Related Far Apart, Book 1

Chapter 1: The Brochure

"Mom, where are you?" I called out to my mom. She wasn't in her room or downstairs in the kitchen. As I enter the living room, I see a note. Just as I thought, it was from my mom, telling how she went into town to buy more groceries. Beside that was a heart, saying I Love You. I smile. I'm so lucky to have such loving parents. Lot's of parents can't take care of their kids, so they give them away to families that can love them very much. I was one of those kids. My birth mother had me very young and was not stable enough to take care of me. She decided to let my parents adopt me, so that I can have a life full of all the dreams I wanted. I thank her everyday for her decision.

So here I go to my favorite room in the house, my bedroom. I spend all day there either writing in my journal or singing karaoke. It's also my dreaming place, where I dream about anything and everything. I'm definitely a dreamer, my neighbor, Lois Beckett, would say. Lois was by far my favorite person. Not only is she the nicest person I know, but she can make anything happen. When she moved in 5 years ago, we became best friends. As I think about Lois, I grab my coat and ride my bike over to her house. Hopefully she will have some magical way to cure my boredom. But since I live on an acreage, the houses are pretty far apart. So I have to ride in the cold, drizzling rain. 10 minutes later, I arrive at Lois's house. Her dad answers the door, still in his pajamas.

"Carley! Come on in. Lois is just getting changed." Her dad told me. As I stepped inside, I could smell the delicious scent of scrambled eggs with bacon, her family eating away at it. My stomach grumbled, and I realized I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Mr. Becket must have read my mind, because he offered me some food. I gratefully took some, devouring it. Mr. Becket laughed. "Hungry, I assume?"

I smiled and giggled. I heard someone else also laughing behind me, so I turned around and saw Lois running down the stairs. She greeted me and told me to follow her. I followed her to her room and sat on her very comfy bed as she showed me a brochure she got for a summer camp. I looked a bit closer and saw my face on the page. The girl has the same petite body type, the same short chocolate brown hair, and the same emerald green eyes. She had the exact same freckles as I did, and the same bright smile. This girl was exactly me!

"Lois, who is this???" I ask her. There had to be some reasonable explanation. "She looks exactly like me! Is she my doppelganger or something??"

"Calm down Carley. Her name is Olivia St.Claire. She was adopted by this family in England who is really rich and has loads of money. She does acting and modeling. And get this, she ALSO dances! You guys must be identical twins." Lois told me. "I contacted her a few days ago, and she is so in on my plan." I couldn't even believe it. First of all, no one can be richer than Lois. Lois's parents own a big company that my parents work for. Their house is like a mansion. Second, what if this girl really isn't real? What if Lois was just tricking me? And third, what plan?!?

"Oh, and here are the tickets, for the plane. I stole my mother's credit card and bought you some tickets. First class, there and back." Lois told me. I was very confused to why she was giving me plane tickets. Then it hit me. She expected me to FLY to England to meet this so called identical twin of mine, Olivia. But how on earth could I go to England without my parents knowing? As I started to get upset, I remembered why Lois was doing this. All I have ever wanted was a sister. I talk about wanting a sister very single day, and she knows that. So instead of getting mad, I take a deep breath and say to myself, Let's do this.