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“So, I heard you were going to Mason’s party tomorrow night?” Chloe doesn’t bother greeting Edith as she sits down next to her.
Edith nearly choked on her sandwich. “What the fuck?”
Chloe shrugged. “That’s what he told the entire football team.”
“Tch. I didn’t even know he was having a party,” Edith replied. Which was a lie, since Mason had been very vocal about his stupid party. His parents were out of town for the weekend, and he wanted to throw a rager. She was half-tempted to sneak into the office and get his parents’ number. The other half of her was tempted to let him trash his parents’ house and anonymously send them the pictures. Then it wouldn’t matter if he cleaned the place top to bottom. They would know, and he would be in so much trouble. She suppressed a chuckle at the thought. “But I wouldn’t go if he begged me.”
Chloe raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know why you hate him so much. Like, he’s kind of annoying about putting those stupid notes in your locker, but, like, it’s not like he knows you’re gay.”
True, it wasn’t like Mason could know, considering Chloe was the only person she’d told. Well, not told exactly. More like… demonstrated. Actions spoke louder than words and all. She’d have told Sam, but Sam was smart enough to figure it out on their own. And why would she take away the joy of discovery from them?
That said, even if she had been more open with her sexuality, she doubted Mason would know. He didn’t know shit about her, or he wouldn’t like her. Because if he knew her, he’d realize, for example, that she was the one who started the rumor that he flirted with other guys’ girlfriends on purpose, or that he’d only made varsity because his parents were friends with the coach. (Not her fault the latter turned out to be true.) “He can’t treat my sibling like shit and then write me cringy love notes. And he definitely can’t go around telling people I’m going to his party. What the hell is that about, anyway?”
“It’s because he wants people to think there are going to be hot girls at his party.” Chloe poked at her lunch tray unenthusiastically. “Honestly, Edith, you should know how those kinds of guys operate. You’re at least one of the prettiest girls in our grade, and you have, like, new girl mystique or whatever. People love mysterious strangers.”
Edith rolled her eyes. “Whatever. He’s a loser, and I’m not going.”
Then she got an idea, a delightfully terrible idea that might teach Mason a nasty lesson in not fucking with the Scarlets. “Chloe, you’re an office assistant next period, right?”
“Yeah?” she replied, eyeing Edith warily. “Why?”
Edith flashed her a sweet, pleading smile. “Could you do me a huge favor?”
Mason approached her as she was headed to her bus at the end of the day. “Hey, Edith!”
“Yeah?” she responded reluctantly. The letters were one thing – even the ones that got a little too… weird about her ass, she could ignore. But his insistence on talking to her or inviting her out was a little more annoying. “Make it quick, please.”
Mason scowled, unhappy at her waspishness. “I was wondering if you’d heard about my party tomorrow night.”
“No,” she lied, shooting a practiced glance back toward her bus and hoping he’d catch the hint. Sam, already seated, caught her eyes and gestured toward Mason, mouthing, The hell does he want? She shrugged subtly and returned her attention to the obnoxious boy in in front of her.
Mason’s shoulders relaxed. Either he’d been worried she knew he was telling people she was going to his party, or he thought that was the only reason she hadn’t indicated plans to attend. Regardless, his prior uneasiness melted into unearned confidence. “Oh, well, it’s going to be pretty cool. My parents are out of town, and my older brother hooked me up with some good shit. Maybe you’ll make an appearance?”
“I’m busy.” She nodded toward the bus. “Me and Sam have plans.”
Also a lie. Sam was hanging out with Delilah the next day.
Mason looked baffled. “You’re hanging out with Sam Scarlet. That freak?!”
She couldn’t punch him for that one. It would be too obvious, and Mom would be upset if both she and Sam ended up in detention this week. “I don’t think they’re a freak.”
Mason gave her a patronizing frown. “Edith, you’re really too nice. Sam is a freak – and everyone knows it.”
“How so?” Edith had to fight to keep her tone neutral. She was getting sick of the constant refrain that her twin was a freak. What had they done? Be sad? Maybe Sam said odd things sometimes, especially when they were kids, and they talked to alley cats like they were people, but that made them quirky. Mostly, they were just sad.
