Brittany & Charli (chapter 1)

                                            Double Trouble







As she brushed her blonde locks, Charli Matthews huffed at the thought that it was not only Monday morning and she was out of bed and not surfing, but it was the Monday she had been dreading all summer… The first Monday of the new school year…



Charli drowsily chucked her brush in the middle of the floor and threw herself backwards on her bed in a massive heap. Why do they let us experience heaven over the summer and then snatch it away from us on 4th of February and force us back to hellish school? Charli glumly contemplated to herself.



“Oh Charli, stop being so dramatic,” a woman said walking into the bedroom, seeing the forlorn Charli Matthews theatrically sprawled across her bed. “You’re not the only person going back to school today, get over it. Just wait until you have to go into the real world, and you have to go back to work.”



“Stop being so harsh, Larissa,” Charli groaned. “I’m not made for this life of structure and timetables.”



Larissa just laughed. “Oh, you little hippie child. But it’s a new year now; you have got to step up.”



“I don’t want to step up,” Charli mumbled, tightly closing her eyes to stop the day from happening.



Larissa rolled her eyes and laughed as she put the newly iron clothes she walked in with on a chair in the room and turned around and walked out. She walked down to the end hall and stopped in front of the closed bathroom door.



“Brittany, you’ll be late if you don’t get out of the bathroom sometime this morning,” Larissa called out while knocking loudly on the door.



“Have a little faith,” a voice called back from inside the bathroom. “I’m out now,” Brittany said, walking out of the bathroom with just a towel around her.



Larissa looked the teenager up and down. “Brittany, what have you been doing for the past half hour that you’re not even dressed yet?”



“Hello. Straightening my hair,” she answered, running her hands through her frequently primed hair and letting it fall back down to her shoulders.



“Hmmm, yes ok,” and Larissa left it at that, and walked back down the hall and down the stairs.



Brittany walked into her bedroom and stopped in front of Charli, and they stared at each other face to face.



“Hmm, I really should do something about that big zit on my chin,” Brittany whispered, touching her chin and scrutinizing Charli’s like it was a mirror.



“Gee, I really shouldn’t have put so much make-up on today,” Charli teased pointing to Brittany’s face. “Because you know what they’ll say I’ll look like…”



Brittany hit Charli playfully on the arm. “Cow,” she laughed, walking around Charli to her wardrobe. “You know, just because you’re my twin, does not give you the right to be such a nasty little thing.”



“Yeah, you’re my twin, so what does the say about you?” Charli laughed.



“I am nothing like you,” Brittany joked in a dignified voice.



“No, I think I’m the one who’s lucky to be nothing like you,” Charli jeered.



“Stop being so mean to me on the first day of school, would ya,” Brittany whined.



Charli burst into laughter. “Ok, I’m sorry.”



“Which way should I do my hair?” Brittany asked, standing in front of her mirror. “Quif or two braids?”



“Well… What are you trying to say? I’m super-dooper excited to be back at school, or I’m look like I should be at a night club?”



Brittany groaned. “Not helping.”



“Well you would pick one extreme to another, wouldn’t you. Ok, I like the Quif way better they look mad on you, but for school, I’d have to say you are probably going to have to go with the braids,” Charli advised.



Brittany looked in the mirror with a hint of disgust, picturing the two braids. “But it is the first day of school.”



“You’re point being?”



“You need to make a good impression on the first day, right, or you screw up the whole year,” Brittany told, forming her hair into a big curve at the front.



“I don’t care, do your hair how you like,” Charli shrugged. “But, if you get dolled-up today with your big hair, will you screw yourself for the rest of the year because you will have to look glam everyday?”



“No, I’ve got that covered,” Brittany smile slyly. “Tomorrow I’ll do, like, a crimped look or something. So then I can be known as the chic that can surprise each day.”



Oh yeah, ‘cause you can so pull of anything, Charli thought rolling her eyes.



As Charli began to walk out of the bedroom, Brittany started talking, “I wish we didn’t have to wear these queero uniforms though.”



“Yeah but what are you gunna do?” Charli replied walking out the doorway. “It’s not that bad,” she looked down at the uniform she was wearing, which consisted of a light blue short-sleeve blouse and a light blue and navy tartan skirt. She also quite liked the boys’ uniform which was the same colour blue polo shirt and navy shorts. The school chose the colours because of the connections with the ocean which Charli liked most about it.





