Two of a Kind

SIMI VALLEY — Talk about parallel lives.

From their curly dark hair, brown eyes and straight white teeth, it’s obvious that Royal High School valedictorians Amy and Emily Frank are twins.

But even before they donned their white robes and yellow sashes for graduation Tuesday night, the Franks had a history of making friends, teachers and even total strangers see double.

By dint of the same Advanced Placement classes and nary a B in high school, both have 4.23 grade-point averages, placing them in the ranks of Royal’s 28 valedictorians. In school, the duo participated in speech and debate, the leadership class and the honors society. The 18-year-olds are both active in church and the city’s youth council.

And, drawn by the sweeping green lawns, the primo shopping and the elegant red brick buildings, both picked the same college. Independently.

Come August, Amy and Emily will major in communications at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. And they will both be tooling around the Big D in a shared graduation gift--a gently used 1993 Nissan Altima.

But, no, they won’t be rooming together.

“We want to meet some new people,” Amy explained.

“Have some space,” Emily chimed in.

From early elementary school in the San Fernando Valley to their formative years in Simi Valley, through Girl Scouts and piano lessons, the two have been virtually inseparable.

While actually fraternal twins--as are their mom, Leslie, and her sister, Lisa--the girls appear identical. The only visible physical differences between the two are Amy’s slightly bigger features and a freckle on Emily’s neck.

Amy and Emily gleefully contradict the stereotype that twins must dress uniquely, sport different hairstyles or partake of distinct hobbies to differentiate themselves. No need to, the twins explained, finishing each others’ sentences.

“Being involved in so many of the same things--” Amy began.

“--We have a lot of the same feelings, a lot of the same opinions--” Emily picked up.

Her sister finished the thought: “A lot of the same interests, really.”

Given that their mother is an elementary school principal in Simi Valley, it’s not surprising that one of those interests has always been academic achievement.

“Our parents are definitely both hard workers,” Amy said. “But we pushed ourselves more than they push us. We’re both self-motivated.”

That motivation paid off in a big way at Royal’s graduation Tuesday night. While students looked toward their seemingly boundless futures, parents wistfully looked back at first steps and first days of school.

At least that is where Leslie Frank’s mind was as her daughters took center stage. Filled with pride and armed with tissue, she could only predict future success for her only children.

“They have these great underlying core values,” Frank said. “They’re caring and giving, conscientious and dependable. And they want to do something with their lives that makes a difference.”

But, she confided, the girls will probably part their parallel paths once they pick graduate schools, careers and husbands.

“I really see each of them as a self-confident, independent young woman,” she said. “Where that takes them--I doubt it’ll be the same place. We’ll have to wait and see.”