New Twins in Town Pt. 01 Ch. 02

"Oh right, I guess not," Cleo began explaining. "No, it's just one person. She's not in band, but you'll meet her at school. She's probably the only girl prettier than Seph. Well, until you got here. And she's been class president the past two years. She's the smartest, most popular girl in school. Seriously, when you meet her, you'll wanna be her best friend, and suddenly, it'll be like, 'Cleo who?'."

"Are you really that determined to get me to kick your butt?"

"What? No. I can say with confidence I don't want that."

"Cleo," Zoe said in the most serious tone she could muster, "You made me feel welcome when I was scared and alone. I'm not going to just forget about you."

"I... It's just that... Everybody loves her..." her tone took on a very introspective property. "If she hadn't gotten me into the Misfits, I don't think anyone would even notice me. And I never would have developed my confidence."

Did Cleo see absolutely no value in herself before meeting this Sarah girl? I'm definitely going to need to learn more before I have a clear understanding of the picture. Also, aren't The Misfits a band Miles has talked about? How do they fit into all of this?

"Cleo, you just said-"

"Everybody loves her? I know. I'm not even being hypnobolic, like... every guy has a crush on her."

"Pretty sure you mean hyperbolic. And is it only guys or am I detecting a bit of a girl crush?"

"What?" Cleo whipped her head around, panic in her eyes. "No! No. It's not like that. I just- you'll understand when you meet her."

"I'll develop a bit of a girl crush?" Zoe smirked.

"No. That's not what-" Cleo looked her new friend up and down. "Maybe she'll get one on you. OR maybe..."

"Cleo?"

"Shhhh. I'm picturing something right now."

Zoe playfully swat her arm. "Don't be mean."

The girls lined up among the other percussionists at the side of the field. Tamara stood in front of them and barked orders about the activities they'd be doing before breakfast.

"What were the other questions?" Whispered Zoe once the instructions ended.

"Your brother?" The optimism in Cleo's voice was palpable.

"Right. If we're going to do this, it's not going to be for a boy. We're going to do this because you're a beautiful young woman, and it's about time you and the rest of the world knew it." There was a bossiness to Zoe's voice she hadn't intended to be there.

For the first time since they'd met, Cleo seemed to be at a loss for words. Her eyes unfocused as she considered Zoe's words.

A smile took over her face.

The whistle blew and they took off running.

9:30 AM, Cafeteria

The percussionists filed out of the cafeteria quicker than they had the previous day.

Miles to Zoe. Come in, Zoe. Are you reading me? If you're getting this then meet me outside the cafeteria. An image from the morning's swim popped into his head. Shit! No. Don't send that. Disregard. I repeat disre-

"Dude!" Chris finally caught up. "You got a headache or something?"

Miles brought his fingers away from his temple. "No, I was just... thinking."

"You ditched me after the sprints."

"Oh, uh... are we eating together?"

"I mean, not if you've got someone else to eat with. From what we saw yesterday, we figured you wouldn't mind the company."

"We?"

Joe flanked Miles's free side. "Uh-huh. And I'm pretty sure until they get to know you, or at least get over Tanner being a dram queen, you'd appreciate our company better than the rest of the section."

"Right," Miles chuckled. "It's just... I- uh... nevermind."

"Something you wanna talk about?"

You're nice and all. But practically a stranger.

"Aside from how you can stand this humidity while still wearing sweats and a hat? I don't think I'm ready to share," he tried to take the attention off himself.

"You get used to it when your dad believes that a summer spent indoors is wasted."

Miles forced himself to not roll his eyes. Joe is better at avoiding answering questions than I am.

"If you need to talk about something, we're not a bad audience," Joe offered.

"Zoe is usually my sounding board," Miles said before admitting. "But it's not really a conversation we would usually have."

"That's gonna be tough dude; we usually don't get to meet with the drum line until after dinner," Chris stated. The last of the percussionists exited the room and the trio made their way in.

"Ah, right... shit!"

So much for twin-telepathy.

"Woah, what's with the language?" Chris chided.

"Sorry. Frustrated."

"Okay, if it's that serious, we'll sneak off. But if we get in trouble, I'm blaming you," Joe said with a frightening amount of enthusiasm. "Chris, how do you feel about Operation: Upchuck?"

"No! No! Never again!" Chris insisted.

Clearly I don't want to know.

"Hold your horses, or whatever the Southern expression is," Miles said. "I was just annoyed that I didn't see Zo when they were exiting the cafeteria."