The Matthews lived in Sanford, a large, growing coastal suburb. And, living in the west sub-division, they belonged to a wealthy community which gave them an abundance of opportunities and advantages.



Charli went down the stairs and into the kitchen. She plonked down at the table, crossed her arms on the table, and then forcibly threw her head on her arms.



“What’s up, Charli?” Larissa asked from in front of the stove.



“My life is going to be at a standstill until next holiday break,” Charli muttered from between her arms.



Larissa huffed. “Every year, on the first day of school, you get like this. Everything has to be so dramatic.”



Charli lifted her head. “Ok, I’m over it,” Charli smiled. “What ya cookin’ over there?”



“I thought we’d go with the traditional eggs and bacon,” Larissa said serving up breakfast.



Charli began to laugh.



“What’s so funny?”



“Brittany’s going to love that,” Charli sniggered. “She reckons she’s ‘going off eggs’.”



“Why on Earth would she do that?” Larissa asked, with a look of confusion planted on her face.



Brittany walked in the kitchen, and then stopped dead in her tracks with her arms out, “Do I smell eggs?”



“Sure do,” Charli answered with a big grin.



“What’s wrong with eggs?” Larissa asked, still in puzzlement.



“I’m cutting them out of my diet,” Brittany replied, walking over to the seat across from Charli.



“Diet?” Larissa repeated in shock, looking at Brittany’s slender figure. “Why are you thinking about diets, you ultra-thin girl?”



Brittany was pardoned from answering that question because her mobile phone rang. She hurriedly scrounged around inside her schoolbag, and then finally located her pink slide-phone, “Hello?”



“Thanks,” Charli said to Larissa after she placed her breakfast in front of her.



“Oh hey Mea,” Brittany said into her phone, then Larissa put Brittany’s breakfast in front of her, Brittany just looked at it in disgust.



Meow. Brittany’s fluffy, white-and-grey cat, Jezabelle, strided into the kitchen and jumped onto Brittany’s lap. Brittany started stroking Jezabelle as she talked on her mobile phone. Jezabelle started getting up on the kitchen table.



“Brittany, don’t let the cat get on the table when people eating,” Larissa told. “Right Charli?”



Charli clapped her hands and opened them to the cat, “Come here, Jezzie.”



Jezabelle ran across the table into Charli’s arms and Larissa threw her hands up and shook her head. Larissa then grapped her breakfast and left the kitchen in pursuit of the television to catch the end of The Breakfast Show.



“But I thought she said they were breaking up,” Brittany replied into her mobile, while pushing her breakfast away from her.



Charli rolled her eyes as she watched Brittany pushing away her plate.



“Well then I can’t keep up with that girl,” Brittany said, and then she put her hand over her mobile and said to Charli, “Tayla reckons her and Lenny are stronger than ever. They’re still together.”



Charli laughed, “The saga continues.”



“Charli, Reece is here,” Larissa called out from the front door.



“In here Reece,” Charli called back.



Brittany eyed Reece off through the doorway of the kitchen. “Hi Reece,” she called to him, grinning widely.



He just gave her a tiny, forced smile. He walked into the kitchen and Charli held up Brittany’s plate to him, “Want breakfast?”



“Whose is it?” Reece asked, and Charli pointed to Brittany. “You not going to eat it?”



Brittany shook her head with another look of disgust. Reece shrugged and took the plate and sat down in the seat next to Charli. Charli put Jezabelle on Reece’s lap. Reece shuddered and put the cat on the ground.



“Good morning double trouble,” their mum said walking into the kitchen, wearing a fitted black and pink pinstriped pantsuit.



“Mum please!” both girls yelled at once.



“Oh hello Reece,” their mum said. “How are you today?”



Reece began to answer, but it was one big mumble because he still had food in his mouth. He swallowed and started over, “Well it’s the first day of school so I’m so excited,” Reece said sarcastically.



“That’s good,” the girls mum replied, while searching in the cupboard and returning with a breakfast bar.



“Oh Mum, chuck me over one,” Brittany called over to her.



“This isn’t your breakfast is it?” her mum asked, throwing her over the breakfast bar.



