Every Witch Way: The Rueda Twins

Chapter 1

Gigi Reuda looked up from her laptop immediately after she heard the crash. It sounded like someone shattering glass, and while Gigi was in the middle of editing her latest video for her vlog, Miss Information, she got up from the kitchen table and rushed up the stairs. It sounded like the noise came from the bathroom, where her twin brother, Diego, was taking a shower.

"Diego?" Gigi called as she knocked on the door, "You okay in there?" She felt the doorknob and immediately let go in shock. It was ice cold.

"Um... yeah!" Diego called from behind the door.

Gigi wasn't convinced, "Are you sure?" She asked, "Cuz I thought I heard crashing coming from up there."

"Really?" Diego announced through the door, like he hadn't heard it before, "Must have been the neighbors. You know what, you should go check on them."

Gigi was about to turn around when she heard the crash again. This time so up close she was sure it had to be coming from the bathroom.

"What was that?" Gigi asked, "Did you break the mirror?"

Then the door opened and Diego stuck his head out. Gigi shivered from both the surprisingly freezing air coming from the bathroom and the icy glare from her brother, "Why do you need to know?" Diego retorted, "You wanna put it on Miss Information for the whole world to see?" Gigi could tell he was annoyed.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay." Gigi said, "But I guess you're fine."

"That's right, so go away." Diego shut the door in his sister's face.

Gigi descended the stairs feeling lousy. Diego had been acting really strange lately. She couldn't remember the last tie they had hung out. Sometimes he'd keep himself locked in his room for hours, telling their mom he was sick, but Gigi's room was right next door. She could hear everything. Including him panicking and calling his friends for help. Something about a 'canned eye'? That sounded disgusting. But Gigi was just really concerned about her brother. And the part that hurt the most? That he kept on bringing up Miss Information like she would use her blog to post all of his life.

She looked at the clock above the oven in the kitchen. It was time for the twins to walk to school. And today was their first day back after summer vacation.

"Diego!" She called as she gathered up her school things, "Time to get going!"

A minute later her brother went down the stairs. She almost laughed out loud.

"What are you wearing?" She asked between giggles.

Diego rolled his eyes and looked down at his winter gloves, "It's not funny." Although he looked humiliated, "It's just a little chilly out and I want to be prepared."

Gigi had heard a lot of excuses from her brother the past few months, but this one made no sense, "It's like still summer. And you'd never need gloves in the winter anyways. This is Florida, remember?"

"Can we just go?" Diego asked, annoyed.

Gigi was tired of leaving this new behavior from Diego alone. She needed to do what Miss Information does best, find out secrets.

"Yeah, just one second." Gigi said as she started up the stairs, "I think I left my summer reading book in my room."

She was actually going to investigate the bathroom, but Diego didn't need to know that. If he was keeping secrets from her, then she could keep secrets from him.

She opened the door and slipped in, knowing that her time frame would be short. Upon first glance, the room looked fine. Diego was always good at cleaning things, but there was something off about it. Gigi realized it was the trash can, one of those tiny ones with the pedal at the bottom that you step on that opens it up.

Thinking there must be something in there, Gigi stepped on the little pedal and the top opened. Gigi gasped at what she saw.

It was ice. Quickly melting ice, but ice all the same. There was so much inside that the trash can was filled to the brim with tiny little icicles.

How did this happen? Gigi thought.

"Hey sis!" Diego yelled from downstairs, "Did you find your book?"

"Yep!" Gigi squealed as she rushed down the stairs, "Let's go."

They walked in silence, something Gigi had sadly gotten used to lately. She tilted her head at her brother, he seemed really on edge. But Gigi didn't want another snappy fight this morning. She decided it was best to just find out on her own. She didn't even mention the icicles on their short walk to Iridium High.

The school was alive with students hugging their friends who they hadn't seen all summer. Everyone was talking about the trip they took to San Francisco, California or Rome, Italy. Gigi tried not to feel down about not having done anything over the summer. She had filled her time off with learning new video editing techniques and watching TV and tanning at the beach. Also working at the 7 with her mom and brother. Money was too tight right now to go on a vacation. And Gigi and Diego made it seem like they didn't mind at all to their mother, even though Gigi knew Diego had to make up some lie about being busy the day all his friends were going to a theme park, just because he knew that he couldn't pay for a ticket.

Out of the corner of her eye, Gigi saw the Iridium High pool. Diego's friends Daniel and Andi from the Sharks were there and so was Daniel's girlfriend, Emma.

"See ya." Diego said, waving a gloved hand at her in a 'goodbye'. He took off to see his friends.

Gigi waited a few seconds before slipping to the pool too, but she stayed hidden behind a little shed.

She peeked her head out to see what was going on.

"Woah, dude!" Daniel exclaimed as Diego entered, "What's with the mittens?"

"I'm out of control now." Her brother was saying urgently, "This was the only thing I could think of to make sure I didn't blow up the school."

"What happened?" Andi asked.

Gigi slipped back behind the shed as Diego looked around to see if anyone else was listening, "Okay so it's not just fire and ice now. It's air and dirt and... I'm just freaking out here."

Gigi had no idea what he meant.

"Really?" Emma was the one who said that. She seemed concerned, "Maybe I can help."

"What do you suggest?" Diego seemed like he was trying to be cool, but Gigi could tell from the slight tremble in his voice that he was freaked, "I keep on trying all those concentration exercises that Julio gave me, but I just can't do it. I even rewatched Avatar the Last Airbender this summer just hoping that something would help,"

"Don't worry, man." Daniel reassured, "We'll help you make sure you're secret stays a secret."

Gigi was just about to leave when she heard Diego say something that made her heart drop.

"Have you told you're sister yet?" Emma had asked, "Because I think that she'd be able to help you-"

"No way." Diego said bluntly, "You know what she'd do."

"What would she do?" Emma questioned as Daniel held her waist behind her.

Andi, Daniel, and Diego looked at Emma like there was something obvious that she was missing.

"What?"

"Gigi would blab to the entire school." Daniel explained immediately.

What? Gigi thought.

"She wouldn't even think twice." Andi added, "That blog is her life."

"She may be my sister, but she always betrays my trust." Diego told Emma, "I can't tell her anything."

Daniel's girlfriend nodded, "Oh I understand what you mean."

I don't, Gigi thought miserably. She waited for the Sharks to start heading off to class before she snuck off to her homeroom. She felt upset about what she just heard. If there was something that Diego didn't want anyone else to know, Gigi would be sure to keep it a secret.

Right?