Chris scowled at Joe, "And you wanted me to initiate Operation: Upchuck."

Miles grabbed a tray and a slice of sandwich. Please don't explain what that means before we sit to eat.

"Was it gonna be that quick a conversation? It doesn't even sound like you know what, if anything, you wanna say," Joe observed while grabbing a sandwich and a fruit cup.

"Yeah, but it's like... it's a twin thing. Every so often we just sorta know what the other one is thinking," Miles explained as the group planted themselves at an open table.

"I dunno how I'd feel about that," Chris tried to picture someone reading his thoughts.

"Yeah, like imagine... if you were in the middle of-" Joe's voice was shaky

"Don't be gross!" Chris had thought the same thing.

"How're you guys holding up?" Persephone asked as she sat down next to Miles.

"Oof, why did it have to rain last night? It sucks running in mud," griped Chris.

"How's the school field? It get muddy?" Miles was grateful for the change of subject.

"You might say that," Chris said coyly.

Miles glanced around the table and noted both Seph and Joe chuckle to themselves.

"Am I missing something?" Miles murmered.

"Eh, we should spare you the details for now," Seph decided for the group. "You'll hear about the 'Mud Bowl' for months."

"Mud Bowl? Wait, it gets so bad they named an event after it?"

"Oh yeah! You better get used to it," Topher appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by a couple of girls who joined them at their table.

Seph took over the role of host.

"Girls, this is Miles. New trumpet player."

He turned to see whom he was being introduced to.

"Miles this is Pixie, she plays flute and, in jazz band, sax."

Miles recognized but couldn't place her. He took a second to study her. Her face was developed and womanly, unlike the rest of her body. Her haircut matched her name and was accentuated by her natural brunette roots, contrasting her otherwise bleached hair.

Even seated, there was no hiding her small size, that wasn't merely a vertical issue. He questioned whether she'd even weigh 100 pounds if she were soaking wet and holding weights in each hand. Regardless, when he looked her in the eyes, there was no mistaking it. She was absolutely stunning.

"Hello-o," The girl seemed to sing the greeting at him.

"Pixie?" Miles wondered aloud, fearing a blush may have overtaken his face.

"I'm not going to live in North Carolina and go by Charlotte," she put up a shrug that included a smile and a bit of a flourish, accompanied by batting her long-lashed baby blues at him.

"The name seems to suit you," she smiled approvingly at his comment. Miles was fairly certain she was wearing lipstick, though it was nowhere near as bold as the shades his sister and Seph seemed to favor; there was no missing the eyeliner that she utilized to give herself cat eyes.

"Thank you," she beamed at his observation. "You just moved here, right? House on Oak Street?"

"How'd you know?"

"You moved in on the fifth. You live with your mom and your sister. You have a motorcycle. You ride off before 5 AM each morning. Come back a little after 9."

Miles looked at the other people at the table. Their smiles just added to his discomfort.

"I've been watching you, Miles," the small girl said. "I know all your dirty little secrets."

The hairs on the back of Miles's neck stood on end. He found himself unable to maintain eye contact with those seated around him.

How can a girl so small be so scary?"

"Alright, Pix," Chris chuckled. "You had your fun but enough is enough."

"You ruined it, Sport," Pixie laughed. "I totally had him going."

While the others at the table burst into laughter and agreed with her statement, Miles let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.

"Relax, dude," Chris pat him on the shoulder. "I got your back."

Between Operation: Upchuck and Pixie's gag, I don't think Chris is much of a joke-wingman.

"You've made a powerful enemy this day," Pixie scowled.

"Yes, yes. Very scary. But you said you'd only tease him a little. Mission accomplished," Chris informed. "Now you tell him."

"Fine," she rolled her eyes but the smile remained. "Welcome to the neighborhood. I'm in the house to the left of yours. My room faces your house so I have a clear view of what's going on. I think my mom brought you brownies."

If she's been watching me... was she the girl from the lake?

"Oh! Awesome," Miles forced himself to sound less perturbed than he felt. "Yeah, they were great. Well, thank you for being neighborly."

She blushed at his words.

"I would have come to drop them off too, except..."

"Oh, don't tell me you're still hung up on that," Seph laughed. "Pixie, for the last time, there is no such thing as-"

"THANK YOU, PERSEPHONE!" Pixie said with an emotion Miles couldn't pinpoint. "But it's not that. It's... in front of his house... there's this... this..."

