Introduction: So this is my first shot at writing fiction. I have been reading the stories on Nifty for quite a while and decided that I would finally try to do one myself. I know I know I am definitely an idealist when it comes to some of the details of this story, but I hope you enjoy this! Please feel free to send me an email and let me know what you think of the story. As usual, if you are under the legal age to read this sort of material or it is illegal to do so in the region you live in, please hit the red "x" in the top right corner of your screen now. I retain all creative rights to this story. Any reference to people of the same name is purely coincidental. This is all fiction, minus the cities and the celebrities.
Opinions are welcome- rylanhanley@gmail.com Thanks! Rylan
The Wrong Twin - Chapter 1: The Background
"ISAAC JAMES TAYLOR YOU GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE NOW! YOU'RE GOING TO RUN INTO TRAFFIC!" Dad yelled as he was walking out the door to work.
I had been daydreaming in the shower as usual; hoping the water on my face would wake me up and help me take on the day. Life always has a way of surprising you. Just when you're convinced you have yourself figured out, your heart decides it has plans of its own. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted in a girl: kinda tall, definitely skinny, but not like sickly thin, a nice rack, long blonde wavy hair, gorgeous blue eyes; all the essentials for the most beautiful looking girl.
Ironically, I have basically the same characteristics. At 17, I am a towering six-foot-three and weigh 190 pounds. I keep my hair at a reasonably long length, with that shaggy blonde SoCal surfer look. I love to look good and I like people that look good too! Yeah I know, you're probably thinking I am one shallow bastard by now. Truth is, I can be pretty shallow. I mean really, you want a partner that is easy on the eyes right? Who wouldn't? That doesn't mean I didn't want a girl that would be there for me, one that can carry on an intelligent conversation about current events, and the list goes on. Basically, I wanted it all.
While finding this all in a girl is rare, I knew if I had the chance I would be able to win her heart. Success is in my blood. My father, James Taylor, is the Chief Executive Officer of the company he founded after he acquired his Ph.D. in computer science at Carnegie-Mellon University. Intellisoft Computers has since been our family's main source of income for almost 20 years. In that time, my dad has taken a simple idea for an easy-to-use software program and turned it into the largest medical-based computer operating system production company in the world. He founded the company in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. That's where he met my mother, Michelle Lowell during his junior year of high school. After dating for two years, the two separated for the next four as Dad went off to MIT to get his degree. But as she promised, my mom waited for my dad and a year after his graduation from college, the two were wed on September 5, 1985. A little over a year later, my older brother, Zachary, popped out on December 13 1986, followed two years later by my sister Sara during a raging blizzard on March 1, 1988. Andrew James (or AJ as we call him), my younger brother, was born in August of 1994.
So I was the third child of a computer software developer. I came into this world on June 4, 1992, just three days after the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks in four games to win the Stanley Cup for the second straight season. Both of my parents were huge Penguins fans, and were very thankful my mom didn't go into labor during the finals. My dad wanted to name me "Mario" after team captain Mario Lemieux. My mom, however, decided that would be a strange name, seeing as we had no Italian or French in our blood whatsoever. Although Super Mario is my idol, I am not too keen on sharing a name with him. I think Isaac suits me perfectly.
We moved from Pittsburgh when I was ten years old, in 2002. Dad's business was taking off! We were definitely living the good life. I was playing on a great travel hockey team and winning just about every tournament we played in. My teammates and I were like brothers, even at such a young age. I will never forget the day my dad came home after a meeting and made the announcement. Due to the location of most computer companies, we had to move to California. While my dad thought the Silicon Valley area of California would be ideal, my mom wanted to move to the Los Angeles area. After my dad discussed this possibility with the Board of Directors for the company, they agreed that LA would not pose a problem. They chose the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine to set up Intellisoft's new headquarters. Two weeks later, my parents boarded a plane heading to Los Angeles to find a new house and I was stuck at home with my grandparents, feeling hopeless. I literally cried myself to sleep for a month. Why did I have to leave my home, my friends, my school, my family, my team? This was totally not fair!!!
