Raven
A Girl, A Book, and A Dream.
(The Story about two Girls and A Boy)
“Hi, my name is Raven, and this is my twin sister Tracy. This is the story of our lives before the night we died. Our mom’s name is Monie, and our father’s name is David. We were born in a small town called Ravensdale for which I was named and named after a city also in California. My mom said she chose it because she met our father there. When we were born, our parents were surprised because she believed she could not get pregnant. Our birth sign is Gemini. As you can guess, we were born on the same day. I came out first, if only because I needed to get more room and to stop her from kicking me. She is a Girly girl. Just joking, seriously I am the older of the two even if it is 2 minutes. Our mom has mental problems, Shes had it since she was a little girl and her mom’s boyfriend tried to harass her. She told her mom, but her mom was convinced that it was her fault and accused her of trying to take him from her. Even thorough she was only 14 years old. Yes, she had developed early. It is said her mother attempted to kill her and she run away. It turns out that her mother went to confront her, and she saw her mother point a gun at her head and pull the trigger, while saying “Your daddy will be joining you on the other side soon. Shortly after this she followed her downstairs and saw her shoot him in the back of the head at direct range. She then said, “your daughter is waiting for you on the other side.” Upon which she laid down beside him and blew her brains out. My mother said she saw this and ran out of the house and never looked back.
The year we were conceived my mother claimed she did not want children, but she became pregnant with us. She was surprised when she was told by the doctor that she was. Her diary claims she made our father wear protection, but it did not work apparently. It also claimed that she was shocked when she was told that it would be twins. Our mother then developed something called Postpartum depression, and things went downhill from there.
The first year after we were born our mother attempted to kill us by throwing us in the pool, swaddling blanket, and all. Fortunately, our father came home just in time to save us, according to him. She only wanted him and not us. Her behavior proved as much.
We grew up in a house of hate and only survived by the friendship of a close friend, his name was Trent. We met him at our first school called Fordham and eventually became friends. I have liked him since we met.
It’s amusing to think about how we crossed paths; we were at the Common Grounds mall, situated between two well-known areas. One of them was our school, Rocquem, and the other was a university named Granthem. We noticed him causing trouble as he typically does. While we were waiting in line at Starbucks, he walked by and waved to me. Tracy says that he waved to her, but it was actually me. As we made our way to the checkout counter and the barista handed us our drinks, it dawned on us that we had forgotten the money. We stared at one another in a state of panic. Suddenly, he approached the counter and purchased our favorite drink, “Mocha Cookie Crumble.” Since we usually had limited funds, we decided to order a venti to split up. While we considered grabbing the drink and escaping, he approached the counter and made the payment. He surprised us by giving her a tip, then he requested three straws, and we went to the table with him. When we reached the table, a photographer came up to us with a request to take our pictures for a store advertisement, and we accepted the offer to be photographed. Before we realized it, he started providing us with outfits for the photo shoot. We were also inquired about receiving gifts from a jewelry store named Pandora, with one for each of us.
The photographer’s assistant asked, “if you could write a special message on this heart, what would it say?” We then looked at each other not knowing what to say, when the assistant suggested we use “You stole our hearts, so we stole yours” After hearing this we loved it, and we agreed to use it. It turned out we had been given a bracelet with a heart on it. We were to give it to him and he in turn gave us one in which we read the following words “Two stars, one special moment.” We then took pictures of us in various locations in the mall. The first one was us sitting at the table. Each one of us had our lips on the straw. I wanted to make sure I got my fair share of the drink, just joking. The second one was of us sitting in the movie theater and we chose to have it, with us kissing him at the same time. We also had one taken when we exchanged gifts at the same time and wore them. I managed to get one of me to kiss him for my mirror, which I promptly placed when I got home. After we finished, he disappeared, and we would not see him again till school.
The next time we met was when we made the mistake of inviting him to meet our parents. As you guessed, it did not go well. Our mother who we call “the bitch,” because of her dislike of us, was her usual self.
The dinner started with the introductions and the battle began. “Mom Dad this is our friend Trent” I said. “Trent, this is our mom, Dad, this our friend Trent.” We said with simple introductions. Mom nodded and looked him up and down like a cougar eyeing her prey. “Hello” He quietly, with that I liked to see him with “It is a pleasure to meet you” he continued as my mother rolled her eyes at him. He did not seem to notice or if he did, he kept it in check for our sake. “I am sure it is” mom said with a smile. Dad simply nodded and told him to take a seat. Which he did and all took our seat together. ” So, Trent, tell us about yourself. She said, waiting for the chance to pounce,” she said. After listening to him, she saw her chance. “So, do you say you are in the process of being adopted? Let me guess your parents did not want you. Or were they forced to have you” she said as she eyed our dad. He thought about and said in a calm voice “My mom died while giving birth to me. and my father left us shortly before I was born” he managed to say. To which mom replies, “lucky bastard.” He does well and ignores this as I am sure This is not the first time; he has heard this before. I feel sorry for him having to live in an orphanage by himself. As dinner continued my mother went on with her knit picking of him. He perry it easily. When dinner was finished, he thanked her, and we walked him to the door. I kissed him good night and told him I would call him. He smiled and told me he would wait for my call.
