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CHAPTER ONE
THAT BOY,
he caught her eye, and don’t get her wrong, not in the gooey romantic way that her pal Nikki rambles on and on about, but just in a way that made him seem so familiar, yet she didn’t even know his name. “Class, this is Damien Lei, I hope you make him feel welcome here”, Mr.Beakley said in his usual booming voice. It was amazing that he has the voice and spirit at his age, no offence thought Celia. The boy, Damien, calmly walked over to his desk and sat down without a sound with a serious look on his face. Celia felt like she had met him before, somewhere.
A small wad of pink notebook paper sailed through the air and hit her thigh. Knowing that it was a note from her best friend, the loud and confident Nikki Miller, Celia opened it carefully when the teacher wasn’t looking, and in Nikki’s big, curvy writing was “Hey girlfriend, new Chinese guy huh, that’s not new. I mean like half of our class is Chinese! I would ask if u were related, but to me all u Chinese people look alike!” I guess she’s right, since my neighborhood is the main place for Chinese immigrants, because there is an oriental supermarket about 2 streets down, pondered Celia. Her wild and imaginative friend was as crazy as her outfit, a red tank top and a bright green miniskirt with pink and purple striped socks. She thought of her own clothes, calm blues, greens, orange and Celia wrote beneath the giant letters “I agree”, and sent it flying to another one of her best friends, the gothic Dory McCrae who was wearing a black outfit and tall boots, her dark brown hair in a long braid.
Everything would have been just fine if the stupid spoiled Samantha Kearney hadn't caught it. She then smirked at them and flipped her perfect blond curls over her shoulder, raising her hand with a pout on her face. Her perfect designer outfit and a Gucci bag only made things more frustrating for Celia’s friends. “Mr.Beakley, Celia, Nikki and Dory are passing notes again.” Celia turned red and looked flustered, as Nikki and Dory shrugged, used to the tattletale. I forgot that you’re not supposed to pass notes, thought Celia. With the incredible patience of a teacher, he smiled and simply said “Now, now, I’m sure there is a good reason for this.” Good old Mr.Beakly, always trusting… maybe too trusting eyed Nikki, in a secret language that only the 3 of them knew. Celia turned around, seeing Christopher looking at her with eyes that she did not recognize, big and dazed. When he realized Celia was staring back at him, his cheeks turned pink and then looked away. She fiddled with her favorite blue pen, shocked, realized why Damien was so familiar as it landed on the ground with a gentle clatter. It had all started a few weeks ago on her 14th birthday…
“Celia, your friends are at the door!” She ran downstairs with excitement springing in her step. “14, I’m turning 14!”, muttering to herself as her friends, Dory, Nikki, Michelle, Jessica and Sherry stormed in with colorful presents with beautiful wrapping paper. “Welcome”, she said politely, with a smile. The whole afternoon was all fun and games, which all ended in a blur. The cake was the most delicious and moist that Celia had ever tasted. She sadly escorted Michelle out as her last guest, thanking her for the flip-flops she bought. Smiling and waving, Michelle drove off.
Suddenly, her parents Lisa Zhen and David Zhen walked out nervously down the stairs presenting a small wooden box to Celia. It was absolutely gorgeous! The box was crafted down to the last detail polished off with a glimmering coat. “Happy 14th birthday, sweetheart”, her dad said, almost sadly. “Open it”, Celia’s mom unsurely muttered, keeping a fake smile on her face. Inside, was a necklace, the Yin of Yin and Yang. Even though this necklace was not as beautifully crafted as the box, the simple elegance of the necklace drew her into it, as if it had some mysterious power. Where’s the other half? She wondered. “Thank you so much! It’s beautiful”, Celia responded, putting the necklace on. Out of the blue, her parents started to cry, and when she asked them what was wrong, they just nodded and said “It suits you very well, look in the mirror” She did, and everything seemed almost completely normal, the typical long black hair and bangs, almond eyes, tanned skin, but with the necklace on, her hair seemed shinier, eyes gleaming with life, and skin appearing soft and elegant. Thinking that everything was just due to her happiness, Celia just blinked and asked her question, with a calm tone “Where is the other half?” her Mom ran upstairs, sobbing as Celia’s dad just looked at her as if she had said that she was an alien while rushing to her side.