“Yes it is,” Charli, with great delight, answered for her.



“Well is that your breakfast?” Brittany asked crudely, pulling her phone away from her.



“Ok, I don’t have time to sit here and argue about the importance of you having breakfast, because I don’t think I even have time to eat this bar,” their mum replied. “Who’s on the phone?”



“Mea,” Brittany mumbled.



“Hello Amelia,” her mum called.



Brittany tightly closed her eyes in embarrassed. “She says hi.”



“Well I have to run,” their mum said while hurriedly pulling her bag over her shoulder. “I’ll probably be still at the office when you guys get home today. Well, goodbye my little double trouble’s.”



Brittany and Charli both groaned as their mother left the house. “When is she going to realize we’re too old now for her stupid pet names now,” Brittany said irately as she got up and left the kitchen, putting her phone back up to her ear and resumed having her interrupted conversation.



“She hates anything associated to acknowledging we are twins,” Charli said to Reece, after Brittany left the room.



“Oh I’ve noticed,” Reece laughed with food in his mouth.



“Nice,” Charli laughed.



“Amelia’s coming round to give me a ride to school! I’m going to be outside, ok, Charli!” Brittany yelled out from the front door.



“Whatever!” Charli yelled back, but then her eyes widened, “Oh, Brit, if Harvey’s out there…”



Brittany cut her off, “Yeah I know the drill, you’re already gone.”



“Ta,” she called back, and then she said to Reece, “We should probably head off, too.”



“Or we could skip school,” Reece muttered.



Charli laughed. “If only. But, considering it’s the first day of school, Larissa will most probably drive us, if I ask super-dooper nicely.”



“So, anyway, are you finally going to dump my loser cousin?” Reece asked her directly.



“Yeah. I’m gunna do it. I have to,” Charli said not as defiantly as she had hoped.



“What did you see in him anyway?” Reece asked with a shrug.



Charli laughed. “He has a car.”



“Nice,” Reece smirked.



“And plus, he’s older,” Charli giggled girlishly, “and that always looks good to us chics.”



“Whatever,” Reece muttered. “Well, go and suck up to Larissa.”





After five minutes of being pleaded to pause her house-keeping duties, Larissa drove Charli and Reece to school.





“Hey my buds!” shrieked an excitable voice from outside the school gates, as Charli and Reece got out of Larissa’s car.



As Charli walked up to the gates of her school, West Sanford High, she saw her friend Kellie waving to them. “Hey Kel.”



Kellie ran up to them and threw her arms around both Charli and Reece’s necks, which was Kellie’s way of giving them a hug.



“Way to strangle me, Kel,” Charli laughed, after she got out of her ‘hug’.



“I’m sorry. I just haven’t seen you guys all summer,” Kellie grinned widely.



“That’s no excuse for almost strangling me to death,” Reece smirked. “Well anyway, I’ll catch you two later.”



“Ok see ya,” both Charli and Kellie said as Reece walked further into the school and into a crowd of people.



“I’m still so jealous of you, Kellie,” Charli smiled. “You spent your entire summer in France!”



“Damn right you should be jealous,” Kellie laughed. “There were the hottest guys there! ‘Cept, I’m not sure how straight they were… They all seemed a little off…”



“Maybe your radar was off because they’re all so snotty,” Charli smirked. “But was it the best time of your life?”



“Oh my god! The best!” Kellie shrieked in excitement. “I’m getting my photos printed today; I got some totally awesome shots. Tomorrow I’ll brig ‘em and show you.”



“Cool,” Charli nodded.





Walking down the corridors in A block, Brittany and her friend Amelia headed for their lockers.



“I can’t believe I’m back here already,” Brittany huffed, when she reached her locker.



“I know, it feels like last year was last week,” Amelia groaned as she walked five lockers down to hers.



Brittany pulled one folder out of her bag, and then hurled her bag and the rest of its contents into her locker. As Brittany shut her locker, Amelia asked her, “What book are you taking?”



“I’m just taking this folder,” Brittany answered, holding up the folder she left out of her locker. “It’s my folder that looks important, but it’s the one I doodle in and has nothing in it but crap. ‘Cause it’s the first day of school, so every teacher is going to be going on at us about the same boring stuff about how important this year is and how we can’t slack off blah, blah, blah. This folder has never failed to distract me from all that kind of boring stuff.”



