Parallelogram Omnibus Edition

by Brande, Robin

  Not exactly the chatty, helpful, informative guy he was last night. And I’m pretty sure I know why.

  I’ve been pretty cold to him the whole way up this hill, and I feel bad about that, but it’s for the greater good. I can see he’s confused by my change of personality, but you should just get used to that when you’re dealing with a body-snatching girl from another universe. You never know what she’ll do next.

  I clear away some twigs and rocks to make a place for myself to sit down. Red has already dug himself a bed and is enjoying a nap in the sun. I really admired that about him in the Alps, too—his ability to turn the switch to off the minute we stopped to take a break. I think that’s a good skill. I might need to learn it.

  Jake takes a seat a little ways away from me in the dirt. He picks up a long thin stick and starts snapping it into little pieces.

  We both stare out at the ocean.

  “Okay, look,” I say. “I’m going to ask you for a favor. You don’t have to do it, obviously, but I really hope you will. It’s very, very important to me, and the sooner I can get this information, the better.”

  Jake snaps another twig.

  “It’s about my tracking,” I say.

  He pauses, then goes back to breaking his stick.

  “I know my parents saw it,” I continue, “since they knew when to send you, but did you look at it, too?”

  “Maybe.”

  That’s not the answer I’m expecting. “What do you mean, maybe?”

  Now Jake turns to me. “What’s going on, Halli? Or should I go back to calling you Miss Markham?”

  “Maybe you should,” I say. “And I’d like you to answer my question. You won’t get in trouble—I won’t tell anyone. I just need the information.”

  He vaults to his feet and starts pacing.

  “Did I do something?” he wants to know. “Did I offend you somehow? I’m sorry about last night—I thought . . . well, I thought maybe you wanted that, too. But obviously I was wrong.”

  I want so much to tell him he wasn’t, but I have to stay strong. I press my lips together to keep them from blurting out the way I really feel.

  “It was a mistake,” Jake says. “So I’m sorry. But you had no reason to take it out on my father and dismiss him the way you did—”

  “I didn’t dismiss him!”

  “He spent all morning grooming those horses,” Jake says. “Raking out the stalls. Shining every buckle, rubbing down every saddle. He was so honored he might get to meet you. He’s been talking about it for a week.”

  A lump pops up in my throat.

  “I’m sorry,” I say. “I never meant to offend your father. He’s a wonderful man. I was very happy to meet him. You have no idea.”

  “No, I don’t have any idea,” Jake says. “One minute you were friendly with all of us, and the next you’re telling my sister to go back to the house and ordering me to come speak with you—”

  “I didn’t order you! I asked.”

  “When Miss Markham makes a request,” Jake says sarcastically, “every knee must bow. Isn’t that what you’re used to out there? I was afraid you’d be just like your parents. Now I see I was right.”

  I growl in frustration. “It’s not like that! I’m not like that.”

  And neither is the real Halli, I want to say. I’ve seen her have to deal with being a celebrity, but she was never arrogant about it. She never expected people to bow to her. If people wanted to act like she was royalty, that was their choice, not hers. All that attention seemed to wear her out.

  “Then what are you like?” Jake asks. “Because I can’t figure it out.”

  I’m glad that Ferguson isn’t here to see me misusing Halli’s body again. My shoulders slump. I curl over and hug my knees. This whole thing is going to be harder than I thought.

  “Jake . . .”

  He stands there looking at me, waiting.

  I pat the dirt next to me. “Sit back down. I’ll try to tell you the truth.”

  18

  The truth is relative. I think maybe Albert Einstein said that. If not, he should have.

  I actually gave it some thought as we hiked up the mountain, because I was afraid it might come to this. And even though Celeste bought my lame excuse that I wasn’t used to that newer model of tablet, I had the feeling Jake would probably need a more substantial explanation. Meaning a more substantial lie.

  So I give it a try.

