Youthfulness

Chapter One

Claire was lucky, and she knew it, though no one ever told her.

Everyone wanted a rich American parent, and she had one; everyone wanted a handsome twin brother, and she had it, though they were actually transgender, precisely gender fluid, and she disagreed that they were really handsome; everyone dyed their hair chestnut brown, wear contact lenses with hazel irises or put cream or powder on them to make their skin look whiter, and she had these facial features naturally; not everyone couldn't play musical instruments, and she could play the piano, harp, and viola ... It seemed that she had everything. Everything about her is perfect.

However, She welcomed her perfect marks with expressionless eyes, found comfort only in playing the piano. Her lovely hazel eyes never displayed happiness, filled only with a mysterious longing which no one, including her parents and her twin, understood. She was lonely, being locked in an invisible cage created by others.

***

Claire looked around and saw that she was inside a cathedral, lavishly ornate and royal.

She looked down and saw herself wearing a long white gown, the lace train trailing over the marble floor. Her vision blurred as a film of lace descended in front of her eyes. She could also feel a bouquet of roses, their thorns pricking her fingertips.

White gown, a trail of lace, a bouquet of flowers.

Claire mentally ran the list of items again, and a cold chill went down her spine. It was a wedding. No, precisely, it was her wedding.

Claire felt her father's cold hands firmly gripping her bare arm, and pulled her body on time with his pace. Her feet automatically walked down the aisle without her command as the pianist played Bridal Chorus. Panic seized her. What was happening?

She faintly saw a figure clad in a white suit standing at the end of the aisle. Realization hit her, and she shivered involuntarily at the mournful ring of the thought.

You don't get to choose who fate arranged you with, no matter how much you hate that person.

***

"Claire, my dear, wake up now," a soft comforting voice entered her ears as the scene slowly disappeared from her sight. She opened her eyes, relieved to see the reflection of her disheveled face on her maid's clear blue eyes.

"Alright, Yvette," Claire absentmindedly combed her chestnut locks as she got off her bed and stepped on the floor barefoot, making a dull sound on the marble. She walked to the glass window and saw a flurry of red maple leaves falling from their branches. They were immediately carried away by the gentle embrace of the cool September breeze. Typical September weather.

"My dear, you must get dressed now. It is almost six." Yvette walked to her side and placed her hand gently on her shoulder. Claire sighed and retreated to her open closet, allowing the maids to slip the sky blue uniform over her while she quickly put on her socks and shoes.

Walking down the spiral staircase, Claire saw her parents already taken their seats for breakfast. Oh god, she thought as she quickened her pace. She could see her mother's eyebrow raised in disapproval. Bad sign. Got to be cautious.

"Claire," her mother, Theresa, smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes, which remained ice-coldness, "Your father and I have been waiting for you."

"Sorry," Claire muttered as she speedily finished her breakfast. Absolute silence hung over the dining table, interrupted only by the loud entrance of her elder twin.

"Alexander," Claire acknowledged her sibling's presence with a nod and their name, while Theresa was obviously trying to contain her fuming anger, lips trembling.

"Finally, everyone is here," Theresa's husband, Derek, placed a soothing hand on her, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere, "let's eat!"

"Good morning, Claire!" Alexander chose to greet their sister and ignore their parents instead, shoving their breakfast into their mouth in record time.

"Let's go, sister."

Claire nodded absently, and they rose from the chairs, leaving the dining room.

"Alex, please stop texting to your boyfriend and go to get your car now." Claire reprimanded her brother sternly after they left the Mayfair and they pulled their phone to text, "it is bad for your eyes. You might get cross eyes, short-sightedness, or even ..."

"Fine, I get your warning. Just stop blabbering and walk more," Alexander sighed and slipped his phone into their pants pocket, "You should be the elder one, you know."

"What's the pronoun today?" Claire asked the daily question. Her twin, physically male, was mostly feeling masculine, but just in case they were feeling feminine, she would call them as Alexandra. It sounded weird, but hey, who thought that the baby boy was gender fluid and needed a female variation of their name?

They raised their left wrist, where a blue colour band glistened, "He or him, I guess."

Once they have sprinted to the garage with  Claire grabbing their backpacks, Alexander scanned across the landscape for a driver, and to his delight, no staff followed them to the garage. Eager to get his hands on the Ferrari he set his eyes on, Alexander fumbled with his car keys to find the right one, unlocked the car, and jumped into the shotgun seat. Claire followed suit by climbing into the seat behind him, still grasping their backpacks tightly.

Just as they were about to set off, the driver, panting heavily, tumbled into the view of the side mirror. Sulking, Alexander got off the seat and joined Claire at the back. A smile spread across Claire's expressionless face as she registered Alexander's frustration.

The driver reminded the two masters to buckle up before he started the engine in a smooth  and experienced manner. The blue convertible Ferrari glowed under the sun sunlight as it speeded along the hedgerow, traveling away from May Road towards La Salle College and Maryknoll Convent School, which were the schools Alexander and Claire studied respectively.

Actually, the second most prestigious school in Hong Kong, St. Paul's Co-educational College, was just round the corner, but Claire didn't want to go to the same school with her twin, so both Claire and Alexander didn't go to that school.

They didn't go to the most prestigious Diocesan Schools as well because Alexander couldn't get through the interview. Claire passed the interview with flying colors, with her FRSM distinctions in all three musical instruments she played and IQ of 187 at the tender age of eleven, almost twelve.

Although Alexander's IQ was 190, higher than that of Claire, they had only passed his FRSMs with distinctions in piano and violin, not their French horn, which the passed only LRSM with distinction and certainly not acceptable for such a high-standard school like Diocesan Boys' School. They received their FRSM results only two months after the interview, which was a distinction, of course.

They then retreated to the third most prestigious schools: Maryknoll Convent School and La Salle College. Yet they were too intelligent for these school, both of them topping the form of their respective schools every year.

The cool September breeze caressed the twins' faces as the driver led the Ferrari further and further from home. Claire's chestnut hair flowed freely, carried by the wind, and Alexander's golden eyes bore a hint of a smile as he saw his beautiful twin's eyes shining with relaxation.

The driver first stopped at Maryknoll Convent School, a red-brick building perching on Ho Tung Road, like a mother overseeing her child, the primary section.

Claire climbed out of the Ferrari, and she waved goodbye to her glamorous twin. Surrounded by the appreciative sighs of the boys walking to the boys and girls' school next to her school and the screaming of her schoolmates, she casually strolled through the white gate of her school and tapped her student card while her twin simply ordered the driver to drive away to La Salle College, his school.