you belong with me

"She wears high heels. I wear sneakers."

There was no way Maia could compete with her. Amanda wore eyeliner and mascara, she got manicures and pedicures, and she wore designer clothes. Maia had never considered indulging in personal beauty services. She only believed in bargain shopping. Her experience in make-up was minimal, and only consisted of people putting it on for her.

To be honest, Maia never wanted to be an Amanda type of girl. That is, until yesterday. She and Amanda were having lunch when a man walked in the cafe. Well to call him a man is really a disservice. He was an adonis, a god. Tall, dark, with these muscles and this smile.

He sat at the table next to them, and quickly turned to introduce himself. He spoke first to Maia, introducing himself as Lance, Maia's delight soon faded when he turned to speak to Amanda. The spark in his eyes changed. There was a light of intrigue and passion that wasn't there when he spoke to Maia.

As the two chatted, Maia began to think about her unshaped eyebrows, messy ponytail, sensible flats, even her unshaven legs beneath her pants. Before she got too emotional, Maia excused herself from the table, making up some excuse about needing to get back to work.

As she rode the elevator up to her office, she thought more about Amanda and herself. Maia had always been the sensible one. Amanda had always enjoyed the spotlight. Maia was captain of the debate team. Amanda was captain of the cheerleading squad. Maia attended Brown with an academic scholarship. Amanda went to Florida and partied.

These things had never bothered Maia. She had always found comfort in her practicality. But today she recognized something their mother had been telling then for as long as she could remember. That Amanda and Maia could stand to be a little more like the other. Maybe it was practical to care more about her looks if Maia ever wanted to get married. She hadn't even had a date in eight months.

Lance had liked Amanda. Her face was dolled up. Her hair was luxurious. Her perfume was alluring. These material things made a difference. After all, Maia and Amanda are identical twins.