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"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale."- Hans Christain Andersen
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"I'm not saying she's a bad teacher, I'm just surprised she chose this career path," 15-year-old Carolyn Addams said as she put her combination into her locker.

Her twin sister, Aura, playfully rolled her eyes and fiddled with her hair in the small mirror on her locker door. "Look on the bright side: only three more months and then we will never have to deal with her unorganized lectures ever again."

The sisters had the same heart-shaped face, cream skin, pillowy lips, and wavy blonde hair. They shared the same button nose, but Carolyn had prominent cheekbones and a sharp chin. Her eyes were a warm, hazel and a soft almond shape. Aura had softer features with eyes that were large, round, and a striking crystal blue. They stood out as the only twins in their small coastal town.

Carolyn tossed her history binder onto one of the shelves. "Three months too many..." she grumbled.

Aura chuckled as her eyes made contact with a familiar, jovial pair of grey ones that were framed by full eyebrows.

"Carolyn is ranting about Mrs. Brown again, isn't she?" the twins' friend, Bailey Pic, asked as she approached their lockers. She ruffled her brown, beachy waves before crossing her long arms over her torso. Her once posh British accent had been washed over by American inflections in the years she had lived in Massachusetts but was still noticeably different from her friends' voices.

Aura slung her backpack over her shoulder and carefully closed her locker door. "How could you tell?"

Carolyn brushed a piece of hair out of her face as she shut her locker door. "It's not my fault that woman is incapable of teaching!"

Bailey let out a laugh as she slung her arms over the twins' petite shoulders. "It's a rite of passage, my friends. I survived, so I think you'll be fine."

"You won't feel that way when you get the invitation to my funeral after Gran finds out what I got on the last test," Carolyn said before biting on her lip anxiously.

As they walked across the cracked vinyl flooring of the hallway, their voices rattled off the muted blue lockers.

"I doubt she would kill you just yet," Bailey joked. "She'd let you have a slice of cake first."

Aura perked up. "That reminds me! Will your mom be okay if you just come straight to ours after school on Friday? I think Gran would appreciate another set of hands to help hang decorations."

Bailey shrugged before opening the heavy wood door to the auditorium. "I can ask."

As they entered the theater, Aura slowed her pace. Her hand instinctively found its way to her earlobe nervously, her wide, round eyes carefully searching the green seats before landing on a sulking brunette in the back corner with her leg propped up on the chair in front of her.

"Oh god...Casey's here. I thought she had a doctor's appointment today!" Aura whispered. She untucked her hair behind her ear, allowing it to cascade over her face. "Is she looking at me? Please tell me she isn't looking at me!"

Bailey gave her a half-hearted smile. "She's looking at you."

Carolyn rolled her hazel eyes. "Screw her, it's not your fault she sprained her ankle. You were her understudy, now you're just doing your job."

"But now she probably hates me even more than she did before..."

Bailey placed her hand on Aura's shoulder, grabbing her attention. "Let the bitch mope. She's none of your concern, alright?"

Aura nodded, but not before stealing a final glance at Casey.

"Well I'll see yous after rehearsal," Bailey said, giving each a small hug before walking back up the aisle toward the sound booth.

"Alright, that's it for today everyone. Good work, I will see you all tomorrow," their director said as she closed her binder.

Actors immediately grabbed their scripts and water bottles as they hurried out of the auditorium.

A boy with messy brown hair, a soft triangular jawline, and a bright smile casually walked down the aisle to meet Aura where she was sitting on the edge of the stage, his jazz shoes lazily hanging from his fingers.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that you did really good today." Butterflies took flight in Aura's stomach when he flashed her a smile.

"Oh," Aura began, sliding off the stage to stand in front of him. "Thanks, Jake."

Out of all of her castmates during her two weeks of filling in the role of Anastasia, Jake Lawrence, who was cast as Dimitri, the male lead, had consistently been the most welcoming and helpful. From inviting Aura over to sit with the other leads during their breaks to going over more complicated blocking, Jake was considerate of her. He always had a reassuring smile that calmed any nerves in Aura's system.

Jake overdramatically looked around them before lowering his voice, "Don't tell Casey, but I'm glad you were her understudy— you've been making rehearsal a lot more enjoyable."

Aura covered her mouth to muffle a giggle.

"Aura you better hurry before we leave without you!"

She looked around the boy's tall frame to see her sister and Bailey standing at the back of the auditorium.

Aura blushed sheepishly, her eyes meeting Jake's sea green ones. "I'd better run."

"I'll see you around?"

Aura nodded before grabbing her bag and meeting her sister at the top of the aisle.

A smug smile lined Carolyn's face as she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Don't even start," Aura said as they walked to the student parking lot.

"I wasn't gonna!" Carolyn said defensively, raising her arms up.

As they got into Bailey's car, Bailey looked at Aura through the rear-view mirror and smirked. "So... how's your love story going? Did he propose yet?"

Aura groaned as she slinked down into her seat, her cheeks reddening.

"You and Bailes got to do the same thing to me when Eli and I first started talking, it's only fair that we get to torment you!" Carolyn joked as she turned in her seat to look back at her sister.

Aura crossed her arms and stuck out her tongue but couldn't hide the smile forming on her lips.

"Is he gonna be your birthday wish?" Bailey asked with a wink.

Hello lovelies!
We hoped you enjoyed this first chapter and we will catch you in the next one!
(Okay but, for real, Aura is literally Melody when she's around her crush)

QOTD: What is your favorite musical?

♡ Melody & Rebekah ♡