snerks I love the new year! It gave me a gift! SIIIICKNESS:D

Haha no.

Lalalalala Backward Heaven. Baaackward heaven. Very...very...VERY important in this story.

Thank you.


Chapter Eleven: Backward Heaven

Angel of Mine

I dragged myself up the stairway to the dorm, spaced out and dripping water and some mud everywhere. Eventually, after ten more minutes of sobbing on the ground, I left the bouquet to rest steadily against the plain grave. Then, slowly, painstakingly, I made my way back to Kadic Academy. The rain had washed off most of the mud, though there were still two huge stains on my shins with one or two surviving clumps of filth sticking to them.

Needless to say, I left a trail of slippery dirt as I staggered in the hallways. All of the sudden I knew that I never wanted to be a school janitor.

The door to my dorm was slightly ajar, with the noise of Odd, Yumi, and Aelita having a small get-together within. I guessed that Jeremy locked himself up in his own dorm to emphasize his feeling on the 'kissing' incident. Subdigitals boomed rather quietly from within the room, adding background music to conversation.

And yet, all of this was completely lost on me as I gave the door a push and slid into the room, dripping, melting, dragging myself over to my cot. Odd, Yumi, and Aelita all became silent, watching me stalk in, strangely curious.

I took my jacket off and let it plop into our laundry basket, slipping out of my socks and shoes and leaving them near the door. My pendant dangled just behind my shirt, threatening to show. For some reason, I didn't take my gloves off even though they were itchier than poison ivy. Instead I just sat down on my blankets, staring off into space at the floor and not taking notice to the others.

Odd was the first one to break the awkward silence.

"Reese…there you are! Everyone's been worried ever since you left! Where were you?"

Interestingly enough, when Odd said everyone's been worried Yumi flinched and looked away. I do believe I was the only one who noticed too, since Aelita had twisted her back to look at me and Odd was focused on me as well.

To answer Odd's question, I said nothing.

"If we're bothering you…," Aelita piped up, "We can leave…,"

I shook my head and lowly stated that there wasn't any bother if they stayed or not. They kind of looked a bit uncomfortable, but they stayed anyways. I simply continued to stare off into Wonderland.

Kiwi crawled out from a random drawer and trotted over to me, tail leisurely wagging. For some reason I could tell that he sensed that something was wrong just by the way he looked at me. I glanced down at him as he approached, panting freely without saliva.

"Rrrrff…," He said quietly, sitting down and putting a paw up, scraping my dirty pant leg. His doggy eyes looked up at mine in some sort of sympathetic way, and I flinched, looking away. I couldn't deal with friendship at a time like that, even if it was coming from a canine.

Although it was clear I had literally crashed their party, Odd didn't seem to mind and actually was a little inviting to me, getting everyone else there into asking questions about why I had left for a while. You know, there was just some times where I wanted to wring that boy's neck.

"Reese, man, you're soaked. How long did you spend out in the rain there?"

I was silent for a moment more before giving in and simply replying, "Long enough…,"

Three pairs of eyes were all focused on me, one violet, one rainbow gray, and the other a deep sea of chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate, huh? Though I wasn't making contact with her eyes, I was drowning within them. There was something different in them now; in the way she looked at me. Hatred might have still been in them, but it was only traces of it now. The chocolate was laced with troubled matters, curiosity, and some sadness. It made my heart twist abnormally.

"Where did you go…?" Aelita asked. I shook my head, and absent mindedly ruffled Kiwi's ears.

There was another patch of silence before the three of them reluctantly broke up, starting with Yumi who muttered something about being tired as she got up and walked out. Aelita looked like she wanted to stay longer, but it wasn't long after Yumi left that she followed, commenting on doing another get-together like that again sometime soon. Odd gave a smile at her as she quietly shut the door, and got up to turn the music off. Kiwi barked and ran in a circle near Odd, finally collapsing and stretching himself out on the floor. Odd chuckled and patted the dog's belly, picking him up afterwards and setting him in the sleeping drawer.

Still dripping wet, I lifted my legs onto my bed and lay down, facing the wall. Taking no notice of the use of blankets, I laid there, my knees slightly bent and my arms loosely placed out in front of me. I breathed deeply, closing my eyes and thinking of nothing but her, whatever her name was.

Through my eyelids I saw the lights being turned out, and I heard Odd get into bed, mumbling something to himself loud enough so I could here.

"There are just sometimes when I swear, Reese, I wonder if you're really alright…,"

I gave a deep sigh, and replied in a soft tone.

