Roll to Me

Chapter 8

"Okay, so, we've got it laid out that my dad is sad and your mom is grumpy and it's probably because they miss each other. Right?"

"That's simplifying things far too much," Moriko said, "But essentially, yes."

She and Akemi had stayed awake all night telling each other their life stories and comparing notes on their parents. Moriko now knew that her father (what a strange feeling) was a serious sort of person who could be standoffish but cared deeply about those he was close to. She had told Akemi all about her mother, about how she was caring and liked to tease and had a serious temper.

Most likely, their early-twenties parents hadn't been married but had been in a serious relationship that might have led to marriage. Something had caused them to split apart some time soon after Akemi and Moriko were born. They moved to different parts of the country.

The girls had no idea what, exactly, was the cause of the break-up and the move.

"Akemi."

"Yep?" Akemi glanced back over her shoulder. The two of them were walking along a path through the woods. Nakime had given them permission to go on a nature walk together since they had demonstrated a particular level of cooperation, one that Nakime had set but hadn't made clear to either of them.

"We're not the reason why our parents—"

Akemi whirled around, her eyes wide. "No," she said firmly, planting her hands on her hips, her chin jutted out in defiance at the idea Moriko had started to voice. Now that Moriko was making the connection between Akemi and her own mother, she could how many of her...sister's mannerisms were just like her mom's. "They broke up for some other reason."

"But why did they separate us?" Moriko said. A flash of rare anger broke through her, and her shoulders tensed. "And why didn't they tell us about each other? I feel like that's vital information that I would have appreciated." She would have liked to have known about her twin and about her father. "Why haven't we met before?"

"I don't know," Akemi said.

"They must have a good reason, but I can't think of what it could possibly be."

Akemi grabbed a stick off the ground and started peeling the bark off of it. It must have been rough on her fingers, but she also seemed to be in a mood, so Moriko wasn't going to point out the potential health risks. "Maybe they had to separate because...because they were a part of a covert spy organization, and they had to take on secret identities and raise us apart to keep us and themselves safe." Akemi swished the stick through the air with enough force that it whistled. She pointed the tip at Moriko. "And we'll have to become spies and continue the family legacy now that we've found out."

Moriko blinked. The two of them stared at each other until Akemi started laughing. Moriko was startled to realize she was laughing, too, her hand covering the quiet giggles. It was a serious topic, but Akemi's explanation was so completely absurd—

"You have too many family members for that to be true," Moriko said. She couldn't even remember all the ones Akemi had listed.

"They're your family, too," Akemi said. Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh. I have even more aunts now. I think my aunts now outnumber my uncles." She twirled around once, her arms outspread. "We're going to have to make a family tree to figure all this out."

"Well, even when we get around to completing that, I doubt we'll uncover a massive spy network." She kept walking, moving down the pinestraw strewn path.

Akemi tossed her stick into the woods. "You never know."

"I would know if my mom—our mom...was a spy."