There was only one way to get rid of Jane. It was sickening enough that there was another figure on the planet who shared the same features with her. Every time she stepped out of her room when they were younger, her mother consistently had to ask who she was.
source
“Jane or Mary?” And Jane always came first.
Jane, the 5”7 blonde haired with sea blue eyes and rose pink lips. The one who had a sweet smile for everyone and an answer to every question asked in class. Even when people knew there were two of them, they preferred to call them both “Jane”. It was difficult to have someone approach her and say “Mary” first. Jane was who they all cared about.
To them, there were 2 Janes and no Mary.
But all that was going to come to an end after graduation.
To Mary, she was the most pretty of the twins irrespective of the fact that they were the spitting image of one another. Their mother could only tell them apart by their character. If she decided to smile and say “Good morning Mom” in a sing-song voice as soon as she walked down the stairs, her mother would immediately think she was Jane.
She sucked her stomach in the low-cut emerald green dress she had on and smiled.
Indeed, there was only one way to turn everyone's attention from Jane to herself, and she was going to do it after graduation.
She took the dress off and tucked it away in between her underwear, then went downstairs.
Jane was already downstairs, saying grace for breakfast.
“Amen” her parents chorused.
“Mary! Good morning” Jane said in her sing-song voice. “Come and have a seat, Mom has prepared your favorite for breakfast” Mary sneered at her and took the place beside her father. Jane always sat next to their mother.
There was something fishy going on. Their mother never prepared their favorite dishes except it was their birthday or she wanted them to do something inconvenient for her. Mary could see that there was also a big roast chicken at the center of the table. That was Jane's favorite.
“So Mary, how do you like the pancakes?” Her mother, Amelia, asked. She was beaming with smiles. Mary sneered at her too.
“They're good. I guess”
“You know your mom makes the best pancakes” her father chuckled beside her. She sighed wearily. If they had something to say, she preferred they said it already instead of upsetting her with their niceties.
“So girls, an opportunity has come up at the infamous New York City. A scholarship to study nursing immediately after your graduation! Just what you wanted, right?” Jane squealed excitedly and threw her arms around her mother while Mary's fork clattered to her plate.
Amelia detangled herself from Jane's embrace and turned to the other twin.
“What's wrong Mary?”
“I don't want to go to nursing school. I've never wanted to be a nurse”
“But you're good at science. Everyone knows that” Jane protested
“No, everyone thinks that because of you. I'm not you, Jane. I don't want to be you.” Then she turned to her mother, “I always wanted to be a model, to own a fashion brand, and I told you so….”
“Mary, this is a scholarship. It's an opportunity of a lifetime” her father began,
“I don't care! Who gave you consent to apply for a scholarship on my behalf?” She rose from the table now, her perfect olive skin turning red with anger. “I do not want to be a nurse just because Jane wants to be one. I AM MARY, NOT JANE!”
“Mary, everyone knows who you are” Jane was up now, her own olive skin turning a light shade of pink. “You're the twin who never listens, thinking she can navigate the world all by herself. If you could, God would never give you parents. Mom has made the best choice for us, we should be grateful instead of throwing tantrums”
Amelia turned to her husband helplessly. When the girls began like this, there was no stopping them.
“Oh, you talk to me about God now, but I talk to you about you. Why do you have to be so selfish? There are 2 of us. Not just you, why do you always want to overshadow my existence with your good-for-nothing pretentious lifestyle…”
“Mary!...” Amelia cut in but the other twin wasn't done.
“After graduation, I'm leaving. I was going to do it secretly but since we're having this conversation, it would be best to let all of you know. I'm going to show myself to the world instead of suffocating under Jane's identity. And DO NOT ever try to find me”
Turning to Jane, she said, “As for you, keep out of my business until then and once I leave, keep out of my life”
Mary picked her backpack up and walked out, she didn't even turn around when for the first time, her neighbor said “Good morning Mary” instead of “Good morning Jane”.