Since then, Celia had always kept the necklace on, even when sleeping. It felt as if the Yin was a body part, and if it were removed, her body would be incomplete. Strange things started happening to her, like when she walked down the street, it felt more like she was hovering and when going to the beach, the ocean would be wild if Celia was frustrated (which wasn’t very often), and calm if she was happy or mellow. She convinced herself that this was all just a coincidence, and she was being distracted by something. There was also this one reoccurring dream, where she would be standing on the ocean with the wind blowing and sees this boy, this one Chinese boy with black bangs would be reaching out to her in the midst of fire and vines. But in this dream no matter how far Celia stretched her arm, she couldn’t reach him, though he was right in front of her. Even like this, the boy’s eyes were dazed and glassy, as if he did not realize what he was doing. Every night, Celia would wake up from this dream drenched in anxious sweat.
Damien, that’s the boy in my dream, reaching out for me! But what does he have to do with me? Celia screamed in her mind, losing her usual, scatterbrained and clumsy attitude. Everything was jumbled up in her head, clutching Celia in confusion. Later on, when she explained this strange dream and some of the other things that were going on to her friends all they said was “Oh, our best friend is in love!” Which would then make her say “But I didn’t know the guy before.” In that case they would simply look at each other and declare, “Then it was destiny!” Then with a wagging finger, Nikki said, “But don't betray Christopher!” in a very sing-song voice. After that, Dory, with a scary look in her eyes said, “If someone hurts our little Celia, I will kill them”. Shudder. Did I mention by any chance that Nikki is boy crazy and, well, drives me nuts, she recorded in her brain journal. I can’t talk to Dory and Nikki about my problems and if I happened to speak to my parents, then I was afraid that mom will start crying again, considered Celia. Her last option would be to talk to Damien herself, but that could seriously backfire. All of a sudden, Celia remembered the Yin necklace that she had gotten for her birthday. She felt almost angry, wanting to rip it off, but something resisted, going against her own will.
The day went on; the world kept turning, though all Celia did all day was try to sort everything out. While tapping her fingers on my desk lost in her own thoughts, and caught Damien staring at her, almost as if looking for an answer in her. Celia’s instinct said that the only way this issue would be resolved would be if she talked to him, so on a piece of notebook paper, she scrawled, “Meet me at the library at 4 after school. We need to talk.” She threw it over, and fiddled anxiously as he opened the ball, expecting the worst, but he merely looked me and solemnly nodded, as if thinking the same thing. Celia then caught Samantha catching her in the act, and the puke green eyes glistened as the brats hand prepared to soar up. Suddenly feeling a surge of angry power, Celia stared at her as directly in the eyes as possible, so intense that she could see her own reflection. Abruptly, Samantha’s eyes went blank and glazed over, as her hand landed on her desk in a quiet thunk. Nikki, not paying much attention to the ridiculously easy math class and gave Celia a smile and thumbs up, looking surprised at the turn of attitude, since anger was rare in Celia’s case but knowing her well enough, when she got angry she would really get into it. Celia thought that Nikki’s beautiful long red curly hair shone, reminding her of newly polished pennies matching beautifully with her dimples and freckles. She felt bubbly and proud, but something inside of her churned.
After what seemed like forever the day ended and Celia waited anxiously in the hallway of the library at 3:55 trying to stop her hands from shaking. When Damien finally arrived, the questions that she had planned to ask him flew right out of her head, and she pretty much stood there like an idiot, flustered. “Before you speak, I would like to say that I am not actually Damien, but his older brother Alexander, and I just came around to investigate you and your school.” , said the boy, almost as if it was completely casual. “B-but why? Why are you following me?” Celia stammered, “Why did you pretend to be your brother?” You’re the guy in my dream, she shrieked in her head. Arms crossed, almost as if reading her mind, he blinked and said, “Many mistaken my brother and I as twins, because we look very alike, but as you can see, I have this mole under my eye, whilst he does not.” Whilst? Celia thought to herself, how old is this guy? “I am here to tell you something neither you nor Damien knew about” She held her breath. “Damien is your long lost twin sibling, Celia Xue, and thus, your life shall be changed forever.”
