Chapter 3. Best Friends

June 2005

It was hot as stew. The warm wind didn’t offer relief as it licked on my face. My shirt was still stuck on my back because of sweat. My fingers were still greasy as I ran them through my hair.

In one of the open houses I passed, someone’s ice cream was melting in the cup. In the next house, Mariah Carey’s voice was belting from the radio. I glanced in front of me and screamed.

“Watch out!” a cycler cried, before swerving to the left. It was a narrow miss. I’ve almost been reunited with mom.

Spencer’s laughter rang close behind me. “Eyes forward, slowpoke.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” But despite glowering at his suggestion, I trained my eyes in front. “And don’t call me slowpoke when you’re the one behind.”

Another laugh from him. “Not anymore.”

In just a few seconds, the lead I’ve gained in the last couple of blocks disappeared. Spencer was elbow to elbow with me, a lazy smile on his face.

I risked a quick glance behind and saw that Ester wasn’t with us anymore. “Where’s your twin?”

Spencer shrugged. “Library?”

I rolled my eyes at him and continued running. My pace has considerably slowed compared to when we first started. My breath came in short burst too.

This was all Spencer’s idea. We were all in their living room watching this new series called Supernatural, when he stood up from the couch, sneered like a pirate, and said, “Yarg! The Cap’n needs to stretch.” After that, there was a short agreement about a race, and here we were.

I wiped the sweat from my brows and tried to lean forward more. Maybe that would increase my speed.

“That’s no use,” Spencer panted. His strides still matched mine. He was sweating buckets too. “Your legs are too short for a thirteen-year-old.”

“Says someone who has the same height as me.” I turned to him and stuck my tongue out.

He tried to hide his cringe by glancing to the right. But we were passing by the barber shop then. The glass window made me see his expression. All the customer’s too. The men who were having their beards shaved waved to us.

I gave them a small salute before concentrating ahead. It was time to take this race to a conclusion.

Taking a big gulp of air, I braced myself, then pumped my legs harder. The effort made me gain advantage by a few inches.

“Not enough, Coolio,” Spencer said. “You need more than that to win.”

I knew that, of course, which was why I took this exact route.

The rounding of his eyes said that he realized the same thing. “That’s cheating,” he puffed. I had to give it to him though. Even if he knew where we were heading, he still ran alongside me. That took some guts.

“You said to run until the finish line. You didn’t mention where the finish line is.”

The last of the shops faded away behind us. In front, the dirt path that would take us to the woods was as glaring as the afternoon sun in the sky. Spencer’s breathing became heavier. He didn’t pause for a rest though, and continued going toe to toe. “I’m not letting you win, Des.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

We hit the grubby trail at the same time. The smaller rocks became ash under my sneakers. The bigger ones were cast aside because of my speed. I couldn’t help but smile. This was my domain. I would prevail.

The trees welcomed us from the distance. Their leaves swayed side-to-side like they were dancing, green and healthy. Spencer balked. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“A race is a race,” I taunted.

His expression firmed. “Fine. But if I die in there because of a ghost or something, I blame you.” After the last word, he inhaled a deep breath and exerted more effort. The extra push gained him the lead.

But what was a race without the challenge? I charged after him like my jeans were caught on fire. We were elbow to elbow again—more determined, more tired too.

The woods were almost upon us.

Three.

Two.

Spencer screeched to a stop, so fast that I thought he was going to slam on a tree. “Destiny!” he called. “Come back!”

“Loser buys bread at Bertha’s!”

“I know, but why aren’t you stopping?”

My chuckles echoed around the trees. “I’m going to grab something. See you at Bertha’s.”

The fatigue on my legs vanished when I caught sight of the ruins. The crumbling walls were gray and decayed, yet within the rubbles was a mystery that called out to me. It had the beauty of dawn and the breath of the wind. But no matter how much I tried to inhale it, I was left breathless.

My teacher said I described the place perfectly when I made an assignment. That was the only school work that made me surpass Ester’s. I guess I loved the ruin more than any place.

The grass tickled my ankles when I moved forward to the stone steps. I wasn’t lying to Spencer when I said I left something. Boy and Girl were here somewhere.

“Momma’s here,” I announced. This was the reason why people in school probably thought I was off. Who lugs around her puppets at this age, right?

“Where are you?” I said again. “I’m sorry I left you guys last night. I was in a hurry to get home.”

I paused before reaching the steps. Something wasn’t right.

Before I could turn, something tackled me to the ground. Something soft, heavy, and giggling. Almost immediately, my nose was hit with overwhelming scents of summer rain showers, the evening air, campfires, and cool sheets. The person responsible for it looked down on me while the grass poked my back, and said, “I got here first. I’m the winner.”

