behind him, he asked, “And just how does our sister know so much about her?”
Tapping Ronan on the shoulder, Saoirse declared, “Because your sister is Ruby’s dorm mate.”
Ronan turned around and was so surprised to see that his sister and her friend had caught up with them so quickly that he was momentarily speechless. The others couldn’t find their voices either, but for different reasons entirely. Saoirse didn’t have that problem, and now that she had the group’s full attention, she presented Ruby as if she were a prize that she had just won at a state fair. “Boys, may I introduce you to Miss Ruby Poltke.”
Examining Penry’s sister up close they saw that despite the physical similarities she shared with her late brother, she really wasn’t his
They were the color of a tranquil lake illuminated by the sun’s rays, a collection of blues that shimmered and twinkled. The loss of their function only made her eyes more alluring, more compelling, more difficult to resist. They drew the boys in, each one of them, and they found it impossible not to stare. Ruby’s expression was mostly blank, but her lips were pressed together as if smiling, satisfied, as if she knew she was commanding their attention and, even though she couldn’t see their admiration, she approved of it. She may have been Penry’s sister, but she was definitely the more complex twin.
“Hello.”
One word from Ruby triggered a cacophony of sound. Michael, Ronan, Ciaran, and Fritz all spoke at once. “Hi.” “Pleased to meet you.” “Welcome to Double A.” “Blimey! Penry never said you were such a dish!” Luckily the last comment spoken by Fritz blended into the crowd’s vocal onslaught so Ruby couldn’t hear it properly. Her smile just grew even more satisfied at hearing the flurry of verbal activity her simple greeting provoked. As did Saoirse’s. Proudly, the younger girl explained how she had become Ruby’s first and, so far, only friend at Double A.
“Now that Phaedra left us like the wind, you know, so to speak,” Saoirse explained, “Sister Mary put Ruby in with me.”
Now everything made sense to Ronan. “So this is why we haven’t seen that much of you,” he said.
“You’ve been getting Ruby acclimated to her new surroundings.”
“That’s my brother Ronan,” Saoirse clarified. “You’ll notice that his accent’s a little less refined than mine.”
“Shut up, Seersh!” Ronan exclaimed.
“As is his demeanor,” his sister added.
When Ruby laughed her eyes seemed to sparkle even more. “Hello, Ronan,” Ruby said. She thrust out her hand, and Ronan noticed that it wasn’t the awkward movement of someone who couldn’t see, but rather graceful, confident. “My brother told me that you’re quite the swimmer,” she continued.
“And the best captain the team could hope for.”
Ronan took Ruby’s hand, and, while it was feminine and soft, her grip was strong. Clearly, this was a girl who was not going to let her unfortunate condition weaken her. “Thank you,” Ronan replied, moved by her remark. “Penry was a right fine mate.”
Eager to keep the introductions moving and maintain her role as impromptu hostess, Saoirse gently turned to the left to draw Ruby’s attention away from one brother to the other. “And this is Ciaran,” Saoirse announced. “My other brother.”
“How do you do?” Ciaran asked, regretting the formality of his tone and his choice of words the second they were uttered.
“I told you he was a lot more like me,” Saoirse commented, then pulled Ruby in closer as she whispered, “We’re the sophisticated ones in the family.”
When Ciaran took Ruby’s hand in his all feelings of embarrassment evaporated. He didn’t hear the good- natured laughter that filled the air around him; he only felt Ruby’s gentle touch. It was exciting and familiar at the same time, and he was filled with an odd thought: he was glad that she was blind so she couldn’t see how he stared into her eyes. He couldn’t believe eyes that looked so beautiful, so perfect could be flawed. The scientist in him wanted to make them right; the teenager in him simply wanted to make her his. Unfortunately, he had competition.
“I’m Fritz. You sent me Penry’s comic books last year.”
Abruptly, Fritz took hold of Ruby’s hand, but even though the force of the interruption made her body shift toward him, her gaze didn’t move, she continued to stare in Ciaran’s direction. Everyone, except Fritz, noticed that the connection wasn’t severed. The only thing Fritz noticed was that Ruby’s hand felt very much like Phaedra’s, soft, inviting, and was a touch he wanted to get to know much better. “I’ve actually picked up where me and Penry left off and wrote a bunch of new comics,” Fritz prattled. “I’d love to show them to you sometime so you can see how I turned Penry into Double P, this kind of superhero. I think you’d really like them.”
“Fritz, if you haven’t noticed, Ruby’s blind,” Saoirse corrected. “The girl can’t see anything.”
This time it was only Fritz who became speechless. Thinking quickly, Ciaran decided to use the rare pocket of silence to his advantage. “Just a figure of speech,” he said. “The comics are quite fine actually. Penry would be proud.”
“I’m sure he would be; he loved to make up stories,” Ruby replied, smiling. “Perhaps you can read them to me.”
“I’d fancy that!” Fritz shouted, reclaiming his power of speech and the romantic reins from Ciaran.
“We can start with the zombie invasion, most popular issue yet.”
“I’m sure that’ll be the highlight of her day,” Saoirse mocked. She glanced at Ciaran and saw that he was trying not to show his disappointment at being upstaged by Fritz’s more aggressive behavior.
She wished she could think of something to say that would give him the lead over Fritz, but all she could think of doing was to change the subject and make the final introduction. “And this is Michael,” Saoirse declared. “He’s Ronan’s
“Which is French for ‘his boyfriend,’ ” Michael translated.
“Thanks a lot, Michael!” Saoirse chastised. “I was trying to be subtle.”
Laughing, Michael joked, “You wouldn’t know subtle if it whacked you across the side of your head!”
Hints of red colored Ruby’s plump cheeks as she laughed heartily. She gripped Saoirse’s arm tighter and pulled her close to her body. Michael wasn’t sure if she was always so physical, so carefree with her movements, or if the loss of her sight made her react without the usual self-consciousness he found apparent in most girls he met. Whatever the reason, he sensed that she possessed the same joy and playfulness that he had come to admire in Penry. He thought it would be a lot of fun to become friends with this girl.
He was wrong.
The second their hands touched Michael went blind. However, instead of his eyes being covered with a veil of impenetrable blackness, all he could see was white. He held on to Ruby’s hand tighter as he felt himself grow dizzy and his knees buckle. It was as if he was back in The Well when it was consumed with a bright white light, but it wasn’t a comforting memory. Originally, he had thought the white light was a godsend, some sort of message of hope that The Well was trying to convey, until the light revealed itself to be a vastly different form of communication. It had been an unwelcome warning. It was The Well’s way of advising Michael that he was changing, and if he wasn’t careful, if he wasn’t true to his real self, he could evolve into something deplorable and unwanted. Holding onto Ruby, seeing nothing but dense, thick white, he knew that he was being given another message; he just didn’t know if it was good or bad.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Michael,” Ruby said quietly. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
When Ruby spoke, Michael’s sight returned. Gone was the absence of everything and filling the void was Ruby’s face, her lips smiling slightly, her dead eyes seemingly alive. He was relieved that things were back to normal, but he wasn’t naive. He wasn’t always happy to admit it, but he had learned that everything—every dream, every vision, every bizarre coincidence—happened for a reason. Ruby was connected to the same white light that had emanated from The Well; how and why he didn’t know. But at least he was aware of the connection; that was a start. “Pleasure’s all mine Ruby,” Michael lied. “I think we’re going to be great friends.”