His face darkened. “I mean… look at them! They sit by themselves, scribbling in that notebook or hanging out with that goth weirdo. I swear I’ve seen them talking to grasshoppers. They kicked me in the—you know.”
Not as hard as you deserved. She stared at him, unimpressed.
Mason fumbled with his words, unable to give an actual justification for why he treated Sam the way he did. “They’ve got like a school shooter vibe, you know? Like, I’m genuinely worried for your safety! You shouldn’t go anywhere with them outside of school. What if they try sacrificing you to Satan or some shit?”
Edith almost laughed at how ridiculous the idea was. The leap from Sam sitting alone writing edgy poems to Satanic sacrifice was insane. The idiocy was almost charming, had her hatred for him been any less. As it was, she found it kind of pathetic. “I’ll consider the party. Maybe if you’d said something about it to me before… but, well, we’ll see.”
He flinched as she spoke slightly too loudly, right as a pair of football players walked by. Edith flashed him a winning smile and climbed on the bus. She pulled out her phone and shot a text message to Chloe, “Were you able to get it?”
“Yeah,” she replied. “I’ll call you later.”
Sam shot her a suspicious glance as she plopped into the seat next to them. “What are you grinning about? I know you’re up to something.”
“Patience, grasshopper,” she replied smugly. “I’ll explain everything when we get home.”
“Spill,” Sam demanded the moment they entered the apartment. “You’re not up to anything good.”
Edith rolled her eyes. “Relax, Sam. You’re gonna like it.”
“Am I, now?” They arched an eyebrow as they tossed their bookbag down by the shoe rack.
She nodded and kicked her boots off. “So I don’t think Mason knows we’re twins.”
“We literally have the same last name. It’s not even a common last name,” they deadpanned.
As they both moved further into the house, Edith gave what she knew was an infuriatingly vague shrug. Internally, she was buzzing with excitement. This was going to get Mason to leave Sam alone for sure, and it was going to be fun. “Does Delilah have access to the photocopier at the library?”
“Yeah?” Sam asked. “Edie, can you focus, please? Why were you talking to Mason at the bus line today?”
She paused. Oh, yeah, she still needed to fill them in on that. “Oh, he was inviting me to his stupid bash Saturday night. I guess he’s already told everyone that I’m going because he’s got a crush on me or something.”
“What?” Sam blurted out, looking horrified. “Mason has a crush on you?! Since when?”
“At least the past two months,” she informed them gleefully. “He’s been leaving love notes in my locker and signing his actual name, the idiot. That’s why I think he doesn’t know I’m your sister. Either that, or he’s even stupider than I thought. Anyway, I’m tired of you getting beat up all the time—”
“I do not get beat up—” they protested, looking mildly offended at the suggestion.
She waved it off. “Whatever. You get into fights, and then Mom gets all stressed out about you getting expelled, and it sucks. So tomorrow, you and me are going to end this shit.”
“Edith, I don’t think whatever you’re planning is going to change the fact that I’m a freak and everyone at school hates me. Except Delilah and maybe…” They trailed off, cheeks turning a bright pink.
Momentarily distracted, she brightened. “Oh?”
“Nothing,” they muttered. “Just let it go.”
She rolled her eyes. Whatever, she’d figure that out later. “Well, the good news is that my plan isn’t changing you. You’re perfect. The plan is to make sure everyone is aware of the consequences of fucking with my sibling.”
Sam looked ready to argue, then wisely gave up. Awkwardly, they grumbled, “…Thanks, Edie. I love you too.”
“So we are going to completely humiliate Mason and ruin his high school football career. And make sure he knows why it happened. Without getting in trouble ourselves.” She ticked off each objective, pleased to see Sam betraying some mild interest.
They snorted. “We should put laxatives in his food too.”
She briefly considered the idea. “I don’t know if we could do that without hurting other people too, and it crosses into assault – which I’m not opposed to, you know, but so far if we get caught, the worst they can get us on is breaking and entering. But if you really want to, we might be able to—”
“I was joking,” Sam said, which was only half-true in Edith’s estimation.
Edith explained the rest of her plan to Sam, who nodded along, offering suggestions here and there. “Chloe has already helped out. She’s calling me later with the phone numbers we need. Do you think Delilah will help us out with the photocopier?”
