⌞ long live ⌝

⌞ two : highschool ⌝

"You did it, Luls. Bring it home, kid. We're all proud of you." 

___

Highschool. Another version of hell. Even more so because it's a private school, a catholic private school. Uniforms and all. But it can be manageable if done right. And the rules are simple: say nothing, don't make eye contact, and get through the day. I'm quite good at these rules, but my best friend, Carmen, is not. 

"Lula!" 

I cringe as she screams my name down the hall, trying to duck my head even further into my locker but it's no use, everyone's eyes are on me. 

"Carmen, shut up." 

"Sorry, sorry. I forget that you're all shy and shit." 

"I'm not shy. I just don't feel like making a scene." I slam my locker closed, turning to look at the girl. She was Italian and you could tell. Dark black curly hair that she had cut short to frame her face, tan skin, and beautiful blue eyes. 

"You never feel like making a scene." 

"That's because I don't need to be the center of attention all the time." 

She laughed as she threw her arm around my shoulder, dragging me to walk with her to study hall. I rolled my eyes but there was a smile on my face. Carmen might be a lot but she was one of the only people that saw me as a person and not just a twin. 

I glanced over at her again, this time taking the time to study her. She was beautiful, in ways I wished I was. If she wore makeup, it was always perfect. No breaks or unstraight lines, even. Her hair never looked out of place. And even though she never wore the correct uniform, she was always beautiful. 

"You're wearing pants again." 

Carmen groaned. "I should be allowed to wear pants, Lula." 

"Dress code says otherwise." 

"Fuck the dress code. Plus, my ass looks better in pants." 

I snorted at that but I couldn't argue with her, it did. But, she would look good in everything. That was just the kind of girl she was. 

"And, dear Lula, someone has to wear the pants in this relationship." 

"Car! You can't just say that." 

"What? It's funny. And correct. You never vary from the dress code." 

I shrugged. "Maybe I don't like pants." 

"Bullshit, you wear pants whenever we go out. You're just scared of getting in any sort of trouble." 

I didn't respond as I took a seat at our normal table in the library. It was in the corner, next to the window. Most of the time, I would sit at the table and Carmen would sit in the window sill. It was clear to see the differences between us and it made a lot of people wonder how we were friends. 

But she was right, I was scared of getting in trouble. Trouble in school meant getting in trouble at home and that already happened enough. I didn't need to give Father another reason to yell at me. He could find his reasons enough. It was safer to follow the rules. And it's not like they were hard rules to follow, Carmen just had a thing against authority. She would get in trouble for the tiniest thing and brag about it.