  “You can’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you,” I start out. “Please—first I need you to promise me that.”

  He hesitates, but then nods.

  I take a breath. “Okay, so I had an accident. In the Alps. I was climbing where I shouldn’t have—it was really stupid—and there was a rock slide. I got hit in the head. Passed out. It was pretty scary when I woke up.”

  Jake’s expression has changed. He doesn’t seem so angry anymore. But he also doesn’t seem entirely convinced.

  “I’ve lost time,” I tell him. “I don’t even know how much of it. There are these gaps in my memory, and I don’t know how else to fill them in. I’m hoping you can help me find my tracking information so maybe I can retrace what happened.”

  “When?” Jake asks.

  “When did it happen? Pretty close to the end of my trip.” I haven’t thought of which specific day to say it occurred, but a general answer seems good enough.

  “Which parts don’t you remember?” he asks.

  “I . . . I’m not really sure how I got home. To Colorado. That’s all kind of a blank.”

  Jake runs his hand through his hair. “Halli . . .”

  “I know,” I say. “It’s pretty bad.”

  “Have you seen a doctor?” he asks.

  “No. I feel fine except for . . . that.”

  “We have a doctor here on the island—”

  “No,” I say. “That won’t work. I can’t let my parents know.”

  “Why?”

  Good question. I haven’t really thought that far through.

  Luckily Jake is already on to his next concern.

  “Why didn’t you just look up the information yourself?”

  Another good question, but this time I have an answer.

  “Because that’s another thing I’ve lost,” I say. “I can’t remember my code.”

  “Halli, you have to see a doctor.”

  “What I need,” I say, “is to know what happened. If you can help me with that—please.”

  “Of course I’ll help you,” he says. “But then you’ve got to see a doctor. It doesn’t have to be the one here, but I’m not letting you go home until someone looks at your head. Do you understand?”

  That’s not a bargain I’m willing to make, but I don’t tell him that. I don’t tell him that the real problem isn’t in my head, it’s in the physics. That I’ve lost time not because I have selective amnesia, but because I violated the natural order of the universe. And that finding out what happened in those minutes before and after the event might help me to unravel the whole sequence, so that maybe I’ll have even the remotest chance of repairing what I’ve done.

  Jake is on his feet again, pacing.

  “What’s the last thing you remember?” he asks. “Which day?”

  “Tuesday, I think.”

  “Tuesday you were in Munich,” Jake says.

  “Munich? No . . .” On Tuesday Halli was still in the Alps, about to be killed by an avalanche.

  “You were staying at your grandmother’s apartment there,” Jake says. “Don’t you remember?”

  “But . . . that’s impossible.”

  “Why is it impossible?” he asks.

  “Because . . .” I quickly improvise. “Tuesday is when I hit my head. That’s when the rock slide was.”

  “Halli, look at me.” Now Jake really sounds worried. I’m starting to feel worried myself. “I watched your dot. You were in Munich. You arrived there Sunday night. You didn’t leave until Wednesday morning, when you caught your fligh
t home.”

  That’s all impossible. He has to be wrong.

  “Jake, are you absolutely sure? This is important.”

  “I know it’s important,” he says. “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Now my head is really reeling. It means I’ve lost not just two days from Halli’s life, but four.

  But how is that possible? I clearly remember saying goodbye to Halli in the Alps on Sunday morning, and watching her walk away to go join that guy Karl, the German pilot, for another few days of hiking. Then I clearly remember seeing her again some time on Tuesday, when I did that remote viewing exercise in Professor Whitfield’s lab. I saw Karl being buried in the avalanche, and then Halli and Red in its pathway to be next.

  But did I make that part of it up? Has my brain lied to me?

  But how could it? Isn’t the evidence right here? I, Audie Masters, am no longer in my own body, in my own universe. That is a verifiable fact. My brain is not imagining that I am stuck here in Halli’s body, in Halli’s world. I am the living, physical proof that what I remember happening, happened.

