15:46 27 May

The girls and I piled into the SUV, breathless from laughing at the utterly baffled expression on Andrew’s face as we pulled away.

“Did you have a nice time, girls?” Kelly’s mom asked.

“Yeah, it was great!” Kelly said, from her spot in the passenger seat. Mel, who was in the middle of the backseat, leaned into me.

“She thinks you’re a girl?” she whispered. I shrugged.

“Eh, to be fair, when she met me I was wearing Kelly’s clothes,” I whispered back. “And anyway it’s easier than explaining why I’m wearing a skirt; Andrew was a special case ‘cause I already know him. It’s fine, it’s really not a big deal.”

“Hm.”

It really wasn’t, as long as I knew the girls were on my side; and anyway right now it suited my purposes.

While we’d been talking, Kelly was explaining our plans to her mom, or possibly asking permission, the result being we were on the way to Bay’s and my neighborhood, and I was considering the advantage of a motorcycle over my much slower bicyle.

Kelly’s mom had opera music playing, which… it wasn’t my least favorite form of music, but I was still glad when we pulled up in front of my house.

“Just gotta run in and grab my guitar and my amp, be right back!”

I hopped out of the car and ran into the house, not bothering to take off my boots as I headed for the stairs.

“Hi, honey-”

I forgot about Aunt Cher

“-where’s Jack?”

What.

When I spun (super graceful and casual of course) on my heel, Aunt Cheryl was sitting on the couch, looking mildly curious, or possibly concerned.

She thinks I’m Mel??

“Oh… he’s just… busy with… stuff. Band stuff. He and the girls have a band. I’m just swinging by the grab his guitar for him. Because he’s, uh, helping Bailey with her keyboard.”

Talking about myself in the third person feels incredibly weird.

“Oh, okay. That’s a new outfit, did you go shopping without me?” she asked teasingly.

“You like it?” I did my best to channel Mel, which had been easier when we were little and, like, actually spent time together, but we were getting back into that mode. “I thought it looked cute.”

“It certainly does. How did Jack feel about getting dragged along?”

I laughed nervously. “Oh, you know, boys and shopping… speaking of boys I really gotta grab his stuff and go they’re waiting for me”

“O-oh, okay,” she said as I spun again and darted up the stairs. Man that felt weird.

Since my guitar was in the case, I could easily sling it on my back, after I slipped in a few songs I’d already printed out; the amp was a two-hander but I managed to hurry down the stairs with it anyway.

“Have fun sweetie!” Aunt Cheryl said as I headed for the door.

“Bye Au- Mom! Love you! Back later!”

I speed-walked out to the waiting car, opened the back, swapped my gear for our bikes, put those up by the house, closed the back, and then jumped back in the backseat. I snapped my buckle, turned to Mel, and smiled blandly as the car began to move.

As casually as I could manage, I said, “Sooo, your mom says hi.”

Her hands flew to her mouth, and her gaze flicked to my clothes and then to the house. “Ohmygod!”

“Luckily, she thought I was you,” I continued. “Which, on the one hand, really weird; but on the other hand, this twin thing’s pretty fun.”

The car was almost unnecessary to go the hundred yards or so to Bailey’s house, where she ran inside and returned shortly with her keyboard. Kelly hopped out to open the back for her and help load it up, and then we were off again, with the two of them switching seats.

“Thanks for all this, ma’am,” I said to Kelly’s mom.

“Oh, you don’t need to call me ma’am, hon. It makes me feel old.”

I blinked. That’s great, except…

“Um, Kelly, what’s your last name?” I whispered past Mel.

“Prentiss.”

“Thanks.” I turned back to the front. “Thank you, Mrs. Prentiss!”

“You’re welcome! I’m glad Kelly has such fun friends.” She paused. “I’m sorry, remind me of your name again?”

“Oh, right. I’m Jack.”

“Jackie?” I saw her raise an eyebrow in the rearview mirror.

“Nah. Just Jack.”

