The Girls of Manchester Pt. 01

Sam felt a tear spilling down her cheek, and rubbed it away. She was completely unaware that the girl next to her was watching her every move.

"I don't know why you are crying," the girl said suddenly, startling Sam once more out of her thoughts," but my name is Hope. Would you like to talk about it?"

Sam shook her head and turned back towards the window, tears rolling down her cheeks. She just wanted the ride to be over so that this girl, Hope, could focus on something other than her. Rather than being left alone, however, Sam felt a hand being laid gently upon her shoulder.

"Why don't you talk to me?" The girl asked, her voice pulling Sam's eyes towards her. Hope's voice was hypnotic to Sam. It had a sweet sing-song quality to it that made her feel eerily comfortable.

Sam shrugged her shoulders, trying her best to appear nonchalant. She wanted the interaction to end, but Hope was obviously not willing to give up so easily. The bus came to a stop outside of their school and Sam was feeling cornered. Hope scoffed and got up, leaving the bus.

Sam made no movement which would indicate the desperate need she felt to try to talk to the girl. Instead, she kept her gaze out the bus window as everyone filed past her. It had become a habit of hers. Eventually Bridget would be along, and her life would be okay for at least a few minutes. All she had to do right now was wait while the line of students passed her by. Suddenly she felt another hand on her shoulder, and Sam got up.

"Want to talk about it?" Bridget asked.

Sam shook her head.

"I saw the girl sit next to you. Did she try to talk?"

Sam nodded. She felt the sensation of heat rising in her chest, on her neck, and all over her face. She was so embarrassed now, covering her face with her hands.

"Oh my God." Bridget said, putting herself squarely in front of her sister. She whispered," You like her, don't you?"

Sam shook her head, but caught the incredulous look in Bridget's eyes. She nodded slowly, fanning herself with her hand to cool down. Sam looked around to make sure nobody noticed as they both stepped off of the bus.

"I didn't know what to do. I think she thinks I hate her now." Sam said, her face shrouded with worry.

Bridget laughed and hugged her sister.

"Girl, you need to get some confidence about you."

"How can I talk to her?" Sam asked, tearing up in frustration.

"Wow, you really must like her." Bridget said, wiping Sam's tears away. "You've known her only ten minutes."

"I don't understand it. Hope is so beautiful, so-."

"So, you know her name." Bridget interrupted with a sly smile.

Sam blushed furiously, nodding.

"You're such a horn dog, Sam." Bridget said, walking towards the school. Sam stared after Bridget slack-jawed. Suddenly, she looked around and realized the bus area was nearly deserted. She ran to catch up to her sister.

"That was a mean thing to say." Sam signed as soon as she caught up to a smiling Bridget.

"I know, sis. But it is true."

Sam rolled her eyes as she entered the building alongside her sister.

Ch. 02: Starlet Rising

"Kites rise highest against the wind- not with it."

-Winston Churchill

Hope entered her seventh period class with a serious chip on her shoulder. Normally, for a girl with such a beautiful disposition in life, this would not be the case. Her entire day had seemed to go wrong ever since her encounter with a girl on the bus heading to school. She couldn't quite lay a finger on what it was that was throwing her so far off. She had tried so hard to forget about this mysterious girl that she had embarrassed herself thoroughly in her first class of the day. Thinking about the incident was enough to make her blood boil. The only thing she could think of to make her day go better would be to get out of class as soon as possible. Of course, she would obviously have to put up with the girl who had been the cause of much confusion and consternation throughout the day. However, it would be worth it just to get home and bury herself in the warm embrace of her bed. She set her book bag onto her desk and turned her gaze towards the clock on the wall. In sixty minutes she would be set free, and she began to mentally count down every agonizing second she remained in class.