"Same here…,"

Same here, good buddy, I repeated in my head, Same here…

UNIQUE: Just…like…everyone…else.

Unless you're Odd.

Foggy. That's what the days were now. Drearily foggy. During my free time on these days I actually stayed inside instead of wandering through the woods. While Odd blasted our ears out with really loud music I was leafing through countless maps and phone books, utterly desperate to find out as much as I could about this Mrs. Periwinkle before Saturday rolled around. Odd really started to think I was insane then. I gave a small smirk, and shrugged him off.

Saturday finally came, and in the morning during classes I went over the route I had plotted out. Fancily enough, the route just happened to pass right in front of Yumi's house.

How fun.

Needless to say I waited for a while after she had left for the weekend before leaving Kadic myself, so as not to raise any other suspicions.

When I had embarked it was lightly misting, even though the fog was thin enough to see at least see over twenty meters. As I passed through the gates I felt something unmistakable hit the back of my head, and I held back a shudder. Please just be patient, Aelita, I swear I'll tell you. Eventually.

It took all of my power not to let my legs walk ten times faster than they were already, as antsy as I was. Breathing in the mist helped me to calm down a bit as it cleared my senses and my brain. But still, I knew there was nothing that could ever prepare me for what I was about to experience next.

My little sister.

If only I knew her name, maybe I wouldn't be so nervous. Maybe if I knew what she looked like, then I would be even calmer.

Oh come now, you don't even recognize her? Spitting image of your mother, you know!

My spine rippled. That Zombie Ulrich freak's face melted in front of my eyes, his grin as wide as before. So that's what that dream meant. It was trying to tell me that I had a little sister. Sure, that's great and all, but I didn't know about her until a few days ago. Why was that plunged into my dream randomly like that? Well, I don't care if the reason remained foreign to me. My head hurt, so I tried to focus on walking and nothing else.

Passing Yumi's house summoned a strange twitch in my head, but I forced myself not to look for fear of seeing somebody looking back. My green eyes became horribly interested in the passing concrete underneath my feet, and I turned my head away to avoid the Japanese presence at all costs. I don't think I could bear to stand up to her again after what happened the morning after the storm.

Dazed and vaguely hungry for some reason, I continued to monotonously put one foot in front of the other. It felt like it was only a second's pace after Yumi's house before I stood in front of a great dark maroon Victorian abode. Though it seemed rather spacey for an old lady, the reason that she housed quite a few children made all of reason forgive her.

Right on the chest-high black iron fence was a pale blue sign in fancy print delicately saying "Mrs. Periwinkle's" with great dignity. I gulped, and gently pushed open the unlocked gate. This wasn't going to be easy, one way or the other.

Finding an old, dirty brass doorbell, I pushed it to hear the soft chime within the abode. I stood in front of the door, looking to the side windows that were covered with thin white curtains for any sign of ghostly movement. After a short while, quick footsteps were heard and the door was unlocked smartly and creaked open to reveal a college-aged dirty blonde with cappuccino tan eyes. She looked like she was rather sharp and kind, and a little wary of other people. Or maybe just wary of people with giant scars on their face, whichever.

"Can I help you…?" She asked questionably. My mouth felt numb and stupid as I replied.

"Um…I'm looking for my little sister…she's about two and a half…," I said quietly.

"Name?" The girl asked. I felt like I was about to wince.

"I…don't know," I confessed. She looked at me skeptically and simply replied to that.

"Come inside onto the mat. Wait there and I'll be right back," She creaked it open wider and I tentatively stepped in, wiping my feet on the indoor rug and patiently, nervously standing there as the girl (who was holding a half-asleep toddler in one arm) disappeared into the house for a moment. I tried to calm my nerves by taking in the details of the house.

The ceiling was high and a cheap, bright mini-chandelier dangled overhead a few feet forward. Immediately to my left was a coat hanger, and just beyond that a homely little box-bench for storage and rest. The hall was a tad narrow, but wide enough for about three people to stand shoulder to shoulder to reach across comfortably. Noises were heard around the house—different toddler and young children noises. None of them were upset too badly, although it was pretty obvious that they either needed food or sleep soon. To answer my question the room was full of the sensational smell of gravy and mashed potatoes, a soothing Western-type of dinner. I contemplated that it was either lunchtime or just after, and the little ones would be needing their nap soon.

