Short Stories

A Bundle of Lies

Josie and Maria are identical twins. Although they look the same, the two are quite different. Maria is a very outgoing and cheerful person. She loves going out with her friends and shopping for clothes. However, Josie is the opposite. She's shy and more reserved than her sister. She would rather sit inside and read a good book or play some video games than go hang out with the few friends she has. Despite the fact that Josie is a reserved person, she is very open about her emotions to Maria, and vice versa. Trust has always been a very important factor in their relationship. There are very few secrets that remain unspoken between the two. In fact, when they were younger, Maria came up with an idea for a pact. She told Josie that they would have to agree to never keep a secret from or lie to one another. The pact still remains one of the most important things to the girls. But Maria felt she could no longer trust her sister after her discovery this afternoon.

Maria had been cleaning the room that the girls have to share. Josie is usually the one who cleans the floor and all surfaces while Maria is responsible for their laundry and keeping their bathroom clean. But Maria decided to do something nice for her sister and help her out while she was at work.

Maria had just finished washing their bed sheets. She put hers on and walked over to Josie's bed on the opposite side of the room. Maria wasn't really sure of what she was doing since Josie usually did this but she was determined to figure it out. Maria lifted the mattress on Josie's bed and started putting the sheet on. When she lifted up the one end of the mattress, she felt her hand touch something. She lifted the mattress up higher and found a book underneath. The book was dark blue and fuzzy. It had a lock on it, too.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Maria whispered to herself when she realized it was her sister's diary. She noticed the lock and tried opening it. She searched for a key but was unlucky in her search. Maria pried it open a tiny bit and accidentally snapped the lock.

"Oops. That wasn't supposed to happen." Maria said aloud to herself.

Maria and Josie had similar journals for writing in. They both permitted the other to read that journal, or at least Maria thought so. They did have the pact, of course. But this journal or diary looked very different compared to the ones they use. Maria decided to start reading what was written.

Monday

Dear Diary,

Today I did something horrible. I told people horrible lies about my own twin. We do everything together. She's my other half. She is so kind to me and is always so helpful but I told someone she was a terrible person. I told Samuel, the guy she likes and happens to be the guy I have a huge crush on, that she was so rude and controlling. That is not true at all. I feel so horrible for what I did but at least it scored me a date with Samuel tomorrow night! Crap, how am I going to tell Maria?!

-Josie

Maria paused before she read the second entry. She was shocked. She could not believe the words before her eyes. She was enraged that Josie had been lying to her. Maria was also very upset over the fact that her sister has been keeping secrets from her. It was obvious that Maria was not supposed to find this diary. She didn't know what else to do besides continue reading.

Tuesday

Dear Diary,

Tonight was the big night! I went out with Samuel. It was amazing. He was so kind. The restaurant we ate in had the best food ever. I just feel bad for Maria. She seemed like she really liked him but here I am, practically stealing him from her. Ew, I take that back. I made it sound like he's an object. Anyway, I lied again tonight. I told my family that I was going to work for a few hours to get a little extra money. Maria was most likely able to tell that I was lying. She is usually great at that type of thing. I am a horrible person.