Where Two Collide

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Alice

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Alice

On Saturday I took advantage of the nice weather and spread out a blanket on the grass in our back garden. I stretched out on it, wriggling my toes on the soft material. Either side of me I have piles of papers and a notepad, I put a pen between my teeth as I move into a cross-legged position. Picking up a form, I slid it on top of my notepad and began filling it in, using my best curly handwriting to write my name Alice Attwood.

Cat came out of the house dressed in simple shorts and a t-shirt, her hair tied back, and her face completely bare of makeup. Honestly the blonde hair suited her, which meant it would suit me too, a sad thought as I'd have to stick with the brown. It was hard to be an individual when you had an identical twin, and I'd never want to take her style away from her, even if I thought I'd look awesome too.

She moved over some of my papers to sit beside me, stacking them into a perfect pile. Peering over my shoulder she asked, "Is this for your studying abroad trip thing?"

I nodded, continuing to fill in the questions. "Yup."

"Huh," she said leaning forward to adjust the top page of my paper stack as the wind shifted it.

I looked up from my form analysing her expression. Something seemed off with her, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "What does huh mean?"

"Huh means huh," she said. Cat undid her laces and pulled off her trainers, setting them on the grass off the edge of the blanket. When she looked back at me, she puts on a fake smile. I know it's fake because that's exactly what I look like when I'm doing the same thing. She points a finger at my form, the question I'm hesitating over. "Have you chosen your top three Countries yet?"

The wind catches my hair, blowing strands over my eyes, I push them back behind my ear. "I'm between France and Italy for my top two, I'm not sure in what order though."

"I'd put Italy first and France second," Cat said confidently. "You're way better at speaking Italian than you are at speaking French, that'll make it loads easier when you're there."

I nodded. She was right, I wasn't fluent in either, but I definitely scored higher in Italian. Both countries mostly spoke English too, so it was probably going to be fine either way, however the less I struggled with a language barrier, the better. I took my pen and filled in Italy and France in my first and second choice spots. "One and two is done," I said grinning at the page. "What about the third choice though?" I sighed and re-read the list of available Countries umpteenth time, looking for any kind of inspiration.

"Let me see the list," said Cat, snatching it out of my hand and crossing her legs in from of her. Her toenails are in much need of painting, I fight the urge to go and get my varnish to do it for her. She doesn't like when I fuss over her appearance.

"Hey careful I only have one of these," I said frowning; however, I really am interested in her opinion, so I peer at where her finger runs up and down the list. "What do you think I should have as my third choice?"

Her finger stopped on the page. "What about Iceland? Aren't they know for their hot springs and geysers and stuff?"

"Yes, it's beautiful," I said. "But I'll be studying not just exploring and it's freezing there. I don't like the cold. What about Malta?"

Cat gave me a deep eye roll. "Ugh, I thought the point of this was get some culture, not get a tan."

"I've not just chosen warm places, France has the same weather as here basically," I replied with an injured sniff.

"Huh," said Cat, then gave me a knowing look. "You wanted to go to France because of the Moulin Rouge movie didn't you."

Damn, how did she guess that? "No," I lied. "They have plenty of other cultural activities in France, and also, the basic knowledge of the language thing is like a major plus."

Cat glanced back down at the list. "Why not just go to the US then?"

I tapped my pen against my knee thoughtfully. "Maybe." I took the paper back from her and set it down in front of me. I needed to think about it some more before I decided, it was a big decision. "What are you going to do when I go?" I asked, thinking back to my conversation with Tia. I didn't like to think of Cat all alone, and other than when she met up with that girl the other day after some convincing, I'd not seen her make any effort to hang out with Travis or anyone else. Except for her secret night escapades, I had no real evidence that she wasn't isolating herself away like a hermit. Would she get worse when I left?

Cat shrugged. "The same stuff I do every day."

Just what I thought. "Don't you want a boyfriend?" I asked. "I'm worried about how much time you spend alone, you should be dating somebody, at our age that's what we're supposed to be doing."

Cat scoffed. "Who would I date, everyone around here sucks. Besides, I don't even have time for dating, if I did I'd probably get grades like yours."

I bumped my shoulder against hers. "Rude!" It wasn't like I got bad grades, Cat's grades were just particularly great, she was definitely one of the top in our year. "What about Travis? You guys are close and you both like the same stuff," I suggested.

"Ew no," Cat said pulling a face. "Travis is my friend who just so happens to be a boy, this does not make him ideal boyfriend material."

"Well then," I said, thinking hard. I bite my lip to keep from smiling. "What about Sammy? She's really pretty and her family are super rich, which according to Tia is something you should look for in an ideal partner."

"Do you think I'm a lesbian?" Cat asked, her eyes wide and shocked.

"No," I said quickly. "I was just saying there are options out there and you don't have to be alone. I mean you look like me, and I know I'm hot, so you clearly have it too."

Cat wrinkled her nose and leaped up. "If I needed advice on dating, I would have asked for it," she snapped. She stormed off, leaving her trainers behind.

I blinked after her. What did I say wrong? She'd been in such a weird mood lately, all over the place as if she had permanent PMS. Maybe she was worried about me leaving, I hadn't thought it would really hit her so hard as it wasn't like we spent all day every day together. We had different interests, different friends, different lives. She had her secrets, and I guess I had mine too.

With a heavy sigh, I packed up my paperwork and headed back inside the house.

***I can't believe I'm on part 31 already! It's crazy how quickly this book has come together, almost halfway through now I think. Anyhoo, please Vote and Comment and whatnot!***