They can trick people by taking the place of each other. People find it hard to tell them apart, and even call them by the wrong names. Sound like the plot of The Parent Trap? Close. It is actually real life for identical twins Haley and Emily Stevens, seniors, as well as for Maddy and Makenzie Bridges, sophomores.

Question: What’s the funniest or craziest story you have experienced in public?

Haley: There’s so many stories, we literally can’t go anywhere without someone freaking out [about us being twins.] In fifth grade, we tried to switch classes, but Emily’s teacher found out so that wasn’t fun.

Emily: Plus, there have been multiple situations where I have been walking in the hallway and people who I have never seen before come up to me and start a conversation. It’s obvious that they know Haley and think I’m her. I just go along with it and pretend to be Haley. It’s fun.

Haley: I would have to say the funniest thing was last year when Emily and I were at the grocery store and the woman checking us out asked if I was Emily’s mom. Emily, the bagger, and I all started cracking up and I told her we were identical twins. She started freaking out and yelling in the middle of the store. It really was one of the funniest things that has happened.

Makenzie: When we were playing soccer, I would always get in trouble with the referee and he would yell at Maddy and he even gave her a card once [thinking she was me.]

Maddy: One time, we were talking to these people that we had just met and we had convinced them that I was [Makenzie] and she was me, and they told all of their friends. After we tried to tell them we were joking, they wouldn’t believe us for a couple of hours and we had to get our friends to back us up.

Question: To you, what’s the difference between your relationship as twins versus regular sibling relationships?

Haley: I don’t think anyone could understand the bond you have with a twin unless you have one. I think we are closer than most siblings, simply because of the fact that we do everything together.

Emily: We have a lot of classes together, so we even have a lot of the same friends. We spend all day together at school and then come home and live together.

Haley: Most siblings don’t spend that much time together, where as we are almost never apart.

Makenzie: A lot of it is the same, but Maddy and I are closer than I am with my brother and other sister. I always have someone I can hang out with and we do almost everything together.

Maddy: I like [having a twin] because I know I’ll always have someone that I know around me, even if it gets annoying.

Question: What’s the most annoying or frustrating question the two of you get asked?

Makenzie: “Wait, don’t tell me. You’re Maddy, right?” gets annoying. Also, ‘Are you guys twins or do you just look alike?’ We get that a lot.

Emily: One that gets annoying after a while is ‘Are you guys twins?’ because we cannot go anywhere in public without getting asked that.

Haley: I think it gets annoying when people always ask ‘How do you tell you guys apart?’ because I never know what to say. I mean, we look alike, but I don’t think it’s that hard to tell us apart if you get to know us.

Question: Is there anything you dislike about being a twin?

Haley: I love my sister, but there are definitely some hard things about being a twin. I think people have the mindset that being a twin would be the coolest thing ever, but in reality, it sometimes causes a lot of conflict.

Emily: I think it sometimes puts our friends in an awkward situation because they see us as a package deal. They think if they invite one of us to do something, they have to invite the other. The reality is, I would like some separation sometimes, so it would be nice if I could hang out with my friends [by myself.] Another thing that annoys me is when people refer to us as ‘the twins.’ It’s not a huge deal, but [like I said,] sometimes I feel like people don’t realize that we are individuals.

Maddy: We get into a lot of fights that make it seem like we’re [professional fighters] or something. She can say the most stupid things sometimes and it makes me want to strangle her.

Question: What’s your favorite thing about being a twin?

Maddy: The fact that I’m never lonely and that I know she’ll always have my back. I can talk to her about everything.

Emily: My favorite thing about being a twin is having a best friend who understands you to an extent like no one else does. It is great to have someone who is always there to listen and understand where you are coming from.

Haley: It’s like having an automatic best friend from birth. It’s really cool how there is always someone you can count on.