[edited]
"EMERSON SAMUELS!" My mother yelled from downstairs, "GET YOUR ARSE DOWN HERE NOW!"
"I'm coming! Chill out!" I yelled back. I rushed to my bathroom, quickly running a brush through my hair. Thank God it was cooperating today. I quickly looked in the mirror at myself. I was wearing skinny jeans and a black shirt. My straight brown hair cascaded down past my shoulders. I glanced at my streak of blue hair, pushing it back behind my ear.
I grabbed my gym bag as well as my regular backpack. I sprinted down the wooden stairs, causing myself to trip on the last one. I felt my face hit the hard tile of the kitchen. I heard my brothers laughing. God, I was such a klutz.
"Dumbass," I heard my brother Evan say from his place at our breakfast bar. I sat at the bar stool next to him, and punched his arm. He yelped in pain and I smiled in satisfaction. Serves him right.
My other brother Elliot laughed at the both of us. He was the mature one of the three of us, but even that wasn't much. All three of us were certified idiots.
I grabbed a pear from the bowl on the counter. God, I was starving. As I was enjoying my small breakfast, our mom began to talk, "Emerson, make sure you eat enough, alright? And do you have your kit with you?"
I nod, "Always do, mum."
"Alright, you three. Are you excited for your first day of school in America?"
No one answered, but she continued, totally unfazed. My mum was one of those super optimistic people who always had a smile on their face. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it could just get annoying sometimes.
"Wonderful! Make sure you stay together and look out for each other. I know you guys weren't thrilled about this move but can we please make the best of it?" she said.
All three of us nodded solemnly.
"Oh, yes, one more thing. Emerson and Evan, stay out of trouble. You two do not need another suspension on your records. You already have three," she pointed out, exasperated.
Evan and I smirked at each other. Those suspensions weren't our fault, those kids totally had everything coming to them.
Nevertheless, we both nodded again to make our mother happy.
"Thank you so much. This move has been so hard for all of us. Your father and I just want to thank you for being so nice about it," she says, sighing and sitting at a stool on the edge of the counter.
"Don't worry, mum. We'll be alright," Elliot says, gently toughing mum's back. Kiss ass.
She smiles at us, then frowns again. "Oh my goodness! It's 7:30! You three need to get going or you'll be late!" she quickly stands up, and throws the car keys to me. Score! I got to drive!
"Mom, why does Emerson get to drive?" Evan whines.
"You drove when we went to the mall yesterday and Elliot drove the day before. It's my turn, genius," I retort, making him scowl at me.
"Bye my sweeties! Boys, look after Emerson, especially at lunchtime, " my mum exclaims again. She gives us each a peck on the cheek as we walk out of the kitchen.
We walked towards the front door, and I looked back at my brothers. I laughed, making them giving me confused looks.
"You guys don't need to dress like each other, you know," I say, "You already look identical."
"What are you talking about?" they both said, looking down at their outfits. They were wearing the same pair of jeans, but had a different colored shirt on each.
They realized what had happened and shrugged at each other. Typical them. They were identical twins. And when I say identical, I mean exactly identical. Even our parents had trouble telling them apart. The only real difference was a height difference of one centimeter on Elliot's part. Other than that, they were pretty much the same person when it came to looks.
I shrugged and laughed again, then began tying my shoes. We had a very strict no-shoes policy in our house, so we took them off at the door and put them on again when we went out.
I slip on my dark blue Converse and Elliot and Evan each throw on a pair of Nikes.
I ran to start the car and they jumped in after me. I pulled out of our long driveway and eventually on the main street, making my way to school. Looking outside, I could see this was nothing like London. London was crowded and bustling, while this town had open spaces and it seemed to be pretty calm. Huh, I could get used to this.
"So, Emmy, are you going to tell people that we're your brothers?" Evan asked from the backseat.
"Unfortunately, I probably will have to," I reply, rolling my eyes at him in the rear-view mirror.
"Hey, you have it way better than us," Elliot argues, "If you don't want to tell people that we're triplets, you don't have to. But it's pretty hard for Evan and me to explain why there is someone who looks exactly like us."
Yep. You heard him right. We were triplets. Two boys and one girl. While everyone immediately assumed Elliot and Evan were twins, I was always left out until we explained that there were three of us. I mean, we looked like siblings, but never triplets. I couldn't help but feel neglected sometimes.
I laughed, "Let's just stay together today. We'll walk in together and go home together. Don't you guys have football tryouts?"
"Yeah, and what about your track thing?"
I nodded. I was actually really excited to try out. My old school in London didn't have a team, and this was a great opportunity.
"Then it's settled. Everyone meet at the car after school," Elliot finalizes.
Evan and I nod in agreement, and I pull into the schoolyard, where I find a parking place. I grab my backpack and lock the door before I go stand next to my brothers.
