Shades of Cool, Tyler Galpin

TWO. my sister, a mirror I cannot avoid

      Andy and Wednesday grew up with Morticia and Gomez discussing Nevermore's hi온라인카지노게임. They would read them Edgar Allan Poe stories before bed. She's named after an Edgar Allan Poe character (Andromeda Lenore Adams, like she needed another reason for people to think she's a freak). The only color she was surrounded by was the color black. She never spent time outside, thus her very pale skin. Andy spent a lot of her childhood alone, and after a while she was able to convince herself that she liked it that way.

When the family walked into one of the rooms, Andy was blinded by a sea of bright colors. Her father gasped. "It's so. . . vivid." Gomez gasped.

Then, a flash of blonde and pink are in front of them and Andy flinches, seeing a girl with short blonde and pink hair, and she's smiling big. "Howdy, roomie!" She greeted Wednesday.

Wednesday took a startled step back.

"Wednesday, this is Enid Sinclair," a grinning Principal Weems introduced. "Enid, this is Wednesday's sister, Andromeda.
the girls, grinning. She motioned to the girl standing back. She'll be rooming across the hall with Kennedy."

Enid was gaping at the lack of color in their clothing. "Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale."

"Wednesday and Andromeda always look half-dead," Gomez chimed.

Her smile faltered. "Oh." Enid gained composure and stretched her arms. "Welcome to Ophelia Hall!"

Wednesday was quick to step back from the contact.

Again, her smile fell. "Not a hugger. Got it."

"Please excuse Wednesday. She's allergic to color," Morticia explained the dismissiveness.

"Oh, wow. What happens to you?"

"I break into hives and then the flesh peels off my bones."

Andy hid her grin. She felt a pair of comforting and cold hands on her shoulders. "Andromeda's the one with the softer touch." Her mother adds.

Enid perks up again. She moved in front of the other sister and opened her arms. Andy made no move but instead, Enid enveloped her in a hug and she froze. She wasn't a hugger either. "Oh, and I love your name!" Enid compliments once she pulls away. "It's so pretty!"

"Thanks," Andy muttered, still stiff.

"Luckily, we've special ordered you a uniform,"  Weems interjects. "Enid, please take Wednesday to the register's office to pick it up along with a copy of her schedule. Give her a tour along the way. Andromeda, shall we introduce you to your roommate?

"Ooh, you'll love her! She's one of my best friends." Enid assures and she and Wednesday leave the room.

When Andy's alone without her sister, she feels vulnerable. He followed Weens across the hall, keeping close to her family. She held her breath as she walked through the door, expecting another burst of color, but to her extreme shock, she's met by an abundance of black. Black painted walls, decorated with band and movie posters, mostly horror movie, and black bedding with purple care red pillows and blankets.

Her roommate was the complete opposite of Enid. She was tall, very tall, and her hair was long and brown and curly. "Hi!" She greets cheerfully, taking a large stride forward. "You must be the new girl."

"Kennedy, this is your new roommate, Andromeda Addams, your new roommate. Andromeda, this is Kennedy Eden," Weems introduced them.

Gomez and Morticia seemed delighted at the muted room. "Ahh, now this feels more like home," her father says.

Kennedy gave her a smile. "It's nice to meet you. Is it true you tried to kill a bunch of kids at your school?"

Weem's eyes go wide. "Miss Eden!" She scolds.

"What, too soon? And anyway, I think it's cool. It's about time Nevermore got a little excitement around here." Kennedy expressed. "I can be a little morbid sometimes if you can't tell by my room."

"I see that," Andy mumbled, although she did feel more comfortable than she did in Enid's room.

"I can tell you're not really a bright colored, happy-go-lucky kind of person which is great for me. Enid insisted on me painting my room yellow to 'bring me out of my funk' and I almost went into a coma."

She almost laughed.

The interaction made Morticia and Gomez smile.

"Kennedy, why don't you take Andromeda to the registry office to get her scheduled? Give her a tour as well."

"Right on." Kennedy agreed and gave her another smile, Andy nearly returning the gesture but instead, she merely nodded.

If Andy's plan was to blend into the crowd, the uniform certainly wasn't doing her any favors. All black like her usual attire, making her stick out like a sore thumb. She tried sucking it up and she followed beside Kennedy back to their room after getting her schedule.

When entering their room, Kennedy collapsed on her bed. "So tell me, Addams, how exactly did the attempted murder go?"

She wastes no time, Andy thinks. She slowly sat down on her own bed, which was not made yet. "These group of guys were messing with my brother. Wednesday and I took matters into our own hands. . ."

Kennedy smiled intriguingly. "Ooh, that sounds terrifying. I love it. What did you do? Enid wrote about it in her blog but I usually just skip through those."

