Chapter 3

The next morning, Sophie did not go to ballet class. The thought of facing her sister, facing Trey, facing anyone who saw her go ballistic yesterday was just too much to bear. Instead, she lay in bed in her frolicking-kitten pajamas and stared out her window.

The day was gray and cloudy, just like Sophie’s mood. The snow outside made everything look blank and lonely.

Just like Sophie.

She already missed her sister. Ordinarily, who would be the first person to console Sophie after something like this? Emma. Emma might not have been very brave or very confrontational, but Emma made things all right. She just always made you feel better. A tear slipped down Sophie’s cheek. She was sad about Trey but much, much sadder about losing her twin. She felt like a part of her soul had been torn away.

She heard a knock at the door and jumped. It was already eight thirty—she’d been rolling around in bed for two hours, all through ballet class. She considered ignoring the knock but thought for a second that it might be Madame Puant, and Sophie didn’t want to deal with Madame’s wrath. She stood up and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her dark hair was disheveled and sticking up everywhere, her brown eyes swollen. She wouldn’t be winning any beauty contests today. But she couldn’t have cared any less.

Sophie opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief, although she felt disappointed at the same time. It wasn’t Madame Puant, thank goodness. But it also wasn’t Emma. Sure, Sophie didn’t want to talk to her sister, but she still wanted her to beg for forgiveness. Instead, Madeleine, Ophelia, and Kayley stood in the doorway.

Madeleine held out a wrapped croissant and a yogurt. “Since you missed breakfast, we thought we’d bring it to you.”

Sophie almost cried. Madeleine reminded her most of Emma—they were both unfailingly kind.

Ophelia pushed past her, and Kayley sauntered in too, loudly chewing gum. Sophie took the croissant and yogurt from Madeleine and smiled at her. Madeleine’s smile back was warm and full of empathy. Sophie closed her door.

Kayley had plopped herself on the dressing table chair and sat playing with Sophie’s hairbrushes and various containers of hair goop. Sophie swooped past her and smacked her hand. Kayley grinned, putting her hands up in an “I surrender” pose. Ophelia sat on the edge of the bed, legs crossed.

“So, freak out much?” Ophelia said, examining a fingernail.

Sophie knew that this was Ophelia’s way of asking if she was OK. Ophelia wasn’t good with emotions. Neither was Kayley, but that was mostly because she was lazy, not because they made her uncomfortable.

Madeleine jumped in. “Class wasn’t the same without you.”

Without warning, tears began leaking from Sophie’s eyes. She wiped them away and grabbed a Kleenex sitting on the dressing table. She blew her nose as Kayley awkwardly patted her thigh. Madeleine came over and wrapped her in a hug. Sophie cried for another good five minutes.

Once Sophie was cried out, Ophelia said, “Class is in twenty minutes. Do you want to tell us what’s going on? Emma was in ballet practice, but she was even less talkative than normal, if that’s possible. She just stayed by herself in the corner. She probably only came to see if you were there. And she danced like crap.”

Kayley threw a comb at Ophelia. “Well, she did!” Ophelia said.

Sophie sniffled. “It’s nothing,” she said, her voice congested-sounding and hoarse. “Just complete and utter twin betrayal, that’s all.”

She sat on the bed next to Ophelia. “Emma and Trey are going out,” she said miserably.

When Sophie looked up, everyone was looking at her with confused expressions. She realized she had only told Emma about her crush. Because she had trusted Emma the most.

“Yeah, and?” Ophelia said. “So what?”

Kayley said, “Are you afraid the other half of your brain won’t give you as much time now, Sophie?”

Madeleine threw Kayley a dirty look. Kayley chewed her gum and looked down at the floor.

“Well, yeah, that’s part of it,” Sophie said. “But it’s way worse than that. I liked Trey, and Emma knew it. And she swooped in and took him!”

Kayley let out a low, long whistle. “Yeah, that’s low.”

Madeleine knelt down and grabbed Sophie’s hand. “That undoubtedly sucks, Sophie. And she shouldn’t have done that.”

Sophie felt wary—Madeleine’s tone of voice said she’d be adding something that Sophie probably wouldn’t like.

Madeleine’s brown-yellow eyes got big. “But, Sophie, isn’t part of you a little happy for her? If your twin and best friend is happy? I know she’s miserable without you.”

Sophie flung her hand away from Madeleine. “Good!” she said and stood up. She was energized by the anger, and it felt good. Madeleine stood up too, to avoid being run over. She backed up against the wall, looking slightly alarmed at Sophie.

Sophie marched to the closet and grabbed some clothes for school. “She should feel miserable. She’s been awful! I would never do something like this to her.”

She started putting pants on, hastily, not caring what they looked like, as long as they weren’t pajama bottoms. She stomped over to her dressing table and grabbed a ponytail holder, reaching around Kayley, who leaned back out of the way.

Wrapping her hair in a messy bun, Sophie turned to face all of her friends. “I’ll just say it. She is going to be sorry for this. I will never forgive her. She’s dead to me.”