Two Worlds

Chapter One

I sneak across the ledge, peering into the abyss that looms below me.

"Is it worth the risk, Keia?" I wonder out loud.

My sister, Keia, who's lounging on the top bunk of our bunk bed, tapping on her tablet, snorts.

"It's not worth it at all. You could take a nasty fall and lose all of our diamonds."

"I'll put all of them in a chest, then. Imagine how much loot could be in there!" I reply.

"Fine. Put ALL of the stuff into a chest, and don't forget where you put it." She decides.

I quickly craft a chest and dump all of my inventory into it, except for a handful of torches, couple pickaxes, and a few pieces of pork chop. I check to make sure my armor is at a high durability level, and jump into the pit, hoping to land on a secure ledge. Thankfully, I land on a ledge a couple of blocks wide and place a torch so I can view my surroundings.

"Okay, I jumped. What-" I ask, only to be interrupted by Keia.

"You jumped? You idiot! Everyone knows that you have to put ladders and climb yourself down! You could have landed right by a creeper or something!"

"Well, I landed safely, so who cares?" I reply, getting a little angry at her superior tone.

"Wait. I can't trust you down there. I'm coming... hold on." She responds.

In a few seconds, she appears over the ledge and hops down.

"Let's go." She places a line of ladders on the cliff ledge, leading down into the darkness. We shimmy down, placing torches as we go.

"Look!" I exclaim. "Iron!"

"Whoop-de-do." Keia says sarcastically. "I've never seen REAL LIVE IRON before."

"Why are you so grumpy?" I ask.

"I'm not grumpy, Abby."

"Don't deny it." I respond. "Just tell me why! Twins have a CONNECTION. You have to tell my everything that's going on in your life." I swing my leg over the side of her bunk, clutching my tablet in one hand. My wavy brown hair sways as I climb up next to her. "Spill." I order.

Keia fingers the red flannel of her shirt and avoids my eyes.

"You don't want to talk? Fine. Let's play the question game." She nods and raises her head.

The question game is something my mom made up when we were little. One person asks a question, and you have to answer it honestly. Another rule is that what goes on in the game, stays in the game. No topics are brought up outside the game, everything is strictly confidential.

"I'll go first." I say quickly, before Keia can call dibs. "Did something happen at school today?"

"Be more specific." Keia responds.

"Did something bad happen at school today?"

She shifts her sitting position. "Yes."

"What happened?" I ask.

She puts up a finger and shakes it back and forth. "Ah-ah-ah! One question at a time, you know the rules!"

"Fine." I grumble. "Go."

"Hmm..." She drawls. She snaps her fingers. "Got it!"

Uh oh. Whenever she has a question, it's never good.

"Do you really like Miles Thornton, or is that just a rumor?" she says slyly. I feel my face and the tips of my ears turn pink.

"Yes." I whisper quietly.

"What's that, Abby?" She persuades.

"Yes! I do like him!" I shout. "You can't tell anyone. It's a twin secret. DON'T TELL ANYONE."

Keia giggled and agreed, "I won't, don't worry."

"Thanks." I reply, embarrassed. "My turn. What happened at school?"

Keia stopped smiling and sighed. "I got my report card. That happened. Three D's, one C, two B's, and... and a F." She frowned.

"I'm sorry, Keia. I really am. I can help you study, be a tutor, if you want."

Keia raised her eyes and managed a small smile. "That would help a lot, Abby. Thanks." She responded. I cracked a grin.

"Let's get back to our mining, then, huh?" I said. We grabbed our tablets and started chopping into the stone with our pickaxes, searching for ores.