"We threw piranhas into the pool during their swim practice.

She laughed a little too loud and Andy flinched. "Holy shit. I never would've thought of that. Nice one. I'll have to write that down somewhere." Kennedy laid flat on her back. "So, is there anything I should know about you, roomie? Besides you come from a family of psychos. . .no offense."

Andy cringes. "None taken. I don't really like to be called Andromeda. I mostly go by Andy. It's too long."

Kennedy turns her head towards her. "Andy," she recites. "I like it. It's cute. I have a lot of nicknames. Kenny, Ken, KK –that's what Enid likes to call me – bitch, psycho, crazy. . .you take the pick."

"Why do people call you all those things?"

"Many, many reasons," she stretched out her words dramatically. "Too many for me to go into detail because I don't really know you like that yet, but we'll get there. Just don't believe everything you hear about me. The only person who can gossip about me is, well, me."

Andy hummed. "Noted."

Smiling again, Kennedy rose to her feet. "So, how about that tour?"

She followed her out of the room and down the stairs.

"I'm not as big on the hi온라인카지노게임 of the school like Enid is, but I do know some stuff. It was built for people like us.  Y'know,  outcasts, freaks, monsters. The unlucky pick of the litter."

Andy eyed all of the framed photos and trophy cases in the display case. "Weems said something about there being a lot of famous alumni?"

Kennedy nodded. "Oh yeah. There's some kids that go here who's great, great,  great, great, great grandparents went to school here. Those are usually the rich, stuck up kids. I don't really associate myself with them. But my grandmother and parents went to school here. They're just not famous."

As she talked, Andy started to feel eyes on her. The uniform, pale skin, and dark hair was a slap in the face indicator that she was indeed an Addams.

And this is the quadddd," Kennedy sings once they reach outside. "This is where I am basically 24/7. That and the coffee shop in Jericho. Do you like coffee?"

She shakes her head. "No, not really."

"I don't really either. But I love hot chocolate. I've had the same order forever now — hey, I see your sister!" 

Andy can feel herself relax seeing her sister across the courtyard with Enid. The blonde's eyes it up at the sight of them. "Hey, guys! Kenny, can you believe we got the new girls?" Enid squeals.

"Exciting, right?" Kennedy looked down at Wednesday. "You must be Wednesday?"

"What gave it away?" She replied bluntly, having to look up because she was so tall.

She smiles at her. "I'm Kennedy. Nice to meet you."

"Nevermore's resident telekinetic and my best friend," Enid added in with a cute smile. "KK, I was just telling Wednesday about the four main cliques we have here."

The four of them start walking together. "Oh yeah. We call them fangs, furs, scales, and stoners. I'm sure some of them are self explanatory." Kennedy took over.

Enid pointed to a table of vampires. "Over there are the fangs. AKA, vampires. Some of them have literally been here for decades. That bunch of knuckleheads are furs. AKA,  werewolves. Like me!" The group of werewolves howled. "Full moons are usually pretty loud here. I suggest picking up noise cancellation headphones. Right, KK?"

Kennedy hummed. "Yep. Lots of Metallica and Nirvana at nights."

"I'm assuming scales are sirens?" Wednesday guessed, though her tone indicated that she didn't care.

"You catch on quick," answered Enid. She pointed to a group of sirens that were gathered around the water fountain. "And that girl, Bianca Barclay, this the closest thing Nevermore had to royalty."

"Totally gorgeous, but also a total bitch," Kennedy described, her arms crossed over her chest. "Stole my boyfriend."

Andy and Wednesday both turned to her.

"She and Kenny used to date our resident tortured artist, Xavier Thorpe," Enid began explaining and pointed across the yard to a boy painting a mural on the wall. "He and Bianca broke up at the beginning of the semester. Reason unknown."

"Fascinating," uttered Wednesday. She peered upward again. "Where do you fit into all of this?"

Kennedy grindd. "Us telekinetics don't really have a clique. There's not many of us. But that's okay because nobody can see me do this." She started smirking and with a short head jerk, Bianca fell backwards into the fountain.

Andy gasped while Wednesday appeared amused. "Impressive."

Kennedy smirked again. "Comes in handy." She laughed watching Bianca stomp away in anger, now dripping wet.

"Yo, Enid! Kennedy!" A boy wearing a beanie called their names. "You're not gonna believe the dirt I heard about your new roommates. I heard one of them eats human flesh! And the other cuts up their body parts—"

Enid and Cecilia's eyes went wide and they quickly looked at each other.

"Chowed down on those kids they murdered! You better watch your backs."

Silently, the two moved out of the way. Wednesday and Andromeda glared at him. "Quite the contrary. I actually fillet the bodies of my victims, then feed them to me menagerie of pets," she described morbidly.