Hope needed a distraction even though class had not even officially begun yet. She opened her book bag, rummaging around until she found, and extracted, a battered notebook covered in doodle hearts and skull and crossbones figures. Hope slowly began to relax as she opened the notebook to the first available blank page, one of a dwindling number left before she would have to buy another. Her troubles receded to a complete blank as she began to scribble down lyrics for a song. The words were slow to come at first, but as she continued a tale of love gained and lost began to emerge in blue ink. The song was depressing, and Hope did not need that either after all of the day's drama. She quickly brainstormed a few ideas to get the couple back together in a glorious ever after- type tale of love, passion and companionship. Hope read through the page one final time, scanning for errors and improvements which could be made at a later time. With an inward smile of satisfaction, Hope finished the lyric just in time for the bell to chime, the door to be closed, everyone to get seated, and the door to open once again.

Usually Hope did not care enough to mark every single instance of a door opening or closing in class. It was a frequent enough occurrence that it no longer attracted her passing gaze. For some reason, however, she looked towards the door. Hope's jaw dropped as she beheld the same brunette girl from the bus being led into class by the Principal. She was not alone, however. Directly behind her was a girl who looked exactly the same in almost every respect. Hope was beyond confused at this point. The fact that they were twins was too obvious to merit the fogginess which enshrouded her mind. It was the single question that probably bothered everyone who dealt with twins who looked alike. Which twin was the one she had talked to?

Strangely enough, she felt none of the anger and frustration that thoughts of the petite brunette girl had seemed to cause since earlier that morning. Those feelings had dissipated completely as Hope watched one of the two girls handing the teacher, Mr. Banks, a note. While she watched, Hope was mentally berating herself for not paying closer attention to what the girl from earlier had been wearing. In the meanwhile, Mr. Banks seemed to be in the middle of a heated, but whispered, conversation with their Principal, Mrs. Fairhaven. From the way Mr. Banks was gesturing it obviously had to do with the girls, but she couldn't guess what. They had to be new to the school, she had been living in town her entire life, and she had never seen either of them before.

The discussion seemed to be at an end as a red-faced Mr. Banks visibly deflated and went to sit at his desk. Whatever point he had been trying to make, he had obviously given up and resigned himself to whatever it was that Mrs. Fairview had heaped upon him. Mrs. Fairhaven looked at the girls standing in front of the room and pointed in Hope's direction. That was the point Hope knew something was up and braced herself for it.

The desks in the room had been arranged in groups of six. Most of the other groups were full, but Hope's was empty, save herself. Now, it seemed, she was about to have company for the rest of the year. Not that she would complain. The fact nobody sat with her to begin with had nothing to do with her popularity, her looks or even her personality. Most of the people in this class were just not people she would ordinarily converse with, and vice versa. The two girls made their way over and for some reason Hope's mind conjured up the thought of a copying machine. They were twins, obviously, but they were literally carbon copies of each other in every aspect as far as Hope was able to tell. Still, she had no idea which one of the two girls had been the one which she had, for lack of a better term to describe the effects on herself, been obsessed with the entire day.

Suddenly, one of them stopped just shy of the desks. Her eyes went wide as saucers and Hope could see the girl blushing slightly. Hope smiled as she recognized that same look from the bus this morning. That look held a strange mix of many emotions that all seemed to be fighting for supremacy through the most beautiful pair of ocean blue eyes Hope had ever seen in her life. The other girl had already taken a seat at the middle desk on the other side from Hope. She seemed content to watch this little impromptu staring contest with a sly smile as she flicked her head first toward her sister, then Hope. Mrs. Fairhaven walked up behind the girl standing up, startling her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Mrs. Fairhaven said with a pleasant smile. "Take a seat." Mrs. Fairhaven said softly, gesturing towards the empty desks.

Hope watched as the girl was about to make a move for the desk furthest away from herself physically, and for some strange reason Hope felt a sinking feeling in her gut. Suddenly, the sister already seated placed her book bag on that seat. The motion was too quick for it to have been any accident, and Hope's suspicion was confirmed as the girl gazed at her sister out of the corner of her eye still sporting that mischievous grin. The other girl glared down at the first- if looks could kill, she would have been a dead girl. The girl sat down at the desk opposite Hope and lowered her head slightly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Hope," Mrs. Fairhaven said, looking at her with an expression that said she was about to receive some sort of come-uppance. "We need to talk."