Later that evening I called him and apologized for my mother’s behavior. He said, “It was okay, she is not the first and may not be the last. Any way” he said, changing the subject. “So, how was your day? He said with a smile in his voice. “It was going to be long until I saw you today,” I answered. “Is it true you found your forever home.” I asked edgily. “Yes, she is really nice, and I will be her only child.” he said excitedly. I asked him to tell me about her, What’s her name? I eagerly wanted to hear more about her. “Where does she live so I can visit you.” I was happy for him, and loved to hear him talk. “Well, her name is A.B. Stoddard, and she is white, single and lives in Los Angeles, California. I will not be that far from where I am now. Shes a lawyer in something called mergers and acquisitions at her own firm. She works with her friend Eleanor St. John in a boutique law firm. And her personal assistant Ms. Etta, she is an elderly black woman. She says I am getting a new last name. She said I will be Trent Stoddard if the courts allow the paperwork to go through. She wants me to go to a school called Rocquem Preparatory. She told me it was her school she went to, and she thinks I am smart enough to get in. Once I pass the entrance test. So that means I will be leaving Fordham, but we can stay in touch and visit each other.” I laugh and say, “we better.” Soon it was time for me to go to bed. So, I disconnected the call and changed to go to bed.
Sitting beside me listening in like always was my sister. “What did he say? did he tell you to say hi to me.” “Yes Tracy, he did. So, I filled her in on the information he gave me, and we talked most of the night about it until we fell asleep.
It was 5 A.M. when we woke up the next morning and got dressed for school. Mom was still asleep. So, we got cleaned up and dressed as quietly as possible to avoid waking her up. We grabbed a juice box, and the money dad left for us to get breakfast and lunch that day. We quickly left around 5:30 A. M. to get something to eat from the local Starbucks. I ordered a breakfast burrito so Tracy could have half and me the rest. We also got a Grande size Mocha cappuccino to share with our food. We then head to school, still talking about last night and Trent adoption. In a way We were hoping to see him that day, but we did not. My first class was science and Tracy’s was gym. Since we are identical twins, I took her gym class, and she took my science class being I found it to be boring. Being no one could tell us apart, due to the school uniforms and all. After homeroom we got word, some fancy schools would be testing students to see if they would pass the test for a scholarship to their school. That would be scheduled for 1 P.M. for students in our grade and we would require to take ours at that time.
It was 1:15 when our test started, we were. in the room with one other student, to our surprise it was Trent. He was placed up front next to the instructor, and we sat in the third row on opposite sides of the room. We were excited to see him there, even though he told us he was taking the test that day. The test took two hours with a fifteen-minute break halfway through it. During the break we were given time to eat something and prepare for the rest of the test. We had already covered math, English, and science earlier. The only things left were humanities and foreign languages. foreign languages covered the basics like, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese. We were told that this part would not affect our chance of getting in but use it as a placement in how and where we were placed once we got to the school. While we were on break, we talked and ate, still excited about being chosen to take the test. “So, how do you think you did?” I asked Trent. He replies “I think I did well, not sure how well though. How about you and Tracy.” We both looked at each other and “the same” none of us wanted to say we passed it in fear we did not. Soon the break was over, and we went in to finish the rest of the test. After the test was over, we would be done for the day.
At 3:45 P.M. we finished the test and were pleased to be done for the day. The afternoon carried the usual afternoon school activities for me, it was soccer practice and for my sister it was science club. A club for nerds as I call it, but she excelled at it. “Thank God,” because I sucked at it. Trent had debate team practice for an hour followed by a study group for thirty minutes. As usual we met at the local Starbucks to hang out and chill with our friends. We all had a long day and knew that it be repeated tomorrow.
At 5:45 P.M. we split up and headed home and rested for another day of torture. Later that week we got the results; it looked good for Tracy. She received 99.59% or 996 points out of 1000. She did great in science, of course. She did good in history, math, and the great news was how great I did. I was surprised by my score. I received 99.5% and I was thrilled and excited. Trent received a 100% reward upon being accepted into rockem with open arms. He told us his mother wanted him to start in the fall. He went with mother on a business trip to Europe and we would not see him again until spring of the following year. After that, the only way I could see him was because of the picture we took at the mall the previous summer.
