The Broken Ones

Chapter Ten

"So how's Edinborourgh?" Faith asked Valeriana.

"Yes, tell us all about it, Renie," Trinity prompted.

The three girls were seated in the food court at their local shopping centre. Valeriana sat on one side of the table facing the twins.

Faith and Trinity were identical twins. It took three years of being friends with them for Valeriana to finally be able to tell them apart. It didn't help that the two loved to mess with people by switching places. They were both gorgeous, with shoulder length blonde hair that was always curled in perfect ringlets, large green eyes, long eyelashes, heart-shaped faces and pointed chins. The twins had been born into a very concretive Anglican household that showed in their dress sense. They never wore shorts or skirts higher than mid-thigh out in public or showed off too much cleavage in V-neck or low cut tops.

The reason a lot of people would have trouble telling the twins apart was that they forced too much on their appearance. They would try and look for some small detail that the other didn't have. Which always failed. However Valeriana had found that either through the twin may look exactly the same doesn't mean they acted the same.

Faith was more confident and boy-crazy. Every months or so she would find a new boy that caught her eye. Not that she dated any of them. She would pursue them but after a while, her feelings would fade. Usually, when she figured out that the guy only liked her as a friend or that he had a crush on some other girl (or in one particular case the guy had a crush on another guy). Faith would just accept that fact that a relationship was never meant to be and move on. More often than not she would even remain friends with the boy. Faith had a habit of being over dramatic and taking everything out of portion.

Trinity was shyer than Faith. While Faith loved to be in the spotlight; Trinity preferred to hide in the shadows. She was however not nearly as bad as Valeriana when it came to social interaction. She could talk to people she didn't know well; she just didn't really like doing. While the girls had the exact same IQ; Trinity liked to put it to more use. The girl was a brilliant mathematician. To be fair Faith could be as well if she actually tried. Unlike the boy-crazed Faith; Trinity had only ever had a crush on two guys.

Valeriana had first seen the two at the orientation day for St Anthony Catholic secondary school. Despite being Jewish; Valeriana's parents had sent her to a Catholic school because of the disability program, which was considered to be the best in their area.

The three had been placed in the same homeroom, where they barely talked to each. It wasn't until a few months into the school year that they became friends. Valeriana had been partnered with Trinity for a school project. She was also the first person not to make fun of either Trinity's or Faith's name. So from that moment on the twins decided they should be best friends, and that is exactly what happened.

The twins were the first people that Valeriana ever actually talked to outside of her family.

"It's fine, I manage to make friends," she told the twins. Valeriana grinned as she turned to Trinity. "Hey Trinity, guess who's in my Ecology and Environment class."

"Who?" Trinity asked curiously.

"Matt."

"Oh my god," she squealed. "Really?"

"Get a grip, Trin," her sister told her harshly. Trinity just glared at Faith in response.

"You guys are hilarious," Valeriana smiled. "I missed this."

"Us too," Faith told her.

"So how is Melbourne Uni Trin?" Valeriana asked.

"Amazing," Trinity replied happily. Trinity had spent all of the previous years studying so she could get the marks to be accepted at the University of Melbourne. It was the only university in Melbourne that offered Veterinary Sciences as a course. "Yet it is weird not being the smartest student in the room." Her comment caused the other two to start laughing again.

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"Are you sure everything is fine?" Johnny's mother asked him.

Johnny set the laptop down on the bed. "Yes mum, I'm fine," he told her.

It had taken longer than it should off to set up the Skype call. The first try there was sound just no video. Johnny had to turn it off and attempt in again. Yet sadly it was on the second try that the opposite happened, he had managed to get the video up, but neither of them could hear again. Now by the third time, it was perfect.

Johnny hated Skype calls. They were like phone calls. He couldn't explain why but they just made him feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately for him, one of his parents' conditions to allowing him to move to Melbourne without them was that he had to skype call them every Saturday. At the time, Johnny had argued that he was going to university and was an adult. That only caused his parents to remind him that as he is still seventeen, he won't be an 'adult' until November.

Johnny's parents had paid for a student accommodation apartment. It was off campus as the ones on campus were too expensive. It was a small loft style apartment. There was a small kitchen that connected to an even smaller bedroom. The apartment was a five-minute walk from the campus. Johnny had even managed to get a job at a pizza place to help him pay for food. Other than that there was his youth allowance.

"Are you sure you want to say at Edinborourgh?" Johnny's father asked him.

"Yes dad, I am sure," Johnny answered blankly. He had this conversation with his father many times.

"I get it, Jonathan," his father told him. "I understand why you wanted to leave Ballarat but why would you choose Edinborourgh?"

"Hashan," His mother hissed at his father. "It was his decision to make not yours."

"I know Felicity," his father replied. "But he got an Atar of 99.95. He could have gone anywhere with that score, Monash University or the University of Melbourne. He may have even gotten into Yale or Cambridge."

"Dad, I like it here," Johnny replied as he thought of Valeriana and Matt. "I have made friends."

"Do they know?" his mother asked urgently.

Johnny shook his head. "That is why I picked this university," he reminded his parents. "No one will know what happened to me here."

"I hope you are right, Jonathan." His mother told him.

"I have to go," he told his parents. "I have work in an hour." Without waiting for a reply, he ended the call and shut the laptop.

Johnny knew that his parents were trying to help and were looking out for him, but they had a way of making him feel worse.

Authors Note: For my non Australian readers, an atar is a number you receive after you complete year twelve. It is not a score but a ranking.