Twisties

Chapter 3

Well if that guy was down here, then it meant Deon's stupid meeting was over. Marching back upstairs, the only thing I had in mind was pushing him down a set of stairs.

The door was already open when I got there.

"Sup," Deon said nonchalantly, leaning back in his leather office chair.

"Don't "sup" me. You know exactly what's up." I stomped right up to him and poked my lips out, pouting. Sighing like his life was so damn hard, Deon sat up and reached for me.

"Hey!" I protested as he pulled me towards him.

"Hush. You talk too much." I was on his lap. "You know I love your attitude, so stop."

Still not satisfied, I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. Sighing again like the old man he was, he shook his head. "Since someone's 17th birthday is coming up, how about I get you something a little extra this year?"

I whipped around in surprise, almost knocking him out. My birthday was in a few weeks, but I wasn't expecting him to know that. "You remembered when my birthday is?"

Giving a half shrug and leaning back into his chair, he replied. "I mean, how could I not? The closer you are to eighteen, the closer I'll get to not being on "How to Catch A Predator." We both busted out laughing. Deon knew full well I was still a minor, while he was a thirty or forty something year old adult. But that didn't matter. He wasn't some kind of creep and he took care of me.

Checking his Rolex, Deon yawned before picking me up. "I need a nap before the club opens. Let's go." I hugged him closer as he carried me to the door that led to his private bedroom, closing it behind us.

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Tatiana

I woke up the next morning and saw Tara hadn't come home last night, so I had to cover for her by telling Grandpa she got up early to jog. It was believable because Tara was an early bird and out of us two, I was least expected to lie. I knew I would probably see her at school anyway, so I wasn't worried. Tara would only skip a day out of the week, otherwise the school would notify Grandpa. That could lead to the discovery of the older guy she was with. Though I didn't approve one bit, Tara was my twin and I had to keep her secrets.

Walking into biology, I saw my sister in the back of the classroom, her head resting on the desk. Rolling my eyes, I went to my seat and waited for the scene to take place. Though I did say Tara was an early bird, it didn't mean she necessarily stayed awake.

Right on time, Mr. Ully strolled into the classroom, plopping his briefcase full of knowledge onto his desk. With a thoughtful expression, he scanned the classroom. I saw him sigh once his eyes landed on Tara. Shaking his head, he went over to his desk and opened a drawer. Then, he headed straight to Tara. Everyone turned around to watch, knowing what was going to happen.

"Everyone, cover your ears please." The class obeyed as Mr. Ully brought the air horn right next to Tara's head and pressed it. Tara screamed and shot straight up from her desk, her bed head hair whipping back and forth as she tried to figure out what was happening.

"Glad to see you're awake Tara."

My sister's eyes narrowed once she saw the teacher. "Ully," she hissed.

"Yes, that is my name, please don't wear it out," he said fixing his tie. Mr. Ully had all the sass in the world.

Tara sighed, now fully awake. "What's up?"

Raising his eyebrows, Mr. Ully crossed his arms over his brown suit jacket. "What have I said about sleeping in my class? This is the third time this month."

"Honestly, it could be worse Mr. Ully," Tara said.

"It is worse!" He shook his head. "You'll be staying after school with me every day, no excuses."

Tara looked up at him in disbelief. "Uh, no."

"Uh, yeah. And that's the end of it," he said with finality. He walked back to the front of the room and started writing something on the board. From where I was, I could tell Tara was just seething in her seat. But it would be good for her. She should be lucky someone was giving her a chance.

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When class ended, both Tara and I walked down the hall together. She was still pouting.

"He's racist," she said confidently.

I look at Tara strangely. "No, he's not. He's black too."

"Yeah, I know, but still! He's always messing with me," she exclaimed in her usual whiny tone. "Plus, people can discriminate against their own race."

I shrugged. "True, and call me crazy, but I think it's because you sleep in his class."

Her head whipped around and her tone turned accusing. "Whose side are you on! Eh?"

Rolling my eyes at how dramatic she was, I stopped outside my next class, English. "Always yours, but you have to take school seriously."

Tara pursed her lips, looking put out. "Yeah, I know."

She really didn't but I wasn't in the mood to preach. "I'll see you later." She nodded and waved to me before I went into class. I took my seat in the front like I always do. A minute later, the new girl showed up and sat next to me again. I kept my head down so she wouldn't have a chance to smile at me.

Our English teacher Mrs. Goldstein was at the front of the room trying to settle the class down. "Alright everybody, take your seats. Now, I mentioned last week we were going to be doing group projects."

The students started talking amongst each other, excited about the project, but I just buried my head into the desk. I fucking hated group work. I was always last pickings if the teacher didn't assign groups. People only ended up with me because no one else wanted to.

Mrs. Goldstein continued speaking. "We're actually going to have fun with this one. I'm going to assign partners and I want you guys to interview each other. Then, based on the information you have gathered about your partner, you will recommend three books for them to read. Those books will be used for the quarterly book reports."

I heard low murmurs of approval from the rest of the class. I had to admit it was a unique idea. I was just bummed about working with someone. Mrs. Goldstein held up a piece of paper. "I'm going to read the names right now." She went down the list. I waited patiently until she got to my name. "Tatiana Wynne. You will be paired with Indigo Diaz."

Fuck my life.

Well on second thought, the new girl just got here. She didn't do much except smile weirdly.

New girl turned towards me. "Hey partner!" She said all perky-like with a blinding smile. I felt like I was melting, holy shit. Yeah, I didn't like her. Smiles were deceiving. Cashiers smile because it's professional, babies smile to let you know they pooped, and people smile to get what they want. I wasn't a bubbly person. More like Oscar the Grouch, and this girl was cheesing like a Miss America contestant. With us being complete opposites, the project was already looking bleak to me. Hopefully we could just get it over and done with.

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