The Laugh Track

Chapter One

Hello Wattpad!!!

I just wanted to say that, this is an unedited story that I will be posting to slowly, so please be kind. Thanks!! Suggestions are appreciated!

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Chapter One

On that fateful day in early June, I open my eyes to my brother, Rowan sitting at the end of my bed. He's gingerly holding my copy of The Ordinary Princess and studying the cover. It is a book from when books were more common. My grandmother tells me about a time when people could have a shelf of books in their houses and not get ticketed. They had enough money to pull together everything to have these huge, 'libraries', they called them.

Now, we can have one book each. One book, chosen by our parents (government approved of course) to be our book through our life. We each get one book but we are the only ones who have that book. It is as individual as our fingerprint, and even so much so that what our book is can be used as a security question because obviously, the government knows.

We have security questions even though they are unnecessary now. At one time, people fought each other. People did not get along, and they did not get along because they are different. At least that is what they tell us in history class. They say we need to learn about the past so that it could never be repeated.

Suddenly I was snapped out of my random thought spiral by Rowan saying to me, "Oh, good, you're awake." he slowly moved toward the door as he continues "mom needs you downstairs." at that he shut the door with an air of defiance.

'What was that about?' I think to myself as I grab my outfit for the day which consists of a red, faded tee that says something about something called Christmas, and a parade, and a pair of dark jeans.

As I pull on my outfit I mutter to myself about "why can't Rowan be civilized for once?" and "why is he mad at me now?". I must have done something quote-unquote rebellious, I think sarcastically.

You see, Rowan is my twin brother, and the perfect example of a model citizen, helping old ladies cross the street, and always wearing the perfect regulation clothing of a button down shirt, and dark jeans even though nobody follows, or enforces the dress code.

On the other hand, I, Adeen, am a bit of a rebel. Not the kind that is rude, and wears leather all the time, not the stereotypical rebel, but the subtle kind. I just guess that I am not a goody two shoes like my brother is.

My outfit you can tell in what way, I am a rebel. I am not following the exact rules, but there is nothing truly wrong with what I am doing. I choose to wear a tee shirt and jeans instead of the regulation polo shirt, and pleated skirt.

I guess I am a mainstream rebel. I do what the other people are doing, and most of the times, it is technically rebellious.

As I make my way downstairs through the thin hallway separating my brother, and I's bedrooms from our parents bedroom from the stairs which lead to the living room, bathroom, and kitchen where the rest of my family unit is at the current moment, well, at least until all of a sudden I see Rowan storming past me, barely squeezing himself past me, and through the door frame.

As I see his turned back disappear through the open door that we keep open in the summer I ask my parents, "what is he so grumpy about today?"

My mother turns to face me, abandoning the potatoes she was boiling for dinner "I don't know. He came in this morning like this and was as grumpy as could be. He is refusing to eat or help with the cooking or dishes. He passed my Mrs. Brent with her bags unloading, trying to get them into her house, and just passed by her," she said with confusion.

Is that had been me who had done those things, nobody would have thought twice about it. It is just my personality, but Rowan? He is supposed to be the perfect, good, kind, and smart one in our family. Not the jerk.

I finally respond to my mother, "I don't know what is going on with him. When he woke me up this morning he just sat, and looked at my book, and when I woke up on my own he was quite rude and quickly told me that you wanted me. It was weird. He is usually the one to come in and be annoyingly happy. He even slammed my door this morning."

My mom responded with"I just don't understand, it must have been that wretched girlfriend that did it to him!".

Mother hates Rowan's girlfriend Lina. She hates her with a burning passion and nobody knows why. She is 15, while we are 14, but she is young in her 15th year, and we are old in our 14th, so that is not a huge problem. She is popular, kind, funny, and intelligent. Sometimes she feels too perfect like she has no faults.

If she were going to break up with him, she would have a very valid reason, and she would be as kind as humanly possible about it, so I doubt that it is. Then I remember something, "oh god, oh god. Oh no. We did not forget. No, no. no. This cannot be happening."