Chapter Text
"You aren't seriously leaving?" Kara Danvers asked, following her twin brother Alexander around their apartment. “I mean, you’re totally kidding. You have classes, and grades, and other responsibilities. You know, like the rest of us? And by that I mean me, someone who is actually trying to graduate college.”
Alexander set down his guitar case and ran his fingers through his shaggy blonde hair with an exasperated sigh. “Come on, Kar, you know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I can go to college, anytime, but this might be my only shot to make it big, and to play in London. I can get my grades back up… probably. Not all of us are cut-out for school, like you.”
She cast him a skeptical glare. “You could be ‘cut-out’ for college, if you ever went to class.”
“Well then,” he grinned, “sounds like no one will notice there’s anything different when I’m not there for the next two weeks.”
“Wait, two weeks? You're going to be gone for two weeks?” Kara repeated.
Alexander shrugged and slung his duffle bag over his shoulder, then grabbed his guitar case and a backpack. “I gotta go, sis’. My chariot to fame awaits!” He opened the front door to reveal an airport shuttle parked outside.
“Alex, stop.”
He turned back from the doorway, his blue eyes wide with expectation. “Yeah?”
“How close are you to failing, anyway?”
Alexander flashed her the most charming smile he could manage. It was cute to everyone else, but Kara was immune to it as if she were looking at her own face in the mirror. His expression fell at the sight of her seriousness. “Well… close. But I bet I won’t fail, if you did one tiny little twin-swap for me, just once, and showed up in my hardest class?”
Kara groaned. “Are you serious? We haven’t done that bullshit since high school.”
"It's ok then, you don't have to. I'm sure I could do summer school or some extra credit, somewhere."
“Ugh. We both know that will never happen. You are so hopeless." Kara huffed. "Fine, but I’m not missing any of my classes at Cornwall U, and I’m definitely not missing soccer try-outs. Which class do I need to show up for?”
“All… of them?”
Kara’s golden eyebrows jolted upward in surprise. “Alex! You are the worst brother in history.”
“I know, I know. I really owe you! I promise I will make this up to you as soon as I get back, seriously.”
A double honk came from the shuttle, beckoning Alex to hurry up.
“E-mail me your schedule.” Kara said, shaking her head.
“I will. I owe you, for real. I won’t forget this, not even when I’m famous!” Alex sang the last word, dragging it out in an operatic voice. He blew a kiss to Kara, and then stepped out the door.
Kara blew out a long breath through her teeth. “How is it possible that I have the same genes as such a selfish, irresponsible… punk?” she mumbled to herself, heading down the hallway to his bedroom. She had already made the assumption in her mind that he left a mess for her to clean up, and unfortunately, she wasn't surprised when she opened the door. The smell alone was indication that she wouldn't like what she found, buried underneath the random piles of dirty laundry, magazines, and record albums.
She had given up on trying to change her brother, years ago. In high school, Kara's "twin-swap" was the only reason he hadn't failed basic courses and dropped out, altogether. They had always shared identical physical traits; thick blonde hair, pale blue eyes, defined jaws, and less than an inch of height difference. Due to Kara’s passion for soccer and rigorous exercise, she was muscular, and fit into her brother’s clothes; even as a teen. With a baggy hoodie on and her hair tucked under a hat, no one could tell them apart. So they developed a "system" where she would sit in his classes and turn in A+ work on his behalf to keep him afloat, at least once a semester. Their parents were so angry when they found out, they put the twins on a strict curfew.
After that, Kara had vowed to her parents that she would only clean up his messes, not prevent them. But Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers were distracted by their own problems: such as their messy, on-going separation and impending divorce. Besides, they also wanted Alexander to graduate college, and he wasn’t going to do that without some serious help.
Kara checked her watch; 3 hours until she needed to be at the Cornwall soccer field.
"Well, brother," Kara muttered, picking up a few hoodies, shorts, and track pants from the floor, "looks like I have enough time to wash your nasty clothes before I have to wear them." She crinkled her nose as she walked to the laundry room, kicking the door shut behind her.
She would deal with the rest of his disgusting bedroom later, and hoped it wouldn't start growing mold or a rat-king, in the meantime.
Once the washing machine was running (with doubled detergent), Kara grabbed her planner and penciled in a few days she might be able to attend class at her brother's school, Illyria. At the bottom of the weekly layout page she wrote "Alex owes me Paramore tickets" then took a picture with her phone and texted it to him.
