Saving Professor (Part 6)

Petra woke up early in the morning. For a moment she panicked, forgetting where she was.
She was in a room at the glass building. She slept on a couch, and Collier slept on the floor. Today they would begin their help.
Collier stirred in his sleep.
Petra got up and walked to a bookcase in the far corner. She looked through the books. Nothing really interested her, so she chose a random comic book on the bottom shelf. She slouched back onto the couch and started to read.
She was almost halfway through when she noticed Collier sitting up and looking at her.
“Good morning,” she greeted him.
“Mmmph,” he responded.
“What are you doing?”
“Uuuuuhn.”
“Okay. That’s great.” Petra returned to her reading as Collier slumped back onto the floor and covered his head with his pillow.
Just then, Professor walked into the room.
“Collier, is Petra up yet?” he asked. “I need to show both of you something.”
Petra looked down at Collier, expecting him to wake up. Then she looked back at Professor, then realized that he was talking to her.
“Professor? I’m Petra.”
Professor’s eyes widened, and he scratched his chin.
“Oh. I’m sorry, Petra. So Collier is still asleep?” He eyed the lump under the blanket. Petra nodded.
“Collier, time to get up.”
Collier sent out a murmuring sound.
“Collier.”
He sat up.
“Huh?”
“Professor has to tell us something.”
Professor looked at Petra, then at Collier. Then he knelt down beside them.
“Okay, here’s the deal. Remember that Asher Alexander guy I told you about yesterday?”
The twins nodded.
“Well, I sent in a request for you going, and he accepted. So you two are going to go on that mission, for sure.”
Petra and Collier exchanged nervous glances.
“You start tomorrow at 8:00 am sharp. It takes thirty minutes to get to his place, so we’ll have to leave at 7:30. You’ll choose for yourself when you’re going to wake up. Now who goes first?”
Petra looked at Collier. He sighed.
“I’ll go, Professor,” he volunteered.
“Okay. So I’ll be in at 7:15 to make sure you’re up. All right?”
“Sure. But when will I get back?”
“At 4:00 in the afternoon. Or, at least, that’s what he said.”
“Okay. I’ll do it.” Collier’s eyes slid over to his sister. “What will Petra be doing?”
“I already have that figured out. I’ve hired a friend of mine to tutor you. His name is Mr. Murphy and he already knows your situation. He’ll just have to figure out which one of you two he’s teaching at the moment. But Petra will start with him tomorrow, then Collier will start with him when Petra’s gone.” Professor checked his watch. “Sorry, I have to go. I don’t want to be late for work.” Then, without another word, he hurried out of the room.
“I almost forgot that school’s still going on,” Petra said.
“Yeah, imagine where we would be if we didn’t both get in the truck yesterday.”
They both thought about it for a moment. None of them could imagine it.
“Hey, Collier, thanks.”
“For what?”
“For going first.”
“Oh. Well, I wanted to anyway.”
“Right. Uh-huh.” Petra lightly punched his shoulder.
“Okay, okay, I did it for you!” Then Collier grew serious. “But that’s because you’ve already gone through a lot in the past day, and I don’t want you to have to deal with more.”
“Aww, thanks, Collier.” Petra squeezed him in a big bear hug. “You’re the best twin brother ever!”

Just a Quick Note

Just saying, I changed Professor Kreisler's name to Professor Stein. You won't really need that, though, because I usually refer to him as 'Professor.' And please, please, please tell me which parts were confusing and which parts you liked, etc. It'll really help me. Thanks!

Saving Professor (Part 5)

