Chloe’s smile stayed plastered on her face, but as her eyes swept the crowd and locked onto the dark corner of the patio where I was hiding, that smile turned razor-sharp.

It dripped with malicious intent. She’d waited her whole life for this moment. She was going to cure me of my “need for attention” by publicly shaming me into submission.

“But as you all know,” Chloe continued, her voice dripping with mock sweetness, “a birthday isn’t complete without a twin tradition.”

The crowd cheered again, though a few people looked confused.

“Maya, sweetie!” Chloe called out, pointing straight at me. Instantly, two hundred pairs of eyes shifted from the pool, peering through the shadows to find me sitting there in my thick, absurd winter garment.

“You’ve been hiding in that depressing, heavy bathrobe all day,” Chloe mocked, her voice booming through the speakers. “It’s a hundred degrees out, Maya. You’re making our guests uncomfortable. We had a deal, remember? The twin pact. Take off the robe, come to the edge, and jump into the pool with me.”