Rock and Roll

Chapter Two: Valentine

Valentine. Maybe I would have been spared the teasing if my parents had named me differently, she thought.

Her name was written in bright pink lettering across the top of a small grocery store cake. It was her, and her twin sister Hero's, birthday. Hero had gotten the green frosting. It was their nineteenth, and they wore t-shirts with their names printed on the top, so friends and family could tell the difference between them. They were completely identical, as it turned out. Right down to the last freckle. Unless you spoke to both of them at the same time you might not be able to tell the difference. The biggest flag was their personalities. Valentine was very... rough. Hero was the opposite.

Somehow though, Hero ended up prettier. Maybe it was her smile, or the fact that she did smile. Valentine, had a continuous look of either boredom or anger etched into her face. Strangers always thought she was glaring at them and never once did she correct them. It seemed like a little too much hassle just so one person could stop being offended.

They blew out their candles together like they always did. They opened the small stack of presents from the people that constantly got them mixed up together like they always did. It was nice to have one thing that had stayed the same this year.

A few months earlier their mom died. Natural causes. For weeks Valentine had been indoors, not moving from her bed. She couldn't eat or sleep. It was hard for her to breath. Whenever she thought about it she felt like she would throw up. She avoided thinking about it.

Valentine must have zoned out, because one second she was dealing with small talk and family and the next her dad was saying goodbye to guests and picking up solo cups. Valentine watched him flit around, and grabbed a piece of cake.

"Are you not even going to save me a piece? You're own sister." She said, in mock hurt. Hero didn't like chocolate cake anyway. She preferred vanilla just like their mom.

"Maybe you should be faster next time." Valentine said. She didn't like the way the plastic fork felt between her teeth, reminding her too much of children's birthday parties. Even the decorations around the house were for little kids. She often wondered if that's how their dad saw them, as children he had to throw parties for. She hoped it was a no, but the pink streamers told her yes.

"That's everybody. How did you girls enjoy the party?" Their dad asked walking toward them.

"It was perfect dad. Exactly what we wanted." Hero said. She was lying through her teeth, but their dad would never know that. They would never admit to it, but they would do anything to make him happy.

He smiled at them. "I'm so glad. With everything that's been happening this year you girls deserve a good time." he said. He hugged them tightly, and Valentine hoped she didn't get frosting on his shirt. She put her best fake smile on, just for him.

Truthfully, Valentine had hated it. She wasn't sure how Hero had felt, but was suspicious that maybe she had genuinely enjoyed herself. Valentine hated her clueless relatives. They had made comments all night about how sad they were about her mother, and giving their condolences only to turn around eat cake and chat with the others. She had been eager to get to her own home all day.

She knew Hero would stay and keep dad company, so she made up an excuse and was out the door in less than ten minutes. She had a large stack of movies waiting at her apartment, and there was no way she would allow herself to be miserable on her birthday.

~

She fell asleep on the couch. Her head hurt, and her eyes were itchy. She hadn't changed out of her jeans the night before, and her side had indents in the shape of her blanket. She checked her phone, flinching when the brightness met her eyes.

8:37. No new messages, no new anything. She had to be to work by 10. She internally groaned and dragged herself off to the bathroom. She put on clean pants, brushed her teeth and washed her face. She thought briefly about putting some real effort into her appearance. She decided it was a waste of time. When she was fully ready she had an extra half hour before she needed to leave, so she decided on going to her favorite coffee shop.

It was open early in the morning, for all the people that needed caffeine to function. Hero worked there, but only on weekdays. It was Saturday. She needed to tell the barista what her order was now, instead of just nodding to Hero and taking her seat.

She placed her order, black coffee with three spoonfuls of sugar. She sat down in her regular seat, and stared out the window waiting for her name to be called. It wasn't exactly her name though. When ordering food, and talking to people she knew she wouldn't like, she said her name was Emma. She wouldn't mind being an Emma honestly. Emma's don't get bullied, or given strange looks when someone reads their name tag.

Before she knew it, she was striding out of the shop, coffee in hand. The rain from the day before had left this morning cold but humid. The steam from her cup fogged her glasses.

Turning a corner, she ran face first into an oddly warm wall. It reminded her of a bed that needed to be replaced, where in some places it was soft, and in some much too hard.

Luckily her coffee had all stayed in the cup, unluckily, whatever drink he had been holding spilled down her shirt and slid right between her boobs.

He was apologizing before she could even say a single word. "I am so so sorry! Are you alright?" he asked.

She was shivering, her shirt and bra were soaked in what smelled like iced tea. She angrily looked up at him, and didn't say anything except a long string of profanities, telling him to go do some unpleasant things in his private time.

She glared one last time before turning around and trying to walk home so she could change her shirt and not be late to work.

The tall boy stood in her wake, utterly confused.