Back at the window building, Petra sat on a stool with a cloth tied around her neck. She was looking nervously into a mirror.
This is the last time my hair’s going to be like this, she thought. Unless we get this work done fast, I’ll have short hair. And it’ll look really funny when it’s between short and long. But I’ll do it. I’ve always wondered what I’d look like with short hair, anyway.
“Ready, Petra?”
Professor entered the door with a short lady. She had a pair of styling scissors in her hand.
“This is Mrs. Krought. She’ll be cutting your hair today,” Professor introduced.
Petra nodded at the lady, who nodded back.
“Now how do you want it, Sweetie?” she asked.
“Like my brother’s,” Petra answered, pointing to Collier.
“That short?”
“Well, I kind of have to.”
“Okay. Now sit still and don’t move.”
Petra chewed on her lower lip as she felt the scissors cut off her hair. It was cut to her shoulders, then to her chin, and then to her ears. Collier looked on with wide eyes.
Finally, the lady took out an electric shaver.
“No, don’t do that,” Petra commanded without thinking.
The lady placed a strange-looking piece on the end of it, saying, “No, honey, this won’t make you bald. It’ll just make you like your brother.” She nodded and smiled at Collier.
“Well, okay,” Petra answered nervously. She believed the lady, but was still slightly surprised and very relieved when her hair wasn’t completely shaved off.
The lady did extra trimming up hear the top, then stood back.
“Very good!” she exclaimed. “What do you think?” she asked Collier.
“Umm… yeah. Yeah, she looks like me,” Collier answered, not able to rip his gaze from his sister. “But can you give me the same haircut so we look identical?”
“If you wish,” she lady said. “Get up on the stool.”
Petra untied the cloth and nervously put her hand up to her shoulders. There was no hair behind her neck like she was used to.
Do I want to feel my hair? I don’t want to, but I’ll have to sometime, she thought.
Collier got up onto the stool. His haircut was easier, because he was used to it. He was done in five minutes.
“You like it?” he asked, walking to Petra.
“I don’t know.”
“Have you seen it yet?”
“No.”
“Have you touched it yet?”
“No.”
“Touch it. It’s not bad.”
“I don’t want to! It’s like I’m scared, but I’m not.”
“Here. I’ll touch it with you.”
Collier took Petra’s hand and led it up to her head. He ran it across the front and down the sides.
“See? It’s not bad.”
Petra was still unable to speak. Tears swam at the edges of her vision, but she tried with all her might to stop them.
Why do I always have to be so emotional? Why did I even agree with this in the first place?
Finally, she couldn’t help it anymore. She leaned over and cried on Collier’s shoulder. He led her to a chair and sat her down.
“Petra. Petra, it’s okay,” he calmly whispered, but it was no use. It was awkward talking to someone who was crying. So he just sat here and let her cry. He couldn’t do anything that wouldn’t feel awkward, anyway.
Just then, Professor walked in without saying a word. He took a glance at Petra and his lips formed a tight line. Something that looked like sympathy filled up in his eyes, and he looked at Collier.
Collier met his gaze and copied Professor’s expression. Professor looked on for a few more seconds, then left the room.
“Petra. Petra.” Collier shook Petra’s shoulders. She responded with a mumble.
“Petra, it’s okay.”
Petra pulled away and sat up.
“No, it’s not!”
“Petra, yes, it is. We’re doing this for good, remember?”
“Why does good always have to hurt?”
Petra began to run from the room, her face still stained with tears.
“Come back,” Collier called. He walked over to the sink and put a paper towel under cool, running water. Then he went to Petra, who was slumped against the doorframe. He led her to the chair again.
“Here,” he said, handing her the wet paper towel. “Wipe your face with it. It’ll feel good, trust me.”
Petra took the towel and wiped it on her face. Then she blew her nose on it and tossed it in the trash.
“That’s better,” Collier said. “You okay now?”
Petra sniffled.
“A little bit,” she answered.
“Good,” Professor said, striding into the room. He kneeled down beside Petra. “You’re a brave girl.”

Saving Professor (Part 4)