The girl came back with a short old lady dressed in a pale purple gown with little red flowers dotted all over it. She wore a white, slightly stained apron with a frilled edge. Though she was slightly bent over, the look on her gentle wrinkled face told me that she was a lot younger in personality than that. Her old and color-depleted gray eyes shone with kind mischief and wisdom, and her peppered gray-and-white hair was pulled back into a bun. She came up to just below my shoulder, and was a tad heavy but not too much.

And so I met Mrs. Periwinkle.

"Oh my dear boy, looking for someone, are you?" she said to me in a strong, aged voice. Turning to the girl and waving her hand, she quickly asked, "Grab my spectacles, will you Miss? I must see this boy better," The girl gave a tight smile and a nod, then disappeared for two seconds to return with a pair of half-moon glasses which Mrs. Periwinkle placed on her curved nose.

"Now then, who was it you were looking for?" she asked. I replied in a louder voice than I had to the girl, basically, in a normal talking voice, hoping the old lady could hear.

"My sister…," I said, "She's about two and a half…and I think she's lived her entire life with you…,"

Mrs. Periwinkle didn't say anything, but slowly shffed forward in her thin slippers, studying my features. The girl was looking at me intently, still wondering if I could be completely trusted or not. She gave the toddler she was holding a little jog to readjust her grip, and the kid burped. A smile flashed across her face before Mrs. Periwinkle spoke again.

"Hmm, that's a mighty scar you have there, boy. How was it that a nice young man like you got that?"

"Umm," I said uncertainly, "Moment's chance, I guess…I think I was trying to help a friend of mine when I got scratched,"

Mrs. Periwinkle made no comment or gesture as she continued to take in my face in detail. The girl quickly excused herself to go check up on the other kids with a short nod from Mrs. Periwinkle. After she left, Mrs. Periwinkle finally spoke what was on her mind.

"You have the loveliest eyes, has anyone ever told you that…?" she said gently. I blinked, wondering if she was onto something.

"Yeah…maybe, once or twice," A smile stretched across the old woman's features as she continued.

"God rest her troubled soul, you must be Meria Stern's boy, aren't you?"

My body went rigid as my tongue uttered nothing but pure undisturbed silence. I could do nothing in return than to meet her gaze in utter pleading. She got the message pretty quick as the thin smile became warmer.

"Don't worry, I won't tell. I assume your life is troublesome enough already." She confirmed, calming only a small fraction of my nerves. Mrs. Periwinkle turned behind her and called out for the girl.

"Sarah! Would you be as kind as to bring little Nevaeh out?" she shouted rather loudly for someone her age. From inside the house the college girl called out an 'alright' and it wasn't long before she reappeared with a different toddler in her arms. Mrs. Periwinkle turned back to me with a knowing look, and stepped to the side.

Sarah set the small girl down on the floor. She looked at me with the brightest of eyes, pure lime-emerald green, just like mine, just like our mother. Her russet hair fell down to about mid-back, which is pretty long for a toddler. Her cheeks were chubby and her nose was that of a button. She looked at me rather curiously, but didn't want to advance forward. Her limbs were somewhat stubby with small fingers, already growing up into a small child. All in all, when I looked at that face of hers I could think of no one else but a very young version of my mother. My eyes began to sting the more I looked at her.

"You said her name was…?" I asked very quietly, my voice on the verge of cracking. Mrs. Periwinkle supplied me with an answer and a reason.

"Nevaeh. If you understand, the name 'Nevaeh' is simply 'heaven' spelled backwards."

Nevaeh. A backwards heaven. My father literally gave me an obvious clue to her name, and I completely missed it. I blinked back my emotions multiple times as I stared at her, completely bewildered for no reason at all.

"Any middle name…?" I asked softly. To my surprise, Mrs. Periwinkle shook her head.

"Why no…! No, Meria decided that it should be up to someone else to give the middle name to her. Someone…like you," She said slyly. I wavered.

Nevaeh tugged on Sarah's pant leg, and Sarah crouched down as Nevaeh asked her a question into her ear. Sarah smiled and answered loud enough so we could hear.

"Well from what I hear, I think that's your big brother! You know all the other kids that talk about their big brothers right? Weren't you the one that wanted one too?"

Nevaeh stared at Sarah for a bit, emotionless. That's when she let go of the pant leg and looked straight at me. For her, the ice was as good as broken. For her, opening up to people was a lot easier, at least at this age. For her, I guess I seemed like a wish come true.

The little girl walked up to me slowly, each step echoing in my ears. As she approached, I crouched down to a catcher's position, never breaking eye contact with her. We were centimeters away when she stopped, staring directly at me. That's the exact moment when I heard her voice for the first time.

