The Unexpected Birthday Twist by Ebony Minor
Nyota and Nariyah weren’t your average, normal pair of twins. They were what you might call “different.” As you may know, most twins love spending time with each other. Some love matching, others love doing everything together. With Nyota and Nariyah . . . not so much. They were both very independent girls. Although they weren’t as close as twins should be, they always absolutely enjoyed sharing their birthday with one another. That’s the only thing they liked doing as twins. They loved it so much because they were so good at coming up with birthday plans together. It was sort of like their tradition. They were especially excited for this one coming up which was their sweet 16. They had been planning this birthday for months now and knew they had to do something big. Their parents loved this time of year because they knew Nyota and Nariyah never liked doing anything together, so seeing them come together like this made them happy. The day had finally come. The twins had stayed up until midnight, so they would be the first to wish each other happy birthday. That’s also something they did every year. “Happy birthday twinnnnn,” Nyota said. “Right back at ya,” Nariyah replied. “My girls are growing up so fast, where did the time go?” asked their mom. “Lynette, maybe it’s time,” replied their dad. “No. Not today, let them have their party. We can tell them tomorrow. They have been looking forward to this for months and I won’t ruin it for them.” “Yeah but don’t you think we’ve lied to them long enough? They’re turning 16 for goodness sake.” “I’m fully aware. However, we can wait another day. And you better not say anything either, James.” “Alright, if that’s how you want to do it.” It was officially three o’ clock which meant it was party time. Both twins had their party dresses on and their makeup was done all nice. Nyota had on a yellow off-the-shoulder short poofy dress, and 68
