Naomi walked to the front office of the school. She walked in and saw Ms. Crawford talking on the telephone with someone. She stood in front of the woman's desk. Ms. Crawford covered the mouthpiece of the phone and looked at her.
"May I help you?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah, I'm Naomi," she replied. Ms. Crawford cut her off with a nod.
"Go right on in dear." She said as she returned to her telephone conversation. Naomi walked into Principal Randall's office. Randall looked up from her desk.
"Ah, Reefside's own Woodward and Bernstein rolled into one annoying person." Randall said in a sarcastically sweet tone. "Sit." She said in a much sterner voice. Naomi obliged. She sat in the chair facing Principal Randall.
"You wanted to see me?" Naomi asked with a tone of innocence.
"Yes, I did. And I trust you know exactly why it is I did?" She asked. When Naomi didn't answer, the shrewd older woman smirked. She held up a copy of the newspaper that she had had on the desk. "I must say, not many students would show their face in this school after writing such filth."
"You read my article, got to say, I'm flattered." Naomi muttered. Randall tightened her jaw.
"Right." She said. She looked down at the newspaper. "I especially loved the part where you refer to me as 'a power-tripping tyrant'. Marvelous." Naomi watched Randall carefully, trying to see any indication of the fate that awaited her. "Now, as to the reason I called you in here." Randall said. "After reading your article, if such a term can be applied, the thought of expelling you did seem rather appealing." She said. Naomi bit her lip with worry. "Of course, you're partner in crime, Beverly, messenger a copy of the newspaper to the head of the school board, and I've been getting interesting phone calls all morning."
"So, what, are you fired?" Naomi asked, letting her curiosity get the best of her. Randall gave a tight smile.
"No. But I am under a watchful eye now, thanks to you." Randall said, not too happily.
"So, if I'm not expelled, why am I here?" Naomi asked.
"Well, I thought you'd want to know that your dear friend, Kira, will have her expulsion revoked. She will be back in our halls on Monday." She said. Naomi bit her cheek to keep from grinning. Naomi nodded.
"Good, it'll be nice to have her back around." She commented. Randall just glared at her.
"You're free to leave and go back to class." Randall chided before turning back to more paper work, and her ringing phone. Naomi couldn't help but smile as she left the room. Kira was coming back. This was going to be exciting. She couldn't help feel a little bit proud of herself at accomplishing so much. She heard the bell ring, signifying the end of class. Naomi adjusted her book bag on her shoulder and made it to her next class.
"I guess I'll have to wait till lunch to tell the guys the good news." She said to herself.
---
It was lunchtime and Ethan and Conner were sitting at a table, both concerned for Naomi. Ethan was wringing his fingers in his hands nervously.
"Have you seen her at all since she went to the office?" Ethan asked. Conner shook his head.
"Other then Dr. O's class, I don't have any classes with her until after lunch." He said. He could see how worried Ethan was. He really did like Naomi a lot. For his sake, Conner hoped Naomi was all right. It tore him up inside seeing Kira so depressed about being expelled; he'd hate to see Ethan have to go through that with Naomi.
"I wish there was some way of knowing what happened." Ethan said.
"Knowing what happened with what?" Said a voice. Conner and Ethan spun around in their seats to see Naomi standing there.
"Naomi!" Ethan exclaimed. He jumped up and pulled her into a hug. Naomi's eyes widened.
"Uh, great to see you too Ethan." Naomi said.
"Sorry, I…" Ethan stammered. He felt embarrassed as he sat back down next to Conner.
"We were both worried about you." Conner said quickly, covering for his friend. "What happened?" He asked. Naomi grinned.
"Expect to see Kira in Dr. Oliver's class Monday morning." She said. It was now Conner's turn to get excited.
"Are you serious?" He exclaimed. He jumped up and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. Naomi laughed.
"Man, you two are hug people." She joked. Conner released her. Naomi sat across from the two guys. "I don't deserve all the credit." Naomi said modestly. "Bev sent a copy of the newspaper to the head of the school board."
"So, is everything okay? You're not in trouble, right?" Ethan asked.
"Well, I don't think I'm on Randall's favorite person list, but other then that, I'm all right." Naomi said. "Apparently the school board's going to watch our dear principal very carefully from now on." Naomi added.
"I just heard the buzz about that article," came Eric's voice as he sat down beside Naomi. "Very rebel." He said. Conner glared at him.