I met her eyes. Her two pretty eyes that could outdo the riddle of the ruins. When I first met her, I was shocked that a person could have amber-colored eyes on the left, and blue-green eyes on the right. But after she explained that it was a genetic condition called heterochromia, I got used to the idea of it.

“How long have you been here, Gene?”

She settled her chin on her palm. She looked like she wouldn’t move from on top of me anytime soon. “Minutes after the race started,” she said. “I knew that Ester would give up. And between you and Spencer, you’d end up going here.”

I pinched her nose. “Not fair. You used me against me.”

She winked. “Best friends are dangerous.”

The balmy wind ruffled her dark blond hair, and although I wanted to stay here and watch it do that for the rest of the day, we had stuff to do. “The twins are waiting,” I sighed.

“At Bertha’s?”

“Yup.”

She flashed me a smirk before pushing herself up. Genesis was taller by an inch and was a bit heavier, but I wouldn’t mind having her on top of me anytime. We’d always been like this since we were ten.

Once both of us were sitting, she said, “Can we go back here after? Without the twins?”

I shrugged. “Why? You’re the only one who comes here with me anyway.”

She gave me a sidelong glance, the amber on her eyes focused on me. “I want to solo you, Destiny.”

My stomach fluttered. It would always do that when Genesis said something like this. She never talked to the twins like she did with me. Maybe because the two of us were special to each other. We were beyond friends. We were best friends.

“Sure,” I said. “No twins. Just the two of us.”

Spencer and Ester where sitting at Bertha’s when we arrived. What used to be a small-sized bakery had been expanded over the years to accommodate tables and chairs. The big sign was also replaced with fancy shmancy design, and white umbrellas were provided, so the customers who wished to eat outside would be more comfortable. It was there that the twins ate their donuts.

“You didn’t even wait for us,” I said to Spencer. He was in the middle of a big bite, the corners of his lips already covered with sugar. How could he never get fat with all the junk he eats?

“Sorry,” he mumbled, before gobbling down his food. “I’m a growing kid.”

Ester pulled a chair for me and Genesis. “We’re all growing kids,” she said.

“Except for Destiny.”

I threw Spencer a dirty glance. “Yeah right. As if you’ve grown taller the last couple of years.”

Bertha, who was fixing the loaves of bread on the shelves inside, noticed me and smiled. I returned the gesture and nudged my head at Spencer.

“Don’t look now, Spence, but I think Bertha’s trying to grab your attention.”

He made a gagging sound. “No thanks. I’m not a fan of mustaches on women.” He chewed noisily on purpose, trying to irritate me. “Not a fan of girls with small boobs either.”

Before he could stare at my chest, Genesis smacked his face with the menu. She’d been silently browsing the food until that point.

“What’s your order, Des?” she asked like nothing happened.

Spencer set the menu aside, a glower on his face. “What did you do that for?!”

The small hairs on my arms rose when Genesis stared at him. She didn’t say anything. She just stared.

Spencer’s shoulders slouched. “Whatever,” he muttered, then to Ester. “So what are we going to do all summer, sis? We need to plan this out.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when Ester began to rave about doing inventions. Another fight has been prevented.

This has been going on for as long as Gene was with us. When I introduced her to the twins the first day we met, they seemed pretty cool about it. They even invited her to their house. But when I told them to repeat the oath so we could include her, Spencer was off-putted and insisted that we didn’t need a new member.

I couldn’t just leave Gene alone though. She was new to Bear Creek that time. She didn’t have friends. And being who she was meant that she’d be the gossip for weeks. She needed us to shield her.

Eventually, I still got my way. Because Spencer was stubborn as a donkey, from time to time they’d have silent wars like this. But they were good friends. I knew they got each other’s backs. They just have a couple of misunderstandings, that’s all.

“It’s decided,” Spencer said after a while. He and Ester were able to discuss things in just a few minutes. Sometimes I wondered if twins communicated differently than the rest of the world. Wouldn’t that be rad? Then again, I knew that Gene and I communicated in our own special way too. Maybe you just had to be deeply in tune with another person, you know?

“What’s the big plan?” Gene asked.

Spencer wiped his lips with the back of his hand and grinned. “We’re going to build a motorcycle.”

My mouth was hanging when I glanced at Ester. “For real?”

“We’ve been planning it for a while,” she admitted.

“What about licenses? We’re like babies. Fetuses.”

“Chillax, dude,” Spencer piped in. “We’re not going to drive it yet. We don’t even know if we can build it.” A thoughtful look crossed his face before he turned to Genesis. “This will take up all summer. Will your dad let you?”

Her nod was firm, but her eyes were undecided. “As long as nobody tells him what we’re up to,” she said.

