Tina and Gina, twins and besties, stopped for froyo at the mall’s elbow-bend. Both were short-listed for Homecoming Queen. Both were gown-shopping.
Best grades, best teeth, best hair.
Identical. Except for the mole, on Gina’s left cheek.
“It’s a beauty mark,” Mom always said, kissing the sinister imperfection, which had averted a thousand mix-ups.
“May the best twin win!” Tina raised her yogurt tub.
Positioning her head just so, Gina saw an improved reflection in the plate glass corner. Almost hers, but with two right cheeks. Flawless.
“Perfect!”
Her reflection shattered, as she impaled her yogurt with a jagged spork.
I was interrupted when trying to comment on this earlier but I’m back now. You’ve nailed a problem that a lot of young people have, every spot seems enormous and a beacon emitting ugliness, unfortunately so many adolescents suffer from it, but hopefully get over it. Society has a lot to answer for here.
Well said.
wow there is a real sense here of lack of sense of self. I fear for this twin, her bitterness may destroy her.
I’m glad it came across to you so strongly.
I suspect Gina’s bitterness is far more of a flaw than the mole on her cheek.
True, Granonine.
I enjoyed the story very much and I absolutely loved the language.
Thank you Jilly!
Hi – I started a long comment when this first came out and then had to run out…
I am back!
first of all – the title pulled me in.
reminded me of an episode from Monk – where his biggest fan (sarah silverman) ponders the word and the sound of it as we say it.
and then this post actually reminded me of another Monk scene. In one epsiode Monk added a mole to a models other shoulder so they’d be even.
well enough Monk connecting –
but I was surprised that you write about the mole as not being something she liked – because in my experience they can be beauty marks and lead to a trademark look. –
but I did have friends in high school that gated their moles.
anyhow, I like how you were being playful here with your social psychology – the superlative “best” of this and that and then the gown shopping and the queen part – you gave a very detailed and rich characterization here and it would make a great scene in a movie. also shows your diversity as a writer
Thank you so much prior for taking the time to read and analyze in such detail.
Monk is such a funny show, the actor does a wonderful job portraying his uber OCD and other quirks.
He is now on The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, a very funny stylized comedy about a young Jewish housewife trying to make it as a comdienne in NYC in the early 60s. He’s great as her father.
Im so glad you thought Gina’s character was well-drawn. Everything always feels like a quick sketch to me when writing these pieces, though it may take hours to get to its final form.
I agree the individual quirk can “make” the model, and perhaps that would be a fitting future for her. But I wanted to show the intersection between adolescence and individuality, in a person who doubts her own worth.
Oh cool to depict such richness:
adolescence and individuality, in a person who doubts her own worth
but I think I was thrown off with so much best and prom queen talk –
seemed like a Beverly Hills snapshot and reminded me of the girls who sang the “Friday song” or a different one about hot girls. For some reason I felt the depiction of surface-liek Orange county teens.
PS
I saw Maisel when it forst came out and do think it deserves the awards -but to me – the show is not perfect – but the writing is good and Monk’s (Tony’s) part was small for a lot of season 1 – and still warning to it….
Definitely quirky and rife with stereotypes. But cute.
now that is exactly what i was looking for – you worded it so well. 🙂
peace
Happy to oblige.
I like to believe that one day she will appreciate what makes her unique – difficult when you are an identical twin!
It’s hard enough to learn to appreciate your own uniqueness, when youre not identical! Especially at this age,when conformity seems so much safer and preferable to being different.
Seems like though her mother tried her best, Gina still suffers from some sort of complex because of her mole. She thinks herself imperfect. Oh, the silly vanity of the teenage!
Funny, how in the present day, we rarely hear the word vanity. More often, we hear of its reverse, low self-esteem. Human behavior is interesting, not only in the variety of reactions people may have, to the same stimulus, but also, in the fluctuation, over time, (decades, centuries) and no doubt also between cultures, as well, in the moral weight assigned to any given reaction. In other words, some categorizations are currently more fashionable than others, but the difference between vanity and self-esteem is, in my view, primarily a matter of perspective.
I agree we don’t often hear the word ‘vanity’ – I guess it disappeared with the classics.
It reappeared at least once, in 1987, with Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities! If you haven’t read it, it’s a fictional book ( as I recall) describing ( and condemning) the frivolous and excessive lifestyles of New York City multimillionaires. The phrase I remember is “hemorrhaging money.”
“Arrogant” and “narcissistic” seem especially popular now, for some reason.?
Also “egotistical.” I got all these from the following article, by the way, on the most popular words used to describe the US president.
Oh and the 1972 song “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon may have popularized the concept of vanity a bit, too. ?
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/incompetent-strong-egotistical-words-people-describe-trump/story?id=50178088
Maybe one day she’ll learn to love her mole. Though at the moment all she can see is that one thing making her – to her mind – less perfect than her twin.
Yes. Acceptance of what one cannot change is a key component of happiness. But so is the realization that there are many standards of beauty, and high school Homecoming Committees don’t have the monopoly on deciding who makes the cut.
If Gina didn’t have a twin without a mole she would possibly be happy to accept her father’s word that it’s a beauty mark. Comparison is invidious.
Youre right. But social self-awareness in adolescence usually includes the awareness of how one does not measure up, however ridiculous the scale may be.
It’s not easy being a twin. You certainly painted a psychological twist that challenges the nature vs nurture argument. Nicely done.
Thank you JoHawk!
Andrea, I read and “liked” this yesterday, but after reading your comment on my blog today I decided to come back and see what you had written. I remembered after seeing it today. I did like. I thought the pent up anger in the “moled” twin was clear. She was fed up with being outdone all her life. She finally burst in a somewhat controlled way, at least she did not destroy her relationship with mom and sister, did she? Don’t think so.
No I think the turmoil was mostly inner. Thanks so much for the second look!
Bad enough having to live up to social standards of appearance, without an identical twin to compare to as well!
Very true!
Oh, what a pun for a title! But, partly because of that title I’m not quite sure what happened at the end. Did the plate glass shatter for some reason? I’m prompted in that direction by the words shattered, impaled and jagged all in the same concluding sentence. Pretty violent words!
Thank you for noticing the pun, Penny.
This is meant more as a psychological piece, with the imagery following the irritation and anger, provoked by the teenager’s exaggerated perception of the ugliness of her own mole.
No characters were harmed in the making of this story. ?
I was actually trying to convey how bitter the imperfect twin feels, about always, and likely once again in the coming pageant, coming in second-best.
Except of course, with her mom, who benefitted from her imperfection: because of it, her mom was able to escape the fate of constantly switching the otherwise identical twins. But then, with teenagers, Moms don’t count. ?
Always look forward to your comments. Sorry if the ending was clumsy or unclear.
Dear Andi
I can see exactly what you mean. It’s a good story for its psychological insights, and I appreciate that you’re really trying to make the words work hard for you. BTW do feel free to leave concrit for me; I won’t object even if it’s harsh! It’s such a good way to improve – and I really want to improve!
Shalom
Penny
Me too!