"Bruggers givin' hugs, don't thay?" she asked. My heart twisted when I heard the use of the word 'brugger' and was once again reminded of my insane dreams. I gave a small smile at her.

"Yes, yeah I would think so…,"

Another moment of silence lasted for about five more seconds before Nevaeh closed the gap between us and threw her short arms around my neck. The side of her forehead pressed against my chin. Although stiff and unsure at first, I wrapped my arms around her back, pulling her just a little closer. I could feel her happiness seep through her in the tender hug.

I never knew little kids could be so warm.

TECHNICAL: Hey, nobody likes a literalist.

Unless you ARE a literalist, just like Jeremy.

I politely refused lunch as I had already eaten at Kadic, and simply acted as a cushion for Nevaeh as she ate her food. Most of the other kids were being shooed off to bed by Sarah, and Mrs. Periwinkle requested that she and I had a little talk. Nevaeh didn't have any intentions of leaving any time soon, so she simply stayed on my lap while Mrs. Periwinkle started our conversation.

"Are you partial to tea?" she asked. I told her that just a cup would be fine as she put on the pot. She then reached down to open the oven which was keeping a batch of chocolate chip cookies warm.

"One cookie or two?"

"Uhh—," I began before I was interrupted by Nevaeh.

"I wanna cookie!!"

I could hear Mrs. Periwinkle softly chuckle as she picked out two perfect cookies and set them on a tea plate. She placed the plate in front of us and Nevaeh grabbed one, beginning to nibble on it greedily. Mrs. Periwinkle tut-tutted and explained that everyone loved her cookies a little too much. I took a pinch of the other one and popped it into my mouth, and I have to say that her cookies were probably the best I've ever had in the world. The dough was creamy with just the right about of sugar and maybe a hint of nutmeg or cinnamon and the chocolate, although it was almost already melted, melted even more in your mouth deliciously. I don't think I'll have a different brand of cookie ever again. This delicacy was gone before Odd could sniff it out from Kadic Academy.

After the tea was ready (some sort of mint) Mrs. Periwinkle sat down kitty corner to where Nevaeh and I were. There was a short period of silence, before the real talk started.

"I wondered if you were going to come…," she started, leisurely stirring her tea. I put down my mug and answered.

"Really? Honestly, I didn't even know I had a sister until a few days ago…," I said truthfully. Mrs. Periwinkle became absent-minded as she recalled what happened. I was thoroughly amazed at her memory. For a woman in her early seventies, this was really good.

"Meria contemplated whether or not to tell you. It's apparent that she decided not to…,"

Nevaeh shifted her position so her head rested on my collarbone. Suddenly tired, she began to chew on the other half of her cookie with less gusto and more relaxation. I rubbed her shoulder warmly as Mrs. Periwinkle continued after I asked her why.

"Well…Your mother was very scared. The first thing she told me was to make sure that her husband, Lukas Stern, was not to get close to Nevaeh, ever,"

I can believe that.

"And the second thing she told me was that if her son ever came looking for her that I should show him to her. She had complete faith in you to be a good brother to your little sister. For some reason she almost foresaw that she wouldn't be able to see her daughter again in her lifetime."

The information soaked into me like a sponge as she talked. Crumbles from Nevaeh's cookie tumbled down my shirt, some of them even getting underneath my shirt. I ignored them as silence separated us for a moment. Mrs. Periwinkle sighed and put down her cup, rubbing her hands together like a massage. That's when she began to tell me the tiny details of the story.

The day Nevaeh was born, after all the hospital shenanigans and papers and stuff, my mother personally drove her baby girl over to Mrs. Periwinkle's, whom was a gold star in the eyes of a good family friend. She had little time to explain her situation, but got through enough of the story to get them to understand that she was totally unable to safely take care of her baby. My mother told them my sister's name, and also to look out for me, Ulrich. She also mentioned that she didn't know what the future held in store for her and her son, but she could tell that it couldn't get any better than it was with the alcohol binge my father had been on recently. Handing a school picture of me to Mrs. Periwinkle, my mother bade her a sad yet hopeful farewell, and gave her daughter the only kiss she would ever receive from her mother before stumbling out to her car to drive back home.

The next time they would ever hear of Meria Stern would be on the late evening news on the murder report that wasn't too long ago.

After seeing this Mrs. Periwinkle worried over Nevaeh and my suspected "death." She was probably one of the only other people that didn't trust my father when he appeared on national television. It was here in this story that she finally said that my father had visited here once.