“Oh, yeah,” Sam assured her. “Delilah hates Mason.”
Sure enough, Delilah was deeply intrigued by their plan the following morning as they explained it. “You’re asking for a lot of copies, Scarlet.”
“I want to make sure we get the job done,” Edith replied. “We don’t want just a few that can be cleaned up before school starts on Monday. Everyone should see his shitty writing.”
“Fine, if it takes that prick down the notch, I’m in. He’s been an asshole long before y’all got here.” She glanced at Sam, her mouth hardening into a determined line.
As they spent the morning photocopying, Delilah and Sam expressed their disgust over the love notes.
Delilah shuddered at one that she was reading, “Does he have to be so creepy about it? Ugh, this makes me want to throw up. What the fuck. Does he even know how boobs work?”
Sam glanced over her shoulder with a kind morbid curiosity that vanished as they gagged. “Jesus, Edie. You should have told me he was being a creep.”
“He’s just…” she mumbled and trailed off, feeling a little self-conscious. People had been telling her she was pretty as long as she could remember, but Mason made her feel gross about it. Most of the letters were harmless, but there were a few that made her feel like she wasn’t even a person. Those were the ones she hadn’t shown Chloe. “It’s fine.”
Sam gave her a hard look as their expression darkened.
Shit. Maybe she should have kept this to the cringy ones. She wasn’t even sure why she kept the others, let alone brought them. Part of her had wanted to show them to Mom, but she’d been embarrassed. “Well, we’re going to ruin his weekend, so it’s fine.”
Delilah glanced between them doubtfully. “Well, Monday will be eventful.”
***
The next part of the plan required a stake out near Mason’s house after the party had started to hit its stride. The plan was to send in an “undercover agent” to get pictures of Mason drinking and partying to send to his parents, the principal and football coach via a temporary burner phone, which they had purchased with cash at the local dollar store. Sam thought it was a little “over the top” but Edith disagreed. Mischief needed to be conducted in style and with as few ties to oneself as possible.
Chloe arrived shortly after, dressed up for the party. “Alright, so I just go in and take pictures of Mason acting like a dumbass, right? Should be easy enough.”
“Yep,” Edith confirmed cheerfully. “Then get back out here as soon as you can, so we can move on to the next phase.”
Sam eyed them both, frowning. “Maybe I should go in.”
“No!” they both protested in unison.
Edith crossed her arms. “If you go in, Mason might see you and if he confronts you, the mission is ruined. Chloe should be able to get in an out relatively unnoticed.”
They rolled their eyes. “I can avoid making a scene.
She looked at them doubtfully. “I trust you. I don’t trust Mason or any of his asshole friends not to give you shit. Besides, we don’t want hard evidence that we were involved. I want Mason to know it was us, but not know it was us, you know?”
“Whatever,” Sam grumbled, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
“I’m heading in,” Chloe announced, heading down the block and across the lawn toward the front doors of the house. She easily blended in with the other teens entering the house.
It took a while for Chloe to get enough pictures, and Sam glanced over at her at one point. “Hey, Mason hasn’t touched you, has he?”
“No,” she said, truthfully. Other than his persistence with the letters and trying to ask her out, she was mostly able to ignore it. “I don’t really want to talk about that right now.”
Sam frowned. “Fine. Are you and Chloe dating or something?”
“If I answer, I get to ask a question too,” she teased, deliberately ignoring their annoyance.
“Fine, whatever.”
She grinned victoriously. “Not really. We kissed last summer though, after we snuck out to the movies. Who are you crushing on?”
“Ugh, of course that’s what you asked. Why do you think I’m crushing on anyone?” They avoided looking at her, probably to cover up the fact that their cheeks were turning pink again. When they realized she could see it still, they buried their face in their hands.
“You are so bad at hiding it,” she pointed out.
Sam groaned, dragging their hands down their face. “You are really annoying sometimes, you know that?”
She shrugged. “Fair is fair.”
“Fine, it’s Petra. She’s in my English class,” they admitted.
Edith gasped and clapped her hands, delighted. “Oh, my god. She’s pretty and smart. You should ask her out! Homecoming is coming up – that would be perfect!”