Amelia giggled. “Ok. I’m going to take my notebook then,” Amelia told, getting a fluffy pink notebook out of her locker.



“Oh how serious looking,” Brittany mocked.



“I don’t care,” Amelia laughed.



Buzzzzz! The bell went. Both Brittany and Amelia groaned irritably.





As Brittany walked up to her homeroom, Charli was walking from the opposite direction.

“Another year with Mr Shoelace,” Charli huffed, as she and Brittany had reached the door of their homeroom.



Brittany burst into laughter. “Oh my god, I’d forgotten all about that name.”



They walked inside, and Brittany was still laughing. Charli sat down at a desk and told Brittany to “hush”. Brittany sat down next to Charli and put her hands over her face to hide her laughter.



“It’s not that funny,” Charli muttered to her sister.



Their homeroom teacher walked into the room, and announced to the class, “Ok, for any new students, I will be your homeroom teacher this year, and my name is Mr Shawleace.”



Brittany collapsed on to the table, laughing so loudly the entire class was staring at her.



Oh my god, Charli thought in embarrassment.



“Now, I remember curls equal Charli, so Brittany Matthews must be laughing in my classroom,” Mr Shawleace said, walking over to Brittany and Charli’s table.



“So I guess you’d be screwed if I didn’t straighten my hair,” Brittany replied, lifting her head and still giggling softly.



“He’d probably spin out to if I came to school with my hair straight,” Charli added cheekily.



“So it’s going to be another year like this, is it Matthews?” he asked the girls wearily.



“I think so, Sir,” Charli nodded.



“Pressing on,” Mr Shawleace said walking back to his desk. “I have everyone’s timetables for this year to hand out.”



Mr “Shoelace” walked around the room, handing out timetables to the people who corresponded with the name at the top of the sheet of paper. After a few papers were handed out, Mr Shawleace handed Charli her timetable and then by-passed Brittany.



Brittany shrugged and asked Charli, “So, what’s the damage this year?”



Charli groaned loudly. “I hate this place. Just once, just one year I would like not to have Mr Mayer.”



Brittany giggled at her sister’s misfortune.



“It is so not funny!” Charli snapped at Brittany. “I swear it is some kind of conspiracy. This will be my third year of having him as my history teacher, and every lesson he picks on me, and pretty much every lesson he gives me a detention.”



“Oh come on, Charli. You ask for it,” Brittany sighed. “You can’t help arguing with Mr Mayer every single lesson.”



“How do you expect me to help it?” Charli muttered. “I have lawyers as parents.”



Mr Shawleace sat back down at his desk. Brittany observed that he didn’t have anymore timetables left, and she didn’t have hers.



Brittany raised her arm, but didn’t wait to be acknowledged. “Excuse me, Mr Shawleace,” she called as soon as her hand touched the open air.



“Yes Brittany,” Mr Shawleace sighed, awaiting an argument on something.



“You didn’t give me my timetable.”



Mr Shawleace started scanning his desk. “Oh yes, that’s right. There was a note here somewhere about you.”



I’m being written about? Brittany thought to herself.



“Come out the front please, Brittany,” their homeroom teacher called.



Brittany groaned, as she walked over to Mr Shawleace’s desk. Why does everything have to be so difficult on the first day?



“You have to go to the admin office,” Mr Shawleace said to Brittany, giving her the note with the details on it. “There is a problem with your address details.”



“Address?” Brittany asked in confusion. “But I haven’t moved. And my address is exactly like Charli’s.”



“Miss Matthews, do I look like part of the admin staff?” Mr Shawleace grizzled.



“Do you really want me to answer that?” Brittany smirked.



“Just go Matthews,” her teacher replied sharply, pointing to the door.





As Brittany dawdled up the corridor to the administration office, she was reminiscing about all the things that happened in school last year that made her glad she had summer break: boring classes, boring teachers, an all together boring school. She wondered how ultra boring this year would turn out to be.



Brittany walked into the office and saw that a boy was talking to Ms Kasey, the head of administration, so she sat down on one of the chairs and awaited her turn.



“Oh hello, Brittany,” a teacher said, hurriedly rushing into the admin office.