My spine stiffened and I quickly asked what he wanted. Mrs. Periwinkle shook her head, and simply explained that he was there looking for Nevaeh Stern. Already that sent an alarm off in her head since only the people living in her house and Meria knew about Nevaeh, so she only let him get as far as the rug in the hallway. She began to ask him questions about his name, to which he didn't answer. Eventually she just shooed him out the door, but not without figuring out his back story beforehand. Evidently he had found out the information from my mother (probably tortured it right out of the poor woman) and had come down to try and weasel his way in to bring little Nevaeh home. The whole incident occurred about eight months ago, give or take.

To tie up her story, she said was only a bit surprised by me showing up at the doorstep. She figured that if Meria had put as much faith into me as she did, that she should too. There were only a few questions coming from her, but I knew there were a million questions burning inside me to contradict that. I kept quiet on that part and only answered her questions.

"It just makes me wonder, if you're alive, then who was that poor boy in the river and if you were involved in Meria's death or not…," she said thoughtfully. A lump formed in my throat, and I clutched Nevaeh's shoulder a little tighter than before.

"I don't know who that boy was," I confessed, "but I do know the only thing I ever did in involving the murder was being the first one to find her body. For some reason I couldn't tell anyone, nor could I think straight…," My voice drifted to a softer, darker level as I finished.

"There was so much…blood…I couldn't believe…anything,"

Mrs. Periwinkle gave me a sad, sympathetic stare, somehow feeling the truth in my words, "What's going on with you now?"

I heaved a breath of preparation and told my part of the story, everything. I told her more than I told Aelita, even though she was a near-stranger. I started with leaving my friends at Kadic and followed through with everything (editing the Xana of course) I told her of my father's abuse, Aelita's counseling, my troubles with Yumi (edited), what had happened to my friends when I was gone, but most importantly I kept pressuring that I was under a strict alias. Mrs. Periwinkle stared gravely into her near-empty cup, taking everything in.

"So…you're Reese Anders, is that it now?" she confirmed. I nodded.

"I can't let anyone else know who I am. I know my father's out there and probably looking for me. He found me at Mom's grave a few days ago and that's how I wound up here, but I don't know if he knows where I'm living, though some sick gut feeling tells me he knows where I am,"

Mrs. Periwinkle set her cup down, "Well, the bad thing about gut feelings is that they're usually true. I guess the only exceptions are the gut feelings of butterflies being mistaken for bad feelings. When my husband was still alive he took me skydiving. I thought it was a bad idea at first, but nothing terrible happened, and it was actually quite thrilling…,"

Somehow that little statement worked a smile on my face, making her smile in return. Nevaeh gave a tired groan, her cookie having been eaten from the beginning of our talk. She caught a few winks of sleep sitting on me—actually, she slept almost the entire time, and yet she still seemed like she needed more. I rubbed her shoulder once again, urging her to catch all the minutes of sleep she needed. It wasn't long before she fell back into slumber again.

Any conversation made after that was simply small talk. Mrs. Periwinkle told me that she was Sarah's great aunt and that Sarah has always had an interest in little children and is taking classes in college for a job that involves working with them. I got into more depth about my friend's personalities (she was, ahem, especially interested in Yumi. Even though I never mentioned I had a crush on her, some creepy sixth sense must've told her that I did) making her laugh when I explained Odd and making her eyes shine with interest when I was describing Jeremy and Aelita. After a while, the toddler's nap time was over and Sarah had reappeared from her hallway duties to start watching over the kids as they climbed down from a staircase that led upstairs to the bedrooms. Nevaeh woke up once again, although not as pleased as before when she learned that it was about time for me to go.

"I doan want you to go…," she whined, burying her face in my neck. I tried to comfort her in saying that I'd be back as soon as possible. Mrs. Periwinkle watched as I tried to reason with an unreasonable age-group, and after a while she spoke an idea that had popped in her mind.

"You know, whenever you have time and if Kadic would allow it, you could come and pick Nevaeh up and she could spend the weekend with you at the dorms sometime. I'm sure she'd love that." She offered. I looked at her quizzically.

"I'm not sure if I could do that, but if I can I'll definitely look into it. You've got enough children on your hands anyways…," I replied. Mrs. Periwinkle dismissed my last sentence with a wave of her hand.

"Poppycock! Most of these children are daycare only anyways! You go off back to your dorm, and I'll be damned if they won't let you bring your little sister over for two days out of a week! If they refuse, tell them to call me! My number is easy enough to find. Don't worry; I'll turn them around faster than a mule can kick!"

