Wow… This story has absolutely nothing to do with the one I originally intended to write anymore.

I must have redeveloped the entire plot like, ten times or so, and somehow I was never quite happy with it. So I kept postponing the next chapter, putting other projects first.

Then one day, I was riding on the bus and it just hit me.

That night, I made some really big adjustments and got rid of about half the storyline that turned out to be pretty much useless anyway… and now I can honestly say that I finally have a good feeling about this story again. :)

Let's keep our fingers crossed that this is it, that final change that I've been waiting for.

Relieved and inspired,

Cocoalata

***********************************CPOV***********************************

"I really don't want to go, Mom", I said resolutely, but without much hope of being heard.

"I really don't care", Mom replied just as resolutely, "This is for your own good. You'll thank me later."

I mumbled something along the lines of "How much later?" but Mom just opened the door to room 15 and gently pushed me inside.

And there I stood in the frame, feeling very exposed as eleven heads turned to face me.

My nervousness only increased when I noticed the strange humming noise that filled the room. Also, I realized that that though all heads were turned toward the door, everybody had their eyes firmly closed.

Before I could get my senses together, slip around Mom and run like I was being followed by a giant blue spider, a tiny old man with an impressive hooknose and dark, weathered skin rose from his patchwork pillow on the ground and walked toward me.

He was wearing an obviously custom-tailored suit that made him look like he should have led a business seminar of some sort, not a spiritual drumming class. His steps made almost no sound on the linoleum floor and he didn't say a word, but his smile was wide, warm and stunningly eloquent, telling me that I was welcome, that they were happy I was here, that I would certainly feel at home here in no time at all and that he loved me.

Truth be told, it didn't feel half as creepy as it should have when he took my hand in his, still never so much as even looking at my mother who was still standing awkwardly in the doorway, and led me toward the humming teenagers whose torsos were now gently swaying back and forth.

In lack of a spare pillow, he took off his jacket – he wore nothing underneath – put it on the floor right next to his own seat, closed his eyes and went back to humming with the rest of them, not checking whether I sat down or not.

I stared at my mother in utter confusion, but she was no help at all. Planting a big but slightly off smile on her face, she waved and closed the door as quietly as she could.

It made a pretty big noise.

That very moment, everybody's eyes snapped open and laughter suddenly rang in the air around us as the kids scrambled to their feet.

"Hi, stranger!" A pretty girl with almond eyes and nappy hair grinned at me, offering a high five which I accepted too late and with way too little commitment since I was kind of overwhelmed by the sudden exposure of near normality. "I'm Kim!", she continued, "Sorry about that. We just like to creep out newcomers, especially when they bring their parents… You should have seen your aura! All tangled and brownish… It was priceless!"

"I bet it was", I said, trying not to sound annoyed or let her know via voice that talking about auras, however tangled and brownish, caused me to think that she was most likely a total freak.

Before Kim could elaborate, the group leader was next to me, giving me an excuse to turn away from her without being impolite.

"Welcome, Cody", He greeted me, repeating what his eyes had already told me; "My name is Mr. Nayati. We are all so happy you're finally here! Judging from your aura, you're still a little confused, but you will certainly feel at home here in no time at all."

Okay, now it's starting to get creepy, I thought while giving him an only slightly fake smile and letting myself be tugged away by Kim. At least he didn't say…

"We love you, Cody!"

Ooookay, was my usually rather eloquent mind's only comment to that. Meanwhile, my feet picked up a quicker pace in some sort of flight reflex. This caused Kim to let go of my shirt, which I noticed with relief.

The other kids had gathered in one corner of the room where drums of various shapes and sizes were piled up. Some were plain and smooth; others had intricate designs on wood and skin or colourful strips of cloth wrapped around their wooden bases. People were lightly chatting to each other, but there was no fighting whatsoever over who got to have which drum; everyone just picked a random instrument.

Taking a second look at the drums, I noticed a rather small one with a simple brown-and-white geographical pattern. Liking the sense of reassurance that this regularity gave me, I picked it up and carried it back to the seating area.

