For as long as she could remember, Becky had wished for a sister. Now she didn't know which was hardest to believe: the fact that she had a sister, the fact that she had a twin sister, or the fact that her twin sister was her lab partner in science.
Studying Rebecca's face, she felt dumb for not realizing right away. Underneath the dark eyeliner and Goth outfit, Rebecca looked exactly like her. And to think Becky had been scred she wouldn't find anyone like herself at Domino High.
"We need to talk," Rebecca said. She even had the same smile as Becky. "Want to walk to Burger World for a bite?"
"Sure. I'm starved!" Becky beamed. "I just have to call my mom so she doesn't worry."
"Use my cell," Rebecca said, reaching into her bag.
Becky called home and said she'd be late because she was going out to eat with this really cool girl she'd met at school.
"That's great!" her mom replied. "I knew you'd have no trouble making new friends, Becky. Make sure your home by 8, and have fun!" after that she hung up.
"What about calling your parents?" Becky asked Rebecca.
"It's always been just Grandpa and me," Rebecca explained. "And he let's me be pretty independent."
Becky and Rebecca got their bags from their lockers, then headed down the hallway and out through the front doors of the school. As they made their way down the street, Becky looked over at Rebecca walking beside her. The sun made shimmering patterns on her sister's dark outfit.
"Don't you think it's weird," Becky mused, "that my dad just transferred to Domino High?"
"I was thinking about that, too,' Rebecca said. "and I think there's only one explanation." She stopped and turned to Becky. "I think we were meant to find each other."
Becky's heart did a roundoff, and her eyes filled with tears. She gave Rebecca a huge hug. She couldn't help it. Rebecca didn't move. Oh, no, Becky thought. She was coming on too strong again. Or Rebecca didn't want her as a sister.
But then Rebecca hugged her back. They both started sobbing right there in the middle of the sidewalk. If somebody had walked by, that person would have wondered what was wrong. But nothing was wrong. Everything was right. They were just sixteen-year-old twin sisters hugging for the first time. Finally, Becky let go and reached into her bag for some some tissues she wiping her tears.
"You goths really don't like pink, do you?"
Rebecca chuckled as they walked on again. "I hope you like Domino High," she said to Becky. "The bunny population here isn't too bad."
Becky glanced at her. She had a weird look in her eyes. "What's up?" Becky asked.
"Huh?" her sister said distractedly. "Nothing. I was just... I was... thinking again how strange it is..." She was talking really slowly. Then, all at once, she seemed to come back to life. "That we're sisters."
"No kidding!" Becky agreed. "Why do you think we weren't adopted as a pair? I mean, don't they usually try to keep twins together?"
Rebecca played with the ring around her neck. "I don't know," she said thoughtfully. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"No. Do you?" Becky asked.
"No. Maybe both our parents could only adopt one kid. Maybe our real parents wanted us apart."Rebecca shrugged. "We don't know a thing about them."
Becky nodded and followed Rebecca toward Burger world up ahead.
"All I know is," Becky said, "when I think that we could have been together for the last fifteen years, it makes me want to scream. I totally could've used a twin sister in third grade."
"Yeah," said Rebecca as they crossed the parking lot. "Third grade did bite."
The restaurant was packed with other students from Domino High School. The place was decorated like ancient egypt, with fake duel monster hanging from the ceiling. But instead of slabs of them, they looked like pinatas and pharaoh's coffin. Becky followed Rebecca to an empty booth hidden in an alcove near the back of the restaurant.
A waitress decked out in an apron appeared. "The usual?" she asked Rebecca.
"Definitely," Rebecca replied. "What about you, Becky?"
The waitress looked over expectantly.
"What are you having?" Becky asked Rebecca.
Rebecca put her finger on Becky's open menu. "The Drawbread. It's an almost raw burger. It's utterly drippin," she said happily.
Gross, though Becky. She wrinkled her nose and turned back to the waitress. "I'll have the Bunny's Delight please." What is it about bunnies in this town? she wondered.
"You want salad with your Golden Eggwich?" the waitress asked.
"Yes, please," Becky replied. "Oh, and salad dressing on the side."
She hoped the sight of Rebecca's raw burger didn't make her nauseous. They might be twins, but they certainly didn't have the same tastes.
"Considering we're identical twins," Rebecca said, "were turned out seriously different."
"Oh, my gosh, I was just thinking that!" Becky said. She cocked her head. "It must be a real trip for you to see what you'd look like in a goth pastels, huh?"
They both laughed so loudly that the people in a nearby booth around to see what was so funny.
This time, Becky thought blissfully, I definitely sat at the right table!