"Let me guess, I need to go to the office now?" Hope asked to the snickering amusement of her classmates.

"With that attitude, I'm certain it will not be long for you to make that journey soon- yet again. No. That is not what I need you to do right now. What I do need to talk to you about is something rather delicate."

Hope looked at Mrs. Fairhaven in puzzlement.

"I know you have some skill with sign language, yes?" Mrs. Fairhaven asked with a knowing smile on her face. She knew Hope had a fair knowledge of sign language. In fact, Mrs. Fairhaven was one of the people responsible for it. Hope wished she could just wipe that stupid grin off Mrs. Fairhaven's face.

"Yes..." Hope replied, sure she would not like where this conversation was headed.

"Well, I have something important to ask of you. It would also look favorably upon you if you were to agree to do this."

Hope sighed, wondering if she would ever be able to get off of this particular barrel ride. It was, honestly, her fault for being in this position in the first place. A little over a year before she had made a mistake that had changed her life. It all started with an assertion of her age, something a certain surly female store clerk did not buy. It culminated in the fact that attempting to leave a store with a fifth of vodka at seventeen years of age and not even attempting to pay for it was against the law.

Of course, it was against the law, Hope had been well aware of the fact when she tried to do it. Her sleazebag boyfriend had begged her to go inside and steal a bottle, then left her high and dry when the police showed up. Before that time Hope had never gotten in trouble for anything, let alone with the law, and ever since she had not strayed from a straight and narrow path she had set for herself. Of course, that path was both directed and approved by a Magistrate in good standing with the State of California. Still, Hope had taken ownership of it, and enjoyed the benefits of it, as well as her freedom, ever since. At the time of the incident, however, Hope had been so in love and blindly convinced that he would not let anything happen to her. That was why she agreed to do it.

In the end she was ordered to complete a minimum of two hundred hours of community service in return for a release on recognizance. Any further incidents of law breaking would see her locked up in a juvenile detention facility. Hope's morale was crushed. Further, the douchebag ex-boyfriend of hers wanted to act like nothing had happened, and that he did not leave her frightened and alone among a throng of police officers who showed up. A well- aimed knee to the groin ensured those thoughts never went any further than wishful thinking.

Mrs. Fairhaven, on the other hand, was instrumental in keeping her out of jail, and Hope supposed she could be a lot more grateful for it. The community service idea was proposed to the judge by her Principal. Hope was sure that the only reason the judge agreed was because Mrs. Fairhaven suggested Hope fulfill her hours of community service at a home for the deaf and mute. Coincidentally, or not, Mrs. Fairhaven did quite a lot of volunteer work at the same place along with the judge. Both would be able to verify, and vouch for the fact Hope was completing her hours faithfully.

In the process, though the work could be challenging from time to time, she had come to like speaking with people there once she got the hang of sign language. She wasn't super fluent. However, she could hold a decent conversation. In the process, she found out how much fun and extroverted the people there could actually be if only people took the time to talk to them. Even after her community service hours had been fulfilled, only two weeks prior, she still found herself going back to the home every now and then to volunteer and talk with some of the people she had gotten to like.

"Look, Hope, can we at least get through a conversation without all of the dramatics? I have really put myself out there for you because I believe in you. I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't think it was important. For some reason, I think you would have a lot to gain." Mrs. Fairhaven said as she gazed at Hope with a look Hope found to be strange.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Fairhaven," Hope sighed, "I have been having a very rough day. What would you need me to do?" Hope asked, certain it had to do with the two girls across from her.

"I want you to meet Bridget and Samantha Dawes. Samantha, especially." Mrs. Fairhaven replied, laying a hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam seemed to flinch slightly at the contact. "Samantha is mute, but she can hear you. I was hoping you would get to know her and help her through things. I know you have only one class with her, but Bridget is in most of the rest. I was hoping you would agree to changing your elective to P.E. so that Bridget would not have to be alone for that class. Mostly, I don't want her to feel left out of things. This is her final year of high school."

Suddenly, the entire weight of Hope's day was lifted from her shoulders. She glanced at Sam, now understanding why the girl did not speak to her- she couldn't speak. Hope broke out in a grin, causing Sam to blush.

