Kyle
We were all served our coffee and drinks. As we stirred and sipped from our straws, an awkward silence stretched out. Nicole glanced around at us, raising her brows. "So... aren't we going to talk about it?" she asked.
"About what?" Jack said, acting clueless.
"The elephant in the room."
There was a pause. Tommy then said, "Can we talk about the mouse instead?"
We all gave him looks, but at least we could chuckle a bit, despite the circumstance.
"She's the spitting image of her," said Amelia, finally addressing the 'elephant'.
"It was like looking at a ghost." Shirley shivered.
"I thought your parents were getting a little girl."
"We just knew they wanted to foster someone," Jack explained. "Truth is, we were already a bit upset. I mean- you remember. I complained and everything. I didn't want some kid staying with us right now."
"I would've preferred 'some kid' over her," said Tommy.
"How did your parents even find her? Were they literally looking for someone that looked just like Amy?" Nicole said.
"I don't know. They saw her, they jumped at the chance." I mindlessly stirred my coffee. "They weren't even going to tell us. I just overheard their conversation."
"I was hoping they'd change their minds. Or that she didn't want to come. Something, you know? Next thing we know, she's in our doorway, and they're introducing us, like..." Tommy trailed off.
Shirley brought out her phone, scrolling. "You can't make this stuff up. We're in a literal horror movie. Watch her kill you out of nowhere or something. Amy's dark side."
"Shirley." Tommy nudged her.
"What? I'm just saying."
"They have to know what they're doing," said Nicole.
"Duh," Shirley answered. "The whole reason they wanted to foster a girl was because of Amy. They know exactly what they're doing. Replacing their dead daughter with a freak copy. I never thought your parents could do anything so creepy." She looked at Tommy.
"Too bad we didn't bring Harry," Amelia joked. "He'd be explaining their feelings or something."
"Did you guys have to leave him like that?" Nicole said.
"Like I said, we didn't know our parents would be out," I pointed out. I sipped my coffee, which had gotten cold by now.
"But you left him alone. With her. I feel bad for him."
"He's fine. He's probably in his room, and Diana's in... well, Amy's," said Jack.
"Wait, what? Diana's in Amy's room?" Nicole exclaimed.
"Yeah, they redecorated and everything. Still her furniture, though."
"Can't she stay somewhere else?"
"We offered our rooms and everything. But no," said Tommy.
"This is why I wanted a dorm," said Jack.
"You always wanted a dorm," I corrected him.
"Yeah, and this is another reason to want one. A good reason."
"Didn't you guys notice she was wearing Amy's shirt?" Shirley scoffed. "That ugly one she always wore?"
Amelia covered her mouth. "Oh, my God."
Another stretch of silence spread out between us. The waiter came back with our orders; hamburgers, fries, and a salad for Shirley.
I was trying not to roll my eyes. Shirley didn't need any diet. But as long as she didn't force Tommy into dieting with her, I wouldn't complain.
"Does she know?" Shirley asked.
We gave her obvious looks. "Are you serious? You really think we would tell her?" Jack scoffed derisively.
"She was just asking, you guys," Tommy defended her.
"No, she doesn't know. And she won't," I said. "We just need her to move out as fast as possible and we'll be good."
"What if your parents decide to... adopt her?"
"They can't. She has a bio family. The system won't let them."
The girls seemed a bit less tense at this. "How long?" Nicole asked.
"Six months... at least. Maybe more."
"Six months?! You have to live with her for six months?" Shirley shook her head in disgust. "Unbelievable. They won't let her go to school with you, will they?"
Tommy froze, looking at us. "I... I don't know."
"God, no." Shirley turned white. "Oh-my-God, if she goes to our school, I'm literally never showing my face again. I can't. Everyone's gonna say so much about me."
About her? When did this become about her? Maybe we should've left her home instead of Harry...
"About you? What about Tommy? And Harry?" Amelia echoed our thoughts.
"I'm Tommy's girlfriend. Whatever they're saying about my Tommy, they're saying about me." She hugged him and put her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, my hamburger was no longer appetizing.
"They can't send her to Summit High. They know what would happen. They'll probably send her to Lawson or something."
"I hope so," said Jack.
"You guys haven't gone to church, right?" Nicole asked. "She can't go there, either."
"No, we haven't gone since... well, since Amy died."
"Answer me this." Shirley narrowed her eyes. "If it were one of you guys that died instead of Amy, you think they would've done the same thing? Get a foster son that looks just like you?"
"Shirley," Tommy said.
"It's a legitimate question."
I glanced at Jack, then shrugged. "I dunno."
"This has always been the problem. Amy was their little princess," Shirley continued. "Now that they did some prince-and-the-pauper stuff, what do you think 'Diana' will become?"
"Shirley, that's enough," said Nicole, noticing the growing tension.
"Mom and Dad said that... that they would pay more attention to us," Tommy said slowly.
"Oh, really? How's that going? Obviously not very well, if they got an Amy clone. Worse, their new 'favorite kid' won't even be their kid by blood!"
"Can we talk about something else?" I quickly said.
We all stared at our uneaten hamburgers. Shirley was the only one eating.
Jack's phone pinged, breaking the silence. He checked the message. "Uh-oh. It's Harry."
Nicole's thick brows furrowed with concern. "How's he doing?"
"He says... oh, my God, Diana almost went into the attic."
Tommy cursed under his breath.
"Almost? So she didn't?" I clutched my fork.
"No. He's asking who left the door unlocked."
"Wasn't me." Tommy held up his hands.
"Probably Mom or Dad. I haven't gone up there," I said.
Jack texted him back. "He also wants 20 bucks for staying home with her."
I snorted. "Yeah, right."
"You guys owe him 50, in my opinion," said Nicole. "What you guys did was pretty mean."
Her scolding tone dissipated my contempt. I sighed, nodding. "Yeah, you're right. I just..." I held my head. "I didn't know what to do." I felt Nicole's arms wrap around me in comfort.
"We're all in this together, okay?" Amelia assured us. "Hopefully, Diana won't like it here and she'll want to move."
"That's what we're gunning for," Tommy replied.
"And... eventually, you're going to have to tell her."
"We're not going to tell her," Jack said firmly.
"If you don't, someone else will. You don't know where she's going to school, or if she'll meet any more of your friends. You don't know. She almost got into the attic. She's going to find out."
She had a point. If our parents were crazy enough to send her to Summit High, there would be plenty of people talking about her. Sooner or later, she'd know. Maybe that would be enough to scare her away...?
But how could we tell her something so... I couldn't even find a word for it. It was such a bizarre situation— I wasn't even sure if it was real. Maybe it was just a fever dream. Maybe I went crazy after Amy died, like our parents did.
I looked at her face, heard her voice, but that wasn't my baby. That wasn't the sister I wished for when I was 3. The sister I named 'Amy'.
I started eating my hamburger, which was also cold. It was delicious, but I couldn't enjoy the flavor. Bite after bite, the juicy meat and American cheese were forced down.
As callous as Shirley was, every word she said was true.
Who figured it out? Did you have a different theory?