A week later, Mom and Dad came home and told us that they found a nice 6 bedroom home in the suburb of Anaheim Hills, California. So, we packed up all our stuff, sold our home in Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania and moved to the West Coast. I just knew my life was over. I was moving to sunny Southern California! There isn't any ice there! How was I going to play hockey? That was my future! I was gonna make it to the National Hockey League! Why were my parents doing this to me? Needless to say, our family went through an extremely rough patch during 2002 and 2003. My older siblings were not happy to be leaving the life they had built for themselves in Pittsburgh. Zach, being 16, already had is group of friends carved out. He was furious that he had to rebuild his status as the star football player and a well-respected member of the student body. Sara also surrounded herself with the prettiest, most popular girls around school. The cheerleaders were always at my house swimming or watching movies. Let me tell you, Zach, AJ, and I loved that! The girls loved AJ and me. We were just sooooo cute! AJ was pretty quiet, but I could tell he didn't want to go. Our rooms were right next to one another and I could hear him crying late at night. On our last night, I went and slept in his room and we cried together. We all were completely against this move, and our parents knew it.
Despite our protests, the family and I were aboard a 747 westbound to Los Angeles. Not even our first-class tickets could make this flight any easier. I mean, I guess it was nice having pretty flight attendants wait on my hand and foot, gawking over how cute I was. Still, I couldn't get over leaving everyone. The worst was saying goodbye to my best friend, Matt. He and I were basically inseparable. We played on the same travel hockey team, played tag together every day on the playground during recess, got in trouble for talking during class, and every other Friday we would stay over at each other's house. We never thought those times would end.
Now, at 10 years old, my entire life was flipped upside down. But then, as the flight attendant announced the movie selection for the flight, The Mighty Ducks, everything started to look a little brighter. Of course! How could I be so stupid? The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim! THERE IS HOCKEY IN CALIFORNIA!! Although it's not my Penguins, I knew life wouldn't be so bad after all. I just needed a pair of skates, a stick, a puck, and a net on a freshly cut sheet of ice. With all of that, nothing else really mattered. I could survive this move!
After landing in Los Angeles, we first went to the realtor's office so my parents could sign the rest of the papers and pick up the keys to the house. About an hour later, we were at the front door of our first house in California. It was a relatively new home, 3 years old I think, and there was still construction going on in the neighborhood. The house was plenty big, with a separate bedroom and bathroom for each kid, and sat on a generously sized lot with a large pool in the back. I did like the house, but we were all still really grumpy after leaving Pittsburgh. We met our neighbors and quickly made friends and got settled. I tried out for the Junior Mighty Ducks travel hockey team, and of course, made it with ease. I was just happy to be back on the ice.
At the first practice, I was paired on a line with Alex Franklin and Patrick O'Leary. Now back in Pittsburgh I was the superstar. I'm sure by now you think I am quite full of myself, but hockey was my passion, and I was extremely talented. Here in Anaheim, no one knew who I was, so I was placed on the fourth line and had to prove myself. My first thoughts were, "How am I supposed to play amazing if I am stuck on the fourth line with these sucky kids? I am NOT a fourth liner and I don't like the idea of playing with them, either." Little did I know, these two were also new to the team and had to prove themselves as well. It didn't take long for us to bond. Coach Carney recognized the chemistry between us and kept us playing on the same line the next couple practices. I discovered that Alex and his family just moved here from Canada as his sister was pursuing a music career in Hollywood, and Pat came from Boston after his dad was transferred within his business. They were all in the same boat I was, and we hit it off immediately. While the three of us are good friends, Pat and Alex have been pretty much inseparable since 2005, when we were thirteen.
The years went by, and the friendships grew stronger. Eventually, we expanded our little group of friends to include the goalie on our Junior Mighty Ducks team, Kyler Mitchell, my neighbor Dylan Davis, and Kyler's cousin Steven Mitchell. Steven played on the team with us to begin with, and Dylan, after a year of playing street hockey with us in the neighborhood, ended up convincing his overprotective parents to allow him to join us on the ice. Since Dylan was an only child, and I had three other siblings, I usually went with the Davis family on long trips to play in tournaments. Pam and Derrick Davis were like my second parents. They took care of me on the trips when my parents were busy with Zach's football, Sara's cheering competitions, or AJ's surfing tournaments. Dylan and I became best friends. We tended to do just about everything together. I cannot remember a summer night that we haven't played hockey together, swam, or slept over at each other's house. I taught him about masturbation and he was the first person I ever had an orgasm with. Needless to say, we were like brothers.