"I'm sorry, did someone invite you to sit with us?" Conner asked. Ethan, Naomi and Eric all looked at him.
"No, but I-" Eric began.
"OK, well, see ya." Conner said, cutting him off.
"Conner." Naomi chastised. "What is up with you? It's your brother's first day here, he can sit with us." Conner tightened his jaw.
"Fine." He said. He grabbed his bag and got up. "If you don't mind, I think I'll go sit by the soccer field. I think one McKnight at the table is enough." And with that he walked off.
"Conner!" Ethan called after his friend, but he kept walking. Ethan sighed. He looked at Naomi. "I better go see if he's OK." Naomi nodded. Eric smiled.
"Hey, no worries, we'll be fine here." He said. Ethan got up and went after Conner.
---
"Conner, wait up." Ethan said as he jogged over to Conner. Conner stopped and looked at Ethan.
"What?" He snapped. Ethan put his hands up.
"Whoa, man, I come in peace." Conner sighed and went to sit on the bleachers. Ethan followed.
"Yeah, well, you should probably go back." Conner said. "Eric might put the moves on Naomi."
"What makes you say that?" Ethan asked.
"Because he called her a hottie earlier." Conner replied. Ethan flinched, as if deciding whether to go or stay, he decided Conner was more important at the moment. He sat down beside his friend and fellow ranger.
"Is that why you stormed off?" Ethan asked.
"I didn't storm…I walked." Conner replied indignantly.
"Dude, you stormed, rain clouds and everything." Ethan smirked. Conner sighed. Ethan's expression turned serious. "Talk to me." Conner took a deep breath.
"I hate my brother." Conner said, leaving that as the plain suitable response.
"OK. But don't all siblings have that?" Ethan asked. He himself wouldn't know first hand since he was an only child.
"No, it's more then that." Conner said. He ran his fingers through his hair. "When our parents got divorced when Eric and I were nine years old, my dad got a job in Blue Bay Harbor, our parents gave us a choice on where we wanted to be. I told Eric that I wanted to stay here with our mom, and back then he and I were inseparable, and he said if I was staying, he'd stay too." Conner sighed. "Dad took us on a trip to the place he was getting in Blue Bay, and I guess it was pretty big and all that. His new job was pretty high paying. Next thing I know, Eric's saying he wants to go with dad." Conner looked down. "I just felt like he was abandoning me and my mom just like dad was. I guess I can't just move on and forgive." Ethan nodded, understanding.
"So, what are you going to do now that he's here in Reefside?" Ethan asked.
"Pray that it's a very short stay." Conner said. Ethan sighed and put a friendly hand on Conner's shoulder. Conner took another deep breath and forced on a smile. "You know what, let's forget about my brother. My girlfriend's going to be here, sitting right beside me in class, on Monday morning." Ethan laughed.
"Yeah." He said.
---
After school, Conner went home and was shocked to see a moving truck parked right outside his house. He dodged some movers taking boxes inside and went in to find his mom telling them where to put the boxes.
"Mom?" He asked. "What is all this?" Mrs. McKnight looked at her son and was about to answer him.
"Hey mom, is it all right if I put my bowling trophy on the mantle next to Conner's soccer trophy?" Conner spun around to see Eric standing at the top of the stairs, holding up a trophy.
"Sure thing, honey." Mrs. McKnight answered. Conner's jaw dropped.
"Thanks. Hey bro." Eric said as he went to the living room and placed the trophy on the mantle. He went back upstairs. Conner looked at his mother.
"What is he doing here? And why does he need to put his trophy on our mantle? I'm sure dad has a mantle in his mansion in Blue Bay Harbor." Conner said. Mrs. McKnight sighed.
"Eric's come home." She simply replied.
"What do you mean? He's got a home, and it's not here." Conner said, not liking how this was sounding.
"Well, Conner, now it is. And I would appreciate it if you could be a little bit more welcoming to your brother. He told me what happened at lunch today." She said. Conner scoffed and shook his head.
"I'm sorry, having my twin brother suddenly show up at my school caught me by surprise, I wasn't exactly prepared. Had I known, I surely would've left the country."
"OK, so now you're mad at me for not telling you?" Mrs. McKnight asked. Conner sighed and went to the living room and flopped down on the couch. His mother followed.
"Now that you mention it, yeah, sure, why not. Mind telling me why you didn't?" He asked.