  But then, how can what Jake said be true?

  I cradle my head in my hands. This is all too much to take.

  Jake pries away one of my hands. “Halli, look at me.”

  I gaze up at him with tear-fogged eyes. He has no idea how much I wish this were all a dream.

  “I’m going to help you,” he tells me. “Whatever you need. I promise, you’re going to be all right.”

  I don’t have the heart to tell him that promise isn’t within his power to make.

  19

  “Lyman, can you find Celeste for me and ask her to come to my room?”

  “Certainly, Miss Markham.”

  Yes, I could ask for Celeste through the walls, but there’s no way I want Alexa to know anything that I’m up to.

  Because there’s one possible person who might be able to shed some light on Halli’s last few days, and that’s Daniel. On Sunday, when Halli supposedly left the Alps and traveled back to Munich, Daniel and his sister Sarah and their friend Martin were also leaving the Alps to go back home to London.

  If Halli hiked out with them, Daniel can tell me.

  Not that that solves any of the mystery of what happened and why my memory is so different from Halli’s tracking information, but at least it’s something. At least it’s a fact. Right now I need every fact I can find.

  I pace back and forth until there’s a knock on my door. I rush to open it, then greet Celeste with my finger to my lips. I motion for her to follow me to the closet.

  “I need a huge favor,” I tell her as soon as we’re inside.

  She answers with a nod.

  But she’s not smiling. She’s not bubbly or exuberant or enthusiastic, like she’s been every other time we’re together.

  Clearly Jake was right.

  “Celeste, I’m so sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier. That’s the last thing I wanted to do. You’re one of my favorite people here—I hope you know that.”

  I can see her softening.

  “I’ve been really worried about something,” I go on, “but I’m sorry if I took it out on you. I just needed to talk to your brother right away, and I probably seemed pretty rude.”

  “No, it’s all right . . .”

  “It’s not all right, and I’m sorry. Please, let’s be friends.”

  I offer her my hand, and she shakes it. Then she gives me a little of her normal smile.

  “You didn’t fight,” she asks, “did you?”

  “Who, me and Jake? Not at all. We’re fine. But now I need to ask you a favor, and you can’t tell him anything about it. Please. I need you to promise.”

  “Why?” I can tell she doesn’t like the sound of any of it.

  “Because he might not understand,” I say, “and I don’t want to hurt his feelings, either. I need to contact somebody—a guy I know—but he’s just a friend—really, the brother of a friend of mine—and I don’t want Jake to find out about it and assume the wrong thing. Do you understand?”

  “Yes . . .” But she doesn’t look very happy about it.

  “Please, Celeste. I promise it’s nothing bad. I just need to talk to this person to ask him something. So will you help me?”

  “Yes, Miss, I’ll help you.”

  “It’s still Halli,” I remind her. “I meant that.”

  “Yes, all right.” But she still seems guarded and concerned.

  I hand her the tablet. “Can you find this person for me? His name is Daniel Everett. He lives in England—in London, I think.”

  She works on the tablet until a cube rotates above it. Then the cube dissolves into a face I instantly recognize.

  It’s just a 3-D image of him, but seeing Daniel here, so close to me, feels like such a comfort. There’s his brownish-blond hair, his light brown eyes, his kind smile—

  Celeste is studying him, too. Because despite what I said, she must realize he’s a potential rival for her brother. The girl isn’t stupid.

  “Is that all?” she asks.

  “Yes. Thank you.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. “Seriously, Celeste, thank you for everything you’ve helped me with. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

  “He’s nice looking,” she says, gesturing toward Daniel’s head.

  “He’s a nice guy. So is his sister. She’s a lot of fun—I bet you’d like her.”

  Better to emphasize Sarah more than Daniel. Keep the focus off of him.

  I have Celeste show me where to press on the tablet to connect the comm, and she’s just about to leave when a horrible thought occurs to me. I’m almost afraid to ask, because if she answers the wrong way, my life is only going to get more complicated.

