Chapter 10
The walk back to our dorm is silent as we are both completely lost in our thoughts trying to make sense of the bomb that was dropped on us.
Not only are we mirror twins, which is rare for boy/girl twins, but we also have rare magic.
If all of that isn’t enough, we have the mark of the royal family from Astrexus.
We don’t know anything about our mom’s side of the family, so I guess it’s possible we have some relation, but why would the royal family send one of their own to a different realm into foster care?
Sounds of hollering snaps me back to reality, the courtyard full of other students now.
With only four days until classes start it’s been a lot more crowded recently than the last couple weeks since we arrived.
There are people tossing a football close to Unicorn House, while others sit under the big oak trees reading and relaxing.
Much to Marshall's dismay I haven’t really made much of an effort to get to know anyone just yet; I’ve been too focused on preparing everything for my classes.
We went to the bookstore to get all of our textbooks, as well as the campus supply store for things like potion supplies, herbs, tonics, and various other things you need in a witchy school.
Since this college is supposed to teach us about our magic and the supernatural world, I’m actually excited to learn about all the different types of magic, but not so enthusiastic when it comes to trying to make friends.
I’ve seen Rune around but he doesn’t seem interested in holding a conversation beyond socially polite greetings in passing.
I’d like to think he was exaggerating about how terrible the other witches here can be, but unfortunately I have plenty of experience with how right he is.
We make it to our dorm and can hear music coming from the inside.
“I guess our roommate is finally here!” Marshall says exuberantly as he swings the door open and follows the sound of Five Finger Death Punch.
I have to say, if nothing else, I love their taste in music.
Standing in the kitchen is a gorgeous witch; she's a little taller than me, maybe five six, with a small nose and dimples on both cheeks, and big blue eyes. Her long, straight, black hair that reaches her lower back matches what I can see of her outfit, a black crop top that shows off her pale skin. Since she’s behind the counter, I can't tell what bottoms she paired with the cute top. She hasn’t noticed us yet, seeming focused on her phone, and the loud music thumping masked our arrival.
Marshall sends a small gush of air towards her to get her attention; we don’t want to get too close and spook her if she’s jumpy since most witches tend to react magically to being scared.
Her head snaps up and a huge grin spreads across her face.
She pushes something on her phone and the music stops.
“Hey! I’m sorry the music was so loud, it helps me focus.
I’m Malise.” She walks over to me and holds her hand out. “You must be one of my roommates?”
I reach out to shake her offered hand, silently hoping she doesn’t mind Marsh also being her roommate.
“I’m Magnolia, though you can call me Maggie.
This is my twin brother Marshall.” He offers his hand as I introduce him.
“Actually we both are your roommates. I have the room on the right and his is on the left.”
“Really? I knew the houses were coed, but I didn't know the dorms were too,” she says, surprise evident.
“The headmaster said it’s completely up to the book on who goes where,” I reply as I step slightly forward so I’m standing more in front of my brother.
I am aware most women probably wouldn’t want to room with a male, even if he’s gay.
I don’t know what the school would do about it if she does have a problem with it, but I’m not willing to be separated from my brother.
At least, not just yet. “Is that going to be a problem?
That he's your roommate too?” I ask hesitantly.
“If it helps, I don't swing your way.” Marshall adds, and Malise starts laughing.
Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye after she catches her breath she replies, “No, it doesn’t bother me at all. Since we’re sharing, I don’t have a preference.”
“I only like dick,” I chime in. “I’m glad you're fine with him being here. Anyway, it’s almost dinner time, so how about the two of us get cleaned up and then we can all go to dinner and get to know each other?” I suggest. A really nice hot shower sounds amazing after the day we had.
Malise smiles. “That sounds great, actually. Speaking of food, I was just putting up the groceries I ordered. How do you want to handle food and kitchen space?”
“We aren’t picky or stingy, and we share pretty much everything, but if there is something in particular that we don’t want to share we leave a note on it.
I keep stuff on hand to make small meals, since Maggie can’t cook.
The apple juices and candy that I put in the drawer on the right of the fridge is for her low snacks, so please don’t eat those.
Other than that, as long as you replace something when you eat the last of it we don’t really care,” Marshall explains.
“Low snacks?” she asks.
I nod. “I’m a type one diabetic. The vials in the little slot of the fridge is my insulin.
I keep all my other supplies in my room, but that has to stay cold.
