Twice The Trouble

Chapter 11: A New Friend

I was a sucker for classics.

Of the hundreds I've perused, my most favorite book was The Little Prince, and I frequently carried it with me so I can drown in its reality, escaping my own, and learn more depth.

I closed my eyes and raised the book to my nose, flipping the pages. A moment later, a voice pulled me out of my trance.

"What are you doing?"

I stopped and opened one eye to look at Lucas. He was blocking the sun, and the light looked like a halo around his head.

"Sniffing."

"Sniffing what?"

"The literary spirit. This is how bookworms get high," I told him and continued flipping the pages. The scent of old books is just invigorating.Someone should invent a perfume that smells like books.

"You're weird," he commented, then he asked me if I minded him sitting beside me.

"No, it's fine," I answered Lucas, who smiled and slid into the empty space on my bench.

My peripheral vision told me that my companion was staring at me in carefree silence.

"Um, why are you looking at me?" I bravely asked, hugging my book to my chest.

Lucas folded his arms on the cold marble table and rested his chin on his arms as he peered up at me, a lopsided smile curving his full lips.

He answered: "Just wondering why you're at school so early."

"Oh." I reassembled my thoughts, because the way his brown eyes twinkled was disarming.

I shrugged, darted my eyes in another direction, and replied: "I guess I was being selfish. I wanted to enjoy the serenity of the campus." I gestured to the seclusion. "So I secretly set Stacy's alarm to an earlier time when she wasn't looking last night. We always commute to and from school together." I wore a sheepish grin to mask my embarrassment.

Lucas nodded his head in understanding. He smiled up at me and said: "That's nice. You and your sister must be pretty close, I gather, since you share rides and phones?"

A fond smile curled my mouth as I thought of my crazy twin. "We're more than close. She's my other half," I told him. "I often believe our hearts are connected, like our necklaces."

At this, I put my book down on my the table and fingered the silver half-heart pendant dangling from my thin silver chain. I showed the little trinket to Lucas with a smile on my face.

His lips slightly parted in awe, and his brown eyes went big as he nailed them on my pendant.

"'Twin For.'" As he read the cursive engraving, his mind seemed to be working like clocks and gears, and after a second, comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh, now I remember. Stacy was wearing the other jagged half of the heart. So when you join the two pieces, it will complete a phrase, right?" he tore his eyes away from my necklace and kept his gaze ahead of him.

I nodded eagerly as I explained to him: "Her half says 'Sisters Ever'. Twin Sisters Forever."

"You really love Stacy, don't you?" He asked, then his eyes flew to the book in front of me.

"More than I can even describe," I seriously answered. I saw what he was looking at and my face broke into another sheepish grin.

He pointed at the worn-out copy of The Little Prince. "Is it your favorite book?"

"Yes, it is!" I couldn't help bubbling up with enthusiasm. My fingers caressed the front cover of the softbound book, and I was filled with yet another whoosh of love and appreciation for it.