Her Chosen Mate

Chapter 5 - New Town, New Friends

"Come on lazy bones," Lucy's felt a slight shift under her as her mother shook her bed. "It's time to get up, we are going shopping for school, remember?"

“Great,” mumbled Lucy as she pulled the covers tighter around her.

“C’mon Luc or are you still not feeling well from yesterday,” her mother’s tone suddenly grew worried.

“I’m up!” she yelled as she bounded out of bed, tripping on her covers in the process.

“Careful, you don’t want to get twin knots on your head. I’ll be downstairs.”

Was that a joke? Lucy couldn’t remember the last time her mother made a joke; better yet, she couldn’t remember the last time her mother got so excited over anything. She quickly got ready and headed downstairs. By the time she got downstairs her entire family was ready and waiting.

“Did I miss something?” whispered Lucy, gesturing towards her mother.

“I don’t know; but whatever it is I must have missed it too,” whispered Derrick. “How about we not question a good thing.”

“Yeah but did it have to be today? I hate school shopping,” she whined.

“Me too; but let’s just get this over with, especially if it makes mom happy. Besides the sooner we get going the sooner we get back.”

“What are you two whispering about?” asked their dad as he grabbed his keys.

“It’s a twin thing,” replied Derrick. This was his standard response when he didn’t want to divulge, somehow it always seemed to work.

"Come on lets go,” said their mom excitedly. “Those shops won't empty themselves.”

 They all piled into their dad’s dark blue Ford Expedition and headed in the direction of the mall. Eastport Mall was a large shopping center that boasted a variety of top notch stores. Lucy sighed as she rummaged through the rails of T shirts, jackets and pants looking for school clothes more suited to the Oregon weather.

 “What do you think of this one?” asked her mother, holding a summer dress against Lucy to see how it looked.

“It’s cute; but I don’t think that’s appropriate for school,” replied Lucy. She didn’t really like the dress but she didn’t want to hurt her mother’s feelings.

“Oh we’ll just get it anyway,” replied her mother enthusiastically.            

“A-Are you sure? I mean I already have loads of summer dresses,” replied Lucy nervously.

"And now you'll have another one," smiled her mother.

"For real mom?" Lucy gave her mother an apprehensive look.

“It’s on sale, let’s get it,” insisted her mother sounding even more excited.

Lucy nodded. She could never say no to her mom, especially when she was in such a great mood.

“Let’s go try these on?” she suggested grabbing the handful of clothes Lucy had already selected.

They made their way over to the changing cubicles and Lucy went in while her mom handed her the pieces.

“What’d you think?” asked Lucy as she tried on each piece.

“I think they look cute on you,” replied her mother. “Try another one.”

This went on for twenty minutes until finally they had all the pieces they needed.

“I think we’re ready,” said Lucy as she moved toward the checkout counter.

Her mother abruptly grabbed onto her hand and for the first time all day gave her a solemn stare. “Hey Luc, I know I haven’t quite been myself lately; but I want you to know that you kids are always my top priority. I love you so much always remember that.”

“I know mom, don’t worry about it,” she replied giving her a smile.

“Good. Now let’s go get you checked out,” she said, returning Lucy’s smile.

They walked into a few more shops but couldn't find anything they liked. They eventually picked out some jeans and T shirts for everyday wear. By the time they had finished all their shopping Lucy had gotten a text from Derrick to meet them at the entrance of the mall.

“There you two are. We thought you might have been abducted by aliens,” joked Tim.

“Took you long enough,” added an annoyed Derrick. “Did you two buy the whole mall?”

Lucy gave them an annoyed snort, while her mom chuckled.

“Wait here I’m gonna go get the truck,” informed Tim.

“I’ll come with you hun,” offered Stephanie, following behind her husband.

“For someone who doesn’t like shopping you sure were in there a long time,” stated Derrick as soon as their parents were out of range.

“Mom was having a good time. What was I supposed to do?” defended Lucy.

“I haven’t seen her in this good a mood since before," Derrick trailed off as he remembered the incident.

Lucy looked at her bother in understanding. That was a night she never wanted to revisit. “She made a point of telling me she loves us today.”

“When?”

“We were in the store, she just grabbed me. It was kinda weird.”

“Well whatever is up with her I hope it lasts,” responded Derrick.

As they waited at the curb a bright red Mercedes Benz came screeching to a halt close by. Lucy and Derrick looked on as three guys got out of the car. They were clearly around the same age as the twins and they all wore football jerseys that had the word Cardinals printed in large bold letters across the chest.

“Hey Luc, I think those guys go to our high school,” nudged Derrick.

“Yeah? How do you know?”

“Cause that’s the name of the football team.”

“But they could just be fans,” replied Lucy.

"Don't be silly Luc," snorted Derrick.

"How am I being silly? It's a likely explanation," she defended.

“Well let’s find out,” replied Derrick, who started walking over before Lucy could stop him. “Hey! You guys go to Lincoln High right?”

“We do,” replied the one at the front. 

Lucy could hardly believe she was looking at a high schooler, he was taller than her father and certainly more muscular. He had raven-black hair that was cropped short; but still managed to fall messily over his forehead. His green eyes seemed to sparkle in the afternoon sun. His high cheekbones gave him a regal look and he seemed to carry himself with a sense of importance. He was clearly the leader of the gang. 

“You play for the team?” asked Derrick.

“Yup, you’re looking at the captain,” replied one of the others. He was almost as tall as his friend. He seemed excited, which caused his large brown eyes to light up. His sandy blonde hair was chin length and fell freely about his face. His body seemed built for contact sport and Lucy couldn't imaging anyone willingly tackling him on the field or off.

“Oh hey, I’ll be transferring in. I’m hoping to join the team,” informed Derrick

“You any good?” asked the guy who was identified as the captain.

“I’d like to think so,” replied Derrick in a failed attempt at modestly.

“Well tryouts are tomorrow after school; but if you want you could meet us at the park this afternoon and show us what you got,” informed the captain.

Lucy envied her brother. He could make friends anywhere he went, she on the other hand was shy, awkward and would much rather fade into the background. They were polar opposites.

“I’m Derrick by the way and this is my sister Lucy.”

“I’m Caleb and this is Jay and Tyler,” he pointed to his friends behind him.

Tyler was just as tall as Jay and had the same brown eyes; however that is where the similarities ended. His black hair was cut short, which showed off his dimples and even though he did look physically fit, he seemed slender compared to the muscular Jay.

“Nice to meet you guys,” replied Derrick; while his sister gave them a halfhearted wave.

“So Lucy will you be going to our school too?” asked Tyler, with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Lucy nodded as all the boys turned their attention to her. She couldn’t help but blush, she didn’t like being the center of attention; even if it was only for a second.

“We hope you come play with us,” said Caleb

“You should come too Lucy, we’d love some fans out there,” added Tyler.

“Ummm I’m good,” she replied.

“You sure?” asked her brother, he always wanted his sister to be included.

“I’m sure. I have a busy day?” she lied.

“Wha-,” He was interrupted by the blare of their father’s horn, and Lucy felt eternally grateful.

“See you guys later,” called Derrick over his shoulder as his sister half dragged him to the car.

“New friends?” asked Tim, when they were all seated in the car.

“Yeah they play for the team,” replied Derrick. “They invited me to play with them later today.”

“That’s great hun,” replied their mother. “I’m excited to see you play this season.”

The twins exchanged knowing looks at each other. Their mother hadn’t been to a game in ages; but they knew better than to point that out. They just hoped that whatever mood she was in today would make it to tomorrow at the very least.