Andrea and Emily, being twins and blonde, became fairly popular in middle school

Andrea and Emily, being twins and blonde, became fairly popular in middle school. The sports teams soon became Luke's sanctuary; the basket-ball court was the only place where people eagerly asked the twins about Luke, instead of the other way around. Sports practice also got him out of the house for most of the time the twins were there; Aunt Amy worked until about five and Luke's practice got out around five, so he usually arrived home not long before as his aunt arrived to pick up the girls.

"Hey, Luke," his friend Joe asked one day after practice. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like to have a twin? I mean… you're kind of surrounded, so… don't you ever get curious?"

Luke stopped in the middle of tying his shoe. "I almost was a twin, actually," he replied. Joe's eyes bulged, and Luke continued. "There's this thing, vanishing twin syndrome, where one of the babies dies before they're born, and the mom just reabsorbs it or something. My mom says that's what happened with my twin."

"That's gotta be weird," said Joe as he pulled on his jacket. "Did you eat him or something?"

Luke tried to hide his grimace as he picked up his backpack. He knew Joe was teasing, so he tried to ignore that Joe had just hit a nerve. "No, he just disappeared; I guess it's pretty common. Mom said his name would have been Liam," he explained. "Sometimes I kind of imagine what he's like, though." The two boys took the back exit out of the locker room that led straight outside, when they heard some giggling around the other side of the building. A group of girls came around the corner, and at a closer glance Luke recognized Andrea among them with a cigarette in her mouth, lighting one for her sister. They both stopped dead when they saw Luke staring at them.

"You can't tell our mom!" they said in unison.

Oh yes you can, said Liam. He was slouching against the outer wall of the school.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Luke demanded. He quickly strode over to them and ripped the cigarettes out of their mouths. "You're smarter than that." The other girls dropped their own contraband and ran toward the bus-drive.

"Luke, you can't tell on us," Andrea pleaded, and she and Emily put on the identical angel looks.

"Come on Luke, it's not like we were hurting anything," Emily added.

"How'd you get my mom to let you stay at school this late?" he asked, his eyes still narrowed.

"We said you had a basketball game," Andrea explained. Luke felt another ripple of anger since his mom had never been to any of his games. He took them by the elbows and dragged them toward the bus-drive. "Just get on the bus and shut up. You're not getting out of this one," he told them. Joe waved goodbye and left for his own bus.

The twins whined and pleaded the entire way home. Luke put his hands over his ears, but nothing would drown them out. He imagined Liam arguing with them instead.

"You can't, Luke, you wouldn't!" Emily almost cried when they reached the bus stop. Both twins latched onto his arms when they were off the bus and walking up the driveway.

Luke shook them off his arms. "Leave me alone," he said. "Begging's not gonna do anything."

"Luke, pleeaase," they whined in unison. The three of them were almost to the door.

"No, get off!" said Luke. He twisted himself around to get their hands off his arms. Luke wished Liam could help him. "Seriously, stop it!" he said as they walked into the house.

His mother was in the hallway; apparently she'd heard the noise. "What's going on?" she asked.

"They don't want me to tell you that I caught them smoking," said Luke as fast as he could before the twins could cut him off. They let go of him at last, looking mutinous.

"It's not a big deal!" "We weren't hurting anything!" "It's not fair!"

Luke's mother put up a hand for silence. She wouldn't look at anyone directly, try as Luke might to catch her eye. "Girls, you know better, what's gotten into you?" she asked calmly.

"Our friend Tiffany said it was cool!" "Daddy smokes cigars when his friends come over!" "It's not fair!"

"It's a terrible habit. Haven't you learned about cigarettes in your science classes?" Luke's mother asked, retaining her calm. "Did you know that Grandpa got lung cancer from smoking?" The girls' eyes widened, and they shook their heads in unison. Luke stared incredulously at the scene, trying to figure out why his mom wasn't screaming.

"We thought it was supposed to be fun," Andrea admitted, guiltily scuffing her foot against the ground.

"Turn out your purses," Luke's mother ordered. The girls emptied the contents in two piles on the kitchen table. Luke's mother picked up the packs of cigarettes on top of the piles. "Don't ever let me catch you with these again," she said sternly. The girls nodded as they put everything back in their purses, and they left the room. She sat down and turned her attention to Luke, who was still slack-jawed. "What's gotten into you?" she asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" he countered.

"Oh lighten up, you see how upsetting this whole ordeal was to them," his mother explained. "They don't need to be punished too harshly." She reclined and stretched her arms, leaning the chair against the wall.

Luke stared at her. "You call that punishment?" he spat, "If I came home just smelling like smoke you'd ground me for at least a week!"

That's the spirit! Liam chimed in and punched the air.

Luke's mother slammed the chair back onto all four legs and stood up. Luke tried to hide his smile; she used to tower over him, but she wasn't nearly as intimidating now that he was slightly taller than her. "You are old enough that I expect you to know better," she replied sharply.

Luke detected the dangerous tone in her voice, but he no longer cared. "I'm just never going to be good enough for you without a twin, am I!" he shouted.

His mother's mouth fell open and her eyebrows contracted angrily, and for a moment Luke thought she was going to hit him and then kick him out of the house. Then her eyes unfocused and her face un-tensed. She sank back into the chair without a word, apparently staring over Luke's shoulder. Luke felt a shiver go down his spine and had chills all over his body, but he held his ground.

"Oh Luke," she said at last with a hand on her forehead. "I had no idea you- oh honey-" she stuttered and pulled him down into a hug. Luke hugged her back, and for the first time in years he wasn't imagining how Liam would have fit into the picture.