Satisfied with her plans, Kara went to make herself a sandwich and protein shake, before her evening pre-tryout practice session.
-----
The Cornwall soccer tryouts were a formality, at this point. Kara had been a starter for two years, and led the league in assists as a sophomore. She wouldn’t say it outloud, but she knew she had a shot at going pro, if she kept up her streaks into junior year.
“Glutton for punishment, huh, Danvers?” Janessa Winn said, batting her naturally lush eyelashes as the two of them sauntered onto the field. Winn's wavy black hair was pulled into a ponytail with a glittery red ribbon that sparkled under the night game lights.
“Hey, I gotta be ready for tryouts!” Kara threw up her hands in an exaggerated shrug.
Winn made a show of rolling her eyes before jogging ahead. She took her place in front of the goal and tossed a ball to Kara. “You are the last person who needs to be here, tonight. You should go rest your muscles, or something.”
“Don’t flatter me just because we’re BFFs. I still need the practice, I’ll just rest tomorrow.” Kara said. She bounced the ball off her chest and then burst forward to head-butt it back toward Winn.
A few other players started coming out to the field after them, filling in to warm-up. Most of them were starters from the year prior, but Kara spotted a few new faces.
As if reading her mind, Winn came closer and nodded her chin toward the girls. “You think one of them is going to take your place, is that it? Fat chance. You’re the best player on this team.”
Kara scoffed. “I might be the best in midfield, but not the best, by far.”
“Well you will be, this year. You’re the only one who drilled all summer and you are in top shape, now. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re offered a pro contract before the season ends.”
“If only scouts cared about Cornwall, maybe.”
Winn shook her head. "We both know they'll come to any school, if there's talent. Don't be an idiot."
Kara pursed her lips at the notion; it seemed ripe for disappointment. "Go warm up, would ya?"
Winn waved her hands dismissively as she returned to the goal.
Kara tossed the ball a few feet away to give herself lead, then kicked the ball perfectly square with her insole. It sailed upward as if on a string and arched above Winn’s reach, swooshing against the net of the goal.
“Hey!” Winn shouted. “You didn’t say you were ready to start taking shots!” she ran to fetch the ball from the goal.
“Yeah well I didn’t know I needed to tell you when to start goaltending.” Kara flashed her best friend a playful grin. Their trash talk was just getting started.
A man’s voice came from the side of the field. “Can I get all of you over here, please?”
Kara turned to see the assistant coach, Dan Fogle, waving his hands in a circular motion to summon them. There was a clipboard at his feet, but he was wearing a suit and tie, not at all dressed for practice. Kara and Winn shared a look as they jogged to the side of the field and joined the other girls in a semi-circle around Coach Dan.
“Listen, girls. There’s no easy way to say this.” Dan said, rubbing his hands together. “I’ve been in meetings all day long trying to advocate on behalf of the team but… look, soccer hasn’t been paying bills for the school in the past three years, and the board has finally had it. I think they’re idiots, you know? They have to keep the lights on, and apparently they also have to sink more money into the stupid football budget, which is probably the biggest problem of all.”
The girls had already began to whisper and share glances of surprise with one another, not waiting for him to finish.
“What exactly are you saying, coach?” Winn spoke up.
“Right. Yeah.” Dan sighed. “I won’t beat around the bush. Cornwall is cutting women’s soccer.”
A few of the girls began yelling over each other, and he waved his hands to quiet them.
“You mean next year, right?” Frost, one of the starting forwards, shouted from Kara’s right. “You mean they are cutting the team after this season, right?”
Dan shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. There’s nothing that anyone can do, believe me, we tried. Coach Jerry is still in there, signing some paperwork. He wanted me to come out and tell you immediately so that you would get the news before the rest of the school heard.”
His face was red and Kara knew it must be eating him up to tell them this. She studied his eyes and realized it almost looked as if he had been crying.
“Is there anything you need?” Kara asked. “Will you lose your job?”
He looked at her with a morose smile. “Thank you, Danvers. I appreciate that. I will be okay, they are going to let me stay on staff as a track coach part-time until I find something else. I know this feels hopeless, ladies, but maybe it will only be for the year. If they see enough momentum and uproar, they might consider bringing it back.”
Kara doubted it, and judging by the skepticism on every other girl’s face, they doubted it, as well.
They asked Dan a few more questions about the specifics, and he said as much as he could explain. But the reality was that all of them were only wondering one thing that no one had an answer for: what were they going to do, now?
When he went back inside to finish his meeting, Kara and Winn didn’t bother returning to the field. They walked together, their feet dragging.
