and is developing a slight bulge on their belly is pregnant, which would mean that I look pregnant after every big meal which is highly unreasonable. I decided to give up on worrying about it.

When we finally sat down for dinner I realized mom had cooked our favorite dishes which only confirmed my suspicions that something was up. When we first sat down mom asked us how our day was. My sister, Stella, then decided to go off on a five minute tale about what went on today and when she finished my parents looked to me for an answer. I simply said, "It was okay," because that was all it ever was. Not good and not bad, it was just okay, and I was fine with that.

My parents, giving up on trying to start an actual conversation with me, had then proceeded to talk about things going on in their lives and in the news. I began to wonder if maybe nothing was going to happen and it was all just my imagination. That's when the conversation took a turn.

"Stella. Lottie." My mom said while taking the time to look at both of us as she said our names, "your father and I have something we want to discuss with you." I called it, something was about to go down and although I was slightly worried about what was going to be discussed I still felt a bit smug at predicting that something was going to happen. That's one of the few things I can do that my sister cannot since she can be pretty dense about many things.

"Well I didn't ever really want to tell you this but due to the circumstances you are going to have to find out anyways so I will try to put this is the best way possible." She said with a slight nervous stutter and she began to gradually talk faster as her speech went on.

"Please know that your father and I love you guys both very much no matter what happens." She continued. I started to get more worried. What if they were getting a divorce? That's what it started to sound like.

"You should probably know that your father isn't actually your biological father." She blurted out that so fast that I had to take a second to process what she said in my head.

I almost spit out my drink and began to cough to prevent myself from choking on the water. Needless to say it wasn't my most graceful moment and I probably looked like a deer I headlights with grass hanging out of its mouth. Stella managed to look a lot more graceful with her response since she only managed a little gasp and the widening of her eyes. I looked at my dad for a second and he just sat there looking down at his plate with a somewhat sad look on his face.

"The truth is," she continued. "Your father married me when I was still pregnant. Before then he was just one of my friends but I didn't find out till after I got pregnant that he actually loved me and he was willing to be a father figure to my child, or my twins as we later found out."

I was truthfully still taking this all in and I couldn't help but wonder why is she telling this to us now? It seems like mom had read my thoughts because that's exactly what she had addressed next.

"Now I never originally planned to tell you this because I thought I would have nothing to do with your biological father so it was best that you never know. You see your biological father was considered a player, he definitely had money and he was quite handsome too. Of course, back in those days I was quite a looker too. Anyways I fell pretty hard for him but I knew his feeling for me were only temporary, he wasn't the type of guy to stay in one place for long. I decided to make the best of things anyways and just relax and live life for a while. That was, until I found out I was pregnant."

"Once I found out I panicked and just left without a word to anyone, I didn't even say goodbye to my parents. I figured that even if I told your biological father that it would just be a burden to him and he wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore. Of course, your father followed me and confessed his love for me and we decided to start a family together. I truthfully don't regret a single part of it at all but the reason I am bringing it up is because your biological father has just recently contacted me and now that he knows of your girl's existence he wants to be a part of your life too if you are willing to accept him."

I didn't really feel like it was such a big deal and the concept of having another side to my family seemed sort of like a cool idea but I couldn't help but feel almost as if I had lost trust in my parents a little. It sort of felt like that safety net of blood ties was sort of gone but there was something in my head that just told me to keep calm and that this was just another adventure. Stella on the other hand seemed to still be having a little trouble taking it all in and she was starting to get teary eyed which usually meant I would have to listen to another rant on her emotions and feelings tonight instead of having time to deal with mine. Anyways, I didn't have much time to think about that before mom decided to announce even more complications.

"Your biological fathers name is Jason Baudin. We have been talking recently and he really would like you girls to go and live with him. Normally I would be against this but I think it may be for the best. He makes a lot of money and can afford thing for you girls that we just can't. He is willing to pay your tuition to a prestigious academy over where he lives. He doesn't have any other children so it's just him and his wife so I really think he is sincere about this. The only problem is that he lives in Japan right now but you two are both almost fluent in Japanese for whenever we sent you to your grandparents' house in Japan. I hope you girls would be at least willing to meet him and talk this through."

At that point my sister stood up and said, "No! I don't want to go live with someone else; I want to stay with you guys!" She then ran out of the room as she started to sob.

I sighed. Truthfully it didn't sound like a bad idea. I had always sort of wanted a change in my lifestyle and although this announcement was shocking and a little disheartening I didn't really have anything to hold me back. I didn't have a boyfriend or any best friends to hold me back, I only had a few friends who I hung out with but never took the time to really get to know. Japan is definitely a big change and although meeting a stranger and calling him dad might be awkward I was a little curious. Mom also said he had a lot of money so I wondered if maybe this was an opportunity to live a little differently. Maybe I could get quality dance lessons there. My first obstacle though was convincing my sister which shouldn't be too hard because by now I am a master at handling "our little princess".

I stood up and took one last look at my parents' faces. They looked sad but slightly relieved that that was over with. "I will go handle Stella." I said. I left the room to head into my room that I shared with Stella. Maybe we will each have our own rooms in Japan, or even better would be our own bathrooms.

Anyways, the rest of my story then pretty much went along the lines of me calming down Stella and convincing her that Japan doesn't seem like such a bad idea and that having another family meant more love to share, for her at least. The next day Stella did a 180 degree turn around and she was excited and ready for an adventure. We immediately started planning our trip and Stella even sent a letter to out biological father saying stuff about us and how we can't wait to meet him and his wife, although she signed my name on it too without my permission. After that we all lived happily ever after, the end, not. Next thing we knew we were on our way to Japan and that's where all the real action happens.