Thankfully, Mr. Nayati had somehow produced another pillow for me and put his jacket back on, not bothering to dust it off. This time, when I sat down, everybody looked at me and smiled.

Then the boy to Mr. Nayati's right spoke up and introduced himself. He told me that his name was Tim, that he loved popcorn and swimming and came here to relieve stress as well as to get in touch with his true self.

One by one, they all did the same thing, some sharing extra bits of information that were so personal it made me cringe. When Sean, the tall readhead next to me, was finished, it took several long, embarrassing moments of intense staring before I realized they were waiting for me to introduce myself.

"Um," I started off, mentally kicking myself the second I said it. I tried to recall all I knew about public speaking, but my mind felt like putty. "I'm Cody Martin. I'm sixteen, and I'm going to graduate next year." I paused, searching for something interesting to say about myself. "I like… cooking."

When I didn't continue, Mr. Nayati nodded understandingly. "That's nice", He said gently, "But you see, Cody, the purpose of this class is to learn to let yourself go, to become one with the group. In order for us all to dive in and truly become each other, we need to be able to really connect. You must know that we are tighter than family. We would never betray your trust. Everybody here has given you a glimpse of who they are, of what defines them, and we need you to do the same."

He smiled again. "What defines you, Cody? What makes you the person you are? What are your hopes, your fears, your most beautiful dreams?" His smiling brown eyes burned into mine and even though I wanted to, I couldn't look away.

"I… uh, I'm thinking about going into research." I said lamely.

"I see." His smile didn't falter, but it did seem to crumble a little. "That is a noble pursuit. Still, I'm afraid you're not truly opening up to us. Worry not, though; there's probably just a barrier in your mind. Some sort of pressure, perhaps, a secret that keeps you caged…"

You bet there is, I thought bitterly but quickly silenced the thought. Not that I actually believed in mind-reading, but one could never be too careful, and after the weird occurrence minutes earlier, I was much less inclined to denying the possibility entirely. And if these super strange people found out about Zack…

"What about your family, Cody?"

I froze instantly. All I could do was stare at this weird old man. He stared back at me, and I felt as though his eyes were searching in my soul, searching for secrets hidden in dark corners, for the core of what was me.

I later couldn't recall getting up, but suddenly I was standing, still staring down at him, held in place by those soft brown eyes.

"Goodbye, Cody", He said, "Blessed Be."

At an utterly surprising speed, I dashed out of the room and down the stairs.

**********************************ZPOV***********************************

"It's official", declared Mom, dropping her keys on the kitchen table. "I am giving up on you. It can't be done."

"Oh", said Cody, "Oh, no!" But behind her back, he grinned widely and mouthed YES!

On any other day, this type of behavior would have been my part in this family. The fact that Cody seemed to have adopted it, if only for a moment, evoked my curiosity - so much so that I actually turned off the TV… Granted, there hadn't been anything good on anyway.

"That's pretty harsh", I said in a voice full of fake concern. "What'd he do?"

Before Mom could answer, Cody, who had flung himself on the sofa next to me, made a sound of irritation that was usually to be found only in my personal repertoire. "I didn't do anything!" He cried angrily. "At least I did nothing that any other person with a working brain wouldn't have done!"

I smiled. This speech was somewhat familiar to me by now, what with all the different 'alternative hobbies' Mom had been trying to get him interested in during the past few days. "So you ran again, huh?"

"Yes", He admitted, "But I'm telling you, those people were crazy! Plus, I'm pretty sure that guru's a paedophile."

"What, did he stare at your cleavage?"

"Zack!" Mom glared at me from across the room and I tried my best to look a little sorry, but really, I was feeling rather proud. That comment had come perfectly naturally, no need to think, no hesitation… Just like old times.

Except I'd said it with a smile.

After a moment of silence, Cody continued: "No, but I don't think he's into that. He's too crazy." When he met my gaze, he quickly added, "I mean he was focusing on something even more intimate. It felt like he was trying to rape my soul or something." He shuddered.

