Will You Be My Friend? by P.J. Night

Beth.
    â€œNo. It’s still me . . . Elizabeth,” Elizabeth answered. “And that was me you saw last night, Beth. And the night before. And yes, I look exactly like you! Or, to be perfectly accurate, you look exactly like me!”

CHAPTER 13
    Beth stumbled back, away from Elizabeth. She bumped into the side of the bed and sat down. Her head was spinning.
    â€œI—I don’t understand,” she mumbled. “What’s going on?”
    â€œIt’s time you knew everything,” said Elizabeth. “Especially now that you have seen and experienced the photos.” She gestured toward the wall of photos.
    â€œAbout twenty-five years ago my mother performed an experiment on me,” Elizabeth began.
    â€œWait! Twenty-five years ago?” said Beth, completely bewildered. “But you’re my age!”
    â€œJust listen,” Elizabeth said softly. “It will all make sense in a moment. You see, although my mom is a really good doctor, she has a bit of mad scientist in her too.
    â€œTwenty-five years ago, when I was twelve, my mom performed an experiment on me that she hoped would increase my intelligence. It didn’t. Instead it froze the growth mechanisms in my body at the cellular level.”
    â€œWhat?” asked Beth, trying desperately but failing miserably to comprehend what she was hearing.
    â€œI became permanently twelve,” answered Elizabeth. “And I would remain twelve years old for as long as I lived. Now, at first I didn’t mind the idea of being a kid forever. But as my friends all grew up and moved on with their lives, I didn’t. I stayed the same.”
    Beth recalled what Elizabeth had said over lunch the day before: Most of the friends I’ve ever had have left. They’re not here anymore. I get lonely sometimes.
    Elizabeth continued: “So then, about twenty years ago, my mother tried to give me a gift to make up for what she had done to me. She created a clone using my DNA. Since my DNA had been permanently altered to stop me from aging, the clone was twelve years old—and, like me, would stay that way forever.
    â€œAnd because the clone was made from my DNA, it had my memories embedded in its genetic structure. These memories were deep, hidden beneath the surface of everyday awareness, but they were there.”
    â€œThat explains a lot,” Beth said, thinking back to the dream she had the night before she headed to Glenside. She had wondered how she could have such vivid memories of a childhood she had no real recollection of and never really experienced.
    â€œClone number one was Liza, and we had lots of fun together. But one day at the beach, she escaped. I guess she got tired of spending all her time with me and wanted to move on with her life, but she had no idea that she couldn’t. She would always remain the same. She’s probably still wandering around out there somewhere, alone, unable to grow up.”
    Beth’s brain was having trouble processing all this, yet one word jumped out and gnawed at her: “escaped.”
    Had Liza been held captive against her will? Beth wondered.
    Elizabeth continued. “Clone number two, Betty, had what we’ll just call a biking accident. Sad, but fortunately clone number three, Bess, was right there to take her place. But it turned out that number three was defective, so I got rid of her.”
    Got rid of her! thought Beth. How? What does that mean?
    â€œNumber four, Liz, was just too boring, so I got rid of her, too,” said Elizabeth.
    Suddenly Beth understood what she had seen when she touched the photographs a few minutes ago. Number four had been boring, just counting numbers in her head all day. Number two had had a bike accident. When she touched the photos, she experienced their memories.
    â€œAnd clone number five was Lizzie,” said Beth, the whole crazy picture finally coming into sharp focus. “The Lizzie I’ve