” I grimace mentally, trying to refrain from rolling my eyes out loud at my next thought.
It’s going to get old quickly having to constantly explain that to everyone around me.
“I should just order info cards to hand to people, instead of us having to explain it repeatedly,” Marshall sighs, then adds, “I’d feel more comfortable explaining how to handle any type of emergency that pops up if I’m not around, if that's okay with you Malise?” While I know it’s important for the people in my life to know what to do in an emergency, it still sucks feeling like I’m somehow defective sometimes.
“Of course! We will be roommates for a while, so that makes perfect sense. Besides, I’d actually like to know what to do if something happens.” Thankfully, Malise doesn’t seem put off by Marshall's request.
I hate feeling like a burden to everyone around me, and them having to learn how to take care of me if something happens, but unfortunately that’s the hand I was dealt in life.
“If you two want to start going over all of that, I’m going to take the first shower.
Besides, Marsh explains all of it better than I do,” I shrug.
He chuckles knowingly at me. “That’s fine. You take longer showers than I do, so it will give me more than enough time.”
Flipping him off over my shoulder as he continues to cackle, I turn and head toward my room.
I love having a twin almost one hundred percent of the time, but he can definitely be a handful.
Honestly, I’m thankful he takes my health so seriously and actually likes to take the time to educate anyone around me, because I don’t know how I would have handled everything on my own.
Dating with him around has been difficult, since he is so protective, but I’m the same with him.
I just want him to be happy, and to find someone who treats him right.
The couple of guys he did date were always too ashamed of being gay to go out in public with him.
I knew he hated it but there aren’t a lot of openly gay men in small southern towns.
Shaking my head to clear my mind and refocus, I turn the water in the shower on and let it warm up, feeling the inexplicable need to wash all the crazy off of me and reset.
Once the water is as hot as I can stand it, I step in.
Rolling my shoulders I feel my muscles relax, while my mind goes back over everything we learned today.
Not only are Marsh and I some super rare type of witch, but we also have ties to the Astrexus royal family.
I wonder what magic I will have. I don’t want to admit it to my brother but I’m terrified about what all of this will mean for us.
I’ve always been the odd one out, being a witch with a disability, and now this.
I just wanted a normal college experience but it’s starting to seem like all hopes of that are out of the window.
I sit on the shower bench and go through the process of scrubbing my legs down with the sugar scrub.
This one smells like coffee and is my absolute favorite.
I shave my legs, then stand up and repeat the process of exfoliating and shaving everything else, wondering if I’ll actually get the chance to date someone while I’m here.
Hell, even a friend with benefits would be great.
I’m so focused on conditioning and detangling my hair, I don’t even hear the bathroom door open, until the shower door swings open violently.
I scream and throw my brush at the sudden intrusion, Marsh moving just in time so it doesn’t smack him in the head. “What the fuck Marsh! You scared the hell out of me!” I place a hand on my rapidly beating heart, trying to calm my nerves back down. “Can you give me my brush back?”
Marsh glares at me. “Shit, Maggie! Did you not hear your dexcom beeping? I got an urgently low alert, so I brought you juice. Move the bench over and sit down. I’ll finish your hair while you drink.”
“No, I didn’t hear it, but I feel fine. Hand me my glucometer, let me make sure it’s correct first.” He sets the juice on the counter and grabs my meter, while I stick my hand out for him to dry off, wipe with the alcohol pad, and poke.
Holding the meter up so it catches the blood, it only takes a couple seconds. “Hmm, that’s weird. It’s ninety-three.”
“Was it your phone that went off?” I ask him, finally taking my brush back as he absent-mindedly passes it from where it landed on the floor.
“No, it was my watch. Maybe it was the alert from earlier and it’s just now coming through? Sorry, it scared me. Can you hurry and finish up so I can get in?” He asks as he closes the shower door.
“Okay, I just have to rinse the conditioner out. Would you grab me some yoga shorts and a sports bra? Thanks for checking on me, Bubba.” I’m sure most women would be pissed if their brother just burst into the bathroom while they were showering, and wouldn’t understand why it doesn’t bother me.
He’s not just my twin; he’s my best friend in the world.
There have never been any type of sexual feelings even though kids back home loved to make those kinds of sick jokes.
None of them ever cared to think about how that's gross since we share pretty much all of the same DNA, or that he’s gay and not into girls even if we weren't related.
Maybe we are weird for how close we are, but then again, we shared a womb for nine months.