Alice & Alyssa: Part Two

And...here you go! Sorry, it's a shorter section today... :(

Part Two:

Alyssa looked up at the bottom of her sister’s bunk thoughtfully as she lay sprawled out on her own bed. Alice sat at their desk; her pencil poised mid-air, waiting for her sister to continue where she left off. Alyssa went on, dictating the story.

“She looked at the cloaked stranger carefully.

‘Who are you?’ she asked. The cloaked stranger smiled mysteriously.

‘You shall know soon enough, follow me.’” Alyssa took a deep breath and Alice’s pencil stopped again.

“Our story sounds great so far. Maybe once we finish it we can publish it.”

Alyssa laughed. “I doubt our story will ever be good enough to publish, but it’s a nice thought. I just hope we finish it before school starts.”

Alice looked over at her twin dubiously. “You don’t think we can finish one little book in three months?”

Alyssa nodded. “I might get writer’s block, and that can stall an author for days, weeks, and even months. Hopefully I won’t, and at least we can get a head start while we’re here.” Her eyes wandered over to the open window, and she sighed contentedly. With another deep breath, she plunged into the story again.

“‘You shall know soon enough, follow me.’ The girl shook her head stubbornly.

‘Not until I know who you are and where you’re planning on taking me.’

The stranger laughed. ‘You are a careful one.’ He said at last.

The girl nodded. “Exactly. Now for the last time…who are you, and where are you taking me?’ The stranger sighed.” Alyssa halted again, and she dreamily played with the ends of her hair, looking thoughtfully out the window. Alice’s furious scribbling stopped and she looked up expectantly from her notebook. Alyssa suddenly smiled. “”Diana’s here!”

Alice began to write it down, but then realized what her sister had said. “What do you mean, ‘Diana’s here’?”

Alyssa jumped from her bed, nearly hitting her head on the top. “Diana’s here, the girl I met this morning, come on!”

Alice’s face cleared. “Oh! I thought you wanted that to go in our story!”

Alyssa shook her head. “No, no, never mind the story, just come on!” Quickly, the girls rushed down to the kitchen, grabbing some sandwiches and cookies their aunt had made before she left. Rushing outside, they both slid to a stop in front of Diana.

Alyssa grinned. “Hello again! This is my twin sister, Alice.”

Diana smiled and took the offered hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She looked from one sister to the other. “You don’t look like twins.” She explained.

Alice nodded. “I know, but we are. We aren’t identical twins.”

Diana raised an eyebrow. “I can see that.”

Alyssa changed the subject. “Let’s have lunch.” She brought out the sandwiches. “We have enough for you too Diana.”

“Thanks, I’m hungry!” She replied.

Alyssa laughed. “Didn’t you already have lunch?” She asked.

Diana grinned. “Actually, I was so excited about meeting you that I completely forgot!” The sandwiches were handed out and the girls had a picnic lunch right on their front lawn. Over lunch, Alyssa explained why they ended up in the neighborhood.

“And so we’re here with Aunt Lilyanna for all of summer and maybe some of fall too.” She finished.

Diana clucked her tongue sympathetically. “How are you going to survive with only one another for company most of the time?”

Alice shook her head. “Actually it’s pretty fun, we both love to read and aunt has piles of books that we’ve never read before. We’ve never found a book yet that we don’t like.”

Diana looked at them thoughtfully. “You two like to read?” Both girls nodded vigorously. Diana grinned. “Me too! We’ll have to switch around books sometime. I know of a great library that’s not too far away. It has a great selection of material.”

Alyssa clapped her hands in excitement. “That’s truly wonderful! Alice and I have been working on writing a book on our own, but we need some research material and writing books. The library will probably have those.”

Diana’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You mean you write too?” She asked. Again, the girls both nodded. “Can I read your book when it’s done?”

Alice and Alyssa nodded. “Of course you can! We need a proofreader!”

“Thanks! I’ll look forward to it!” Diana replied, her face dimpling into a smile. “I have to get back to help Mom with her grocery shopping. Thanks for lunch; it was nice meeting you Alice.” The girls parted with handshakes all around, and Alice and Alyssa went back to their writing.

They finished a chapter before their aunt came home, and evening came quickly. Soon both girls were sound asleep in bed, dreaming of faraway lands filled with mystery.

So...how do you like Alice and Alyssa's book?
Do you think they'll get it published?
What do you think happens to the girls next?