“This is why I didn’t want to tell you.” Sam’s voice was muffled by their hands, still placed over their mouth. “I’m not going to embarrass myself like that. She wouldn’t go out with me, and if she did, it would probably just end badly.”
She hated that Sam thought so lowly of themselves, but before she could argue, the burner phone pinged. Chloe had gotten a few photos of the house trashed, the large crowds, and Mason chugging was unmistakably beer. The pictures were taken at odd angles, and a little blurry, but recognizable enough for their purposes.
“Heading back over,” Chloe texted.
It warmed her heart a little that she could depend on Chloe for this. She hadn’t ever really made close friends at any of their previous schools – that had, ironically, always been Sam’s thing. People like Delilah or Jake… She cringed at the memory of Jake. She vaguely recalled that Mom had to pick them up because they’d started having a tantrum, and they had sobbed and begged Mom to take them back to Jake’s house. Mom had finally given in and packed all three of them into the car.
There’d hadn’t been anything left but a raging inferno when they arrived, and Sam hadn’t been the same since. Impulsively, she grabbed Sam’s hand and squeezed it. Sam gave her a weird look but didn’t pull away. She had to take care of them. They’d been through enough.
It was on Monday afternoon that Edith realized she had miscalculated. The pictures had worked – Mason had been called to the office, and Chloe informed her that he was kicked off the football team and banned from the Homecoming dance. The problem was the number of boys who apparently thought the letters they had snuck in to distribute throughout the school were actually pretty funny, and just for the shitty prose.
Even some of the girls had taken to giving her weird looks.
It came to a head after sixth period, when Mason caught sight of her and stormed over. It was right then that Edith realized how much taller and broader he was than her. “You think this shit is fucking funny? You’re a bitch, I hope you know that.”
She didn’t get a chance to respond before Sam had made a beeline for them and punched Mason in the face. Which was how the three of them ended up in the principal’s office next to their parents. Mason’s parents were threatening to sue for assault.
“This is the second time your child has assaulted our son unprovoked,” his father raged. “We were nice enough to let bygones be bygones, but now I am seriously considering pressing charges.”
Edith sank down in her seat. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Unprovoked?” Mom shot back, her voice dangerously calm. “Your son has been harassing Sam for the past year, and the school district has done nothing about it—”
“Hold on, Ms. Scarlet,” the principal tried to intervene helplessly.
Mom plowed on like an avalanche. “And now he is harassing my daughter too. Frankly, I’m proud of Sam for standing up for their sister. They did exactly what they should have done. I should sue for the treatment my kids have received at this school.”
“I didn’t put those letters everywhere!” Mason protested. “That bitch went and spread them around—”
“Why would I do that?” Edith said, cutting him off, mortified to realize the tears well in her eyes weren’t an act at all.
Sam pressed a shoulder against her in a show of silent support.
After another twenty minutes of arguing, it was decided that Mason’s punishment for improper conduct would stand, Sam would be suspended for a week, effective immediately, and barred from dance for fighting (“Not like I was going anyway,” they’d mumbled upon hearing this), and Edith would be given a five-minute early dismissal from her classes and allowed to wait in the guidance counsellor’s office to avoid Mason in the halls.
Mom withdrew both of them from school for the day, rather than sending Edith back to ninth period, and marched them to the car in stony silence. Edith climbed into the back seat next to Sam and pulled at a thread on her sweater.
Mom started the car angrily and didn’t say anything for about five minutes. Finally, she exhaled sharply and said, “I am so sorry this happened. If I could pull you both out of that goddawful school, I would. Since I unfortunately cannot, I need you two to look out for each other and let me know if anything happens again. Don’t wait until shit gets bad or try to take care of it on your own. We’re in this together, okay?”
“Sorry, Mom,” they both mumbled, slightly out of sync.
She sighed fondly. “Today has been a shitty start to the week. I vote we splurge and order take out tonight and watch a movie. What do y’all think?”
“That sounds good,” Sam said.
Edith nodded. “Yeah.”
Mom pulled the car over and grabbed a takeout menu tucked in the visor, handing it back. “Here, go ahead and get whatever you want. We can swing it.”
All three of them picked the cheapest thing on the menu anyway.