Two Sides of the Same Coin

Chapter 5: School

"Whoa! That all really happened?" Chloe gasped the next morning after I told her about the night before.

"Is Alexa not enough proof? I can show you the Doc, well half of him, anyway."

"Are you really Alex's feminine side?" Chloe asked Alexa, who was walking beside us.

"I guess you could say that. I'm not too thrilled about the thought of becoming one again, but... whatever. I'll try to do as much as I can while I'm separate," she replied nonchalantly.

"Ok! I'll try to help you out then! When you do become one with Alex again, I'll make sure he keeps his promise to you, ok?"

"I knew I could count on you, Chloe! You're the best!"

For some reason, the two girls laughing together like that really ticked me off. It was like they don't even care that I'm not whole! I was beginning to wonder why I even felt like being a girl before...

Before I could dwell on that thought any longer, the three of us had arrived at school. Since Alexa had to go to the office to get her schedule, Chloe and I sat down in the hallway together.

"You know, Alexa's pretty cool. I know it must be awful to be split like that, but... I kinda like her, you know? It's nice to talk to both of you at once," she said after a moment.

"Really? You actually like her?! She's a total ***** (female dog)! It's like she doesn't care that she was split off from me," I replied bitterly.

"You're funny, Alex, you know that?" Chloe giggled.

"What? Why's that?"

"Because you just called yourself a ***** (female dog). Sure, she's separate from you now, but she's still you, you know. I'm sure you'll come to understand her. At least, I hope so since she's your feminine side, personified."

Unable to come up with a valid argument, I sat there in silence, thinking about what Chloe said. As aggravating as Alexa was, she still was a part of me. A part of me that I can't lose.

"Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?" Alexa snickered, breaking my train of thought.

"And what do you mean by that?" I asked, irritated.

"You know what I meant. I know that you like her."

"W-what are you talking about? I-I don't like anybody!" I exclaimed, blushing furiously.

That response just made Alexa smirk like she had won an argument. Thankfully, Chloe seemed to have missed what the conversation was about since she looked at us in confusion. Before she could ask us what it was about the bell rang so we started heading towards our first class.

As the day went by, Alexa proved herself to be both smart and athletic as she never held anything back, which was exactly what I was afraid of. Even though our powers have been halved, we still have above average physical and mental capabilities. However, showing off such talents could lead to intense questioning and eventually, rumors. Alexa didn't seem to care though because, by the end of the day, she had a bunch of people following her around like lost puppies. A lot of the guys in our class even had the gall to ask her out!

"School is the best when you can let loose like that!" she sighed contentedly as we walked home.

"It won't be great for long. People will question you about your skills and eventually become jealous. Soon, you'll be all alone because everyone will be upset that you can easily beat any record they set, whether it be academic or physical."

"I highly doubt that will ever happen. They all love me! Do you know how many times I was asked out? Twenty times in just one day!"

"Wow! That's really impressive, Alexa. Too bad nobody's ever asked me out," Chloe sighed.

This led to Alexa elbowing me in the ribs.

"What was that for?!" I hissed.

"You know what it meant. Ask her out already," she hissed back.

"What?! Are you crazy?"

"No. You're the crazy one for not asking after all this time. I know how you feel about her so just do it already."

Since it didn't seem like Alexa would back down, I decided to take a stab at it. I hope Lady Luck is on my side today. If things go like they did last night, I was in for a world of hurt.

"What are you two whispering about? You don't have to keep secrets from me. Besides, I just love gossip," Chloe said, looking at us curiously.

"U-uh... C-Chloe?" I stammered, blushing in embarrassment.

"Yeah? What's wrong, Alex?"

"W-will you... uh... you know..."

After Alexa discreetly kicked me, I blurted out, "Will you go out with me?"

Chloe just stared at me for a moment, looking completely shocked. Finally, she spoke.

"W-well of course, silly! I-I've been wait... I mean... I've always known you had feelings for me so... yeah. Why not?" she replied, blushing as furiously as I was. "W-well, I've got to go! B-bye!"

As Chloe ran off, I couldn't help but feel both relieved and excited. I noticed that Alexa was smirking at me again, but I ignored her, not wanting to ruin the moment. Look out world, this guy has got himself a date!