He pushed them into a room and closed the door. Then he sat them down in chairs. Over the intercom, he announced, “Stein, come and retrieve your children in room 6G. Room 6G.”
Petra’s heart was pounding. What was going on?
She heard the door open, and then Professor’s voice spoke.
“What did you want me for?”
The other man’s voice spoke. “Here are your two children. Or… are these your children?”
Petra could imagine Professor peering at her and Collier. She was afraid of what he may say. His answer surprised her.
“Yes. Yes, they are my kids. But I could hardly recognize them with their blindfolds on. Kids, you can take them off now.”
Slowly, as if waiting for some sort of second cue, Petra lifted her blindfold. She looked over at Collier, who was looking back at her. Then she lifted her head up to see Professor standing over them.
“Come on, kids,” he said. “Let’s go somewhere.”
“Not the office, sir,” the man said, stepping in.
“Of course not,” Professor replied. “And would you close the door?”
The door swung closed, and Professor took a seat across from the twins.
“So what brings you two here?” he asked.
Collier and Petra glanced nervously at each other.
Collier started.
“Um, well… we were both curious as of what you have been doing when you left class so quickly.”
“And was that really your business?”
“It wasn’t ours, but it wasn’t yours, either.”
Professor laughed.
“And why, Collier, is it not my business?”
“Because you work at the boarding school, right? That’s your business. You get money from teaching.”
Professor laughed again.
“Yes, I do. That is true. But there is something else.”
“Wait, wait, wait…” Petra cut in. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but… you aren’t mad?”
“No, why would I be? I did expect one of my students to track me down at some point. I didn’t expect two, though!”
“So what are you doing here?” Collier questioned. “We didn’t come just to find nothing.”
“Oh, you’ll find something,” Professor said. “Something that you won’t believe. Okay, here it is—I need your help.”
“That’s the news?”
“No. The news is that I am a secret agent. Kind of. Well, what I’m doing is stopping one of my former students from doing something that we don’t want to happen.
“This person’s name is Asher Alexander. He used to attend the boarding school. And you know how it’s been really dry lately?”
The twins nodded.
“Well, he’s always considered himself ‘eco-friendly,’ so he made a way for all the plants to get enough water.”
“Wait, how’s this bad?” Petra asked.
“I haven’t told you yet. His plan is to explode all the water towers in the area.”
“Wow,” Petra said.
“Wow,” Collier repeated.
Professor nodded.
“So our plan is to stop him. But I need your help to do that.”
“How would we help? We’re just kids.”
“Exactly. You’re just what Stein’s looking for.”
“Kids?”
“Yes. He wants a young kid to train, because he isn’t quite sure that he will be alive when his plan is carried out. So he needs someone to train.”
“You’re not making us do this.”
“Do you want to help or not?” Professor leaned forward. “You have a choice—you can take me up on this offer or you can go right back with me to the boarding school.”
Collier and Petra exchanged nervous glances. They already knew they were thinking the same thing.
Collier spoke for them.
“We’ll do it.”
“Are you sure? It’s not going to be easy.”
Petra looked at Collier, but his gaze was evenly meeting Professor’s.
“Yes. We’re ready.”
Professor leaned back in his chair.
“Now here’s the catch—he only wants one kid.”
“So which one of us gets to go?”
“Both.”
“But didn’t you just say that he only wanted one?”
“Yes. But you’re twins, remember? He won’t be able to tell the difference.”
Petra and Collier looked at each other, relieved. But then their smiles dropped. They looked at Professor.
“Petra, Collier, you will have to look identical. Do you realize that?”
“Yes,” the twins answered together.
“Now how are you going to do that?”
Petra looked at Collier. She realized that for them to look alike, Petra would have to change her appearance.
“It’s okay,” Collier whispered.
Petra looked back at Professor, who looked guilty for putting the kids through such a hard decision.
“I’ll do it.”
“Do what?”
“I’ll cut my hair.”
“What else?”
“Uh… wear boy clothes?”
Professor nodded.
“We need to get started as soon as possible. We need to get clothes for you quickly. This means that we are going on a shopping trip.”
Normally, Petra would be excited about this, because she rarely had a chance to go to a store. But instead, she was nervous.

The twins followed Professor through the doors of a clothing store. They headed directly to the boy’s section. They stopped at a pile of polo shirts that were on sale.
Professor held a macaroni-orange shirt against Petra and nodded.
“What do you think, Collier?”
Collier licked his lips and frowned. Petra sent him a questioning look. He shook his head slightly.
Professor put down the shirt.
“Okay, you two find what you want. Sorry, Petra, you probably won’t want anything in here.”
Professor walked to the men’s section.
Petra immediately turned to Collier.
“This is crazy!”
“I know, but we’re going to have to do it. Just choose something.”
“I don’t want to!”
“Come on, Petra, you wear polos every day at school. It’s not that different.”
“Yeah, but I’ll be looking like a boy!”
“Don’t think of it as looking like a boy. You’ll just be looking like me. And you’ve always looked like me. Except now it’s just a little different.”
“A little different, huh?”
Collier sighed.
“Petra, you don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, I do.”
“But you know what you want to do.”
Petra thought for a moment.
“Yeah, I guess I do.”
“Then how about try on this green shirt?”
Collier held up a forest green polo. Petra took it.