“I’ll think of an excuse,” Spencer promised.

After eating, the twins told us that they were supposed to help their parents with chores. Since it was just Genesis and me, we decided to go back to the ruins to kill time. We were on our way when I stopped.

“Problem?” Gene asked. She was waiting for me to continue walking.

I pulled the collar of my t-shirt close to my nose and sniffed. “Yuck.”

Gene leaned to me before I could do anything and sniffed too. “Mmm,” she hummed.

“What do you mean mmm?” I backed away from her. “I smell like a dumpster.”

“No you don’t. You smell good.”

I stepped further away. “Stop lying. And FYI, I’m not going anywhere near you until I’ve changed.” I dropped the collar and self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. Maybe it was part of growing up. Maybe I was just hygienic. But I definitely didn’t want her to smell me like this, especially after I’ve been running.

Her lips pursed. “I don’t see what’s wrong. I love your smell.” She sighed and waved her hand. “But if it makes you feel better, we’ll go to your house first.”

A mixture of comforting sounds received us when we got home. There was the faint noise of the power driller, a sander running, the sawing of wood— everything that I grew up hearing, right next door.

“Is Mr. Jones here?” Genesis asked. Her eyes roamed the living room for dad like the way I used to look for him when I was a kid.

“Nope,” I said. “He won’t be home until later. He’s finishing a bulk of orders in the shop with his crew.” I jogged to the stairs and paused on the bottom. “Come on. It’s not like you’ve never been here without him.”

The state of my bedroom was somewhere between dumpsite and hospital. One corner was a complete mess, particularly the desk. Strings, scissors, cloths, small pieces of woods, and random tools were scattered there.

On the other side, my bed was clean and smelled of laundry detergent. I just changed the sheet last night.

Instead of going to the uncontaminated area, Genesis chose the dumpsite and went to the desk. She picked up the red cloth and turned it whichever way she saw fit. “It’s a nice dress,” she remarked.

I scratched my head as I went to the closet. “To be honest, I thought it looked more like a sack.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself. Girl will like it.”

“You think so?”

“Yup. Are you making one for Boy too?”

“He’ll get mad if I don’t.” I opened the closet door and grabbed a shirt. Any shirt would do. I wasn’t choosy like Ester or fussy like Spencer. Genesis had her clothes laid out for her every day. I didn’t have that luxury either.

Gene was sitting on the bed when I turned and kicked the closet door close. I went to sit next to her. “I thought you weren’t going anywhere near me until you’ve changed,” she reminded.

“I’m changing now.” I lifted the hem of my shirt.

For those few seconds that I couldn’t see, the afternoon wind blew through the open window. I shivered and removed the rest of the shirt. When I turned to Gene, she was already looking.

“Uhh. . . Is something wrong?” I had the strong urge to cover myself. It never happened before. Was this part of growing up too?

Genesis didn’t shy away like I did. She even moved closer and stared at my chest. “They’re not small at all,” she said.

A warm flush spread on my face. “Spencer said—“

“Who the hell cares about Spencer?” she cut off. “He’s not here. He won’t see what I’m seeing.” Her brows knitted. “Unless you want him to.”

I tossed her my old shirt. “As if.”

A small smile formed on her lips. Genesis looked more relaxed now. “Okay,” she said.

“Okay,” I repeated.

I thought the conversation was over when her eyes twinkled all of a sudden. “I’ve been meaning to ask. . .” she trailed

“Yeah?”

She pointed to my chest. “Can I touch it?”

“No! What for?”

She looked disappointed as she lowered her hand. “Nothing. I was just curious.”

I gave her a suspicious look. Genesis wouldn’t normally request these things to other people. But with me, she had no limits. It came with the territory, I guess.

I sighed and puckered my lips. “Go ahead. But in exchange, you have to let me touch yours too.” That was only fair, wasn’t it?

“Done,” she agreed. Gene didn’t wait to get rid of her shirt. In a second it was tossed to the side.

I opened and closed my palms. This felt like an exercise. An awkward one. But she had her quirks, and I had mine. “Should I go first?” I asked.

“How about we do it together?”

“Fine with me.”

Both of us avoided staring at each other as our hands moved. All the while, my fingers shook. My legs were weak too, and at the back of my mind I knew that I was running out of breath.

My palm was about to reach Genesis when she suddenly blocked me. She surprised me even more by pulling me for a hug. “Let’s stop here,” she murmured over my shoulder.

“We will?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“You shouldn’t be thanking me. I didn’t do anything.”

“Just accept it,” she said.

“Okay. You’re welcome then.”

I felt her smile against me even though I couldn’t see her face. She must be really happy. I didn’t know how, I didn’t know why, but Genesis made me happy too. If we could only stop the turn of time.