Some more years passed, and before anyone realized it, the twins were five and ready for their very first day of kindergarten.

  The morning sun shone through the kitchen windows, casting a warm light on the freshly made breakfast and the two girls standing by the front door.

  Emma stood neatly with her Hello Kitty backpack hugged to her chest, her soft bck hair accented with blue highlights falling just past her shoulders in waves. She wore a blue and bck dress that fluttered slightly with each tiny shift of her feet. She had a sweet, picture-perfect glow about her, like the kind of kid you’d see smiling in a commercial. She was their little heart-stealer; bright, polite, and ridiculously adorable. Rachel had spent way too long brushing out her hair that morning, and Daniel had taken at least a thousand pictures before they even got through breakfast.

  Ava, on the other hand, stood off to the side with her arms crossed, her face set in a ft line.

  Red highlights at the ends of her long bck hair, which nearly reached her lower back. Her dress was bck with red trim and skull buttons on the colr, all of which she had picked out entirely on her own. Her backpack was an aggressive shade of red with bck fmes licking up the sides, like something out of a biker anime. There was nothing cutesy or sparkly about her. She looked like she was ready to kick down the kindergarten door and start beating on the teacher.

  Rachel had tried to sneak a cute cat clip into her hair. It was now on the kitchen floor.

  Standing between them was their big brother, Ethan, who was now a fifth grader. He wasn’t just an annoyed older sibling stuck babysitting his sisters; he enjoyed walking them to the bus. He grinned at them, his backpack slung over both shoulders like a good student, and reached out to gently knock his fist against each of their heads.

  "Ready to go?"

  Emma gave a big, eager nod. "Yup! I packed a snack and my crayons!"

  Ava looked up at him with murderous intent. "Let’s get this over with."

  Ethan chuckled. "Still grumpy, huh?"

  "Still better than you in everything," she muttered.

  "You wish."

  "Fuck you," Ava replied in her 5 year old tone.

  Rachel stood in the doorway, camera in hand, lips pressed tight to keep from tearing up again. "They look so big," she whispered, voice trembling.

  Daniel smirked, arms crossed beside her. "You’re crying again."

  "No, I’m not."

  "You absolutely are."

  She smacked his arm without looking. He let her cling to him anyway because, yeah, their little girls weren’t so little anymore.

  The rumble of the approaching bus resounded down the block.

  Before the yellow beast even came to a complete stop, Ava had already started walking. No backward gnce. Just the cck of her shoes against the pavement and a slight sway of her dress as she made her way toward the doors like she owned them.

  Emma trotted after her with a little more bounce, fshing their parents a bright smile and a wave that made Rachel sniff quietly into her sleeve.

  "Did she just-? She didn’t even say goodbye," Daniel said, a little stunned.

  "It's Ava," Rachel sighed. "It’s a miracle she let me brush her teeth this morning."

  Ava didn't feel like fighting her about it today.

  Ethan gave them both a quick smile. "I’ll keep an eye on ‘em."

  He followed the twins up the bus steps, giving a slight nod to the driver before motioning Emma forward.

  "Find a seat, shorty. I’m sitting in the back."

  Emma giggled and quickly took the empty spot beside Ava, who had already slouched against the window with her arms folded like she was waiting for a court date.

  Ethan disappeared toward the back, where a group of loud fifth graders were already calling him over.

  As the bus lurched forward, Ava let out a dramatic sigh and leaned her head against the cool windowpane.

  'This is stupid,' she said mentally, her voice projecting into the forefront of Emma’s mind.

  Emma blinked, then looked at her sister with a trim smile. 'You say that about a lot of things.'

  'Well, this specifically. What are we gonna learn in a room full of snot-nosed kids who think ‘glue’ is a food group?'

  'They don’t all eat glue,' Emma replied, though she giggled afterward. 'And I don’t mind starting from the beginning again. New world, new rules. We’re pying the long game.'

  'Oh, believe me, I can tell you're enjoying yourself.'

  The bus rolled to a stop in front of the school, brakes hissing as the door swung open. The twins stepped off, with Emma practically skipping beside Ava, who walked with her arms crossed, staring ahead.

  Inside, the halls were bright and filled with the kind of mess only the first day of elementary school could create. Teachers herded kids into rooms like cattle, their backpacks dragging, their shoes squeaking on the linoleum, while parents peered through door windows like spies. The girls followed the signs to their cssroom, dodging a kid who was spinning in circles and another who was already crying, as if the world were ending.

  Cssroom 1-A was colorful and filled with more decorations than seemed physically possible. Paper cutouts, alphabet charts, and crayon drawings taped to the walls. There were five round tables spaced around the room, each with four chairs, and all but one were already full of wiggling kids.

  The only open table was near the window.

