Chapter 5 - Meeting the Twins
Frank took a moment to stand in front of the main building and look around. It was a massive complex, easily spread over an entire area of about twenty acres or so. The two five-story buildings at the east corner were the dormitories for the boys and girls. The sorority and fraternity houses were two beautiful and identical ranch-style townhouses located next to the dorms. At the centre of the grounds was the main building - a gleaming white, three-story structure with three wings that were not too dissimilar to the Whithouse itself in shape and architecture. That was where the common assembly room, the gym, the indoor pool, the library and the entire administration department for Lincoln college were located.
Then there were the three two-story buildings that surrounded it from the west in a half-circle. These were the academic buildings where the classrooms, labs, lecture halls and cafeterias were sprinkled. Then there was an outdoor pool, a football field and an athletic track around it, taking most of the area at the back of the complex.
Those were the things he could see from where he was standing near the water fountain before the main building. According to the map he had studied earlier, there was a basketball court, a few more libraries, a restaurant, and even a movie theatre scattered around the complex.
All the buildings looked brand-new with their gleaming white paint jobs and dark grey trims. The rooftops of all the buildings seemed to have been converted into hangout spots with safety railings completely covered by well-maintained bougainvillaeas, Wisterias, Jasmines and colourful flowery vines Frank couldn't name. All the small balconies were adorned with intricate wrought-iron balustrades and the cylindrical pillars that were strategically scattered along the corridors were all decorated with wooden carvings, giving the entire place a cosy and luxurious feel.
The gardens were also well maintained and landscaped with various flower beds to add colour and fountains to add soothing water flow sounds. He idly wondered if they had considered adding a maze next to the entry of the complex, to complete the extremely wealthy image it represented.
Then, hiding all this beauty from the outside world, the fifteen-foot high wall stood around the entire complex, with four guard towers located at the four corners, changing the entire image into a maximum security prison rather than a college of education.
"Wow!" Joe let out a soft whistle. "Talk about gilded cages…", He was craning his neck back to check out the Lincoln flag that was flapping in the wind before the main building. The base of the three flags - Country, State and College - was located in the middle of a fountain that depicted a pride of lions drinking water and playing around on a bank of a river.
It would have been a grand image that represented the proud history and the story behind Lincoln's unique flag were it not for the memorial the students had erected around the fountain with flowers, sketches, framed photos, plush toys, candles and other paraphernalia for the late Carl Winters.
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Frank murmured.
"Not the most promising thing to display at the main entrance of Lincoln," Joe said softly next to him, his gaze roaming over the letters and messages the others have left for the dead student. Frank agreed. "Wonder why the dean let them have this here…"
"Maybe they're not expecting any new arrivals this week?"
"Except for us," Joe muttered with a small sideways grin.
"Franklin and Joseph Castellanos."
They turned as one towards the sound of their names being called in a very precise and very British accent.
"That's us," Frank smiled at the tall, wiry student with blond hair and a pair of bright green eyes walking over to them with a couple of folders in his hands. "I'm Franklin," he said, introducing himself. "Call me Frank."
"I'm Joe," his brother said, shaking the hand of their one-man welcoming committee and taking the folders he handed over. Taking one from Joe, Frank noticed that it was an information packet with their schedules, maps and information leaflets about the complex.
"I'm Robert Riverton, president of the Alpha Epsilon," he informed them with a faint air of self-importance. "I'm also the official coordinator for new arrivals. I was told you'll be taking classes with us for a week, to check the university out, is that correct?"
"That's the plan," Frank said mildly.
"Come this way, please," he said, walking away from them towards the entrance to the main building. "I'll give you the tour."
They were half an hour early for the classes that were scheduled to begin at eight in the morning. So they had plenty of time to follow their guide as he helpfully pointed out all the common and important places Frank already had memorised the day before.
He took them out of the main building and entered the middle one that was to the side, where Frank knew the main auditorium was located. They had their first lecture there with a hundred and twenty more students for the next two hours.
"Your first class is with Professor Blaine on Behavioural analysis," he said as he led them towards the lecture hall. The theatre-designed hall with a capacity for two hundred students was already a quarter full when they entered.
"Sit anywhere you like," Robert said, waving a hand in a grand gesture. "Then come see me if you need any further assistance. I'll be in the adjoining hall for the next four hours. Otherwise, if you feel confident, you're welcome to explore by yourselves." With that, he turned around and left the hall without a backward glance.
"Back row?" Joe asked, his narrow-eyed gaze still fixed on the doorway their guide exited as he adjusted his backpack.
"Yeah," Frank said, and started to climb the stairs that led towards the last row of the seats arranged in a crescent. They found two seats next to each other in the middle, a spot where they had a view of everyone else in the class along with their lecturer.
"Double trouble, two o'clock,'' Joe muttered after a while, opening up his laptop. It was five minutes to eight according to the large, pendulum wall clock behind the lectern. Frank looked up from the article he was reading and focused on the entrance to his right.