Oh yeah there is something you should know, my family is pretty athletic. Ok, extremely athletic. Zach, at 16, already had numerous offers to play NCAA Division I Football. It just happened to work out that the University of Southern California offered him a full ride to play quarterback. He never started, or played overly much, but he got his degree in video game design, and went to work for a new branch of Intellisoft, creating games and consoles. Zach and his girlfriend, Nicole, share an apartment in Irvine. Nicole and Zach met at USC and have been together for the past 2 years. Nicole, like Zach, has been out of school for a year and is currently teaching in the Irvine Unified School District. I think Zach will be buying her a ring here shortly. I?ve seen him date quite a few chicks, but he is completely head over heels for Nicole.
Sara had a little trouble adjusting to live here in Anaheim. Of course, it's always different with girls in high school. She was a brunette bombshell (ok maybe I?m a tad biased, but the guys were always around haha) and the girls didn't like the idea of competition coming in. However, my siblings and I were always taught that we have been incredibly blessed with the triple threat: looks, athletics, and brains. We knew that looks only get you so far in life. Fortunately, Sara found a way to overcome the initial impressions of these feisty cheerleaders, and eventually won the friendliest girl award during the varsity cheerleading squad senior banquet. Sara decided to return to Pittsburgh and attend the University of Pittsburgh with the intent of becoming a nurse. She is living with my grandparents and recently rekindled her relationship with her ex from back home. Mike is attending Robert Morris University, playing football, and studying sports management. He was always really nice to me, and I am happy for my sister!
AJ and I have been really close. We share a mutual passion for cars and video games. AJ probably had the easiest time adjusting of all of us. Because he was only 8 when we move, he really didn't have much trouble making friends and going with the flow of California life. AJ, now at 15, is probably the most popular kid in school. He always has a smile on his face. The girls just trip over his curly blonde mop, big, deep brown eyes, and baby face. AJ would help anyone with anything. He helped start a tutoring program in his middle school and continues to go back to the middle school and help out, even though he is a freshman in high school. He inspires me daily to help others and be the best person I can be. While I may be the "older brother," I truly look up to Drew.
While I personally was against this move at the beginning, I must admit I really enjoy the California lifestyle. My dad was nice enough to buy me a brand new BMW M3 convertible for my first car and there was nothing like cruising down the freeway with the top down. I was still playing hockey for the Junior Mighty Ducks with the Pat, Alex, Kyler, Dylan, and Steven. We were known as the "Puck Pack." We were always playing pickup in the cul-de-sac with other boys and the occasional girl as well. Our poor neighbor Mrs. Rhodes, an older widowed woman, was always complaining about our pucks dinging her mailbox and garbage cans. She never really cared but we always help her out around her house for free. We are considered the "popular" crowd in school but never really flaunted it. All our parents have money and we are all reasonably good looking. However, we have been determined to keep ourselves above the whole "image" thing. Our parties consisted of ping pong tournaments, water volleyball games, and video games. We don't need alcohol to have a good time. All of us have very bright futures ahead.
I have recently been reconsidering pursuing professional hockey as my career. Dylan's dad is a cardiothoracic surgeon and I shadowed him over the summer. It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my entire life! I think I may try to go to, medical school and do the same thing. I have a 3.9 GPA so I do not think grades will have to worry. But anyways, I haven't had much time to date. My last girlfriend, Kayla, and I dated for about 11 months before my hectic schedule became too much for me to juggle along with a girl as well. We parted ways and are still really good friends. We did a little bit involving sex, but I wasn't in love with Kayla and I intend on waiting until I am in love until I have sex. But I can tell you, damn could that girl give a mean hand job! Don't tell anyone though, she has that "good girl" reputation.
So yeah that pretty much brings us up to the present day. The first day of my junior year at Orange Unified High School. I really don't mind high school. Classes are pretty easy and the student body and I get along excellently. But I hate the first day of school. It's always so boring. Little did I know that this first day of school would change my life forever!