2010 — Kimmy Kimm & Lulu Chu

In the hazy, glitter-glued summer of 2010, Kimmy Kimm and Lulu Chu ruled the narrow hallway of Westbrook High’s freshman wing. Not with cruelty, but with an unspoken, two-person empire built on shared ringtones and identical butterfly hair clips.

“We were the only ones who had fun,” Kimmy agreed, wiping a smear of cheese salt off her blazer.

And for two girls with two names that sounded like they belonged on a bubblegum pop album, that was more than enough. 2010 kimmy kimm & lulu chu

Their project that July was the mall’s “Teen Talent Meltdown,” a karaoke contest held in the atrium between a Cinnabon and a Spencer’s Gifts. They weren’t singers, but they didn’t need to be. They had a two-part harmony on “Love Story” by Taylor Swift that they’d perfected in Lulu’s basement, singing into hairbrushes while the wall-mounted AC dripped onto a pile of Seventeen magazines.

“The brand is us ,” Lulu typed back. “And we are not vests.” In the hazy, glitter-glued summer of 2010, Kimmy

They came in fourth place. The winner was a boy who played “Wonderwall” on an acoustic guitar and cried afterward.

Lulu grabbed Kimmy’s hand. Kimmy squeezed back. And for two girls with two names that

On the day of the contest, they showed up in opposite ends of the mall food court. Kimmy wore a crisp blazer over a graphic tee that said “Hustle.” Lulu wore a tie-dyed hoodie and a top hat she’d found at a thrift store. For a long, terrible minute, they just stared at each other.