Saving Professor (Part 3)

Class began. Professor was back, as always.
“Good morning,” he began. “Let’s get our your homework from yesterday.”
The class looked around at each other.
“What’s the matter? Did anyone do it?”
A shy kid named Chris slowly raised his hand.
“You gave us the same assignment as you did the day before.”
Professor looked confused.
“You never changed it,” Chris clarified.
Professor looked at the board.
“I didn’t?”
The class shook their heads. Professor was obviously confused.
“Well, then. I guess we can go on to the next section.”
Petra robotically copied down notes, not letting the material sink into her mind. She would take about five minutes running to his truck, but she needed to do that before he left. That would mean she would have to leave the classroom at about…
Petra raised her hand.
“Yes, Petra? Do you know the answer to number three?”
“Um, no,” Petra said. She swallowed, then continued. “May I go to the restroom?”
“Sure, go ahead. Are you all right? You look a bit pale.”
Petra nodded and quickly escaped the room, hoping that Professor wouldn’t notice that she didn’t take the restroom pass.
Running as fast as she could without making a noise, she made her way across the hall, down the stairs, and out the door. She imagined herself looking like an injured ostrich.
Finally outside in the brisk morning breeze, she located Professor’s bright apple-red truck parked on the far side of the lot. She took a sprint for it.
When she reached it, she was already out of breath. Making sure no one was around, she quietly slipped up into the back of the truck and opened the lid of the extra compartment.
Her heart jumped and she pulled back, barely catching herself from screaming. Then she leaned in for another look.
It was a person, a boy… Petra wondered if she should tell someone. Was this boy… dead?
Then he stirred, erasing all of Petra’s thoughts. Relief washed over her, but was just as quickly replaced by a different type of fear.
The boy turned his head and looked up at Petra.
Collier.
Petra kneeled down and spoke in a rapid whisper.
“Collier, what are you doing here?”
“Just wanted to see where Professor goes every day. You?”
“Me too!”
“What? Since when have you been into spying on teachers?”
“Since yesterday. Now hurry up. He thinks I’m in the restroom.”
Collier’s eyes fixed on something behind Petra. He froze.
“Petra. Petra. Get in!”
“What is it?” Without waiting for an answer, Petra looked behind her. And then she saw what Collier was looking at—Professor was walking briskly to his truck.
“Get IN!”
Petra scrambled into the compartment, and Collier slammed the lid down.
“How did—“ she began to ask.
“Don’t say anything!” Collier whispered.
Petra followed her brother’s orders. She studied the box she was in. Only a pinprick of light leaked in through the top corner. Other than that, it was pitch black.
Her and Collier were squished up next to each other, but they could still fit. In fact, she was surprised how large it was.
Suddenly, the truck jerked backwards.
Petra grabbed Collier’s ankle with one hand and steadied herself with the other.
The tires made screeching noise as the truck went careening out of the parking lot.
Petra’s heart raced, and she could hear Collier breathing hard.
“Collier,” she whispered, but he didn’t answer.
The truck raced along the road, jerking to a stop when a red light came. It came upon a very long red light, and Petra was already getting restless. Sweat dripped down her hair, and her shirt stuck to her back.
“Petra?” Collier’s whisper cut through the dark. “Petra, I think we stopped.”
“No, really?”
“I mean I think we’re here.”
“But we haven’t heard Professor get out yet.”
As if on cue, the door opened. The truck bobbed up as Professor stepped off. Then the door slammed shut again.
“One, two, three…” Collier counted. Petra tried to calm herself. “Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six…”
Petra took a deep breath.
“Thirty. Time to get out,” Collier said in a full voice. He pushed the lid up, and sunlight spilled in, burning Petra’s eyes. Collier climbed out.
“Come on, Petra. We need to keep an eye on him.”
Collier reached for Petra’s hand and pulled her up.
They were at a large building that Petra had seen before. It was built mainly of shiny glass windows. Petra spotted Professor walking towards the door.
“Come on, Petra. It’s now or never.” Collier jumped out of the truck.
