Torn Between Twin Brothers

James knew that Ashton wasn't kidding. When they were young, they had switched places several times to play a joke or just to see if they would be caught. They found that besides their parents, it was hard for other people to tell who was who, and they always got away with it.

However, it was easier for other people to know who was who with their distinguished personalities as they got older. James's mannerisms and personality and Ashton's were way different from one another. While he was always focused and serious, Ashton was very friendly and outgoing. He easily could make friends, while his seriousness always scared people away.

"The minute we switch places, people would know that I'm not you and you are not me. First, I can't dance or sing to save my life, while on the other hand, you're too dumb to be me." James seriously responded without batting an eye.

"Ouch! Why do you always have to be so mean? For your information, I'm as smart as you, if not smarter. So, I can pull it off, while on the other hand, you can't because you can't move your arse even if you tried." Bantered Ashton, but he meant every word he said with a smile plastered on his face.

The conversation between the twins was getting heated, and Pearl could sense that James was getting annoyed, so she quickly moved along and flipped the camera, so it was facing her.

"Alright, I showed you, everyone, already, it's time for me to go and enjoy myself. Go and practice, so we have a good show to watch when you start touring again." She then swiftly bid him goodbye and turned off her phone.

Pearl went where Arria and Princess Rose were seated, busily checking out some blogs. She slumped down onto the sofa cushion next to Arria, "Gosh! As much as I idolize EXODUS, I sure don't like Ashton's attitude lately. He always thinks that everything in life is a joke. He's never serious, even when having a conversation. He's so annoying, I swear!" She then let out a heavy sigh.

Arria and Princess Rose just patted her back to comfort her for a moment before going back to what they were doing before. They could care less about Pearl's complaint, they only cared about their idols, and one of them was EXODUS.

===

After their afternoon barbeque, James called his uncle Arman at the resort to inform him that they would be staying there for the weekend. Arman was delighted to hear that and immediately ordered to prepare villas for them.

Prince Edmund and Princess Rose had to go back home after the barbeque party. They were not allowed to spend the weekend at the resort without Prince Philip, and they didn't want to invite him in case Lady Crystal wanted to tag along. So, when everyone felt tired and had enough, a service vehicle was sent to pick them all up. 

Princess Rose asked for permission from her parents to invite Arria to spend the weekend with her at the palace. The King and Queen approved, and with that, they asked Ava to quickly make a facetime call to the Philippines to ask permission from Ann and Jeff.

At first, Ann and Jeff were hesitant to agree, but after hearing Arria and Princess Rose pleading, they finally gave in and let her go. So only Akira, James, Jeffrey, and Ava went and stayed at the resort.

Akira and Jeffrey went missing as soon as they arrived at the resort. Leaving James and Ava to fend for themselves. It was the most memorable moment for both of them. They played video games, walked around the beach, and watched the sunset together. But the best part of it all was that they bonded during the time they spent together.

Both of them couldn't wait to find out the result of Ava's exams and if she could attend Imperial college with James. In which they would find out once they return to the Royal Academy the following week.

===

The whole week passed, and another week, Ava's score was never announced. Then, finally, everyone began speculating that she might have flunked the tests, and the guidance counselor Ms. Shannon was too embarrassed to disclose it to the whole school.

Lady Crystal took the opportunity to plant seeds into the minds of the other students. Ava soon became the joke of the whole Royal Academy. Whenever Ava and her group would pass by, different groups of students would whisper among themselves then start laughing secretly. Once in a while, either Chupsy, Mary, or Pisces, would catch and scold them. But not always.

When it reached almost a month already since Ava finished her exams and still hadn't received any notice about her scores, Ava took it upon herself to speak to Ms. Shannon. However, when she arrived at the guidance counselor's office, she was informed that Ms. Shannon was currently out of the country with the headmistress. So, she had no choice but to turn around and go back to the villa.

When Ava arrived back at the villa, Akira, Jeffrey, and Pearl were there waiting to hear what she found out. However, when she informed them that both the headmistress and the guidance counselor were out of the country, they all couldn't believe it.

"There's something wrong here. How could it be that both of them would be out at the same time? Are they hiding something from you?" Said Akira while her brows were knitted. 

"Yeah! It smells fishy!" Added Pearl while hugging Ava to comfort her.

Jeffrey was unable to utter a word of comfort. He was afraid that if he said something, it might just make Ava much more upset. So instead, he decided to call James to inform him of what Ava had just told them.

James had asked Jeffrey to keep him informed since Ava had been down for the last couple of weeks since their return from the resort. At first, she was still excited to hear from Ms. Shannon or Ms. Williams. But after a while, she lost confidence as each day passed that she had passed her exams…

Whenever they met at the rooftop, she was always down and didn't talk as much as she used to. Until recently, she stopped meeting him on the rooftop. He had tried several times to call her, after not receiving any replies to his text messages. But, it was to no success…

===

"Mom, you need to do something. I feel so bad for my big sister. I hardly see her smile anymore these days, and since she isn't required to attend classes now until the end of the semester, she just stays inside her room and sleeps most of the time. I'm afraid she's getting depressed." Complained Arria to their mother.

Ann was away in a shooting location and didn't know what was happening. They were shooting in a mountain where the connection was pretty bad, so she hasn't spoken to her children since the weekend after Ava finished taking the test. However, she thought everything was going well since she hadn't heard any bad reports from Pisces or Mary.

"Where is she now? I want to speak with her." Said Ann before she called out to her assistant to begin packing so they could leave ASAP. 

Arria walked towards Ava's room to bring the phone to her. Since Arria hasn't started school yet and had already finished all the required testing for her to enter the Royal Academy, she has just been hanging around at the villa doing nothing, waiting for the end of the semester, and all of them would go back home for the break before the next school year begins.

Arria knocked lightly on Ava's door, "Ava! It's me! Mom's on the phone wanted to talk to you. Can I come in?" She shouted from outside then waited for Ava to answer.

"Come in! The door's unlocked!" Said Ava; her voice was low but loud enough for Arria to hear.

Arria opened the door slowly and poked her head in first before opening it fully and entering, holding the phone in her hand.

"Here, mom wants to talk to you!" She handed to the phone before swiftly turning around to step out and give her older sister and mother a chance to talk privately. 

===

Arria was sitting in front of the TV watching anime when Ava came out of the room with her red and swollen eyes. She looked like a panda. Arria almost laughed out loud after seeing her but held it. She didn't want to upset her older sister any more than she already was.

"Is everything alright older sister?" Asked Arria as Ava sat next to her on the sofa.

"Everything is fine; I was just upset because I have not heard from Ms. Shannon or Ms. Williams. I'm not too fond of the waiting game, and everyone has been talking behind my back, saying I flunked the test. I know I didn't, but why are they not telling me anything?" Ava was about to cry again, but Arria was fast to comfort her.

"Gosh! Stop it already! You know, and we know, that you passed all the tests. So let's just wait until Ms. Williams and Ms. Shannon come back. I'm sure by next week, they will have the result already." 

Just as Arria finished what she was saying, Pisces came, bearing a piece of news....