“Oh hey, Miss Byrnes,” Brittany muttered, not liking who she saw.



“I have you again for English this year, I believe,” Miss Byrnes said hurriedly, trying to look too busy to look at Brittany while she spoke to her, rummaging through some papers on Ms Kasey’s desk, who had conveniently gone into the next room for a moment.



Brittany huffed glumly. “Oh, great…” she tried to sound not too disappointed.



“Well, see you in class,” Miss Byrnes said tongue-tied, as her mind was fixated on looking as busy as she could, and she raced out the door.



My god, Brittany laughed to herself.



“Hey, what was her name?” the boy at Ms Kasey’s desk asked Brittany.



“Miss Byrnes.”



“I think I have her,” he said scanning the piece of paper in his hand.



“Yeah?” Brittany replied, walking over to him and having a peek at his timetable. “Lucky you. So are you new here?”



“Yep, the new guy,” he smiled. “Not the best position to be in.”



“Well our school isn’t too bad I guess. Just a few psycho teachers like Miss Byrnes,” Brittany replied.



“Yeah, so is she always in so much of a frenzy?” he whispered with a smirk on his face.



Brittany laughed. “She likes to think she is. She’s a bit of a phony; you’ll get to understand her after a few days”



He gave a little laugh, and then said to Brittany, “I’m Bryce.”



“Brittany,” she replied with a smile.



Oh my god, he’s so cute, Brittany thought to herself. She stared into his gorgeous light blue eyes and she felt like she was melting.



And at that moment Ms Kasey walked back into the room and stood behind her desk, breaking up their little moment. “All right, here’s your copy of the enrolment papers to give to your parents. Make sure you get them to sign the attached paper and bring it back into us so we have record of them getting it,” Ms Kasey said, handing over the papers to Bryce. “With all the lawsuits that happening in schools at the moment, we can’t take any risks with anything.”



Bryce moved his hand through his short blond hair and a patch stood up in the air and then put his hand out to get the papers. Brittany kept staring at him, thinking about how incredibly cute he was.



“Umm, I can get Dad’s signature for you, but I don’t know about Mum’s because she didn’t move here with us,” he said to Ms Kasey.



Oh, broken family? Brittany wondered.



“Your father’s signature will be fine,” Ms Kasey told.



Bryce nodded and took the papers, and turned to walk away.



“Ok Brittany,” Ms Kasey started talking to Brittany straight away, as if it was illegal to take a breath, which didn’t give Brittany an opportunity to say goodbye to the really cute guy she had just met.



Brittany heard the office door shut. He had left. She wondered whether she would see him again soon.



“Umm yeah, Mr Shoe, arr, Shawleace said there was something wrong with my address?” Brittany replied.



“Oh yes. Apparently there was some ‘discussion’ between your parents as to the responsibility and welfare of you and your sister, so it was agreed that one of you would have his details,” Ms Kasey explained. “And you’re the lucky pigeon who was randomly selected for the new details.”



“That’s the weirdest conclusion I’ve ever heard,” Brittany muttered. “So wait, does this mean Dad has his own place now? And this is how I’m finding out about it? Score, I found out before Charli!”



“That’s what this form says,” Ms Kasey grinned, handing Brittany over the paper. “Just get your father to sign and initial at the yellow tags if the details are correct.”



“Ok,” Brittany sighed. This is so weird, Brittany thought to herself. 



“We have to do the right thing by your father, don’t we? Seeing as how he is one of the top lawyers in Sanford,” Ms Kasey laughed, thinking she had cracked a fair joke.



She was mistaken. Brittany just nodded, and then asked, “Could I just get my timetable, thanks.”



“Oh yes,” Ms Kasey laughed forgetfully. “Ahh, I remember when you and your sister came here in grade seven. Two little troublesome blondes… what did everyone call you again? ‘Double Trouble’, wasn’t it?”



Brittany shuddered. “Yes it was. But now you will notice Charli and I are two separate, completely different, people. So, if you don’t mind, you will call her Charli, and me Brittany, and neither double trouble,” Brittany ordered, feeling annoyed and tired of the childish nickname she now loathed.



By the time Brittany had walked out of the admin office, the bell had gone five minutes prior for the start of first period.



Brittany looked down at her timetable, and then she groaned like she was in pain. “Not Maths first period!”