Crimson and Carmine

1

My name is Carmine Barker, and this is my twin sister Crimson(I call her Crim). Yes, I know my sister's name is a bit weird because it is weird to say 'Hello Crimson!' When Crimson is a colour. Carmine is a colour too, but not many people know that.

That's not true, Carme. A lot of people know carmine is a colour.

Ok fine, you're right. See, my sister is brainy and smart. Unlike me. I like to be crazy about other people and be myself. I'm not saying Crim isn't being herself, I'm just saying she's always neat and tidy. How do you enjoy your life, Crim?

I just like being me, like you said. I like being just us, Crimson-and-Carmine. It'll be like that forever, won't it Carme?

Obviously. I don't want another sister. You are the best twin sister in the world even though we can be a bit different sometimes. But we dress the same and even have our own secret language. But no need to get so cheesy.

Anyway, let's go deeper into detail. We both have brown bubble plates down to our hips and we're both eleven. Well obviously, we are twins. And our dad, James, is thirty-five years old. He looks young even though he's so old already.

Gran's EVEN older, she's fifty-eight. Though she's so old, she still does things only young people would. Gran used to sew clothes for customers, she used to do our clothes too. But then her eyesight got all bad.

Which is quite sad because now we can't have our friend Ryuko over to play. She's from japan, she's only allowed to come when her mom's coming to test the new dresses Gran makes. She also sometimes wants more so she asks Gran to do it, but not anymore.

But it's ok as long as we've got each other, it'll all be ok. But what's not ok is that dad keeps returning home with these piles of books, books that are not a BIT my taste. It's all old stories, not modern.

He keeps them upstairs in the attic, but it looks like a bookstore now. Filled with loads and loads of books. When I walk under the attic, I'm always so scared the floorboards might break and fall down on me.

Gran often tells dad to go sell the books, he does. To some. But he uses 50% of the money to buy new books. Crim likes to read. On and on and on and on. She can have her head buried in one single book for hours.

That's because it's interesting. Use should read some of them, Carme. They're really good! Little women, Jia and the three hills... Oh, they're my favourite!

I don't care about those types of books, they're all old fashioned and boring. I like modern books more.

That's because you never give these books a try.

And I never want to. They're ever so boring. Now come on, we've got to go, Gran's calling for dinner. That's not home yet, but he will be home soon.
Maybe.
Not.
Hopefully.
Yes.
He's home.

Come on, Crim. Let's go. Gran's cooking her famous mushroom soup today, it's so tasty with rice and some chicken and vegetables of course. Gran's forever going on about how important vegetables are to us.

"There you girls are. I've been calling your dad for minutes now, he's never picking up!" Gran complained. "Go set the table, girls."

So we did. I took the dishes, Crim took the tablecloth and the spoons and forks. It took dad AGES to come home, Crime started to get worried but I bet dad's perfectly fine anyway, he's always late.

He came home at 8pm, not alone, but with someone else. A woman called Clover had come home with him. I've heard about this Clover before but never actually seen her, and she already looks TERRIBLE.

I think she looks great, but Carme never agrees. Clover has brown hair with green eyes to match her name, she wears this bright green dress with little clovers sewed on the sleeve of her dress. She wears silver glasses too.

She's nice, she gave us this big red book with the words "Crim and Carme" written on the spine of the book. There was this big red flower on the book cover, it was a rose. The kind which was sparkly and able to attract attention.

"How do you know our name?" Carme asked.

"Your dad told me." said Clover.

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I invited her to dinner. You don't mind, do you Gran?" Dad asked.

"Of course not, do come and sit down Clover." said Gran, trying to smile.

I think Gran's met Clover before, she seems wary of her. I'm a bit shy but Carme doesn't care about Clover, she didn't like her being at our dinner. Gran doesn't seem to really like her either. She's ok, but dad's the one that keeps talking on and on.

We helped Gran get the food onto the table. Gran took the soup while we took the other dishes. Because the bowls tend to easily get hot so it burns our hands and we might accidentally drop them.

When we came back to the table, we sat down. Clover chatted and chatted away to us as if she's known us for a LONG time, but this was clearly the first time we've ever met her in our entire life.

I hope she's not going to be our new mother, no one can replace mom. Right, Carme?

Especially not Sweet-pong Clover. She's only acting sweet to impress dad and maybe make up for something she did to Gran last time. I don't like her. Not one bit. At all. Why did you tell them she was OK??? How is she OK at ALL??

She's not all that bad.

She's TERRIBLE Crim, I'm telling you. What does dad see in her? She talks about telly stuff that I don't even know and it's all just to get to know us. But she's even having a hard time trying to remember which one of us is which.

"So, you're Crim and you're Carme." Clover asked, pointing.

"Yes." We said though she's gotten it ALL wrong.

"Not quite right, oh stop teasing Clover twins." said dad. "That's Crimson and that's Carmine."

"Well, they both look the same. How do you differentiate them?" Clover asked.

"Carmine's more-"

"Blah blah blah blah blah blah." I said, stopping dad from telling Clover how to get to know us.

"Blah blah blah blah blah blah." Crim echoed. She always does it to make a creepy effect.

"Twins! Don't interrupt your dad." said Gran, though she didn't seem upset one bit.

"So... Carmine's the one that always starts, right?" Clover asked.

"No." I said.

"No." Crim echoed.

"Yes, ok."

"Ok, we'll go wash our hands then you sit in my seat and I'll sit in yours, then you'll always talk first and I'll echo." I whispered to Crim.

She nodded.

Then we went to the back to wash our hands then when we came back, Crim sat in my seat and I sat in hers. Then she always spoke first and I always spoke second. And Clover was none the wiser. She kept calling our names wrongly and saying weird stuff and laughing.

And dad kept laughing and nattering away to her. He wasn't our dad anymore. He didn't act like dad. He didn't speak like dad. He acted like he was a new dad who had fell for Clover, stupid sweet-pong Clover.

He didn't go back to being dad even after Clover FINALLY left.

"So?" Dad asked eagerly.

"She's ok, I guess. A bit picky and twerky..." said Gran.

Dad looked at me and Crim.

"Nu-uh." I shook my head.

Crim shook her head too.

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