The next day was Monday and the first day of school for the girls since the incident. They walked to the school together, Marie dressed in the gloves and also a long-sleeved purple, turtle neck shirt with jeans and black boots. She looked good, if Martha did say so herself. She wouldn't exactly call herself a fashion whiz, (that was usually Marie) but she could put an outfit together if the need arose. At first, Martha thought there weren't going to be any problems. She saw a few whisperers in the halls when Marie walked by, but nothing serious. Then, lunch came. Martha got her lunch and immediately sought Marie out. She wanted to know how her classes had gone so far. She searched the cafeteria, but couldn't see her with her normal group of friends.
"Maybe she decided to eat in the library." Martha thought and walked out to see if she could find her. She didn't have to go far. Marie hadn't even made it to the cafeteria. Down the hall, there was a group of three boys and a girl circling her twin. Marie looked panicked and for good reason. Those four didn't look at all friendly. Martha sat down her tray and edged closer to the group to hear what they said.
"You do realize, don't you, that gloves are out of style." Said the girl menacingly. Marie clenched her hands.
"What are you gonna do? Make us leave? You're just a freak!" One of the boys said.
"Yeah, like those freaks on TV! They're gonna lock you up and throw away the key!" Said another. That was it! No one called her sister a freak!
"Hey! If you're so brave why don't you just touch her and see what happens, you losers!" She yelled down the hall. The four bullies now turned to face Martha. The third boy stepped forward and laughed.
"Why don't you?" he asked tauntingly. Martha glared defiantly at him then walked toward her sister.
"All right then! I will!" Marie gaped at her, but before she had a chance to protest, Martha put her hand to her sister's face. She felt the tingle again, but this time she held on and instead of getting worse as she had expected, the tingle began to fade. She looked into her sister's frightened eyes and smiled to reassure her. Nothing was happening. Marie stared in shock at the face of her sister, expecting at any moment for her to drop at her feet in a coma, like the boy on Saturday. But they waited and still nothing happened. Slowly, Martha dropped her hand. She turned to the bullies who had stepped back and were now looking at her with horror on their faces.
"Hah! Come on Marie, let's go eat." And with that she took her sister by the arm and led her to the cafeteria to get her some food.
"What did ya do that for?" Marie asked, as soon as they were alone at a table, "I could have killed you!"
"I know." Was Martha's simple reply before she bit into her cold turkey sandwich.
"You know? YOU KNOW! I don't think you do know!"
"Marie, please lower your voice. Do you want the entire school to know?"
"Their gonna figure it out anyway! You know those four'll blab!"
"Marie, the important difference between you and me is that I don't worry about it like you do. If they want to label me, let them. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Now please, eat your food and stop drawing attention to yourself." Martha ended calmly. Marie grabbed her sandwich and glaring at her sister, took a big bite out of it, chewing slowly. Martha didn't seem upset or even surprised by what had just happened. Did she know something Marie didn't? Marie swallowed.
"I'm sorry Martha. I was just surprised is all."
"That's alright, Marie. So was I."
Marie started at that. "You sure didn't seem like you were."
"Yeah well, I was. I have no idea why I touched you, but it sure wasn't because I thought I was… different, but I guess I am."
"What are we gonna tell, Mom?" Marie asked, trying to think how their parents would react to this.
"Let's not tell her yet, Dad either. Maybe they don't have to know." Marie nodded and the two sisters finished their lunch with nothing more than normal conversation. They had just enough time before the bell rang for class. They separated and Martha contemplated all that had happened while she was getting things out of her locker. What was she going to do? She went to class just like normal, everyone acted normal around her, which meant that the story hadn't spread around the entire school yet but she knew it would eventually. She even got out of school safely, but the walk home was terrifying. A knot began to form in her stomach the closer they got. When they got to the front door, she stopped completely. Marie sensed that she wasn't being followed anymore and turned back down the walk. She had never seen her sister look so petrified. She took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
"They don't have to know, remember?" She said, trying to sound encouraging.
"No, they don't have to, but they will sooner or later." Martha said with a hint of timidness still, in her voice though it had disappeared from her face as if she had pulled a mask over it, "And it might as well be me that tells them." She walked purposely to the door, Marie following close behind, and walked in, "Mom! We're home!"
"How was school, girls?" Mom responded, with a hint of anxiety in her voice. The twins looked at each other and Martha answered.
"Well, Mom, could you come into the living room? I… I have something to tell you." Mom immediately popped her head out of the kitchen and seeing to serious looks on the faces of her two daughters, took a seat on the couch.
"What is it sweetie?" She asked, now generally worried. They were so somber.
Martha sat down next to her mom, "Mom, you still love Marie, even after what happened, right?" Mom nodded, wordlessly. What was going on? Martha sighed, "Well, we think…" she looked at Marie, "We think that I may be the same way."
Mom sucked in a breath. There was an uncomfortable pause while the sisters waited for their mother's reaction. She took a deep breath and collected her wits. Then, she cautiously took Martha's hand. She just couldn't believe that both of them…
Martha gasped as her mom touched her uncovered skin. The tingle came back, only this time it didn't go away. She saw the veins her mother's hands and face begin to show through her skin. She quickly let go of her. Mom gasped and Martha thought she was going to faint, "Mom!" Mom shook her head and leaned on her hands. She took a few more deep breaths then looked up through tear-filled eyes.
"What happened?" The girls looked at one another and began to explain what had taken place that day at school.