"The car?" Miles mused.

The small girl exhaled, obviously relieved that he knew what the issue would be. "Yeah, is your mom like a mortician or something?"

"Nah, it's actually my sister's car," he realized the others at the table were confused. "She drives a hearse."

"Wait, why?" Chris asked, his voice a higher pitch than Miles had previously heard. "I met her last night. She didn't seem like a Goth."

"She's not a Goth," Seph rolled her eyes. "It's actually really cool. It's all set up with interior lighting and curtains. It's kinda homey. She said it was super cheap and is great for hauling things around. Plus she said she can typically use the carpool lane even if no ones riding shotgun."

"Huh, why would she get access to the carpool lane if she doesn't have a passenger?" Chris asked.

"I didn't say she doesn't have a passenger. Hers just happens to lay down in the back seat."

"Lay down in the-" Chris jumped up from his chair. "No. No. NO! Tell me you're joking."

"Oh, yeah," Seph chuckled. "Miles, you should know Chris is terrified of anything relating to death."

"Chris," Miles reassured. "There is no body in the back seat."

"Not since she moved to town and realized Walker's Cove doesn't have any carpool lanes."

"That's not funny. Your priest better make you say so many 'Hail Marys' for that," Chris scowled at Seph as he returned to his seat. "And I'm not terrified of anything relating to death. I just... have a healthy respect for the dead."

"Uh-huh, sure, babe," Seph chuckled to herself. "You wanna see if she'll let you ride with her after the retreat?"

"Wha-no! I don't need some demons or zombies associating me with a vehicle used for ferrying the dead around!" Chris's face turned a few shades paler than when the conversation began. "I mean... I- I don't know her that well. It'd be impolite to ask."

"So, like I said, Chris is scared of anything relating to death," Seph shook her head.

"Or anything sacrilegious," Joe added.

"Okay, that's just good sense," Chris insisted.

"Right," Seph said. "But yeah, the car is cool. She made it sound like it was a blast to have."

"Yeah," Miles added. "Plus, it's good for things like car camping. And people don't mess with it. I guess they're scared of getting haunted or something."

Both Chris and Pixie seemed to stir at his words.

He turned to Chris, "It's also great for scaring people. The only real drawbacks are the limited seating and having to find double long parking."

"Limited seating?" Pixie asked.

She has a wonderful smile. Why does it seem like I've seen it before?

"Well, yeah," Miles shrugged. "It's more like a truck than a limo."

Everyone around the table seemed satisfied with his explanations, and even Pixie, who had been apprehensive about it before, seemed excited to check it out.

"Anyway, back to introductions," Persephone continued, gesturing to the other girl. "This is Melissa, She plays sax."

An image of the morning swim flashed through Miles's brain. Dammit, she said sax, not sex.

Unlike her counterpart, Melissa's brunette hair reached below her shoulders. Miles couldn't determine her height as well as Pixie's, though it was apparent that she was much closer to average, and she wasn't nearly as petite. She seemed to be the only girl at the table absent of makeup, though her bust showed off her womanly figure more than any of the others, not just at their table but quite possibly the entire cafeteria.

"Hi there, feel free to call me Mel," her accent was a bit more pronounced than any of the others, though Miles couldn't quite determine what made hers stand out.

The girl from last night? Did she have an accent?

As Miles considered the thought, his gaze lingered. Pixie noticed and turned to whisper something to Mel.

"That's why you look so familiar," Miles exclaimed. "I saw you on the bus."

"Yeah," Pixie smiled.

"Pixie?" Seph asked, fighting the smirk threatening to overtake her face. "You were on the brass bus?"

Oh shit. What have I done?

Pixie's eyes went wide. Her gaze met Seph's then instantly turned away. "No. No! I- you- he must have seen me somewhere else."

"Yesterday," Chris added. "She was leading the piccolos."

"Yeah! Yeah!" Pixie said quickly. "That's where you had to have seen me."

Miles nodded firmly. "Right. When we were jogging around the field. Yeah... that must have been it."

Everyone sat in silence. Eventually Miles realized that all eyes had landed on Seph.

"Mmhmmm," she scowled. "Must have. Because I KNOW that the section leaders for the woodwinds wouldn't have set a bad example by being on a bus they shouldn't have been."

"Hey," Mel said. "No one said anything abou-"

"No, but she barely goes anywhere without you," Seph said. "But why would..."

