The Rules Series

Nina to get home, so she could tell her all about the dance. I supposed I should apologize to her too. It wasn’t her fault she was born with a soft heart and a need to fit in.
I stepped into the darkened room. The orange glow of the fire was reflected on her face. “Laurette?” My voice cracked just a little. I wasn’t used to apologizing. When she glanced up from her book, her eyes lacked the anger from earlier.
“May I come in?”
She tipped her head slightly to the side and partially closed her book. “Are you asking me now? I thought I was just the hired help. I wouldn’t think I could grant you access to anything.”
Rarely did I feel ashamed, but I was sure I turned several shades of red. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she was still a little pissed. The twinkle in her eyes as I came closer said differently. I was relieved. There were very few people in this world that I cared about other than myself, and Laurette was one of them.
I dropped down onto the floor by her feet. Chang always said if you had something important to say, look the person directly in their eyes and say it—shifty-eyed people couldn’t be trusted—so that’s what I did. “I’m sorry. I was real bitc…” I stopped myself. Laurette hated foul language, and I’d developed a mouth on me over the last couple of years. “I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
Laurette put her book to the side and scooted closer to the edge of her chair so that I could see her face more clearly.
“No, you shouldn’t have, and you do know that I’m not apologizing right?”
I nodded.
“Good because if you’re ever disrespectful like that again, I’ll smack you even harder. Got it?”
“Yes. I’ve got it.”
Her voice softened. “Gina, I understand your frustration, because I know the root of it, but you have to learn that everyone doesn’t deal with things the same way as you. Nina is dealing with her reality the way that works best for her. Just because you two are identical twins doesn’t mean you are identical in thought.”
“I know, but it makes me so angry that she wants so much to fit in with people who could care less about her. Or, even worse, despise her for being an other. You know what I mean?”
Laurette simply stated, “Yes, I do.” She paused as if that was all she was going to say then decided against it. She bent lower and held my chin in-between her fingers. “My skin is darker than even yours and Nina’s. No one understands more than I do.”
“It’s different for you. I feel like a foreigner in my own country. People are always looking at me funny and wanting to touch my hair; it DRIVES ME INSANE! You don’t have to live here . . . I do.”
“Hmm . . . well let’s see. I’m in a foreign country without friends or family, and no one who can speak my language save for you and Nina. I left everything behind in the United States in a place called Louisiana because—”
I soaked up her every word. It was clear she was going to say one thing but decided to say something else.
“There weren’t many opportunities for me there. Your father happened to show up like some kind of Angel while on business and rescued me.” A shadow of something sad crossed her oval shaped face. Then a small smile appeared. “He offered me a dream. Why do I stay? Because my heart is here. I have two of them you know, and I could never leave you and Nina.”
“Even when I’m being terrible? You’re still not tempted to leave?”
“No, but I will say, I worry about you the most. Nina may be naïve in some ways, but she allows herself to feel a full range of emotions. You hold so much back. You watch everything but never say anything. I can’t figure out what is going on in that head of yours.” She gently knocked on my forehead.
“I guess I’m more like Chang in that way.”
Laurette spoke quickly almost too fast. “No. You’re nothing like him.” She continued to gaze lovingly into my eyes. “When God made Gina Lee-Xiou, he only made one of you. You are special. There is no one else on this planet who is like you, and I can’t wait to see the woman you become.”
Her words made the corners of my mouth edge up just a bit. I didn’t know what it was like to experience a mother’s love, but I would think it would have to be close to what I shared with Laurette.
*****
Six months later…
“Did you hear the maids today?”
Nina spoke in hushed tones as she snuck out of her room, which was connected to mine by a shared bathroom. I saw the shadow of her frame move deftly—quietly as she lifted my comforter and climbed underneath the covers. My room was drenched in darkness only illuminated by a moon shining through the balcony. It wouldn’t have mattered if it were pitch black since we’d been sneaking in and out of each other’s rooms for as long as I could remember. It was second nature.
Even though I didn’t act like it sometimes, Nina and I were the best of friends. Outside of a few dances here and there at school, neither of us didn’t get very many invitations for birthday parties or any other events from our classmates. It didn’t help matters that Chang was ridiculously strict. So much so, that rarely did Nina, or I, move