I’d rather have never, Petra thought.
Petra jumped out after him. The two of them quickly made their way to the front of the parking lot, dodging behind cars as they went. Through a van’s windshield, they studied the door.
“Great, there’s a code,” Collier said. “Petra, you have better eyesight than me. Can you see what he’s punching in?”
Petra strained to watch as Professor entered four numbers in the keypad. A light lit up and the doors opened.
“Okay, let’s get up there.”
Petra and Collier ran up to the keypad.
“Petra, type it in.”
“I couldn’t see whether it was 8694 or—“
“It doesn’t matter! Just type whatever in!”
Petra gulped and punched in the number ‘8694.’ A red light came on above us, and the keypad lit up, showing the words “Try Again.”
Exasperated, Petra sighed and tried ‘8691.’
To their delight, the doors opened.
“Now in! We can’t celebrate every moment. We don’t have time to lose!” Collier rushed Petra.
They entered the doors and came to another set that was already opened.
“Uh-oh,” Petra breathed.
In the next room was a desk with a lady behind it. Professor was writing on a clipboard, then he handed it back to her.
“Now if you could just sign here,” the lady said, giving Professor another piece of paper.
Petra turned to Collier.
“What are we going to do?” she asked.
“I don’t know. We need to get past her.”
“But how?”
Collier thought for a moment.
“Okay, I know how. I used to do this when I didn’t want to be caught getting late to class. We’ll have to sneak in front of her desk when she’s not looking. Take your shoes off so you won’t make any noise. Then from there we should be able to get past fine.”
Taking off her shoes, Petra asked, “When will we know it’s time?”
“Right now,” Collier ordered. Petra looked up and saw Professor leaving. “I’ll go first, you follow me.”
Petra followed Collier as they crawled in front of the desk. Then he shot across the floor into the hall behind the door. Petra tried following him, but she dropped her shoe and tripped her knees over it.
Panic filled up inside her. Collier dashed behind a wall, out of sight.
Petra heard wheels roll around, the footsteps approach her. She looked up into the face of the main desk lady.
“Hello, darling,” the lady said. “May I help you?”
“Um, yes,” Petra managed to say. “I was just, um, visiting my father. Bringing him lunch.”
“I don’t see any lunch,” the lady pointed out.
“Yes, that’s because I got hungry along the way and ate it. But I bet he still wants to see me.”
“I bet he does,” the lady laughed. “Now what’s your father’s name?”
“Ummm… Mr... Mr. Stein.”
“Oh! Our new Vice President?”
“Oh… yes. I guess.”
“Oh, he’s a very wonderful man. And he has a very wonderful daughter, too!” she added, smiling at her. She picked up her phone. “Now I’ll just give him a quick call to let him know you’re coming. That way, the guards will let you know that they can let you pass.”
Before Petra could object, the lady dialed into the phone. When she spoke, she wasn’t calling Professor at all; instead, she was speaking on the intercom.
“Mr. Stein, you have a visitor. Your little daughter is here to see you. Guards, please let her through.”
Then the lady hung up and told Petra, “Now you go right in. His office is 15B. If you get lost, just ask anyone. They should show you the way.”
Petra nodded, the scuttled behind the corner. Collier grabbed her.
“What was that?” he demanded.
“Relax, Collier. Now no one’s going to bother us. We have permission.”
A tall man came walking down the hall. He nodded and smiled at Petra and Collier.
Petra turned to Collier.
“See?”
Collier nodded.
“We need to find the elevator. What room did she say Professor’s in?”
“15B.”
“That’ll probably be on the fifteenth floor.” Collier located the elevator and pressed the ‘up’ button. The doors immediately opened. There was already a man inside. Petra and Collier smiled grimly at him.
“Which floor are you going to?” the man asked without any trace of expression.
Collier looked at the buttons.
“We’re going to floor… Wait, that’s weird. It stops at fourteen.”
“Yes, young man, there are only fourteen floors.” The man peered at Collier curiously.
“Oh…” Collier looked at Petra, who shrugged.
“Who are you going to see?”
“Our father. Mr. Stein.”
“Then you come with me.”
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Collier and Petra slowly followed the man out. He pulled two blindfolds out of a drawer, and blindfolded the kids.
“Come with me.”