“Her parents promised her grandpa to name their first kid after him,” Kelly offered. She gestured to me. “Oh well.”

Her??

Hm, I guess I should expect that. Though if I get used to answering to it that’s gonna get confusing real quick.

Wait.

“Why did you invent a grandparent for me?” I hissed, while Bailey made small talk with Mrs. Prentiss.

“Hey, you must’ve had an ancestor named Jack at some point,” she said with a shrug.

“I think we had a great-great-grandfather Jackson, actually,” Mel said.

“The only Jackson I can think of is Pollock.”

Mel shook her head. “Nah, he wasn’t that great.”

“I think there are a number of art critics who’d disagree with that,” Kelly noted, to which Mel bapped her in the shoulder.

###

16:35 27 May

We all piled out of the car at Kelly’s house, then popped open the back and maneuvered all of our gear and purchases into a configuration roughly carriable by the eight arms we had available. Kelly led us past the stairs to a room at the back of the house, with white paint and short cream carpet.

“Okay, there should be plenty of room for your keyboard,” Kelly told Bailey as we trooped through the house. “Or,” she said gesturing as she set down her load, “you could try out my dad’s bass.”

Mel looked surprised. “Hey, I play bass! Need some tips?”

“What?? When were you gonna bring this up?” I asked.

She folded her arms. “Maybe I was waiting for it to be dramatically appropriate, nyah.” She shrugged. “Anyway it’s not like I can join your band, I’m leaving on Saturday.”

“Sure, but you can still have fun,” Bailey said. “You take the bass, I’ll use my keyboard.”

The dusty bass looked kinda lonely, on a stand against the bare white wall opposite Kelly’s drum set. Watching Mel hunker to look it over made me think of the beginning of Oliver and Company, with Oliver in the box hoping someone would pick him up. When she finally picked it up and caressed the body the association made my eyes a little damp.

Is that weird?

That seems weird.

Then again, I’m weird.

We took a few minutes to get instruments set up and plugged in where necessary. Bailey put her hands on her hips, gaze scanning over the assembled instruments.

“You know what we need?” Bailey said. “A van.”

“Also, driver’s license,” Mel added.

“Technically, the second one is optional,” Kelly said.

“I don’t want to get my license suspended before I have one,” Mel rejoined.

I shrugged off my jacket and set out the music I’d printed out, and the complementing CD I’d burned thanks to the magic of the interwebs. Obviously, Teen Age Riot was one of them, but I’d also brought By The Time You’re Twenty-Five by Sleater-Kinney, Age of Consent by New Order, Stuck in America by Sugarcult, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, and on a whim, Hex Girl from Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost.

Bailey looked at that one and flipped it around as she held it up for viewing.

“Really?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. I shrugged.

“Hey, if we’re a ‘girl band’, it seemed like a fun tribute. Besides, Thorn was kind of my idol when I was little.”

“God, hard same,” Kelly said, nodding.

We stuck Teen Age Riot in the stereo and let it repeat a couple of times, then started playing around. Mel started us off, and a shiver ran up my spine as the bass came out of the amplifier.

Bailey started on the backing vocals, adding a little dash of synth, and the drumbeat picked up. I launched into the guitar. We didn’t synch up right away, but it was barely noticeable by the time I came in on vocals. I played around with my voice a bit, until by the second verse I landed somewhere between Sleater-Kinney and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill. The music pouring out of the amps and the drums reverberated off the walls and pounded into my soul, and something clicked. I closed my eyes, felt the beat, and swung my hips and shimmied and bopped like we were already on stage and playing to the audience. Seven minutes went by in a flash.

When we finished, we were all just silent for a bit, and traded awed expressions as the ghost of the music trickled away.

“God,” Bay finally said, wiping sweat from her forehead. “We’re fucking awesome.”

I nodded. I’d known I had the song down pretty well, but I supposed I shouldn’t have been surprised that my band geek friends did so well.

 “We have got to keep going,” I rasped. I cleared my throat. “But first, I need something warm to drink, that’s hard to do with no practice.”