"Sure, I think I can do that." Hope replied, not taking her eyes off of Sam. Then she switched to sign, saying, "Although, I thought P.E. was a class for freshmen. She looks young enough to be one. In a good way."

Sam looked like her face and neck could not get any redder, and she looked absolutely adorable, bowing her head towards the desk. Bridget laughed at her sister's reaction.

"Excellent! I will make all of the arrangements. Just show up tomorrow morning at P.E. with a change of clothes. That will be your first period class from now on." Mrs. Fairhaven said before abruptly leaving the classroom.

Hope's eyes never left Sam's. They were a mesmerizing blue that surpassed the beauty of the Pacific waters only a couple miles from where they sat. Hope was certain she could lose herself in those eyes forever. Hope shook her head to clear those thoughts from her mind. She was not a lesbian despite the rumors circulated by her ex- boyfriend. She looked at Sam first, then Bridget, who was wearing an expression of complete amusement. Seeing that there was no longer any reason for her to be shy, she decided to make introductions.

"Hey, I guess you already know my name is Hope."

"Bridget." the older twin replied, holding out her hand for a shake. Hope returned the gesture before looking at Sam. The girl was still as red as a cherry tomato, but she managed to sign her name.

"You don't need to be shy, Samantha. We're going to be spending a lot of time together."

Sam nodded slightly and began to return Hope's look as the color in her face finally began to return to normal.

"Can I ask you something, Samantha?" Hope asked.

Sam nodded, biting her lower lip.

"Can I just call you Sam? Samantha takes time to pronounce, and I think it's cuter." Hope said before giving Sam a teasing smile. "Cute like you."

Samantha's cheeks went brilliantly red almost instantly causing both Hope and Bridget to crack up.

"If she blushes this easily, I can tell I am going to have a lot of fun." Hope said as she began to calm down.

Sam didn't reply, but instead looked toward the front of the class as Mr. Banks began explaining the class syllabus in his famous monotone voice. Hope didn't immediately follow Sam's gaze. She allowed her eyes to rest on Sam a little longer. She knew the girl was trying to change the subject, and she smiled. She looked over to Bridget to see that she was being watched, no, assessed is more like it. It was one of those scrutinizing looks a person would use to size someone up for some reason or another. It unnerved her slightly. Hope turned her gaze towards Mr. Banks and paid attention throughout class as best she could. The class was not even half over by the time he got through explaining everything and Hope was already on the verge of falling asleep.

Mr. Banks allowed the class to take the remainder of the period to socialize with each other, and Hope was completely mum on what to say perhaps for the first time in her life. She was unable to keep her gaze off of the beauty sitting across from her. Granted, Bridget was every bit as cute-looking as her sister, but there was something about Sam that called to her inner being unlike anything had ever done before.

"You're staring." Sam signed. The sudden motion, though she caught it, caused Hope's mind to suddenly snap awake.

"Sorry, Sam. I was daydreaming, I guess." Hope offered in reply, hoping Sam wouldn't call her out on it.

"Was it any good?" Bridget asked, eager to jump into any type of conversation which would alleviate the sudden boredom.

"Maybe." Hope said, smiling. "I have yet to figure that out."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.

Hope didn't even really know the answer to that question. As impulsive as she could be sometimes, saying random things which were not clearly thought out was just not like her. In other words, her answer had slipped out before she could even think about it. Hope looked into Sam's deep blue eyes, beautiful sapphires which seemed to light up the very room with their lurid gaze and wondered if she could actually come up with an answer that even Hope herself could make sense of, let alone Sam and Bridget.

"Was he cute?" Bridget asked.

"He?" Hope replied, very confused.

"When a girl daydreams like that, it must be either something really screwed up, or a really cute guy." Bridget explained.

"Or a girl." Sam added with a smirk.

Hope was momentarily stunned at that comment. She wanted to pass it off as nothing, but on the inside, she had to wonder what was going on with herself.

"No guy, or girl," Hope said, earnestly hoping that she sounded sincere.