The twins were breathtakingly beautiful was the first thought that crossed his mind when he saw them for the first time. The photos in their file did them no justice. Even in their jeans, baggy Lincoln jerseys and sports shoes, they still looked stunning enough to turn a lot of heads as they entered. They didn't wear identical clothes, and one had her hair down while the other had a messy ponytail, but their faces and the unimpressed sneers they had on their lips were mirror images.
As if by some invisible signal, they both turned together and homed in on him and Joe the moment they stepped inside the lecture hall. They paused for a moment without breaking the stare and started to climb the steps, looking for all the world as if they intended to come and sit right next to the two of them.
"I understand what Gray meant," Joe murmured quietly, watching the twins make their way closer.
Frank had to agree with his brother. There was something unsettling about them. They moved together in preternatural synchronicity. They even paused to retie their shoelaces somewhere in the middle, never looking at each other or taking their eyes off the Hardys, in the same exact movements in a creepy display.
What was most troubling was their eyes. They both had silver-grey eyes, the exact same shade of their hair. The intense gazes of those eyes were cold and ruthless, and Frank had a feeling that those two had the ability to pierce through to one's soul.
This was a display of dominance, he understood. They were trying to intimidate the two of them with this choreographed entry. He cocked his head to the left and let the side of his lips quirk into a tiny, sideways smirk - the same smirk he knew Joe was wearing even if he couldn't really see his face.
They might not be twins, but they were in tune with each other enough that Frank knew he and Joe were staring right back at the Saunders twins in almost identical and arrogant postures.
They came to a halt by the row of seats in front of theirs. The girl on the right broke into a grin that transformed her cold expression into a bright and flirty one in a flash.
"Hi, I'm Temperance," she said in a musical voice as they both focused their gazes on Joe first.
"Joseph Castellanos," Joe murmured in a soft, almost shy voice Frank had never ever heard coming out of his extremely forward, almost brash, brother before. Then he remembered that they were both supposed to be calm and quiet, almost nerdy students. Maybe Joe wasn't too bad at playing a character, after all, he privately mused. "You can call me Joe."
The two pairs of silver-grey laser beams then darted towards him, pinning him like a butterfly to a plywood. "I'm Constance," the one on the left graced him with a dazzling smile identical to her twin's.
"I'm Frank," his voice came out in a husk, sounding aloof rather than flustered, for which he was grateful. But there was nothing he could do to stop the red blush he could feel starting to warm up his cheeks.
"You two share a beautiful aura," Temperance told them contemplatively while her sister nodded. Frank thought the look in their eyes turned hungry as they continued to study him and Joe. "So brilliant, full of life, and simply magnificent…"
"You both look cute too," Constance winked.
Contrary to Gray's assumptions, these two were showing plenty of blatant attention to them. Maybe it was because of the way they looked, Frank guessed. With Joe now sporting dark brown hair, they now shared an even stronger resemblance. The wardrobe the Network agent had provided for them made sure that they were even dressed in similar, expensive clothes.
"Riverton said you're only here for the week," Temperance said, ending her statement with an inquiring tone. "Such a pity."
"Our father wanted us to see what Lincoln has to offer before he made the final decision," Joe mumbled, ducking his head and then peering at them through his eyelashes.
"This is the nicest place we have seen so far," Frank added just as quietly, picking up where Joe trailed off. "If we like what we find, we might extend our stay and enrol in the next semester."
"That's great, Frank," Constance said. "We'll show you around the good stuff. This truly is the best college in New York."
"You and Joe will fit right in," Temperance interjected, smiling at Joe again. "I'm sure."
Frank felt as if he and Joe had become a part of a circus act or something. The back and forth among them carried two different conversations; one with words and one with silent assessing gazes and mute communication privately between the girls and between the two of them.
"That would be great," Joe flashed another shy smile before sharing a meaningful glance with Frank. He knew Joe was about to stir the pot and see what was going to rise. "Because the first impression we got wasn't the best, to be honest…"
Beautiful smiles turned into frowns simultaneously.
"Why?" Temperance demanded.
"What happened?" Constance almost growled.
Frank managed not to show his surprise at the sudden change in their attitudes. "We saw a memorial for a dead kid on our way in," he explained. "The one by the fountain–"
"The site looked fresh," Joe added.
"Oh, that," Temperance also shared a quick glance with her sister before huffing dismissively. "Despite what he liked to show to the world, Carl Winters was a troubled boy. We knew this."
"It had nothing to do with Lincoln in any way," Constance added with a shrug.
"You sound sure…".
"Frank, we knew him," Temperance said with a smile. "He was one of our close friends. We knew he was not happy with his life, it was only a matter of time."
"You don't sound very… uh," Joe trailed off, looking at them with a troubled expression, not sure how to put exactly what they were both thinking about the callous attitude towards their supposed friend's death. "Um, I mean–"
"That we seem like we don't care?" Temperance asked, her tone laced with good humour and only a touch of teasing. "We care, Joe, and we miss him dearly. But we are not overly worried because we both know that death is nothing but a step in our journey,"
"What do you mean?" Frank blinked innocently.
"That Carl may have found the answers he couldn't find in his life, in his death," Constance stated with conviction. "Once he figures that out, it'll be up to him to choose where he goes afterwards. If he's lucky enough, he might even get the chance to return with everything he ever wanted in his next life."