“What a fucking joke.” Winn said, kicking at the dirt path between the field and the parking lot. “The only reason I’m even at this school is because of my soccer scholarship. I suppose they are going to stop paying my tuition? This is bullshit.”
“We don’t know that, yet. They probably have a contract to let you graduate. Maybe your parents’ lawyers can check that out.”
Winn shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts. “My parents don’t have lawyers.”
"Well, my parents' lawyers, maybe?"
"No, thanks."
Kara didn’t press, it was uncomfortable enough. She thought it might be something to bring up at a later time.
"Do you wanna come over and get drunk?" Winn asked.
Kara grimaced. "Kinda, but I shouldn't. I have some family stuff to deal with."
"Sounds like all the more reason you should be getting drunk."
Kara shook her head. They had reached the parking lot and we're near Winn's car, a mid-2000s Subaru.
"Are you sure you don't want to come over?" Winn asked. "We don't even have to drink. I just think this hasn't hit you yet and I hate for you to be alone when it does. Are you even okay?"
"Yeah. I guess. I just… I have to figure out what to do, you know? I can’t just sit on this, I need to come up with a solution, or something.”
Winn smiled and reached out to pat Kara on the shoulder. “It figures that you would handle it, that way. Go be productive, and I’ll get wasted. We’ll see who solves this shit, first.”
With their separate plans resolved, Kara turned and got into her own car, a Prius. She put her music on loud and drove the few miles home on autopilot, deep in thought.
The minute she arrived back in her apartment, she checked her email; sure enough, Alexander had sent her the link to his school blackboard account with his schedule and grades. She resisted the temptation to see how awful he was doing in class, knowing it would only upset her more. Kara deleted her soccer appointments from her calendar app, then dragged Alexander’s classes into the now-empty spaces.
A text alert popped into the screen; Winn.
Wanna try out for a community team, tomorrow?
Kara responded: No thanks. I’m going to help my brother with school and get that out of the way. I’ll think about soccer again when that’s done.
Winn replied with only K.
Kara got Alexander’s clothes from the dryer and set them out on her bed, for morning. She also pilfered a bottle of cologne and the cleanest beanie she could find. She set her alarm for 6am to give herself extra time to get ready as a convincing boy. For good measure, she fired off a text to Alexander.
Thanks for sending the blackboard, I’m going into 3 of your classes tomorrow. You owe me.
Without waiting for his reply, she went to sleep.
______________
It had been two, or maybe three years since Kara dressed as her brother, but she hadn’t forgotten her little methods and tests. Once she was satisfied with her look, she took a selfie and posted it on Snapchat.
Stole my sister’s phone, good morning ladies what’s up? She captioned it, then ate breakfast while she waited for the responses.
Her phone vibrated all through her meal, but Kara ignored it, reading the newspaper. By the time she was done with her waffles, she checked; 16 notifications. Not a single one of them was doubt, in fact, all the messages were from Kara’s various “friends” trying to get contact details for Alexander.
Well, almost all the messages.
There was one outlier from “ElizaDanvers71” saying: Alexander. It would be nice to hear from you sometime.
Kara had forgotten that her mother followed her on Snapchat, and she blushed at the thought. Now her mom would know what she was up to.
Except, her mom had seen the picture and had supposedly fallen for it, too. There was no way that their own mother couldn’t tell them apart, right? Kara went to the bathroom, checking herself again in the mirror. The black CG beanie concealed her hair entirely, except for a deliberate tuft of blonde that protruded over her forehead. The red Illyria sweatshirt hung off her shoulders, making her look more muscular. She even had Alex’s facial expressions down; a constant pout to make her face angular and attract attention to her jaw.
Kara looked at her mother’s message again and shook her head in disbelief. Maybe her mom was messing with her, trying to make sure that they weren’t up to one of their twin-swap tricks, again.
After a moment of contemplating, Kara sent a benign reply: My phone is broken, Kara said I can use hers for a few weeks.
She rubbed her sweating palms on her/Alex’s jeans while waiting for the reply.
Do you need money for a new one? Came the response.
Kara’s jaw dropped wide open. She stared at her screen in shock. The fact was, her mother never offered her money, she only did that… for Alexander.
“Wow, mom,” she said, shoving her phone in the pocket of her baggy jeans. “I guess I’m not the only one who has to solve everything for poor little Alex.” The irony wasn’t lost on her as she hopped into her car and headed for the Illyria campus.