When junior Eric Velez was born, he said his parents placed a necklace around his neck so they would be able to differentiate between him and twin brother Victor Velez. One day, their father took off the necklace and lost it, confusing the twins.

According to Victor, his dad just permanently reassigned the twins’ names, unaware of which twin actually went with which name.

From looking at baby pictures, Eric and Victor agree that they looked pretty identical at a young age. They said most people believe they are identical twins.

“We’re actually fraternal twins,” said Victor. “Like no joke. We have different blood types. We just look the same.”

Junior Lexi Hoffman has been friends with both Eric and Victor since she was a freshman, so she said she knows they are fraternal. However, she said they can “get away with playing pranks” because most people cannot tell the difference between the two.

According to Eric, every April Fools’ Day, the twins attend each other’s classes. He said the switches are usually successful, and he and his brother are able to pass for each other without teachers or most classmates noticing.

“One time when I switched into Victor’s class, I had to take his quiz,” said Eric. “It was the last day of the semester so the quiz was going to make or break his grade and I didn’t even know what the class was about. I ended up taking the quiz and getting him a good grade, even though I guessed on everything.”

Although Eric scored a “good grade” for Victor, Victor said he was unable to do the same for Eric.

“I went to Eric’s class and he had to take an English quiz and I failed for him,” said Victor. “It was a partner quiz, and his partner almost ratted me out.”

Eric and Victor agree that being able to play pranks is “definitely a perk of being a twin.” They believe the relationship they have with each other is “untradable.”

“I have a built-in best friend,” said Eric. “It’s nice to know that Victor will always have my back.”

Hoffman said she sometimes hears people “meshing” Eric and Victor together and describing them as identical people because they look so similar. She said that when people meet them, they learn that they are two completely different people with distinct personalities and passions.

“My least favorite thing about being a twin is that everyone always gets our names mixed up,” said Eric. “Also people always compare us and say, ‘Oh your brother does this and you don’t do this,’ and I always respond by saying that we are different people.”

Eric and Victor believe they usually have different thoughts and opinions, but they said they have experienced some “twin telepathy moments.”

“I once had the weirdest dream about eating burgers, so I told Victor about it and he said that he had the same dream too,” Eric said.

Although Eric and Victor said they will miss sharing a room and teasing each other about having to change clothes if their outfits look too much alike, they agreed they may not always want to live together.

“In terms of college, we definitely want to go to different schools,” said Victor. “I don’t want to be known as an identical twin for the rest of my life, even though Eric and I are simply fraternal twins who look alike.”