In our daily lives, we look for ways to economize, such as purchasing two things for the price of one. We know what we’re getting and we welcome the opportunity.

However, in some situations, two for one may not always be what we expect. What if we believed one person had entered our life, only to find out it might be two. This could turn out to be quite confusing, as you will discover in . . .

It

     A brisk wind blew, as seventeen-year-old Angelique strolled down Garfield Avenue on her way to Market Street to catch the eleven-thirty bus to the sports arena. She pulled up the collar on her coat, as the wind rustled her now unruly red hair. Her mind, cluttered with many thoughts, focused on Monique, her sixteen-year-old sister. In many ways, they were similar, but, at the same time, quite different. As she turned onto Market, Angelique shouted . . .

     “Did you see ‘It’?”

     “See what?” Monique queried.

     “’It’, over there, behind the bush in front of the liquor store.”

     “Huh, I don’t see anything.”

     “Are you blind, Monique?”

     “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, Angelique.”

     “Well, ‘It’ is gone now. So it doesn’t matter.”

     “What doesn’t matter?” Monique asked, now quite frustrated by her sister’s inability to make any sense.

     “’It’.”

     “It? What’s an it?”

     “I can’t explain. You had to see ‘It’.”

     “See what, Angelique?”

     “I already told you—‘It’.”

     “I’ve had it with you, Angelique. You’re driving me crazy.”

     “I can’t drive you when you’ve already arrived. Oh, my God, ‘It’ is back.”

     “What’s back?”

     “’It’ is back.”

     “Where?”

     “Over there, behind the red truck.”

     “Oh, the guy looking at his tire. Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?”

     “No, not him, ‘It’.”

     “It?”

     “Yes, don’t you see ‘It’?”

     “No, I don’t. And when I ask where or what it is, you’ll say it’s gone. So, my wonderful sister, I don’t care.”

     “Well, ‘It’ is gone. You missed ‘It’ once again.”

     “Guess I’ll have to be satisfied with not knowing. Anyway, here comes the bus.”

     Angelique, along with Monique and her questions about ‘It’ tucked away in her mind, boarded the bus, paid the fare, and shuffled down the aisle to the back and slumped into a seat in the third row from the rear.

     Monique was somewhat mystified by Angelique’s seat choice and grumbled, “Why’d we have to come all the way back here when the whole bus was empty?”

     Angelique shrugged her shoulders. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” she blurted.

     “Try me,” Monique retorted.

     “All right. But remember you asked me to do this. ‘It’ thought this would be the best place to sit, under the circumstances.”

     “Circumstances? What circumstances?”

     “’It’ didn’t say.”

     “Is this thing in control of you,” Monique groaned.

     “Not exactly.”

     “Then, what?”

     “I don’t think I want to share ‘It’ with you. ‘It’ is mine, not yours.”

     “If that’s the way you want to be, then I don’t want anything to do with you,” Monique stated.

     At that moment the bus came to a stop. The door opened and passengers climbed aboard. Two guys in their late teens made their way to the rear of the bus. One started to take the seat directly in front of Angelique.

     Angelique cried out, “You can’t sit there!”

     “Why not?” the young man, dressed in an open collared, long-sleeved, plaid dress shirt and tan khakis, asked in a polite manner.

     “Because ‘It’ has taken it,” Angelique replied, in a snooty way.

     The young man looked around, first to his left and then his right. Then mocking Angelique, he bent down and searched under the seat. He stood up and stared straight at her and blurted, “The seat is empty, and it’s mine to take. And besides, if someone is joining you, they can sit next to you in your row.”

     “But that seat is taken, too. My sister is sitting there.”

     “Huh?” The young man looked dumbfounded. His eyes perused the area and saw just Angelique sitting behind the seat he intended to occupy. “Is she in the bathroom?” he asked.

     “What? No. She’s sitting right beside me.”

     “Are you some kind of nut job? There’s nobody sitting next to you.”

     “What are you talking about? Are you kidding me?”

     Not wanting to get more involved with this girl, he grabbed the arm of the other young man, who had stood in silence next to him through this ordeal, and began to drag him down the aisle. “Let’s sit up front. That girl’s a lunatic,” he said loud enough for Angelique to hear.

     Angelique ranted, “Good riddance, idiot boy. I don’t want you near me and my sister.”

     The young man, tempted to give her the finger, ignored her. He and his friend moved quickly to the front of the bus and sat down.

     This whole episode took just a few minutes. With all passengers now seated, the bus driver closed the doors and continued on his way.

     Angelique shook her head. “Can you believe what happened, Monique?”

     Resurfacing, Monique exclaimed, “What a creep. I’m so proud of how you dealt with the situation. He was very immature. And I can’t believe he treated me as if I didn’t exist. He had no manners at all.”

     “Boys. They never do grow up, do they, Monique?”

     “You’re so right. It’s a shame they don’t realize how badly they behave. We, on the other hand, act like grownups. We have it all together.”

     “We sure do. And I’m so glad we have each other. We don’t always agree, but, in most cases, we are on the same page.”

     “Yes, we are. Sometimes it’s hard to tell us apart, Angelique.”

     “After all is said and done, we are sisters, Monique—joined at the hip and always in each other’s thoughts.”

     The girls began to chuckle. ‘It’ was no longer an issue. ‘It’ had disappeared into the depths of their mind—lost for now, and maybe forever.     

     Then the bus driver announced they had arrived at the sports arena. Angelique gathered up her stuff and chanted, “Monique, this is the concert we’ve been waiting for. The ‘Great Sensations’ are the best.”

     “Well, I hope so. They were your choice, not mine, Angelique.”

     As Angelique reached the front of the bus, the driver called to her, “Young lady, you gave me enough money for two tickets when you got on the bus. You moved to the rear so fast, I didn’t have a chance to give you your change. So, I owe you four dollars.”

     “Why thank you for letting my sister ride free,” Angelique murmured, as she took the money.

     “Sister? What sister?” the driver asked.

     “Oh, don’t worry about it.” Angelique said with her nose in the air, as she descended the steps. “Come Monique, let’s go have a sensational time at the concert and I’ll buy the drinks.”

     As her feet hit the sidewalk, she looked back at the bus driver and smiled. Then she danced off down the block toward the arena, leaving him in total dismay. 

Copyright © 2017 Alan Lowe. All rights reserved.