"And I take cut off their body parts one limb at a time and listen to them scream as I do it." Andy added, smiling sinisterly at the way his eyes widened.

Enid gave him a light smile. "Ajax, this is my new roommate, Wednesday,"

"And this is my new roommate, Andromeda," said Kennedy. "But don't call her that. She might try and drown you."

Ajax looked them up and down. "Whoa. You're in black and white. Like a living Instagram filter—"

Enid pushed him out of the way. "Ignore him. Gorgons spend way too much time getting stoned. He's cute, but clueless."

"She has a crush on him if you couldn't tell," whispered Kennedy.

Enid quickly slapped her on the arm. She stopped working and faced the sisters. "Y'know, it's a small school and there wasn't much online about either of you. A little less about you, Andromeda. You guys should really get on Insta, Snapchat, and Tik Tok."

"I find social medial to be a soul sucking void of meaningless affirmation. And Andy's not very social," Wednesday explained monotonous. She took her sister by the arm and they walked away.

Kennedy watched them go. "They seem nice." She hummed.

"Andy, maybe. Not so sure about the other one." Enid mumbled sadly.

The Addams sisters stood side by side as the daily said their goodbyes. "Look at you, my little death trap and my dark angel. Seeing you in this uniform brings back so many terrible memories. Doesn't it, Tish?" Gomez blubbers.

Morticia was smiling. "Yes. Why don't you boys wait in the car?  The girls and I need a moment."

"Goodbye, father," Andy bid her father and hugged him.

"Goodbye, my black swan."

Puglsey hugged Wednesday with hesitation. She stood there uncomfortably. "Pugsley, you're soft and weak. You'll never survive without us. I give you two months, tops."

The boy frowned. "I'm gonna miss you, too, sis."

He then hugged Andy, and she leaned close to his ear. "Don't listen to her,  Pugsley. You're not weak. You're strong. Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're not. I'll cut out their tongues,"

That uplifted his mood. He walked back to his father and Morticia took his place. "Any plans you have of running away end right now. I've alerted all family members to contact me the minute either of you darken their doorstep.  You have nowhere to go." She knew her girls inside and out.

Wednesday stood there glaring at her. "As usual, you underestimate us, mother. "I will escape this educational penitentiary, and you will not hear from me again. Or Andy."

Her sister remained quiet.

"You are a brilliant girl, Wednesday, but sometimes you get in your own way. I'm sure you both will grow to love Nevermore,  and find it as life changing as I did. I got the two of you a little something," their mother continued and held two objects in her hands.  One was a necklace with the letters W and M on both sides. "W. . . M. Our initials. It's made of obsidian, which aztec priests use to conjure visions." 

She gave the necklace to Wednesday. Then, she turned to Andy. "And for you, my girl." She held up a small ring with a turquoise diamond, the color reflecting from the sky's natural light. "Your birthstone color. I think it matches you beautifully. It's made to enhance your powers so you can stay hidden as long as you need."

Andy eyed the ring endearingly as it was placed in the palm of her hand. "Wow." She gazed up at her. "Thank you, mother."

"They're a symbol of our connection."

"Which one of your spirits suggested this toe-curling tchotchke?" Wednesday's statement came out sarcastic.

"Wednesday," Andy muttered, casting her a warning stare.

She was ignored. "I'm not you, mother. I will never fall in love, or be a housewife, or have a family."

Morticia frowned. "I'm told girls your age say hurtful things, and I shouldn't take it to heart. But Andromeda doesn't say hurtful things."

"Fortunately, you don't have one."

Her smile returned. "Finally, a kind word for your mother."

Andy blinked, always disturbed by their strange dynamic.

"Lurch, the crystal ball, please."

Lurch came forward and handed Morticia a black bag. "Now, we can't talk to you for the first week while you're settling in, so we'll call you both next Sunday." She explained to the girls. The mother stepped forward for a hug but stopped. Instead, she turned to Andromeda and smiled. "My star," she spoke again, holding open her arms, and her eyes glisten with tears.

Andy accepted the hug. Her head rests on her mother's chest. She wonders to herself if her mother loves moments like this one between them. For a second, she's shown love and affection from one of her children instead of coldness. Is that really what she wants?

Soon, the sisters watch their family leave in the car and they walk back to the castle. "Why must you be so mean to her?" Andy mutters.

"She's trying to turn us into a version of herself, Andy," said Wednesday. "You might be keen on the idea of settling down for the rest of your life but I am not. I actually want to make something of myself."

Sister relationships can be the most violent relationships between family members. It's a unique relationship. A person who's known you your entire life, who would stand by you no matter what, and yet its a sister who knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt you the most.

Andy twists the turquoise ring around her finger. She steps out of the cage and walks into another one.