Two Of A Kind

—Ch. 1—

When the bell rang, everyone except a certain brown-haired and freckled adolescent girl — and the students who lingered afterschool for extracurricular activities — dashed out of the building, heading home for the day. Leah was in Mr. H's office, and her mother was there as well. As the minutes ticked away, Leah tried to avoid making eye contact with the two adults who were staring at her. "All right, Leah, can you explain why I was called here?" Mrs. Daytona said, tapping her foot as she stood next to the principal.

Mr. H cleared his throat and leaned forward, his hands crossed and his head rested on them, his elbows resting on the table for support, waiting for Leah's reaction. Leah shivered and fidgeted with her fingers. As she shifted her gaze to the side, her voice trembled. "W-well.."

- _ - _ - _ -

Leah played Juliet in theatrics, but she went a little TOO dramatic and confused everyone by using the prop dagger and stabbing herself constantly. "Yea, noise? then I'll be brief. O happy dagger! This is thy sheath; there rust, and let me die." She then "passed out", groaning softly, on top of the boy who had been cast as Romeo. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with this girl or why it took her 20 minutes to fall to the ground as it was supposed to.

Leah grabbed a bottle of glitter and tossed it around in art class, attempting to imitate the casting of magical spells. It irritated both her classmates and her teacher. It made quite a commotion on the floor, tables, and among the children.

Finally, the cherry on top. Leah needed to finish a simple ELA project. Using a diagram, a book essay, or any other creative method you can think of, create a synopsis of your favorite book. Leah took a risk and unintentionally released a swarm of snakes while reciting the plot of her favorite fantasy novel. The students fled the room, fearful of the snakes attacking, except for that other strange boy who sat there befriending the snakes. "I'll call you Fred," he said as he picked up the snake. "See, you got me!" Leah said, making a finger gun motion with her hands.

- _ - _ - _ -

"Sooo.....yeahh....." Leah chuckled, a little nervously. Mrs. Daytona's eyes were wide open. She was taken aback. "You let loose a swarm of SNAKES!" she exclaimed, her hands on her head. "Where did you even get them?" she inquired shortly after. "Magicians never reveal their secrets," Leah said, pointing to her fingers and clicking her tongue.

A loud shriek could be heard just outside the office. Earlier, a group of teenagers were attacked by non-venomous snakes. Leah turned around quickly and dreaded turning around again. When she did, she was met with stern stares from her mother and Mr. H.

Leah scratched the back of her head, nervously chuckling, "so that's where the rest of them went..." Mr. H sighed in frustration as her mother dug her face into her hands. "And I didn't even make it to act 3..." sunk Leah into her seat, looking at the floor.

Mrs. Daytona took a deep breath and let it all out, attempting to relax in this situation. "Of <b>what</b>?!" she exclaimed, her voice shaking. Leah sat up, ecstatic "Oh, yes! Act Three contains a section in which-"

Mr. H had had enough and abruptly raised his hand, cutting Leah off before she could say anything else. "Leah, chérie, I know you like to be wild and creative, but this is the third time you've been in the principal's office," Mrs. Daytona said, her arms crossed and a concerned expression on her face.

"This isn't about the book report, léa; I'm concerned about you," she declared emphatically. "When was the last time you had real friends, not doodled, reptilian, or fictitious ones?"

Leah took a breather before sinking into her seat and groaning. She sighed and closed her eyes, her head drooping in defeat. Mr. H shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry for bringing you back here, Mrs. Daytona," he said as he turned to face her, "but I'm sure we can find a way to channel all that energy your daughter has, rather than trying to get rid of it."

"I might have one suggestion," he said, standing up and taking a pamphlet from the shelves.
He slid the pamphlet across the table, stopping where Leah sulked. She fixed her gaze on it, not moving a muscle, and read the pamphlet's title.

- _ - _ - _ -

So, Leah, there she was. Waiting for the bus to come and pick her up and take her to—

"Welcome to Evergreen Camp!" Her mother squealed with delight. Leah was staring across the street, ignoring her mother, with a blank expression on her face. Mrs. Daytona sighed and placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders, softly saying, "Come on, chère, it's going to be fantastic!" Leah stood motionless, staring. Her mother paused for a moment before starting to tickle Leah, which always made her laugh. That is exactly what happened.

"Quit it, Mom!" Leah let out a snort. Mrs. Daytona chuckled as she came to a halt. Leah sighed and looked at her mother, weakly smiling and holding her head high despite her nervousness. "Aww, don't be sad, my pêche; your father and I love you, and I'm confident you'll make wonderful friends, okay?" Her mother pressed her daughter's cheeks together. "Plus, it'll only be three months, and you'll be so busy having fun and balancing textbooks that the time will fly by!" she remarked softly.

"THREE MONTHS?!" exclaimed Leah, with puppy eyes and big cartoonish tears streaming down her face. "OH! My darling. Don't weep!" Mrs. Daytona chuckled, clutching her melodramatic daughter tightly.

"Oh sweetie, I have to go take your younger brother to a stayover," her mother said after checking her wristwatch. "Your bus will be here soon, too," she said as she kissed her daughter on the cheek and grabbed her bag's strap. Leah's gaze was fixed on the ground.

"Quand tu seras là-bas, envoie-moi un texto et je te répondrai, promis, d'accord?" her mother said. She then returned to the house to retrieve Michael.

"Bye mom," Leah sniffed, still looking down at her feet.

-——⍟——-

Hullo!
Now I know what you're thinking
"This sounds like the owl house, smh."
And yes, I know, I know.
But I took inspiration from the series to create it into something different so I can tell Leah's story

So if you see anything similar. Ykyk