She trailed off, her eyes landing on Joe.

"Joe, why would Mel and Pixie have snuck onto the wrong bus?"

"Uh..." Joe smiled. There was no attempt to hide or deflect. "Because... everyone knows brass is way cooler than the woodwinds?"

Seph finally allowed the smirk to come forward. "Well, if you're gonna break the rules, you might as well have a good reason."

"I didn't break any rules," Joe shrugged before taking another bite of the quicky disappearing sandwich.

Phew, that was a scary couple of seconds. Miles looked at the smiles on the girls' faces and felt confident that everything was good. Could either of them be the girl from the lake? Hell, could it have been Seph? I can't rule any of them out. But I have no way of figuring it out either.

1:30 PM, Belews Lake field

Tamara seemed determined to either make someone quit or pass out.

"Does she... know what she's... doing to us?" Zoe asked between heavy breaths as they finished another set of sprints.

"Us?" Cleo raised her arms above her head so her lungs had more space to expand. "With your legs? I have to take two steps for every one you do."

Cleo's comment got Zoe chuckling before crying out. Being a foot taller than Cleo, the statement had been true. But the short girl was determined to be among the first to complete the tasks.

"Don't make me laugh," Zoe stood up as straight as she could manage.

"Yeah, if she catches you laughing, she'll make us run more."

"Well, DON'T make me laugh!" She reiterated.

"How can y'all be... laughing right now?" Amber asked as she finished her sprint.

"Because we saw you flailing your arms as you ran," Cleo joked.

"I was trying to swat away the noxious gasses emanating from your butt."

Zoe wasn't used to this sort of cattiness but was learning that it all seemed to be in good fun. It definitely wasn't something she could see herself partaking in, at least in this crude form.

It wouldn't be ladylike.

"Why isn't she as worn out as the rest of us?" Zoe asked.

"Who?"

"Tam. She's been doing these laps with us and it hardly shows."

"You're one to talk," Amber smirked. "But we've all thought that about Tam before. Her whole family is military. She's always doing physical activities. This is nothing to her."

"Y'know what I heard?" Cleo asked. "Her family trains her like that guy from Rocky, Draco."

"Drago," Zoe corrected. "And from the look of her, I can believe it. So, what about Kristina? Tam's doing exercises with us. Seph and Chris said last night that they have to do just as much sprinting as the people they're leading. So isn't she supposed to do the sprints with us? And weren't we supposed to move on to march patterns and form after lunch?"

"I think so. All the Drum Majors we've had in the past have. But I'm not gonna be the one to tell her."

"I think she just likes watching us suffer," Amber grumbled.

As more of the percussionists concluded their sprints, Cleo decided to remind Zoe.

"Hey, you never finished answering my questions," she whispered.

"How was I supposed to keep track? Do you even remember what they were?"

"She wanted to know if either you or your brother were in relationships," Amber chimed in.

"How did you-"

"Got good ears." Amber responded, clearly anticipating the question, "She wanted to know if you had a boyfriend in Portland. What the status of that relationship is. And also what your brother's situation is."

"Have you seen her brother yet?" Cleo sounded eager to describe him to her friends in great detail.

"Have YOU seen her brother yet?" Judy repeated the question back at Cleo.

"I- uh..." Cleo started answering, but Judy held her index fingers up and slowly spread them apart while licking her lips and giving a suggestive look.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Zoe quickly interjected, trying to get the conversation away from her twin brother's genitals.

"Did you have to end things before leaving Portland?" Cleo moved away from Judy to avoid more suggestive comments.

"First of all, I'm from Washington. Not Portland. Second, I've never actually had a boyfriend."

"How- How is that possible? You're so pretty. Even someone like m-" Cleo caught herself before making another self-deprecating comment. "I mean... you're beautiful. Boys probably get down on their knees just to meet you."

"You go, girl!" Judy said as she walked up to them.

"Huh?" Zoe asked.

"Amber isn't the only person with good ears," Judy bragged. "So, tell me 'bout these boys are getting down on their knees to eat you?"

"I'm gonna have to give the 'Good Ears' award to Amber. I said meet!" Cleo whispered. "Guys are getting down on their knees to MEET her."

"And I said 'No'," Zoe said emphatically. "They're not!"

"Oh, right," Cleo chuckled. "They're not. Sorry about that."

"So, one thing you should know about Judy," Amber offered. "She rarely misses an opportunity to make something sexual."

"Now you tell me."