We spent the summer thinking entirely about how we met him and how he bought us drinks at Starbucks that changed our life. It all started with a kiss, a shared laugh and a bracelet that read “Two special stars one special moment” on a heart torn into two halves. There was one for each of us. On his we wrote “You stole our heart, so we stole yours”, also on a heart We wore them everywhere we went.
The summer was soon upon us and with no Trent, I soon began to miss him. I loved the way he would smile and wave at me. Every time We went to Starbucks, I saw him and though of how he brought us our first drink there. It turns out we were accepted to that fancy school he was in, and my hopes of seeing him there grew exponentially as time went on. I was not until my friend and fellow basketball player told me about the rumors that it started to get my attention that something needed to happen. “Raven, are you alright?” She asked, looking concerned. “I am fine, just thinking about someone” I said, still distracted by the thought. “That boy from the other school” she said with a smile. “The rumor is he is going to school here, but I have not seen him,” I replied. “What is his name, I got a friend in the office who owes me a favor or two, maybe I can find him” she commented back. “He was adopted and went to stay with her.” I commented to her still watching practice go forward. She told me she would check and promised me no false promises. I thanked her and went back to practice.
It took her two weeks to get back to me. ” Remember what we talked about last time we talked” she inquires, “Yea,” waiting to hear the unwelcome news. “He is here, as a matter of fact he takes gym after us” she told me smiling. ” Are you serious? I spoke. ” He’s not that good so the coach has him helping students on the team with poor grades. He suits up and sits in the Beechers and helps team members with their studies. We need to stay late after class. The coach said we could. You will see him then.” She replied.
Sure enough, there he was, all dressed in school uniform and helping fellow team members to study for their classes. I smiled when I saw him and quickly ran up to him and showed him my bracelet and of course he showed me his. We kissed right there on the gym floor. It was good to see him again and I let him know. After we kissed, he had that silly grin on his face, and I sent him down the hall to say hello to my sister. I knew she missed him, too. I went back to practice and knew I would see him again. As a Rockum girl we always get what we want, and I got him. We spent the rest of the semester talking about what had happened and how his life was going with his new mom.
Tracy and I were excited to hear how his mom took him to Europe and the things he saw there. He told us his mom was going to spend the summer there again and how he was going to spent time with his God sisters Margo and Claire. He told us that they were British, and he spent a lot of time watching them so that his mom and her friend Christie could talk business and other things.
We were told that in the spring we would be taking equestrian riding, and a polo try out would be held for those who were interested in joining the team. Tracy and I were ecstatic about trying it out since we both loved horses. The closest we ever came to a horse was at a circus and we loved them. It would be the only sport my sister and I would take part in together. I was excited to be in a sport with her.
Spring started with the usual announcements , the one we were waiting for was the equestrian try out and when they would be held. We did not have long to wait, either. During the 3rd day of the spring semester, we heard that tryouts would be held on Wednesday.
We got together with Trent to take horse riding lessons. First, we had to get proper training in how to treat the horse. Then we must feed and clean the horse. We finally got to ride the horse, that took some time as a couple of us kept falling off the horse. I could not for the life of me figure out how. One girl was so afraid of them, she ran away when the horse looked at her. I loved them through and so did Trent and my sister. We learned to mount and dismount them as well as walk them. The instructor told us next week we would do more riding.
After class, we went to Starbucks early since it was half a day. The best part was that we had a dorm room. This meant we did not have to go home every night and could stay up late. We were also happy the food court had varieties of fast food including MacDonalds, Chinese, pizza, subs plus others to choose from. There was also a dining hall to eat at certain times of the day. We all decided to get something to eat from a barbecue joint called Ribs N More and head to the public area in the dorm hall to chow down.
Trent and I shared an order of beef brisket nachos with my sister. We all had diet colas to wash it down with. We made our way back to the dorms, and the food smelled great. Since none of us had eaten all day, we were hungry. My sister and I carried the food to prevent one of us from getting quick bites, when no one was looking.
We entered the communal area and there were a lot of students. Some we knew and others we did not know. All were excited about something or another. We made our way to our usual spot and set up the food. We figured we would study after we ate. The day had been long and thank goodness we finished most of the homework earlier during the day. I had science reading and a worksheet which my sister would do for me, and I did her homework for math, only because I like it. We got done around 5 P, M, thus giving us time to have fun. We decided to go for a walk and then straight to playing video games at the local arcade. While we were walking, someone saw an ice cream parlor and wanted to get some ice cream. I am not mentioning names, but their names started with a Tr. Okay, I did too. We ended up getting a scoop of chocolate ice cream with sprinkles. After Trent paid, we walked over to the pond to sit at the tables and continue to talk about his trip to Europe and other things. He wanted to hear what we did so we told him about the move to so farmhouse in another county and that our parents had separated. We also mentioned that dad had hired a part-time housekeeper to help around the house.
