My twin and I are nothing alike. And yet when he purposed the idea of running away, I instantly agreed. Aunt Jenna is only ever nice when her boyfriend comes over, and it’s a different dude each time. I guess we’re both fed up with her pretending like she’s our real aunt, or like she’s not getting paid for taking care of us, or that she doesn’t use the money for her own good. Tonight’s the night we finally do something about it.

But of course, when I walk into my room, my brother is comfortably relaxing on my bed and playing catch with a rubber ball.

“Are you kidding me? I told you to pack!” I thrust my sweater at him, but he doesn’t stop his game.

“I don’t know what to do,” he complained. “What do runaways pack anyway?”

“Don’t be so stupid! This is new to me too, you know. Anything you think you’ll need, but nothing unnecessary.” I recollect my sweater and fold it up again. “We don’t have much time. Jenna will be back soon, and we still need to-“

“She won’t,” my twin suddenly says.

“What do you mean?”

He stops throwing the ball and swings his legs over the side to get up. “I said she won’t be back soon. I made a deal with Jamie.”

I frown. “Jamie?”

“Jenna’s new boyfriend.” He grinned. “I promised not to tell her about seeing him in the mall with another blonde. We have until midnight.” He threw the ball at me and I caught it with my right hand. “Not so stupid now, am I?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “You are. You’re the smartest kind of stupid. I didn’t know Jenna was over Paul.”

“Way over. Paul is ancient history. Jamie is the better version now.”

“And what’s the difference?” I ask.

He shrugs. “He’s easier to bribe.”

I nod understandingly. “Fine. Now that we got more time, let’s decide where on earth we’re headed after the bar. Milo can’t hide us forever.”

“I say, we pick out new names, disguise as children of different celebrities, and buy a car to go on a global road trip.”

I blink. “We’re 15. We don’t have license. And I’m not willing to spend my youth in jail even for a million dollars.”

“That’s because you’re boring.”

“That’s because I’m responsible.”

“I bet your name tag in kindergarten read ‘Bland and Basic’.”

“At least it didn’t say ‘Clown’.”

He put a hand to his heart dramatically. “That hurt my feelings.”

“It fully intended to.” I raised my hands. “Sorry. We don’t have time for this. Just pack your belongings and let’s go. Milo is closing his place at 9:00. We need to be there ten minutes after that so the customers leave. We’ll spend the night there, and see where we go next in the morning.”

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“Neither can I. But it’s a good thing. We gotta stick together, that’s all.”

He smiled. “Thanks. For being here. Imagine not having someone to bug.”

“Imagine not having someone to bug you.” I smile back, then throw the ball back at him. “Now go pack.”