"Because I knew that if I had, you would've shouted and yelled, and frankly I get enough of that from your father."
"Oh, compare me to Dad, thanks, add insult to injury." Conner said sarcastically. Mrs. McKnight sighed and sat beside him.
"Honey, come on. I thought you'd like this. Your brother's home." She said, rubbing his shoulder. Conner sighed and shrugged her hand off. He got up.
"I'm going to go see Kira." He said as he got up and got ready to leave. Eric jogged down the steps and into the living room.
"Who's Kira?" He asked, glancing at his brother. Conner turned and faced his twin.
"None of your business." He snarled. Mrs. McKnight stood and looked at her eldest son.
"Conner don't be so mean! Eric, Kira is Conner's friend, and she happens to be a girl." She finished. Eric nodded.
"So she's your bed buddy?" He questioned. Mrs. McKnight was holding a picture of her sons and promptly dropped it, letting the frame and glass shatter at her feet.
"CONNER JAMES MCKNIGHT! YOUR SLEEPING WITH KIRA FORD?!" She yelled. Conner's eyes widened.
"What?! No!" Conner said quickly. He glared at Eric. "You are so dead."
"What?" Eric asked innocently. Conner sighed and looked at his mom who went to pick up the glass shards. She cut her hand.
"Ow." She hissed. Conner and Eric both went to her.
"Mom, are you all right?" Eric asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." She said.
"Great going, dumbass, this is all your fault." Conner snarled. He took Mrs. McKnight's hands and helped her to her feet. He took her to the kitchen to clean the cut.
"I didn't.." Eric tried to say. "Mean to.." Eric sighed. He went and got a broom and began to sweep up the mess. He picked up the picture. It was he and Conner when they were eight years old. They were at the beach and were standing together with their arms around the others shoulders. He remembered that day. Their parents had taken them to the beach and later that night told them they were getting a divorce. He was torn from his thoughts when some footsteps approached the open front door.
"Knock, knock." Came a female voice. He looked over to see a blonde girl with somewhat curly hair dressed in a yellow shirt and a plaid skirt. She smiled and walked into the house. "Hey." She said.
"Uh..Hey." He replied. She walked over.
"What did you do to your hair?" She asked. Eric cocked an eyebrow.
"Huh? Oh..Wait, I'm-"
"Well, I just wanted to come over and see if you wanted to go out to celebrate." She asked.
"Celebrate what?" Eric asked. The girl looked at him strangely.
"Didn't you hear?" She asked. "I'm being un-expelled." She gave a wide smile. "Naomi is a total saint. I so hated not being able to see you in class everyday." She put her arms around his neck. "I missed you." She smiled and leaned in and kissed him. At that same moment, Conner had come back from the kitchen because his mother had made him go apologize.
"Hey, Eri……KIRA!" Conner yelled. The girl and Eric jumped apart and looked at Conner.
"Conner?" Kira gasped. She looked at Eric. "I-" She didn't get to finish, for that moment Conner charged at Eric.
"You are so dead!" Conner yelled. He punched Eric in the face.
"OW!" Eric exclaimed as he fell back. He held his jaw.
"What's going on out there?" Mrs. McKnight called. Conner continued glaring at Eric. Eric gulped.
"Nothing mom. The broom just fell on my foot." Eric said, standing up.
"Oh, not tattling. Well, maybe I won't kill you, just maim you for kissing my girlfriend!" Conner growled. He went to hit Eric.
"Wait!" Kira got between them and put her hands on Conner's shoulders, keeping him back.
"Out of the way, Kira, I need to perform a twin-ectomy." Conner said.
"God, calm down you hot-head!" Eric said. Kira sighed and succeeded in pushing Conner away from Eric. She grabbed his face in her hands and made her look at him.
"Conner, stop." She said. "It was my fault." She said.
"What?" Conner asked.
"I knew you had a twin brother, but I never thought it was an identical twin brother, and I didn't know he was here-"
"That makes two of us." Conner said.
"So, naturally, I thought he was you…" She continued. Conner blinked.
"What?"
"I didn't mean to kiss your brother. I meant to kiss you." Kira said. Conner let out a sigh.
"So, my brother didn't put the moves on you?" He asked.
"Hi, standing right here." Eric protested.
"Shut up." Conner said. "This doesn't mean you're off the hook, you could've told her you weren't me."
"He didn't try anything Conner. I'm sure he was going to say something I just didn't give him the chance." She finished. Conner looked at Eric, who was massaging his jaw.
