Copy-cat Rano:
“It was on a dreary night of November that I beheld the accomplishment
of my toils. With an anxiety that almost amounted to agony, I collected
the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being
into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the
morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was
nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I
saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a
convulsive motion agitated its limbs…”
“What’cha reading?” A girl’s voice broke my intense focus on the book in my hands.
I looked up from the pages of my book and was met with the sight of one of tree-twins leaning on the end of the couch, dressed in a pair of chic pajamas. Was it Rano or Toño? I still hadn’t really figured out which one was which.
“Um. It’s called look at the cover.” I answered flatly.
I moved my hand from the front cover as the bakru looked down, her wooden skin gleaming in the morning light of the window behind her. “Oh, Frankenstein. Isn’t that the green monster who goes around terrorizing villages or something?”
“That’s what most people think.” I responded with a smirk. Most people didn’t know the truth about the novel. About how it was a struggle between monster and man to desperately find their places in the world and be accepted into society. I had always felt that I could relate to the novel. I mean, what was I but a societal outcast due to my differences? No matter how hard I tried, I could never truly fit into the human society.
“So… Then what’s it actually about?” she questioned curiously.
“Well, for starters... The monster is not called Frankenstein. Actua--”
The wooden girl cut me off. “Yeah. That’s interesting.” What. “Anyway, Toño doesn’t want to do anything with me today, so would you like to hang out with me instead?” The bakru made a pouting face as she tilted her head down and batted her eyelashes at me. Well, at least now I knew which twin I was dealing with.
Sighing, I closed my book and sat it on the coffee table in front of the couch. No more reading for me, today, it seemed. “Why me?” I frowned as I asked the girl. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer.
Rano sat down on the couch and swung her dangling legs back and forth. “Everyone else is busy and you didn’t look like you were doing anything productive.” Double what.
The glint in her eyes told me that there was another reason she had left unspoken…
“Okay…” I agreed unwillingly.
The wooden girl beamed. “Great!”
And so, Rano dragged me off with her to do things like play with each other’s hair and look at clothing catalogues. It wasn’t a completely miserable time--I enjoyed girly things every now and then, contrary to what most probably believed. Of course, I wasn't about to admit that to anyone.
Eventually, the short-haired girl began to complain that she was hungry. I suggested lunch, and she agreed happily, sending me downstairs ahead of her so that she could change into day clothes.
I entered the kitchen and opened up the fridge to find ingredients for a sandwich. I gathered the mayo, cheese, and lunch meat in my arms, and hit the door with my hip to close it. As it swung closed, Sam appeared behind the door, and I flinched in shock at his sudden appearance.
“I hope you’re making that for me.” He said as I sat my supplies down on the island in the middle of the kitchen.
I stuck my tongue out at the blonde boy. “Because that’s not sexist at all.” I teased.
“Hey, I never said anything about you being a woman. I just wanted you to make me a sandwich.” Sam held up his hands in false innocence.
“Yeah, yeah.” I retorted sarcastically and looked down at the ingredients on the counter. “So, do you want one or not?” I asked as I grabbed a butter knife and began to spread mayonnaise on the bread.
“Eh, I’m good,” the blonde answered. “I actually just finished my lunch a little while ago.” He began to say something else, but stopped upon Rano’s entrance into the room.
The bakru strode over to my side and placed her elbows on the counter. “Is that for me?” she questioned, referring to my sandwich, as she peered up at me with doe-eyes.
“Why does everyone assume that I’m the damn cook?” I asked tersely. Sam laughed at this, and Rano took notice to the boy standing by the fridge.
“Hiya, Sam. I didn’t see you there.” She batted her eyelashes in a way different than she had done with me earlier.
“Oh, um… Hi, Rano.” The blonde rubbed his neck. “You look…” the boy trailed off and his eyes began to whiz between myself and the smaller, wooden-skinned girl. He stared for a moment and then burst into wild laughter. “Oh, God. She’s like your twin!” he spluttered.