Saving Professor (Part 2)

Petra lay in her bed at night, going over the day’s events. Then her thoughts rested on Professor.
Why had he left so quickly? What was he doing?
She frowned and kept thinking. Then her imagination took over.
What if he’s a secret agent under cover? What if he’s really not Professor Stein? What if…
What if I followed him?
Petra quickly sat up, hitting her head on the ceiling in the process, which knocked her back down.
Below, Katelyn’s heavy breathing stopped. She was awake.
Petra lay extra still in her bed. Katelyn stirred around, and then fell back asleep.
Petra’s thoughts returned.
Yeah, what if I did follow him? I’d know where he goes! No, that’s impossible. I’d get caught. Maybe there’s a way, though. I could ask to go to the bathroom, then I’ll sneak out to his truck and hide in the back. No, that won’t work. There’s no way he would miss me. Wait! Maybe the compartment is empty. How would I know? Well, it’s worth a try, I suppose… And if it isn’t empty, then I’ll just go back to class. Yeah, that’s it! I’ll do that!
Petra smiled to herself. She would carry out her plan the next morning.
Satisfied with her thoughts, she drifted to sleep.

Collier sat at his desk. The light from the lamp glared into his eyes. He put his face in his hands and groaned. He swiveled his chair around to see the clock on the wall behind him. It was 11:38 pm.
But he couldn’t go to bed yet. He had to finish his Chemistry project, which was two days overdue. If one more day passed, he would receive an In-School Suspension. He knew from experience that those were not fun.
He turned back to his work. He read Question #11 for the fiftieth time.
How many valence electrons do Krypton atoms have?
The question drifted out of his head as he tapped his pencil on the desk.
Then he thought.
He thought about school. About what Petra said—was it true? Was Algebra II really his favorite subject? English II came close… And what was all that about Professor?
He probably just had a doctor’s appointment. He doesn’t need to tell us those details, so he just doesn’t. But, wait, he wouldn’t have an appointment every day, would he? Maybe he has some sort of disease or something. Maybe the doctors have to watch his health.
No, it’s probably not that. He’s not going to the doctor. It’s something else. I need to find out. And I’m going to.
What car does he drive again?
Right, he has a truck. Now if I could just get into that compartment… It shouldn’t have anything in it. I’ll do that tomorrow. I’ll just skip class and get into his truck. If I skip class I’ll get an ISS, but I’m getting that anyway, because I can’t finish this assignment.
Collier switched off the lamp and felt his way to his bed.
As soon as his head touched the pillow, he was asleep.

The next morning, Collier got up earlier than he ever had—earlier than Anthony. He knew that Anthony would want to walk to class together, but he wouldn’t be walking to class that morning.
He couldn’t tell Anthony, either. He knew that his roommate wouldn’t approve.
Collier pulled out his backpack. Then he thought. He wouldn’t need it, would he? But what about clothes? What if he wouldn’t be back for a long time?
But, no, Professor was always back by the next day.
Collier ditched his backpack and went to the sink. This time, he actually brushed his teeth and washed his face with soap. He combed his hair and even sprayed on some of Anthony’s cologne.
Why am I doing this? I’ll be back by tomorrow, anyway, Collier thought. He shrugged and took a piece of extra yellow paper, on which he scribbled, “Left early to go to chess club—Collier.” He wondered if there even was a chess club. But he didn’t care, and Anthony wouldn’t know, anyway. Then he thought before adding, “Sorry about the cologne smell. I accidentally knocked it off the sink and the lid came off.”
Collier slapped a piece of tape onto the paper and put it up onto the mirror.
He slipped out the door just as Anthony’s alarm clock went off.

Petra was the first one to class, as usual. She was nervous, but she didn’t know why. Sneaking into Professor’s truck wasn’t something to be afraid of, was it?
It was, actually. It was something that Collier would do.
Petra smiled at the thought.
She took a seat near the door, so she would have more time to get to the truck and return, if things didn’t go as planned.
A steady stream of students poured in. But when the bell rang, Collier still hadn’t showed up.
He’s probably late, just like always, Petra thought. She took out her Algebra II notebook and opened it up to the first empty page. She began to doodle, which surprised her, because she never doodled on schoolwork unless she was nervous.
Then she remembered that she was nervous.
Class began. Professor was back, as always.

Saving Professor (Part 1)

Petra woke up shortly before the sun rose.
She sat up, stretched, and put on her glasses. She stumbled down the ladder of her bunk bed and sleepily made her way to her sink.
She tilted her head and looked into the mirror. Her honey brown hair was a messy frame around her face, making her slightly resemble a lion.
She picked up her brush and combed the tangles out. By the time she was done, her hair was restored to it’s regular straight and layered style.
She picked up her brush and turned the sink on slowly, so she wouldn’t wake her roommate, Katelyn, up.
She turned around to face the clock and began brushing. Singing a song in her head, she scrubbed her teeth for two minutes.
While she was spitting out into the sink, Katelyn groaned and sat up on her bed.
In between rinses, Petra asked, “You up early?”
“Not as early as you.” Katelyn slumped back onto her bed.
“You do know that it’s an early start today, right?”
“Uh… no…”
“Get up.”
“I don’t have to. Early start days only begin at seven thirty.”
“And I have to get to Physics club.” Wiping her face on a towel, Petra said, “Goodbye” and walked out the door.
The hall was silent. The only sound was her footsteps on the mahogany carpet. Petra pushed the heavy doors open and walked outside.
The sun was rising behind trees; it was a clear day, and birds were flying overhead.
Petra took a deep breath. She was ready for another day at the boarding school.