“Y’know, that’s gonna be harder once your voice breaks.”

I shuddered. “Ugh, don’t remind me.” I didn’t totally remember when that had happened, but I wasn’t looking forward to it. It was sometime in high school, judging by the vague memories I had involving teasing.

So… assuming that holds true in actual-reality, will I have to work out something totally new after this summer?

Or…

Note to self, I thought, making a note on my phone to myself, google if there are any ways to stop my voice from breaking.

“What do you want to drink, oh Queen of Vocalists?” Kelly asked, slipping out from behind the drumset.

“Tea, earl grey, hot.” I snickered. “No, wait. Got any chamomile?”

“And maybe a pitcher of ice water,” Bailey suggested.

“Can do!”

We broke for hydration and throat soothage, and then we played Teen Age Riot again. With the repetition, I could tell we were still a bit rough, but being able to tell was in itself a sign we were getting better.

After a third repeat, we took another break.

“Should we move on to something else?” Mel asked.

“Like what?”

“Hex Girl?” Kelly suggested. She and I high-fived.

Bailey rolled her eyes. “I’m not gonna get out of this, am I?”

“Aw, come on! They’re like, ga- goth icons!”

“Fiiiine,” she said, but her smile belied her supposed annoyance.

“Yes! Hit it, sisters!” Kelly said, spinning a drumstick.

“And by ‘it’ you mean the stereo?” I said.

She nodded. “Oh, totally, I do not remember the drumbeat on that song, it’s been like three years.”

We spent some time making notes on the printouts as we looped the song. I’d listened to it a couple of times when I was Anne Bonny-ing it from YouTube, but it was still a nostalgic feeling. When we thought we had a handle on it, we gave it a shot.

We did not have a handle on it, but by about halfway through we were starting to. When we started the second time, I did my best to channel Thorn. Which considering all the times I’d lip-synched to the song with the TV remote, wasn’t too difficult.

When we finished the second time, Mel whistled. Bailey was just staring at me.

“Damn, Jack. Did you memorize that scene or something?”

“No, why, how’d I do?”

“Put it this way,” Kelly said. “We find you a pair of fangs and the right dress, I know what you’re doing for Halloween.”

###

18:48 27 May

We played a while longer before Mrs. Prentiss came in, at which point she praised us deeply and then gently suggested the people who didn’t live there should get ready to go home.

“Uh, Jack?” Mel said as we did.

“‘Sup?”

“Pants.”

I glanced down; I was, in fact, still wearing a skirt. I’d forgotten that. Which was an odd realization.

“Ah. Right.”

I dug through the bags and headed to the bathroom, where I changed into black jeans, AC/DC t-shirt, and bomber jacket. I opened the bathroom door at a knock and stepped back so Mel could see what I was wearing.

“There we go!” I said, holding my arms out to display my outfit (and this time not throwing pants at her). “All guy again.”

Mel looked at me, and then at our reflections in the bathroom mirror. “Sure,” she said flatly. I mock-pouted.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause I’m cuter,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her and then dodging a slap to the arm. “Nyaaah,” I added, spinning past her into the hallway, where I hid behind Bailey. She gave me a weird look.

“We going or what?” I said. Mel rolled her eyes and slung a backpack over her shoulder.

Kelly came along with her mom to drop us off, and to help get Mel’s and my bags and my guitar and amp out of the back of the SUV. We waved to Bailey, hoisted our stuff, and headed in. When we got inside, all three of the parents were home, talking on the couch.

“Mel? Can I talk to you?” Aunt Cher asked.

“Uh, sure, Mom. Can I help Jack get this upstairs first?”

She nodded. “I’ll be in the guest room, okay?”

“Uh, okay.”

Aunt Cher glanced at me, smiled, and headed up the stairs. I forced down an instinctive AHHHH at the thought she might have figured out it was me earlier and not Mel.

“What do you think that’s about?” I asked nervously. She shrugged, equally nervously.