Confused, I turned to inspect the youthful bakru and noticed that her ‘day clothes’ bore a striking identicalness to my own. Dark-washed denim shorts and a white and dark blue striped off-shoulder tee clad the girl. Even the brunette’s hair was similarly braided in a loose side-ponytail.
I folded my arms across my chest and frowned. “Why are you wearing the same clothes as me?”
Rano attempted to flip her braid in a fashion that resembled the way that I usually flipped my hair. “I am? I hadn’t noticed.” she stated innocently.
“Um, well, I’m going to let you ladies settle this on your own.” Sam called as he left the room, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes in confusion.
I took a bite of my sub-gourmet ham and cheese sandwich. “You like him.” Rano declared simply.
At this remark, my breath hitched in my throat and I began to choke on the piece of sandwich I had been chewing.
“W-What makes you say that?” I choked out, a blush creeping onto my cheeks.
The bakru sighed. “I may look thirteen and mostly made of wood, but I know what it looks like when someone likes someone else.”
My eyes narrowed. “Oh , really?”
“Yes,” the brunette answered. “For instance, in your case it’s really obvious. You’re a lot nicer to him than you are to pretty much everyone else.”
Well, sh*t.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” I defended sharply. The girl knew nothing about my true feelings, and I wasn’t about to let her act like she did.
“If you say so,” Rano shrugged and then whispered something about ‘denial’ under her breath.
I decided to let both issues drop as quickly as they had begun. “Are you sure that you don’t have anything better to do today?” I asked, annoyed.
Rano huffed. “I already told you, everyone else is busy. And my sister said something about getting to know the other members, so I chose you.”
I raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Why?”
“Because I like how you don’t really seem to care about what all of the other members think of you, regardless of how much they try to be nice to you,” she stated bluntly. “Everyone else tries to be too nice and cutesy to each other and it drives me crazy.”
I tilted my head sideways and stared incredulously at the girl. She had to be joking. Were we even living in the same mansion?
I had to stop this before it went any further. “Alright. Listen up, Pinoke.” I started with a sigh.
“Who’s ‘Pinoke?’” Rano asked, puzzled.
“As in Pinocchio?” I explained. “Like, the wooden puppet who comes to life and… Oh, just forget it.” Just how sheltered were some of these creatures? I sighed and continued. “Anyway, you’ve gotta stop this.” I waved my hands at her, referring to her copied garb and mannerisms. “While I may be strangely flattered, I’m also extremely creeped out.”
“But I--” The wooden-skinned girl began to protest, but I held up my index finger as a sign for her to stop talking.
“There’s only room for one Ela in this mansion and, sorry hon, but I ain’t giving up my spot.” I told her.
One of the club members stuck their head around the corner. It was the new vampire girl--I think her name was Alice?
“Can’t you see we’re busy?” I snapped at her, placing my hands on my hips.
“Yeah! Leave us alone!” Rano chimed in, placing her hands the same way.
I flicked the bakru on the side of the head with my hand. “This is what I’m talking about!”
The black and purple headed vampire blinked in confusion. “I think I’m in the wrong room…” she mumbled something about being lost and walked away.
I groaned and then bent over until I had reached eye level with the girl. “Okay, kid. Either you quit this now or I will make sure that you never want to be ‘just like me’ ever again.” What I had really wanted to say was: Or I will chop you up into little pieces and use you as firewood, but I figured that that would be a bad idea.
Rano sighed. “Fine.”
“I don’t want to hear it! You--What?” Realization hit me as to what the girl had said. Was it really that simple?
The bakru shrugged. “I’m tired of this. Besides, you’re not nearly as cool as I thought you were. You’re actually kind of boring.”
I… but… TRIPLE WHAT.
The girl then skipped off in the direction of her and her twin’s room, leaving me standing alone in the kitchen with nothing but a half eaten ham sandwich to keep me company.
