car. Anne and I both watched him leave.
“Okay, so, boyfriend time over, friend time begins,” said Kyla. She looked at me impatiently, and I could see that she wasn’t about to let me bail. But my English paper was waiting, as was my personal statement, and I knew that a half-hour coffee break would turn into an hour, and then into three. There was no way in hell I could go.
Then it hit me: Rina could.
Oh my God. I’d been killing myself to get everything done and keep everyone happy and I had this identical twin doing absolutely nothing upstairs.
Rina could go in my place!
“I’ll be down in five minutes,” I told Kyla.
“You’d better be!” she said cheerfully. “We’ve almost forgotten what you look like. Which, by the way, is terrible. Maybe more makeup during these stressful study times, not less.” She grinned and walked back toward her car. Anne followed her, and I shut the door, sprinted upstairs and found Rina in the closet.
“Feel like going out with my friends?”
“What?” she practically shrieked.
“Shhh,” I said. “They’re all outside. Paul just left, but I forgot to tell them I didn’t have time to hang this weekend. You wanna go grab coffee with them? Pretend to be me?”
“Oh my God, yes!” Rina said.
“Okay, quick, switch clothes,” I said, and we both threw off our shirts and pants so we could trade. My hair was up, so I grabbed Rina a ponytail holder, and while we were changing outfits I tried to give her a nutshell rundown of my friends. “You’ve seen all these girls in the pictures, so you should be fine, but really quickly: Kyla’s the redhead. Laurin’s the tallest. Tess has dark brown hair; she’s the really buff one. Anne’s the sort of uptight blond. Carmen’s wearing her glasses today, so—”
“Doesn’t she always wear them?” asked Rina. She put her hair in a ponytail.
“What?” I asked.
“Carmen,” said Rina. “You just said she’s wearing her glasses today like it’s a weird thing, but in the pictures, she’s always wearing them.”
“Oh,” I said. “Right. Yes.” I generally think of Carmen as a no-glasses person because she always puts her contacts in for volleyball, but Rina was actually right. Since the season ended, she’d been rocking the librarian frames every day.
“Okay, well, anyway,” I said, as Rina plucked my watch off my wrist and put it on her own, then fixed her hair once more, “that should cover you. If there’s something you don’t know, just act spacey and plead exhaustion, because frankly that’s how I feel now anyway.” I was slightly worried thatRina wouldn’t be able to pull off a convincing impression of me in front of so many people at once, but I also realized the advantage of sending her out in the field, so to speak, to listen for any inklings that the Jake story had gotten around. And if they did notice something was off with me, it wasn’t like they’d guess that I’d sent my SimuLife twin out in my place.
“Okay!” she said, just as Kyla, in the driveway, started leaning on her car horn. “How do I look?” She was now in the navy blue waffle-weave shirt and jeans I’d just been wearing, and I was in her workout pants and a long-sleeved gray thermal.
“Just like me,” I said, smiling. “Thanks for this! Have fun, and if my mom is home by the time you guys get back, I’ll sit by the living room window and you can tap on it and we’ll figure out a way to sneak you in.”
“Got it!” Rina waved and sprinted down the stairs, grabbing one of my coats and shrugging into it on her way out the door. I peeked out the window as she ran outside and got into Kyla’s car. The little white Jetta pulled out into the dark, followed by Carmen’s Prius, and I suddenly realized that I should’ve given Rina some money. I turned to the dresser, and saw that my bag was tipped over, my half-empty wallet spilling out of it. Oh. I guess Rina had thought of everything.
I breathed a sigh of
“Okay, so, boyfriend time over, friend time begins,” said Kyla. She looked at me impatiently, and I could see that she wasn’t about to let me bail. But my English paper was waiting, as was my personal statement, and I knew that a half-hour coffee break would turn into an hour, and then into three. There was no way in hell I could go.
Then it hit me: Rina could.
Oh my God. I’d been killing myself to get everything done and keep everyone happy and I had this identical twin doing absolutely nothing upstairs.
Rina could go in my place!
“I’ll be down in five minutes,” I told Kyla.
“You’d better be!” she said cheerfully. “We’ve almost forgotten what you look like. Which, by the way, is terrible. Maybe more makeup during these stressful study times, not less.” She grinned and walked back toward her car. Anne followed her, and I shut the door, sprinted upstairs and found Rina in the closet.
“Feel like going out with my friends?”
“What?” she practically shrieked.
“Shhh,” I said. “They’re all outside. Paul just left, but I forgot to tell them I didn’t have time to hang this weekend. You wanna go grab coffee with them? Pretend to be me?”
“Oh my God, yes!” Rina said.
“Okay, quick, switch clothes,” I said, and we both threw off our shirts and pants so we could trade. My hair was up, so I grabbed Rina a ponytail holder, and while we were changing outfits I tried to give her a nutshell rundown of my friends. “You’ve seen all these girls in the pictures, so you should be fine, but really quickly: Kyla’s the redhead. Laurin’s the tallest. Tess has dark brown hair; she’s the really buff one. Anne’s the sort of uptight blond. Carmen’s wearing her glasses today, so—”
“Doesn’t she always wear them?” asked Rina. She put her hair in a ponytail.
“What?” I asked.
“Carmen,” said Rina. “You just said she’s wearing her glasses today like it’s a weird thing, but in the pictures, she’s always wearing them.”
“Oh,” I said. “Right. Yes.” I generally think of Carmen as a no-glasses person because she always puts her contacts in for volleyball, but Rina was actually right. Since the season ended, she’d been rocking the librarian frames every day.
“Okay, well, anyway,” I said, as Rina plucked my watch off my wrist and put it on her own, then fixed her hair once more, “that should cover you. If there’s something you don’t know, just act spacey and plead exhaustion, because frankly that’s how I feel now anyway.” I was slightly worried thatRina wouldn’t be able to pull off a convincing impression of me in front of so many people at once, but I also realized the advantage of sending her out in the field, so to speak, to listen for any inklings that the Jake story had gotten around. And if they did notice something was off with me, it wasn’t like they’d guess that I’d sent my SimuLife twin out in my place.
“Okay!” she said, just as Kyla, in the driveway, started leaning on her car horn. “How do I look?” She was now in the navy blue waffle-weave shirt and jeans I’d just been wearing, and I was in her workout pants and a long-sleeved gray thermal.
“Just like me,” I said, smiling. “Thanks for this! Have fun, and if my mom is home by the time you guys get back, I’ll sit by the living room window and you can tap on it and we’ll figure out a way to sneak you in.”
“Got it!” Rina waved and sprinted down the stairs, grabbing one of my coats and shrugging into it on her way out the door. I peeked out the window as she ran outside and got into Kyla’s car. The little white Jetta pulled out into the dark, followed by Carmen’s Prius, and I suddenly realized that I should’ve given Rina some money. I turned to the dresser, and saw that my bag was tipped over, my half-empty wallet spilling out of it. Oh. I guess Rina had thought of everything.
I breathed a sigh of
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