Mountainside, New York
The air was thick with humidity, and I could smell the faintest scent of honeysuckle as it lingered around me. We hadn’t had rain in almost a week, but I could smell a storm coming. It would figure that the day everyone returned to school, Mother Nature would announce her arrival. There was nothing more fitting, though. While the students were away all summer, I had to stay on campus with my mother and sister. Rowan couldn’t enjoy any of the superb weather, but I had more than done so for the both of us. Now, it was over, and life would change until next summer rolled around.
Dread quickly filled me. There was little I could do, though. This place seemed to be my destiny. I saw no way out, which meant I’d likely be stuck attending the local community college, but even that was a question mark. The only things certain were that I would hate every second of the next nine months and that a storm was brewing. While it hadn’t arrived yet, I knew it wasinevitable, especially when I looked out at the horizon at the skies which were rapidly darkening.
Another year, another omen.
I inhaled rapidly, then slowly exhaled as I swung my dangling feet to and fro. My junior year of high school would soon start, and while I lived on the grounds of this expansive boarding school, I couldn’t afford to attend classes there even though my mother was the headmistress. While the students arriving today would soon be heading back to classes, I would be taking a bus to the public school a town over.
I suppose there were worse things. I could actually attend this place, which was full of nothing but snobby girls and arrogant guys. They lived to party and looked down on those who were not like them. Basically, on anyone not in the same tax bracket as their parents. They would arrive in luxurious sports cars and SUVs, while I had to use my mother’s car whenever I needed to get around.
For as much bad as there was here, not everything about this place was terrible. For example, I loved this pier and the lake it was on. Being in the mountains had its appeal when it came to nature. I only needed to tune out everyone that would soon be around me and focus on the natural beauty of this place to help the months go by. Well, that and my own school year.
Almost everyone got excited for the start of school, but I wasn’t one of them because it was difficult for me. Extremely introverted, it was hard for me to make connections, let alone friends, so it was a lonely place to be most days. I also struggled with a few subjects, which was why I’d be relegated to something local when it came time to further my education.
“Reagan,” I heard, and I slowly turned to look over my shoulder.
“Yes, Mamma,” I said to the woman standing in front of the pier.
“Rowan is having some trouble breathing, so I need to give her a treatment. I’ll need you to go inside and make sure everyone gets their room assignments.”
“Is she okay?” I asked.
My twin sister had been struggling since birth with a genetic autoimmune disorder. The doctors called it Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, and it wasn’t something they could cure. Thanks to the two different bone marrow transplants she’d had courtesy of me, it had prolonged her life, but it hadn’t changed her prognosis.
Sometimes I used to wonder why she’d been afflicted and I hadn’t, and that was when the guilt would creep in. I’d gotten all the healthy genes, so my sister had gotten none. She was forced to live inside with only views from the window of our cottage, while I got to move about campus, swim in this lake, and even hike the mountain trails here. As identical twins, it would’ve made sense for me to have suffered from the same disease, but so far I’d been healthy. And Rowan’s condition made it even harder on my mother, who not only had to keep things in check here at Summit Crest Preparatory but was basically responsible for all of my sister’s care, too.
“Sure, Mamma,” I said to her because I knew she needed to get back to Rowan.
“Thanks, baby,” she said to me before turning to head back in the direction of our small cottage.
I let out another sigh before swinging my legs back onto the deck. I had no sooner stood up when a crack of lightning struck the skies above. It was followed by a few rumbles of thunder, which were my cues to get inside. Once on my feet, I hurried toward the main building, where the students would not only be arriving, but also to where my mother’s office was located.
When I reached the building and stepped inside, a sudden onslaught of rain came rushing down. I had literally dodgedgetting soaking wet by seconds. Maybe that was a sign of luck, and a sign to come that maybe mine was starting to look up. Shaking my head wryly, I knew not to wish for such foolish things.
Keeping myself grounded in reality, I stepped into her office, where the book she meticulously maintained was sitting atop her desk. Right behind it were two frames. For those who were unaware, they would think we were one in the same, but I could always tell pictures of Rowan from myself because I had more color in my cheeks than she did.
Again, I was reminded how fortunate I was, especially when it came to my twin. Maybe I would play a game with her later, or at least watch a movie with her. Our options were limited, but unlike me, Rowan never seemed to dwell on what she didn’t have or what she couldn’t do. She was the strongest girl I had ever known, and so much more than I’d ever be.
The sound of voices broke me out of my regrets, and I grabbed the book and hurried out of my mother’s office. When I reached the front hall, I moved to the sign-in desk and quickly set down the pages and a few pens for them to use. Once I sat down, the first three kids came over to me.
“Names,” I said to them as they quickly scribbled their signatures down.
They all responded, and I flipped through the pages before telling two of the girls that they would be on the eastern wing in the fourth and fifth cottages. Another couple of students came next, and I followed the same steps as before. The last two lingering about were also given their assignments, and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The thunderstorm grew more vicious, and with this lull, I leaned back in the chair and drew my legs up to my chest to rest between my breasts and the desk itself. Raging storms were comforting to me in a way, so I continued to watch them. Thosefew minutes turned into a half hour before the next crop of kids came running inside. A few had umbrellas, but the others didn’t, and I already knew I would be here later than I’d first thought because I would need to clean the floors.
Three guys came over to me, and I looked up at them. “Names?”
“Jeremy Holbrook,” said one.
“Benny Gamble,” said another, and the third smirked at me.
“Name?” I asked once more.
“I’d rather know your name.”
I narrowed my eyes at the dark-haired kid. “My name’s not important.”