I look at them, and see them holding hands. I clear my throat kind of awkwardly, "Guys, this isn't primary school. Do you really think that's a good idea?"
They turned to where I was looking, and saw their intertwined fingers. They hurriedly let their hands go, their faces going red with embarrassment. I laughed lightly. They hadn't even noticed they were doing it, which was hilarious. They held hands every year on the first day until last year, when we were freshman. It probably had something to do with them being called fags all through secondary school.
We walked ahead, and I could feel people stares. Not like I wasn't used to them. Apparently identical twins are fascinating. I could see people turning to their friends and beginning to whisper. Great. We were new students, there was no need to take a fucking piss about it.
We continued walking until we reached the office. I headed to the large reception desk. "Excuse me, ma'am. But all three of us are new. We came to register."
The secretary, a lady of about fifty years with cat's eye glasses, smiled sweetly at me, "Of course, honey. What are your names and grades?"
"Elliot, Evan, and Emerson Samuels. All in Year 10." I replied.
She handed us three blue timetables and three small index cards, "Enjoy your day!"
I thanked her and turned to my brothers, who were whispering to each other. I rolled my eyes. It was kind of creepy sometimes how close they were.
"Guys? You there?" I waved my hands in exasperation.
"Sorry, Emmy. What do you want?" Evan notices me first.
"I was gonna ask what homeroom you guys have."
"We both have Friedman for homeroom. What about you?"
I glanced at my timetable again. "Reed. Ughh! That's the whole other side of the building."
"Well, we'll see you later, Emmy. Call if you need anything," Elliot says, and I give a little wave as they walk away.
I sigh, and begin glancing at locker numbers, making my way towards my assigned locker. My plan of surviving these next two and a half years was simple. I was going to keep my head down, and not do anything to draw attention to myself. My brothers, on the other hand, couldn't help it. They would have at least six people each day come up and exclaim how cool it was that they were identical twins and all that wonderful shit.
I finally found my locker, and grabbed all the things I needed, which was a lot for the first day supposedly.
My eyes keep darting to the plaques on each classroom door, trying to find my homeroom with Mr. Reed. I feel my chest bump into something hard, sending my books to the ground at my feet.
I look up, and see a tall boy in front me. He had chiseled, defined features on his face. Amber eyes, and brown hair with a few blond highlights. His hair spiked up in a nice way at the front. He had small studs in his ears.
It took me a moment before I realized that I was kneeling on the ground and staring at him. "Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," I say truthfully.
He shakes his head, "I'm sorry too."
He leans down and begins to help me gather my papers. "Are you new here?" he asks.
"Yep. I just moved here," I answer quietly. This is not part of the plan. This is not how you stay low, Emerson.
"Hello? Anybody home?" the boy asks, waving his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my trance.
"Huh?"
He laughs. Holy Conan Doyle, what a beautiful sound. "I asked you what your name was."
"Oh. I'm Emerson Samuels."
"Grayson Dolan," he says, extending a hand formally. I shake it and give him a small smile.
"See you around, Emerson," he says, handing the last of my books and walking off.
I stand there momentarily until the bell rings, making me jump. I run off to my class, which I gratefully found.
I walk in, and see that the only empty seat is in the middle of the classroom. Perfect. The middle is like the worst seat ever. I'm exposed from all sides. I thought I saw Grayson, but when he looked at me, he didn't even acknowledge me. It's for the best, I told myself.
The class passed by quick enough. So did world science, math, and German. Thank God for lunchtime.
I bought myself a chicken salad and a juice box, and sat at an empty table near the windows. I was soon joined by my brothers. I could feel everyone staring at them as they made their way over to me. God, this was getting annoying. All three of us proceeded to catch the other two up on our days so far.
After lunch, I had art, which was alright. I was no artist, but I enjoyed drawing. But my last class was my absolute favorite. World history. I guess I had a weird fascination with flags, capitals, and old dead people who shaped our society today.
I luckily found an empty seat in the back just as the bell rang for the start of class. The teacher immediately started to explain about a term project, and it took literally all my strength not to scream and pull my hair out when I heard we were working in partners. It was literally my first day here and we already had a partner project?!
The teacher began calling out names of partners. I waited anxiously for mine, and finally heard it.
"Emerson Samuels, and...," the teacher paused and looked at the doorway. In walked the same boy I had bumped into earlier that day, Grayson.
"Late again, Mr. Dolan."
Grayson just shrugged, not bothering with an excuse, and took his seat.
The teacher looked slightly annoyed, but cleared her throat and didn't press the issue, "As I was saying, the last pair for this project will be.....Emerson Samuels and...Grayson Dolan."
I turned to look at the scowling boy next to me. Well, this sure was going to be interesting.