“Wake up, Collier!”
Collier rose to the sound of his roommate, Anthony.
“You’re going to be late to class. Come on, get up.” Anthony tossed Collier’s clothes on the bed. It was the usual dress; khaki shorts, white polo, and a navy blue vest.
“Anthony, do I really need a vest today? It’s really hot outside.”
“The classrooms are cold, though. Best you should wear one.”
Collier began to protest, but knew it was no use. He pulled on the vest, anyway. In front of the sink, he washed his face with water. He stuck a stick of gum in his mouth and started out the room after Anthony.
In the hall, Anthony questioned Collier about the gum.
“We aren’t allowed to chew gum during class, right?”
“Yeah. I’m going to spit it out before we start, though.”
“Wouldn’t that be a waste, then?”
“What would be a waste?”
“To chew a piece of gum for five minutes, then spit it out.”
“Fine, then I won’t spit it out.”
The two boys pushed open the front doors and walked to the nearest building, where their first classes were.
The halls inside were already busy. People greeted each other and others piled textbooks from their lockers into their backpacks. Everyone was wearing a uniform. It was a boarding school, anyway. But Collier had grown used to it, so it didn’t specifically bother him. In fact, he wondered how odd it would feel not to go to school in uniform.
Anthony went into his homeroom, and Collier turned down another hall to get to his.
Entering the classroom, he saw that he was the last one there. Scanning the rows for an empty seat, he spotted one at the back, behind his twin sister, Petra.
Collier slid into the chair. Petra turned around.
“You’re late,” she remarked. “Again.”
“I know, I know,” Collier mumbled, taking out his Algebra II book. As Petra watched, he opened the book to the page marked with a single piece of notebook paper—empty.
Collier slumped back in his chair.
“You didn’t do your homework.” Petra stated the obvious.
“I forgot,” Collier mumbled. He tilted his head back and studied the ceiling tiles. They were somewhat mesmerizing. The swirly patterns were like a never-ending labyrinth, which Collier tried to follow. It was both hypnotizing and frustrating, because his eyes couldn’t follow the intricate designs.
“Collier Simons? Are you listening?”
Collier jerked his head up. Class had apparently already begun. His teacher, Professor Stein, was asking him for the answer of a complicated problem scrawled on the board. Petra slightly turned around and snickered.
“Mr. Simons, you weren’t listening, were you?” Professor turned his head from the confused boy. “Class, what did I ask?”
The class, including Petra, rattled off the answer. Collier bit his lip and tried to concentrate. The lesson was new, and fairly difficult. But it wasn’t too hard for Collier.
He and Petra were at the tenth grade level at a boarding school in Michigan. They were very advanced for kids the age of eleven.
Their parents had discovered their talent when they both learned to read at the age of seven months. At that time, most other babies their age were still gnawing on doggie chew toys. And so that was how it went—Petra and Collier growing up faster than the other kids. They never had any friends, and weren’t especially close, either.
But they were twins, and they had a bond that most siblings didn’t have.
Collier scribbled down notes from the board ferociously.
“Let’s see… How much more time do we have left in class?” Professor looked down at his watch. His eyes widened, and he grabbed his suitcase. “I’m so sorry, class, I need to leave. The assignment is up on the board.” Professor walked out the door. “I will see you in class tomorrow.” He stuck his head back in. “Hopefully.” He added a grin that was a mix of “you shouldn’t worry, you all will do fine without me’ and ‘I really wonder if I’ll ever get back here again.’
Petra sighed and turned to Collier.
“He always does that,” she complained.
“I know,” Collier replied. “Just ignore it.”
“Ignore it? How do I ‘just ignore it’ when the teacher from my favorite subject doesn’t even finish the lesson?”
“He did too finish the lesson! He gave us the assignment, remember?” Collier pointed his pencil to the board.
“Yeah,” Petra said, rolling her eyes. “That was yesterday’s assignment. He never changed it. By the way, you should probably do that sometime soon.”
“Yeah, it might be good if I did do that.” Collier turned to the right page.
Petra turned back in her chair and pulled a book out of her backpack. Collier finished his homework; Petra finished her book.
There was still five minutes left of class. Half the kids had already fallen asleep; one was snoring.
“Gross,” Petra remarked, turning back around to face Collier. “What do you think is up with Professor Kreisler?”
Collier shrugged.
“I don’t know. I don’t care, either.”
“You do too, Collier. He’s your favorite teacher, too.”
“Well, yeah,” Collier agreed, “but it’s still not my favorite subject.”
“Then what is your favorite subject?”
Collier thought.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Maybe Algebra II really is my favorite.”
Petra smiled. “I know you better than you know yourself,” she joked.
Collier flicked her forehead with the tip of his pencil eraser. Petra pulled back and frowned.
“Hey!” she cried in mock pain.
Now it was Collier’s turn to grin.
“Sorry,” he apologized sheepishly.
“It’s okay. Didn’t really hurt that much.” Petra returned to her regular self.
Just then the bell rang. Collier and Petra looked at their sleeping classmates.
“Think we should wake them up?” Petra suggested. She knew Collier’s answer.
“Nope,” Collier responded with a mischievous smile.
“Yeah, let’s not,” Petra agreed.
Then the two joined the crown of classmates squeezing out the door. Once they got past, the turned in different directions—Collier to the left, Petra to the right—breaking apart for the rest of the day.