Rebecca's stomach was still futtering, and it wasn't because she'd laughed too hard or wolfed down her burger. It was because she had a twin sister. When she really thought about it, she realized that she'd always known. That was the feeling that had come over her the first time she saw Becky in the hallway this morning. It wasn't just the strange sensation of seeing someone who looks like you; it was the rush of seeing someone you'd waited your whole life to see again. Except for one grave thing: How come Becky didn't know what a bunny was? They were identical twins, right? So shouldn't they be identical?
If she doesn't know, thought Rebecca, I can't tell her.
"Hello, Becky," said a familiar high-pitched voice.
Rebecca looked up. Oh, yippee, she thought sarcastically. Bulla Briefs.
"Hi, Bulla," Becky said.
"I'm sitting over there with Alexis and Rio," Bulla announced.
Becky smiled blandly. "Say hi for me."
Bulla turned her beck to Rebecca and bent down, like she was going to tell Becky a secret. "I think you should know, Becky," she said loud enough for Rebecca to hear, " the Domino dancers are really close group of highly elite girls. And hanging out with certain people"- she made quotation marks with her pink nails- "won't really help you become part of the club at all."
Rebecca rolled her eyes and took a sip of her Domino Cola. What a jerk!, she thought.
"Actually, Bulla," Becky replied in her own confiding tone, "I'm not sure if you know, but Rebecca here is a huge fan of dancing. In fact, we were just talking about how good she looks in pastels!"
Rebecca snorted, and her drink almost came out of her nose.
"Puh-lease," hooted Bulla. "I don't think Rebecca Hawkins could ever wear anything but dark rags." She turned around to look at Rebecca. "Sorry," she said airily, "but you'll never be anything but a drab Goth loser."
"You shouldn't judge people by appearances," Rebecca said icily.
"Oh, really?" Then how come Duke Devlin, the coolest, hottest, cutest guy at school, has asked me to to sit with with him at lunch tomorrow?" Bulla demanded.
"Because he wants to to throw up?" Rebecca suggested.
Bulla grimaced and turned back to face Becky, who hid her smile just in time. "The reason I came over here, Becky," she said pointedly, "was to invite to join us at lunch us at lunch tomorrow. Alexis and Rio are going to be there. I suggest you be there, too." She shot a grave look at Rebecca.
"Alone." And, with that, Bulla stomped back across the diner.
Rebecca was so mad she felt like screaming. "If I wanted, I could be just as big a fashion victim as Bulla Briefs!" she fumed.
Becky waved to the waitress and ordered a huge piece of chocolate cake with two forks. She leaned forward conspiratorially. "Sure. You'd make a great fashion victim, Rebecca," she agreed. A smile crept across her face. "I should know."
"How come you look like a cat who just swallowed a bat?" Rebecca asked suspiciously.
"Because I have an idea..." Her sister looked around to make sure no one was listening. "Since no one knows about us, I think you should pretend to be me at lunch tomorrow," Becky said with a grin.
"What?" Rebecca demanded.
"Think about it, Rebecca. How funny would it be if Bulla went through a whole meal surrounded by all her best friends-including her new BF, me? Except that me will be you!"
It's a killer idea, Rebecca thought excitedly, but it'll never work. There's no way we could pull it off," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, we're twins, but we're not-"
"Identical?" Becky interrupted.
"Okay. We're identical," Rebecca conceded. "But we have very, very different... looks and I don't wear glasses."
"Nothing that contcts and a little spray on tan won't fix," Becky countered.
"You're serious," Rebecca said incredulously.
"Dead serious," Becky replied.
That's exactly what I would have said, Rebecca thought.
"My light green stripe skirt would look so hot on you!" Becky said eagerly.
Rebecca tried not to smile, since she was still playing dancer's advocate. "Okay, but what about the perky?" she asked. "It's not like I can smile and eat cafeteria pudding at the same time like you can. My cover would be blown in seconds."
"Don't worry." Becky reached over and put her hand on top of Rebecca's. "I'll coach you. Besides, what better way is there for twins sisters to get to know each other than to be each other?"
Becky's emerald ring sparkled at Rebecca.
That decides it, Rebecca thought. She leaned forward and said, "This is going to suck!"
Becky's face fell. "You mean you won't do it?"
"No." Rebecca shook her head. "'Suck' is good! 'Suck' is really good!"
"Oh," Becky said. "Weird. So you'll do it?"
"I'll do it." Rebecca grinned.
"In that case, I'd like to propose a toast." Becky held up her glass. "To Rebecca Hawkins, my twin sister."
Rebecca raised her Domino cola. "To Becky Hopkins, my twins sister."
They clinked their glasses. And then, at exactly the same moment, Rebecca and her sister both laughed. "You suck!" they chorused.