At Least for Tonight

Lauren examined herself in the vanity mirror. There were unopened brown boxes all around her but that was that last thing on her mind.

It was Monday..which meant it was the first day of school. Lauren's hands got clammy at the thought of walking into a new class with new people. For everyone else, school had started last month.

What if the twins didn't make any friends?? They hadn't seen Rian or anybody since the Gino's pizza meeting. They probably forgot all about the girls.

Lauren stared at herself; her blonde hair was up in a messy bun and her crop-top was showing the skin beneath her belly button.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. "You'll be fine." She tried reassuring herself. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

"Hurry up, we have to walk to school today. Rachel's going through this whole eco-friendly phase." Morgan said from the doorway. Lauren nodded, picked up her bag, and followed her sister out of the house.

The walk to school was nerve-wrecking for Lauren. She had always been shy so it was hard for her to make new friends. Morgan, on the other hand, was extremely sociable and could make friends in an instant even when she wasn't trying.

"Just chill out. It's not that big of a deal." Morgan stated, noticing her sister's worried state. She was overreacting.

"Easy for you to say. You could make friends in a matter of seconds." Lauren muttered back. Morgan opened her motuh as if to say something but closed it quickly. Lauren was right.

The rest of the walk was silent. Soon, the big building came into view..Dulaney High School. Crowds of students were outside talking.

The girls squeezed past everyone and headed for the main office. No Jack or anyone in sight.

"Names?" The receptionist asked. You could tell she hated her job.

"Morgan and Lauren Hardley," Morgan spoke.

"Th..th...the Hardley twins?" receptionist lady stammered. Her droopy eyes widened. Lauren looked at her sister in horror.

The receptionist knew who they were..

"Oh no no no no. Of course we're not. Our mother was always into that sort of stuff so when she found out she was having twin girls, she took it as an advantage." Morgan lied straight through her teeth.

Receptionist believed her. "I'm so sorry for that. You must get alot of weird looks when people ask you for your names, huh."

Morgan felt a twinge of pain in her gut. Receptionist lady had no idea.

"Yeah, can we get our schedules please?"

Receptionist printed them out and handed them over. Lauren was glad she was finally out of the office.

"That was too close." She whispered to Morgan.

"I know."

"Damn it, will we ever get away from all of that?"

"I don't know, Lo. I don't know." Morgan ran a hand through her hair.

"Let's just forget about it...What classes do we have together?" Lauren responded as the bell rang. Students began to pour in.

The sisters only had P.E, lunch, and U.S. History together.

Luckily, their lockers were sort of near each other so they could talk during passing periods.

"I'll see you in History, then. I have Pre-Calc."

"French.." Lauren replied, jabbing her thumb in the opposite direction.

Morgan walked towards the Math and Science hallway. Kids would pass her and give her confused looks. She probably looked like a lost puppy.

"Need help?" A voice said from behind. She turned around and came face to face with Jack. He had a goofy grin.

"JACK!" She said before giving him a big hug.

"MORGAN!" he screamed back. "What class do you have?"

"Pre-Calc." She said. He was looking really cute today. He still had black skinny jeans on but his shirt was a bright blue v-neck.

"Are you shitting me? I have that class too!!" He did a small happy dance before grabbing her hand and leading her for the door.

Lauren's walk to her french class was less eventful. She stayed quiet and stared at her feet the entire time she walked through the hall. She found the classroom easily and quickly walked in and took a seat.

The teacher had yet to arrive and she hoped he would forget she was a new student.

"Psssst" someone whispered to Lauren. She turned to her left and saw Cassadee waving at her.

"Hey"

"This class just got a whole lot more fun!" Cassadee smiled. Lauren blushed at the compliment. She was never seen as "fun".

The teacher walked in so the girls' conversation was cut really short.

"Eeet seems dat we haff a new student een ze clazzroom." The french teacher spoke. "Ehhh...Morgahn Hahhrdly?"

She waved her arm in the air. At least she didn't have to speak. Everyone looked at her while one student began to whisper.

Oh shit. Oh shit. They knew. She tried getting her mind off the one student but she kept finding herself watching the boy during class.

Maryland was supposed to be her escape from her horrific past yet it seemed that the only escape Lauren was finding was from her sanity.