Rain Lily (Small Section)

“And that’s the end.”
I looked over at my friend, Victoria. She was asleep.
I lay down and gazed up at the ceiling above. Thoughts swirled inside my head, answering questions of what we were going to do the next day, when we should wake up, and…
“KONICHIWA!” I jump half out of the bed with a squeal.
What was that? I searched wildly around the room, not seeing much due to the pitch black darkness of the room. Oh. It was Vicky’s stuffed animal that spoke Japanese at random times. She forgot to turn it off.
Vicky was spending the night at my house. We had been great friends ever since she had come into my school a quarter into the year.
I snapped out of my thoughts and argued with myself whether I should crawl out of bed at 2:00 in the early morning to turn off a stuffed animal.
A creepy giggling sound finally convinced me. I was going to turn that thing off.
I threw off the blankets that covered me and tiptoed across the room, carefully avoiding the many obstacles, including chests holding clothes, card decks, and pillows spread around on the floor.
Finally I reached the desk. Hmm, where’s the switch? I picked up the stuffed animal and turned it upside down. I felt with my fingers a Velcro opening in its back side. I ripped it open.
“KONICHIWA!”
I threw it down before picking it back up again and clicking it off.
Once I reached the bed, Vicky turned around and looked at me.
“Hi,” I said.
She blinked, and then turned around.
Ten minutes later I found myself staring up at the ceiling again.
Then I fell asleep.
*****
I was the first day of the fifth grade, and I was excited, excited with a capital E.
A wave of excitement rushed through me as I neared the crosswalk, where Vicky usually stood and called out my name in Pig Latin: “Ophie-say!” And I would, as always, reply, “Icky-vay!” Icky vase, I thought.
My name’s Sophie, short for Annasophie. I’ve been going to Redwood Christian School for as long as I could remember.
It wasn’t until 4th grade until Vicky came. Before that, I didn’t have any better friend, which should explain why I was so glad to see her.
But she wasn’t there on the corner. Maybe she was already at the door.
I dragged my backpack along and dropped it by the stone wall. I was the first one there. The air was full of tension, as the first day of school always began with.
I checked in my backpack for my supplies. Yes, they were all there: my orange, purple, and green folders, my packet of twelve colored pencils, my packet of index cards, two packs of light green construction paper, my twenty-four number 2 pencils, my pink eraser…
“Hi.”
I looked up, expecting Vicky. No, it wasn’t her. Instead stood Clarissa, with her flower backpack she’s had ever since kindergarten.
“Hey,” I replied. I guess I showed a bit too much disappointment, because Clarissa walked away.
The bell rang, indicating time to go inside. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and began to walk in. I reached my classroom easily. It was near the door.
But, I thought, Vicky’s in the other class this year. Maybe I’ll see her at recess.
I waited until the two and a half hours dragged by until I got to go to recess.
I raced to the playground. As always, I got there first, before all the boys.
I climbed up to the very top of the play set and looked around for Vicky.
There she was by the boat. I ran down to meet her.
“Hi, Vicky!”
“Hey, Sophie.” Then she turned around to talk to… Ashley. The girl that had a group of friends, always laughing, making me wonder if they were really having much fun or if they were just faking it all. But wasn’t she the opposite of Vicky and me?
Could this be happening?
Vicky and me… We’re best friends… right?
*****

Stillness Cast

Empty skies

Fill the night.

Always still:

Never bright.

Shooting star

Fills the dark:

Streaming flames

Leave a mark.

Stillness cast

A second split:

Just before

The world is lit.