  “Whose tablet is this, Celeste?”

  “It’s for the guests,” she says.

  “Yes, but whose is it, exactly? Is it Alexa’s?”

  “No, it’s not really anybody’s,” she says. “It just belongs to the house. Anyone who stays here can borrow it.”

  I’m thinking of the walls outside the closet. And the fact that they were built in such a way that someone from Halli’s parents’ staff can listen in to whatever’s being said. Of course it’s only for the guest’s convenience—I can imagine that’s what they’d say.

  And if there’s something “convenient” like that built into this tablet—

  “Does anybody monitor this?” I ask. “You know, like could someone find out who I contacted with it?” Or even worse, “Can anybody listen in to what I’m saying on it?”

  Celeste looks uncomfortable. “Yes.”

  “Who? Alexa?”

  “No, only Dr. Markham or Dr. Bellows. I think.”

  Great.

  There go my dreams for an honest, heart-to-heart chat with Daniel where I tell him everything that’s happened in the past two days, and ask him to try to help me figure out what in the world happened to Halli.

  “Thank you, Celeste. That’s all I need right now. I’ll see you later.”

  I wait until she leaves to slump back against the wall.

  This island of Halli’s parents might be beautiful, but it’s a prison.

  Now what am I supposed to do?

  20

  I have to at least try. So I press where Celeste showed me to press.

  It takes a minute or so, but then the lights swirling above the tablet form into a face, and that face is speaking to me.

  “Halli!”

  I smile so wide it feels like this might be my first real smile since I took over this body.

  “Hi, Daniel! How are you?” I say it as warmly, as personally as I can. Please, secretly know it’s me.

  “Splendid,” he answers, as only a British guy can get away with. “Is Audie there with you?”

  I wish he hadn’t said my name, but I can’t shush him without drawing further attention to it.

  “Um, not right now,” I say. “Listen, I just have a quick question for you.”

  “And I
have one for you,” he says. “Are you coming to my father’s party?”

  His father’s 50th birthday party. While back in my world Gemma’s family is planning a formal ball for their father, Daniel and Sarah and their version of that family here are hosting a much more modest event. And they’ve invited Halli and me to attend.

  “Um, when is it?” I ask, just to be polite. I seriously doubt I’ll be flying over to London to attend some party, when I have much more serious matters to attend to here.

  “Next Saturday,” he says. “My parents would love to meet you two. And Sarah—well, you can imagine how happy she’d be if you came.”

  Actually, I can. Sarah Everett may be the biggest Halli Markham fan I’ve met yet.

  “I’ll try,” I say. “Listen, Daniel, I just need to know one thing.”

  I’ve thought about what I’m going to say. How best to frame the question so Daniel won’t think it’s weird, and ask a bunch of follow-up questions, and Halli’s parents, if they’re listening in, won’t get suspicious.

  “Do you remember about what time it was when we started hiking out of the Alps?”

  The “we” is the key. If Halli didn’t go with him, he’ll say so in some way, like, “I don’t know what time you left, but we left at X.” I’m hoping.

  “It was early,” he says. “Wasn’t it around seven?”

  My heart pounds. Was that answer enough? Does that mean for sure that Halli was with him?

  I need to ask one more question. My voice is shaking a little. I wonder if Daniel notices.

  “And about what time was it when we all separated—do you remember?”

  I remember it clearly. It was early in the morning—7:00 might be right—and Daniel and Sarah and Martin hiked off down a trail that would lead them to the lake at the bottom. Then they were going to catch a boat that would take them to the nearest town where they could take a train back home.

  Halli and I waited there at the trailhead a few minutes more, watching them go, then she and I walked off together toward the hut where everyone had been staying. Then she took off with Karl, and I brought myself back to my own universe, back to Professor Whitfield’s lab.

  I have absolutely no doubt that’s exactly how it happened.