He told us about the man his mom was talking to, but his sons were jerks and his mom’s friend asked him to baby sit Claire and Margo so that they could not start to bully him. “I would have beaten them down” I said angerly. He smiled and said “thank you, but Ms. Christie told my mom, and she agreed to stop seeing him after that. “I spent the rest of the summer watching her children. I even got paid to do so. Me and mom opened a bank account at a bank called HSBC, I opened a bank account and deposited my money in it. I earn 500 pounds sterling or $641.39 in US dollars for watching them. Mom says Mrs. Christie would pay me to watch the girls during the summers we are there. I like the fact that the girls are fun to watch, and I had fun taking walks with them around London. We saw many sights too.” He told us grinning from ear to ear.
“Well, we moved to the ranch, and we have horses. It is not the ponies we wanted but they will be. You must ride with us at weekends. “I uttered excitedly. Tracy jumped in by saying “We each have a horse to ride, but we must name them. The ones we got are ponies. We going to name them? She asked me. I suggested we name them affectionately after our favorite drink. “I want Mocha after all my horse is the same color” I replied. Tracy said she wanted to crumble because it made her heart crumble when she saw it. “That leaves cookie” as he looked down at the cookie in his hand.
We soon finished our ice cream and went to the arcade to play video games, dance, and dance revolution. By the time we got done it was late, so we headed back to the dorms to get some sleep. When we got back to the dorms there was a group of students still there, talking among themselves, so we said our goodnights and went to our rooms.
The next week we had our try out for the polo team. Tracy and I made it on the team, but Trent did not because he needed more training. He said he understood and would continue to practice. We told him we would help him. He smiled and said he would be at our matches cheering us on. We were excited that Tracy and I had made the school polo team.
The first match of the season was set three days after the last training session. We were excited, too. Our first was against Belmont Springs. We heard that they are the current winners of the polo tournament. We were too excited to think about anything else that day. We got our uniforms and headed to our dorms to try them on. Trent walked us back and we talked about the team schedule and the upcoming match with Belmont. “Coach said it would be a tough game, and we are considered the underdog” I said. Tracy added “I heard that they are undefeated and are expected to win the championship again this year. So that means we are going to have to practice harder and longer this year if we are going to win the championship.” Trent replied “I agree with thar”
We spent all day Saturday preparing for the first meeting of the schools and it was hard practice. Serval of the teams’ members got hard but managed to carry on with practice. After three hours of practice, the coach stopped for the day, and we headed out to our dorms to get ready for lunch with Trent. We quickly showered and changed into our regular clothes after we took care of our horses.
We met Trent at the train station so we could go to the mall, get something to eat, and discuss the practice and the upcoming meeting. We arrived at the mall at 1:15 that afternoon and quickly headed to the food court. We decided to forgo our usual Starbucks in favor of going to a movie theater that served food while we watched a movie, that was the easy part. We then had to pick a movie to watch. Tracy wanted to see a movie called The Night I fell in love with You, while Trent wanted to see a movie about some action sci fi or an action movie. So as always, the decision rested on me. So, I decided we should see a mix of the two. We then purchased the tickets and went into theatre 3. As we watched the movie, we ate chicken fingers and Tater Tots, drank soda, and talked about practice and the upcoming matches.
The time went by fast and before we knew it the first of the season was upon us and we were scared. We hoped we were ready to play since the coach had put us in the lead positions. The match soon began, and the Belmont team scored first. Soon the match turned into an all-out war, with both sides being penalized for costly errors. As we entered the 4th and final chukka, we were tied at 5 a piece with 2 minutes left to go. As I and a girl from Belmont Spring named Biffy Longstrow raced to get the winning shot, my sister Tracy’s horse got spooked for some reason and she fell hard. All I heard was the reaction of the audience as she hit the ground hard and began running to get out of the way of the horse. As we were just in range of the goal I managed to get one last hit of the ball, sending it past the goal as I turned to see Tracy lying on the ground hurt. I quickly raced to check on her, not knowing I had just scored the winning goal.
By the end of the season, we had the championship within our reach and would need to go on to win it. All we had to do was beat Applebury for the crown. The match would be a tough one, as we both were undefeated by the end of the season. We were ready for the game of our lives. It turned out in the end that the match would be cancelled due to weather, and we would never meet on the field of battle ever again. The championship will forever be a mystery. The rest of the summer causal drafted by and before we knew it was time for Trent to go to England and spend the last three weeks with his god mother, and godsisters.
James R Lilith Foundation 