And I believed she could, too.

Nevaeh looked mighty disappointed and tired when I was at the front door, rubbing her sleepy eyes and still complaining about my leave.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Nevaeh, don't worry," I soothed. Nevaeh shook her weary head.

"Doan want you to leave, though…,"

Ohhhh. This is getting sappy.

"I like havin' a brugger…,"

I kneeled down to her level and smiled, "And I like having a sister…," I said, pulling her into a bear hug.

I like having a sister more than you'll ever know…I continued in my head as I shut the door behind me.

Maybe, just maybe, I had an escape from my paranoia and my troubles. As long as Nevaeh remains untouched, I could be unstoppable.

FIERY: Fueled by the strong emotions that fuel the fire, yet can still be a gentle candle.

Only Yumi has enough fire in her spirit.

Sunday came and went with me spending most of my day at Periwinkle's with Nevaeh. Faster than I would've thought possible a strong bond was formed between me and her, like a kitten to an older cat, a blind man to his seeing-eye dog, like a princess and her protector.

Like a sister to a brother.

When I came back to Kadic Odd finally asked me where I had been the past two days. To throw in an element of pure surprise, I smiled at him and simply said that I was 'hanging out' with a new friend. Odd stared at me in shock when I smiled, and sat in the corner of his bed until it was time to go to sleep.

Monday's free time was rather interesting. Odd had dragged me out into the woods to 'study' with him and the rest of his 'study group.' Turns out he just wanted me there for the sake of me being there.

Jeremy, Yumi, Odd and Aelita (whom I haven't told about Nevaeh yet) were all sitting in a rough circle around a small enclosed clearing, some doing actual work but at a relaxed pace. Even with me there and my book (I usually read Stephen King or something else dealing with other-worldly things) the atmosphere was calm and rather joyful. Small talk was shared in between the group, and Jeremy cleverly put in a well-disguised comment about Xana, saying that "the times haven't been stressful with the computers, either." Odd gave him a wink and cleanly stated that he liked technology too much. Too bad only one of them knew that I caught on and understood what they were talking about.

However, this peaceful gathering wouldn't last much longer.

Jeremy had made that comment about the super computer being quite for the past few weeks. Aelita has been expressing her worry over Xana cooking up something big, and I could even tell Odd and Yumi were tense whenever something electronic didn't work right. Xana had almost been too quiet, and most predicted that it was the calm before the storm.

The calm had passed, the storm has now come.

Near the end of free time we were interrupted by one hell of a rude awakening, more for me than for anyone else. Why?

Because right out of the middle of the forest stepped in a slightly taller, slightly more teenaged, and slightly perfect replica of what could've been UlrichSternhad he not have been abused by his father.

Xana just walked in and crashed the party with a perfect, and I mean perfect, Ulrich clone. No symbols blazed in his perfect green eyes, and no metallic voice betrayed his true identity. Xana had really outdone himself with this one. After all, if even Jeremy who has known me the longest out of any one looked up in pure shock, something was definitely a little too perfect.

"U-Ulrich…? I thought you were dead!" Jeremy stuttered. Coolly, Xana replied without any hesitation.

"Dead? Oh, you mean the newscast? Must've been some other guy, definitely not me though. I mean, everyone has a twin out there, right?"

Odd squealed. Yumi gaped and…blushed? Jeremy put his laptop immediately away much to my dismay. Aelita looked confused and untrustworthy. I just hid my nose in my book so no one could see how sick I looked.

Xana, you really have outdone yourself with this one…


Before you start yelling at me for throwing yet ANOTHER "curveball" your way, let me explain.

This "perfect xana clone" thing has been around ever since this story began waaaay back in my head a year and a half ago, before I began to write it down. The sister thing only started after I began to write this.

And I'm truly sorry if your absolutely going INSANE from the amount of curveballs, but just, you know, there can't be a good story without curveballs.

And there can't be a good curveball unless it's at the end of a chapter. :)

By the way, I bet you think Reese is my favorite character. I bet you really think that. WRONG. Dude, Mrs. Periwinkle is just awesome. There's no denying that. Mrs. Periwinkle rocks!

mmkay, I think I'm done here. I hope. Mmmmyep. (OMG Jhonen Vasquez favorite expression at last second! Someone eat a undead baby smothered in tartar sauce!!!!!) (PS. The Undead Baby Smothered in Tartar sauce is an internal thing between me and a few friends. Don't expect to be found if you are lost)