  At it sat a single boy, hunched slightly, his arms folded in front of him like he was getting ready for a pop quiz. He had short, messy bck hair that didn’t seem to know which direction it wanted to lie in, and eyes that were… weird. Golden yellow. Bright and clear, like someone had stuck two coins into his skull. He was quiet, not looking up at anyone, just staring down at the table.

  Spoiler

  [colpse]Emma gave Ava a look, and Ava gave her a shrug that probably meant she didn't care.

  They walked over and sat down without asking.

  The boy blinked and looked up at them, his expression one of surprise.

  "Why are you sitting here?" he asked.

  Emma tilted her head. "Why are you sitting here all alone?"

  He peeked at the other tables, then looked back down. "No one wanted to sit with me."

  "Lame," Ava said immediately.

  Emma ignored her. "Do you not have any friends?"

  He shook his head. "Not really. It’s my first time in a real school."

  Emma smiled, setting her backpack down beside her chair. "Well, now you have us!"

  Ava raised a brow. "Forever, apparently."

  The boy stared at them for a moment longer, as if he were trying to figure out whether this was a prank, a trap, or something else.

  "…Okay," he said quietly, voice small.

  Emma leaned closer and whispered like it was a big secret, "What’s your name?"

  He paused. "…Luca."

  "I’m Emma. That’s my sister Ava."

  Ava gave a zy wave and then resumed staring out the window like she wasn’t deeply tuned into everything happening around her.

  Luca blinked again. "Are you guys twins?"

  "Nope," Ava said ftly.

  Emma giggled. "Yes."

  "Cool."

  And with that, the bell rang for them to start their day.

  Before long, the twins were in the fifth grade, their tiny baby faces now sharpened by time.

  Emma had grown taller, with her waves of bck-blue hair still reaching only her shoulders. She preferred it short. Throughout her years in primary school, she maintained her gentle smile and sunny nature. Ava had also developed into her own person. Her hair was longer than ever, and she’d started dyeing the red streaks brighter whenever Rachel let her. She wore fingerless gloves to school, even though no one understood why, and she had gotten in trouble more than once for calling teachers idiots.

  Luca wasn't in their css anymore; he’d been bumped into one of the accelerated programs st year, but they always met up at recess. And when he walked across the field toward them now, it was hard not to notice how much he’d changed, too.

  Luca jogged across the pyground, the breeze catching the edge of his hoodie as he made his way to their usual meeting spot beneath the tall oak tree. His hair was a bit longer now, still messy, and his eyes, still that sexy gold, scanned the field before nding right on them. Emma was sitting on the grass with a notebook in her p, doodling idly while humming something only she could hear. Ava was nearby, leaning back against the tree trunk with her arms folded and one knee up.

  Luca didn’t even gnce at the notebook.

  "Yo," he called, only half out of breath. "Sorry, I had to finish some math thing. Miss Patterson wouldn’t let me leave until I solved her stupid riddle."

  "Let me guess," Ava said without opening her eyes. "Something about trains and time zones?"

  "No, this one was about apples and irrational pricing," he replied, flopping down next to her. "Also, I think she hates me."

  "She doesn’t hate you," Emma said, not looking up from her drawing.

  "She absolutely does," Luca said, tossing a small stick at Ava’s foot. "She gives me that ‘you again?’ face every time I walk in."

  Ava smirked but didn’t respond.

  Luca watched her for a second longer than necessary.

  He couldn’t really expin when it started. Maybe it was the way she always said exactly what was on her mind. Perhaps it was the time she punched a sixth grader in the gut because he pushed a kid off the swings, or the way she always acted like she was too cool to be here, yet she still remembered his favorite candy.

  He didn’t get nervous around people. Not really. But Ava?

  Yeah. Ava made him feel a little stupid sometimes in a weird, fluttery kinda way.

  He reached over and picked a bde of grass just to have something to fidget with.

  "You’re quiet today," Emma said suddenly, peeking up at him.

  "Thinking," he muttered.

  "About apples?" she teased.

  "No," he said quickly, then cleared his throat. "Just stuff."

  Ava cracked one eye open at that, gncing at him sidelong. "You better not be getting bitchy on us."

  Luca smirked, cheeks faintly pink. "Never. I’m tougher than both of you."

  "Sure," Ava replied, her tone dry. "That’s why you screamed when that squirrel ran at you."

  "It came out of nowhere!"

  Emma burst out ughing, and Ava’s smirk twitched upward into something close to a genuine smile. She started feeling happier since she knew it was almost time to break free from the chains she had called growing up. Ava had been working on something theoretically possible, and today was the day she would make it happen.

  Luca didn’t care about winning that round; he simply enjoyed being near her, even if she never noticed- and she didn't.