Pocket Stories: Where Am I From?
Prompt: Your character hears a language they’ve never heard before now, yet they speak it fluently. Turns out, they’re not from where they think.
Kayla walked home from school with her identical twin, Marci, by her side. They walked perfectly in sync, feeling comfort in each other’s presence. Junior year had been hard enough being in all separate classes, but now their parents were going to send them to different summer camps.
As they neared their home, Marci broke the silence. “You’ve still got that burner phone, right? The one Tracy snuck from her dad’s store?”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Of course I do. If I left it at home Mom would sniff it out in like three minutes.”
“Good, I don’t think I’d survive all summer not getting to talk to you.”
“Where’d you get a phone from?” Kayla asked. They’d been figuring out this communication plan for weeks. Their parent monitored everything they did, and some things teenage girls didn’t want their parents to know about.
“John’s going to give me one when I go over later.”
“You think Mom and Dad have guessed that we’ve got other phones?”
Marci shrugged, “What are they gonna do, separate us? Oh wait, they’re already doing that.”
Neither of the twins were excited about summer camp. They’d always had each other, but lately it felt like their parents were trying to keep them apart.
They reached their front yard, the manicured grass flawless. Marci led the way as they stomped heavily through it. Their Dad loved that lawn, and it gave them a tiny bit of pleasure knowing that he would go ballistic about neighborhood kids walking in his lawn. He never conceived that the prints would be from his own daughters.
Kayla unlocked the front door and pushed it wide for Marci to go through. It wasn’t that she thought Marci was better than her, they just always took turns and it helped them both feel special, at least to each other.
Their parents weren’t home from work yet. The girls dropped their bags by the entryway and slipped off their shoes. Bare foot, they split up. Marci headed towards the kitchen while Kayla went to their room.
Kayla wasn’t planning on going anywhere else tonight so she changed into her comfy jammies and flopped onto her bed, snagging the remote from the nightstand between their beds and clicking on the TV.
Roses, tears, and drama flooded the screen. “Hurry up Marci, the Bachelor is on,” she yelled.
“I’m coming,” Marci yelled back, her faint voice coming from the kitchen. She came into the room, using her butt to bump the door open wider. She had two plates loaded with sandwiches and chips for the both of them. A young man followed in behind her, someone Kayla had never seen before.
Marci hurried to hand one plate off to Kayla before settling on her own bed. She started watching the show, not even bothering to introduce her friend, who was just standing there awkwardly staring at them both.
Not taking her eyes from the stranger, Kayla whispered, “Who’s that guy?”
Marci laughed, “Oh just hotty-mc-hotty-pants, season eight bachelor extraordinaire. Who is that, ha.” She didn’t act as though she could see the guy standing right in their doorway.
He opened his mouth and said cautiously, “Which one are you?”
Kayla sat up straighter, pushing herself back into her headboard. “Who are you?” she retorted.
Marci looked over at her, giving her a weird look. “Who are you talking to?” she asked Kayla.
Kayla pointed, “That guy, standing over there. The one you let in the house while I was changing.”
Marci looked around, trying to share in the joke. “Oh come on, I didn’t let anyone in. Nobody’s standing there. Stop trying to freak me out.” She threw a pillow at Kayla, just missing her plate full of sandwich.
“Guess that answers that question,” the guy said, his voice thick with an accent Kayla couldn’t place. He turned and stared straight into Kayla’s eyes. “She can’t hear a word I’m saying, darling. Tell her you’ll be right back and meet me on the porch, there’s things we need to talk about.”
Kayla walked home from school with her identical twin, Marci, by her side. They walked perfectly in sync, feeling comfort in each other’s presence. Junior year had been hard enough being in all separate classes, but now their parents were going to send them to different summer camps.
As they neared their home, Marci broke the silence. “You’ve still got that burner phone, right? The one Tracy snuck from her dad’s store?”
Kayla rolled her eyes. “Of course I do. If I left it at home Mom would sniff it out in like three minutes.”
“Good, I don’t think I’d survive all summer not getting to talk to you.”
“Where’d you get a phone from?” Kayla asked. They’d been figuring out this communication plan for weeks. Their parent monitored everything they did, and some things teenage girls didn’t want their parents to know about.
“John’s going to give me one when I go over later.”
“You think Mom and Dad have guessed that we’ve got other phones?”
Marci shrugged, “What are they gonna do, separate us? Oh wait, they’re already doing that.”
Neither of the twins were excited about summer camp. They’d always had each other, but lately it felt like their parents were trying to keep them apart.
They reached their front yard, the manicured grass flawless. Marci led the way as they stomped heavily through it. Their Dad loved that lawn, and it gave them a tiny bit of pleasure knowing that he would go ballistic about neighborhood kids walking in his lawn. He never conceived that the prints would be from his own daughters.
Kayla unlocked the front door and pushed it wide for Marci to go through. It wasn’t that she thought Marci was better than her, they just always took turns and it helped them both feel special, at least to each other.
Their parents weren’t home from work yet. The girls dropped their bags by the entryway and slipped off their shoes. Bare foot, they split up. Marci headed towards the kitchen while Kayla went to their room.
Kayla wasn’t planning on going anywhere else tonight so she changed into her comfy jammies and flopped onto her bed, snagging the remote from the nightstand between their beds and clicking on the TV.
Roses, tears, and drama flooded the screen. “Hurry up Marci, the Bachelor is on,” she yelled.
“I’m coming,” Marci yelled back, her faint voice coming from the kitchen. She came into the room, using her butt to bump the door open wider. She had two plates loaded with sandwiches and chips for the both of them. A young man followed in behind her, someone Kayla had never seen before.
Marci hurried to hand one plate off to Kayla before settling on her own bed. She started watching the show, not even bothering to introduce her friend, who was just standing there awkwardly staring at them both.
Not taking her eyes from the stranger, Kayla whispered, “Who’s that guy?”
Marci laughed, “Oh just hotty-mc-hotty-pants, season eight bachelor extraordinaire. Who is that, ha.” She didn’t act as though she could see the guy standing right in their doorway.
He opened his mouth and said cautiously, “Which one are you?”
Kayla sat up straighter, pushing herself back into her headboard. “Who are you?” she retorted.
Marci looked over at her, giving her a weird look. “Who are you talking to?” she asked Kayla.
Kayla pointed, “That guy, standing over there. The one you let in the house while I was changing.”
Marci looked around, trying to share in the joke. “Oh come on, I didn’t let anyone in. Nobody’s standing there. Stop trying to freak me out.” She threw a pillow at Kayla, just missing her plate full of sandwich.
“Guess that answers that question,” the guy said, his voice thick with an accent Kayla couldn’t place. He turned and stared straight into Kayla’s eyes. “She can’t hear a word I’m saying, darling. Tell her you’ll be right back and meet me on the porch, there’s things we need to talk about.”
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