"OK, if it really was an accident, I'm sorry for getting crazy, Kira." Conner said. Kira smiled and hugged him. The two kissed.
"Oh, sure, don't apologize to me." Eric muttered.
"Is everything all right out here?" Mrs. McKnight asked as she entered the room, holding a dishtowel to her hand. "Oh, hello Kira. I didn't know you were here." Kira smiled.
"I just got here actually." She then noticed her hand. "Mrs. McKnight, what happened to your hand?" Kira asked, going over to the older woman.
"Oh, it's nothing, dear, just cut myself picking up some glass, nothing to worry about. It's just a scratch."
"Are you sure? Do you need to go to the emergency room for stitches or anything?" Kira asked.
"It's just a cut, geez bro, you're girlfriend's just a tiny bit manic." Eric said.
"Shut up." Conner said.
"Girlfriend?" Mrs. McKnight asked. Conner's face paled. He went over and grabbed Kira's hand.
"Hey, Kira, let's uh, go to Cyberspace." He said quickly, dragging her out the door. Kira was just a bit confused.
"Conner." Mrs. McKnight called.
"Got to go mom." Conner said as he left with Kira. Eric blinked.
"Do you want me to go after him?" He asked his mother. Mrs. McKnight sighed.
"I'm going to need to talk to him sooner or later, maybe you should go to Cyberspace and try to talk to him, without you two killing each other." She commented before walking back into the kitchen. Eric went after them.
"You didn't tell your mother we were dating?" Was the first thing Eric heard when he walked out. Kira didn't look too happy, and Conner looked like a deer in headlights.
"I…I was meaning to..I just.."
"I mean, I would just assume that when a guy tells a girl he loves her, oh, I don't know, maybe he had taken the time to tell his mother about the girl!" Kira said. She went to walk away. Conner's eyes widened. He ran after her and grabbed her arm.
"Hold on a second. You said you didn't remember me saying that." Conner said. Now Kira looked like the deer.
"I…I've got to go." She said. She pulled her arm free and ran off.
"Hey!" Conner yelled. He turned and looked at Eric. "Thanks, thanks a lot." He said. He shoved past him and sat down on the stoop. Eric blinked and took off running after Kira.
"Kira, wait." Eric said. Kira stopped and looked at Eric.
"What?" She asked.
"Look, I'm sorry if I caused that fight between you two."
"You didn't." Kira said. She sighed and sat on the curb. Eric sat beside her.
"I'm sure Conner didn't mean to seem like he's ashamed of you by not telling mom. I mean, it's just a normal teenage guy thing, not telling parents about what's going on in their lives."
"You don't need to defend him." Kira said.
"I'm not. I mean, well, ok, maybe I am, but it's truthful defending." Eric said. Kira sighed.
"Maybe I was just looking for a reason to fight." Kira said.
"Maybe I'm not the twin you need to be talking to." Eric said. Kira smiled.
"I guess you're right." She stood up. "Thanks." She went and walked back to Conner. She sat down beside him.
"I figured you'd be halfway to the Mexican boarder by now." Conner muttered. Kira slid her hand in his.
"I'm sorry." She said. Conner looked up at her.
"For what?" He asked.
"For lying to you the other day, and for getting mad at you for a stupid reason."
"It wasn't stupid." Conner said.
"It was. I mean, I shouldn't have assumed anything. You know what they say about assuming." She said with a soft, hopeful smirk. Conner smiled. He put an arm around her and pulled her close, kissing her forehead.
"Why did you lie?" He asked. Kira sighed.
"I don't know, I guess I wasn't ready to say it back."
"I wasn't expecting you to say it back." Conner said.
"Well, don't people say it to hear the person say it back?"
"No." Conner said. He let her go and turned to face her fully. "Kira, I said it because I felt it and wanted you to know. If you're not ready to say it back, and that is if you are ever ready, it doesn't change that." Kira blinked, feeling tears in her eyes.
"So, you felt it..Does that mean you don't anymore?" She asked. Conner leaned in and captured her lips in the most passionate kiss she'd ever felt. After it was over, she was still reeling from the intensity of it. "What do you think?" Conner asked. Kira blinked and smiled.
"Wow." She said. Eric watched the two make up and gave a smile, glad to see that they were OK. He just wished that he and Conner were all right. Even more so, he wished he could tell Conner the reason why he was back in Reefside.