With the most solemn expression I could muster, I nodded. "Good thing you're not crazy at all."

He grimaced. "Let's see who's laughing once you're through with your program."

At that, my eyes widened in panic and I looked back at Mom to make sure he was just kidding. To my unpleasant surprise, she had her super-sweet-candy-man-smile on display – the one she only ever used when something bad was about to happen.

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed, just like my brother had only seconds ago, except this time, the words were filled with actual dread. "But the book said I'm good! It said I'll turn out a decent human being…"

Mom shrugged. "Eh", She said, "Who cares. I read another book once, on parenting twins, and it clearly stated that when one twin is required to go through an unpleasant procedure, the other must perform a similarly tiring task."

"You mean, share the misery?"

"It's supposed to help clear up conflicts and tension between the children stemming from their never-ending competition for the parent's love, and you two", she waggled a finger between us, "have just proven a minute ago that there must really be some serious tension here."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I watched Cody closely examine his right hand, avoiding eye contact. No kidding, I thought, somewhat amused. There's tension, alright. But it didn't have shit to do with Mom's love.

Oblivious to her almost-score, she babbled on about how I needed to find my place in an adults' world, about responsibility and virtue and the like. I zoned out after the first sentence or two, until the words "right now" pulled me out of the comfortable pink bubble that was my happy place. (Yeah, I know, I know, don't judge me!)

"I can't go" I said. It was an automatic response, straight from my subconscious - the result of long years of training.

"What?"

"I can't go to… whatever it is that you were just talking about, I can't go."

"Oh," She said, eying me suspiciously. "And why is that?"

And again, my subconscious was faster than me. "I have a date", I answered without a moment of hesitation. Next to me, Cody lifted his head and looked at me. I ignored him, knowing that in order for this to go over well, I needed to stay focused.

"It's with this girl Nora", I said to my mother's questioning face. "She's really great, but she doesn't live in Boston, so it has to be tonight."

Mom looked at me for a minute as though she were thinking about it; then she shook her head resolutely. "You're still going. If you were Cody, I'd think about it… But you, you're out with a different girl every week. Sorry, buddy, it's just nothing special - and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"But it is special!" I protested. "She is! Mom, you don't know this girl. She's amazing! She's smart, and sweet, and kind, and… and… and she has my phone." I ended a little lamely when I realized that, barely even knowing her, there was really not much more I could say about Nora. So I just added "Also, she's really pretty" – to make it more believably 'Zack'.

Mom gave me another long look, but I could tell she wasn't completely convinced yet.

Fortunately, Cody had always been the kind of twin one could count on.

"Mom, Nora's the one who found him last week when he was lost in the streets," He explained, and even though this way of saying it made me come across like a helpless little puppy, I kept quiet, knowing that he had much better chances at winning an argument than I did. Plus, Mom's face was already lighting up. "She saw him fall, performed first aid and then gave him a ride home."

He had to say no more. In spite of everything Mom had told me a minute ago, there was suddenly no way I could let this effort go unrewarded. She even gave me money so I could take Nora out for coffee and instructed me to behave my very best. Only with great effort could I talk her out of tagging along to meet my savior, and even then I still had to promise I would get the girl some flowers.

When I had been sufficiently briefed on how to properly thank a woman, Mom left for her appointment at her favorite hairdresser's, leaving the two of us in a suddenly quiet suite.

"So…" Asked Cody finally, playing with a loose thread of his shirt. "Do you really have a date?"

"Nah."

He nodded, unsurprised. "Well, are you going to call her?"

"Nah."

He nodded again, and we both stared at the – still dead – TV screen, until suddenly -

"I think you should call her," Said Cody.

"I think I'll go call her," Said I.

Maybe twin telepathy really does work sometimes.

*************the end - for now *************

OMG, so happy right now xD

Now, is Nora gonna pick up her phone? Is Cody gonna be jealous? Will the TV suddenly come to life and start serenading "I will always love you" (R.I.P. Whitney)? What do you think?