“I dunno. You told me everything that happened when she saw you earlier, right?”

“Yeah, I think you can fake it if she asks.”

We got everything into my room, and I gave her an encouraging thumbs up, which she returned, before leaving the room like a PhD student to a research paper defense.

Then my dad knocked on the frame of my open door, and my parents came in.

Oh shit! I started wracking my brain to figure out what we could possibly have done to warrant separate interrogations.

Done recently, that was. There was probably plenty in general, historically speaking; I doubted the twinesque shenanigans were new.

I sat on my bed and pulled my knees up to my chest as my parents shifted awkwardly. Mom looked at Dad, who cleared his throat.

“So, er, Jack, we’ve noticed… er, well, that is, you’re a young man now, and with you and your cousin sharing a room, we want to make sure…”

ohgod

Adults have some very specific facial expressions when they’re going to talk to a kid about sex. Mom was holding one, and I saw my dad’s face go through about twelve of them as he hemmed and hawed. The déjà vu was another clue; according to it, the Talk didn’t go any better the other time.

ohgodew

Gotta head off the awkward

“If this is The Talk, I’ve read the Wikipedia article, thanks. I’m too busy to think about sex anyway.” There’d always been sort of a… barrier, kind of, between me and the concept of sex. I definitely wasn’t gay – girls did something for me, and I’d seen way too many naked guys in my life already thanks to gym – but whatever it was seemed a lot more muted than how other people described it. “And before you say anything else about it, I have no interest in incest, twincest, Wincest, or any other kind of -ncest. We’re not ‘experimenting’ or whatever. Mel and I like each other’s company and it’s nice to fall asleep talking to a friend. That’s all. We’re, like, sisters. Er, siblings. Brother and sister. You know what I meant.”

“Well, but,” Dad started. I hopped off the bed, shaking my head.

“Nope,” I said, pushing them firmly back toward the door. “Nope, nope, nope, major yickage. I don’t want to even think about it, okay? Kaythanksbye.” They were just far enough I could close the door on them if they moved their feet, and that done I locked it and slumped down leaning back against it.

“Ohgodew.”

On the plus side, I’d never have to go through that again.

Well, unless I had kids.

And I’m thinking about it again!

I shook my head a couple times to clear it.

Someone knocked on my door.

“If you’re older than fourteen, I don’t wanna hear it!” I said.

“It’s me!” said Mel’s voice. It sounded excited. I stood up and opened the door, confirming she was attached to it, and let her in. She paused and cocked her head; I must have still looked a little green, because she said, “What happened? You look like you’re gonna yak.”

“Uh. My parents just tried to give me The Talk.”

We just sort of looked at each other for a minute, then she patted me on the shoulder.

“That’s rough, buddy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks. So what’s your news?”

She brightened and gave me a wide smile. “My mom has to go home earlier than she expected, but she asked if I wanted to stay the summer here!”

My jaw dropped. “What, seriously?”

“Mm-hm!” She nodded vigorously.

“What about your friends back in the city?” I asked. She shifted, biting her lip and looking at the floor.

“I… don’t really have a lot of friends.”

“What? Why not?” She’s, like, awesome!

“It’s… I lost a lot of them after…” she took a deep breath, then rushed the next part, “after I came out as a lesbian.”

I blinked.

“AHHHHH,” I screamed at the ceiling briefly, then looked back at Mel. “Sorry, that wasn’t about you. Just… something going on.”

“Like what?” she said, looking offended.

“I really can’t say.” They were not my secrets to tell. But given everything else that was going on with me I did have to wonder if I gave off like, subliminal lesbian attractants. Maybe a pheromone of some sort? “But if you want to spend the summer, I would be delighted to have you.”

She smiled, and then her eyes widened. “And hey, I could play with the band, right?”

“Dude! That’s right!”

Oh, this was awesome. My favorite cousin was spending all summer with us, and our band would have a bass player. This called for a hug.

I love it when a plan comes together.