Lucky

Some people just have all the luck don't they?

Life can be so unfair... So very unfair...

  

For fraternal twins, me and my sister look remarkably alike. As kids, it's been our little game to wear each other's clothes and see how long we could fool our relatives and friends whenever they would came over. We would secretly giggle each time they'd get us wrong, and would laugh at their reaction when they found us out.

Of course, this didn't sit all that well with our dad, strict as he is. Mom would try to reassure him each time, saying something about it's only a joke and that he shouldn't take it too seriously. Every once in a while though, he'd catch us putting on each other's clothes and he'd get really mad, yelling something about how he didn't raise us to be like this and that this isn't how proper people should act. Mom would be there to restrain him as usual, though I never really understood why he got so worked up over it.

I mean, what's so wrong about me putting on my sister's clothes and her putting on mine, right?

“Whoa, your sister was right! You look exactly like her!”

“Remarkable for fraternal twins isn't it?”

“I'm sure you get teased a lot because of it don't you? You looking like your sister and all... But damn, the resemblance is really remarkable!”

“Wait... Uhhh guys... What are... What was that you said? Fraternal twins?”

“It means we were born from different embryos that just happened to both be fertilized at the same time. It's more common than identical twins; in fact, most twins are fraternal and not identi... cal... Um... Billy?”

“Um, sorry... You... Uh... lost me at embryo...”

“Hahahahaha!”

We did fairly well for kids that were a little different from the norm. You'd think me and my sister would be teased constantly, but between her friendly nature and my disposition for noisy banter, we made a lot of good friends. Of course, we were still teased and made fun of sometimes, more so me than her, but it really didn't matter much to us. Amidst everything though, we grew up into well-rounded individuals, and (not to be arrogant or anything) with above average features too! She became really popular with the guys in high school (which I envy sometimes, I wish I was popular as her too...), and I became a prodigious student of sorts. I guess my jealousy was unfounded after all, but it still bothered me.

Why can't I be like her, even if we look and act almost exactly alike?

“Are you... busy? Can I talk with you about something?”

“Hmm? I am, but we can talk, of course! What's this about?”

“Well... It's about Billy...”

Billy was the idiot friend everybody can't help but have, and everybody can't help but love. He is the kind of friend who will never fail to make you laugh, either deliberately or unintentionally. He has this knack for making himself look stupid, even if he wasn't actively trying to. Even when he has his “genius moments” (which he has surprisingly often), he still manages to make himself appear dumb. It makes you wonder if he intentionally acts dim-wittedly or he really is just an idiot, though I think I'd put my money on the latter and not the former.

But that's what I like about him. Too bad, he already likes somebody else...

“Oh... That's... Great, isn't it? He's a nice guy and all, and he's very funny too!”

“Yeah... But, I dunno... He's really not my type...”

Give him to me then...

“W-well... What do you intend to do?”

“I dunno... That's why I'm asking you... Do you think he'd feel bad if I... Um... Told him off?”

He did.

My sister told me Billy would be waiting for her by the ice cream shop in front of school, two days from then. She told me she'd reject him, but she'd try to be as discrete and as civil about it as possible. As for me, I don't really know how I should feel. To see him hurt hurts me twice as much, but to see him happy with another hurts me much the same. But then, even if my sister does reject him, there would be no guarantee that he'd... Love me. Even if I look almost exactly like my sister. Even if I act exactly like her. Even if I am as nice as her, as friendly as her, even if we were able to fool our relatives all the time with our silly little game...

I cannot be her.

It was obvious Billy had been deeply hurt; I've never seen him as sad as he was the day after my sister rejected him. It would take a few more days before I got to talk to him again, and a few weeks more before we were able to return to our usual noisy banter. Of course, he was still awkward around my sister; it was obvious that being around her hurts him still. He would try avoid her if he could, but, for some reason, because of that we began to hang out more often with each other. My sister was kind enough to keep her distance, and as weeks grew into months, me and Billy grew closer and closer together.

Maybe... Maybe I have a chance after all...

Putting on my sister's clothes felt nostalgic. It was as if we were again playing the game we used to play when we were little. Of course, this time, it was different; I wasn't trying to fool anybody. Billy asked me if I wanted to go to the arcade with him, since nobody else could go and because he was bored. He also told me he had been thinking about something ever since my sister rejected him, and that he had something very important to say to me. I had to sneak my way out of the house for fear of my dad, but even the nervousness I felt then could not match the nervousness I was feeling as I headed to the arcade. What was on his mind? What did he want to tell me? Would he even be able to recognize me?

My heart was up my throat when I saw him. Had I known what would happen then, I would have spat it out and kicked it away.

“Wh-why are you here?”

“Huh? You told me to come right?”

“W-wait... Is that... You?”

“Haha, remarkable right? How we look almost exactly alike. Do my sister's clothes look good on me?”

“...”

“Billy?”

“G-get away from me... Mother was right when she told me to keep my distance from you!”

“What?!?”

“No, I never want to see you again! You're a perverted demon! A freak!”

“Wha-what are you saying? I thought... I thought you had something to tell me...”

My vision began to blur. Was it confusion? Anger? Tears?

“Yes, I did. I did have something to tell you. I was going to ask you if you could help me court your sister properly!”

“I thought... I thought... All this time... You were being nice to me because you... Liked me-”

“Like you? I was only being nice to you because you reminded me of your sister! Besides, how can a guy like me ever like someone like you?”

Mom had to restrain my father's anger, but I couldn't even hear him yelling. The pain must have numbed me too much to even care. I imagine he'd be fuming, and maybe this time mom wouldn't be able to stop him. Maybe this time he'd really kick me out, after all, he didn't raise me to be like this, to be a perverted demon, or a freak. Maybe. But I just cannot bring myself to care.

“You should've told me you were borrowing my clothes. So who were you playing a prank this... Time...”

My sister was speechless for a moment as I glared at her, my eyes burning with anger. I know it's not her fault, but why am I so angry at her? Why does it all feel so unfair? It's all so very unfair! What does she have that I don't? What's so different that the boy I liked would love her and not me? We look almost exactly alike, I'm as friendly and as nice as her, heck, people couldn't even tell us apart if we wanted to.

So why can't Billy love me?

“Wha-what happened?”

“...”

“A-are you okay?

“...”

“B-brother?”

Yes. That's why. I'm a fool to even think I had a chance.

“...Some people just have all the luck don't they?”