Her Evil Twin (6 page)

The next day, Anna was more anxious than ever to talk to Emma. She had to tell someone about the strange things Benny had said. But Emma seemed to be avoiding her. Once or twice, Anna thought she saw her in the hall, but Emma always disappeared before Anna could catch up with her.

At lunchtime, Anna planted herself next to Emma’s locker, determined to stay there until her friend arrived.

A few lockers down, Jessamyn and her friends were clustered in a group, talking. Jessamyn kept glancing over at Anna. She seemed to be growing more and more annoyed.

Finally, Jessamyn strode over to her. “What do you think you’re doing?” she snarled at Anna,
putting her face so close that Anna could smell the bubble gum on her breath.

Anna was startled, but she tried not to show it. “Nothing that’s any of your business,” she snapped back.

“You’re always hanging around here, watching me and my friends,” Jessamyn accused. “It’s creepy.”

Anna suddenly felt a surge of rage. “I’m not watching you, you self-absorbed twit.”

Jessamyn’s mouth formed a perfect lip-glossed O. But she recovered in a millisecond. “Loser,” she hissed at Anna.

A few weeks ago, that very word had cut Anna to the core. But now it made her seethe with anger. “So what are you going to do? Spray paint ‘Loser’ on my lawn?”

“What are you talking about?” Jessamyn snapped.

“Does ‘Dorky Dory’ ring a bell?” Anna asked coolly. “Humiliating people in their very own homes. Is that what you and your friends do for fun these days?”

Jessamyn glared at her. “I never did that! Who told you I did that?”

Anna shook her head. “I knew you were a jerk, Jessamyn. I didn’t know you were a liar, too.”

Jessamyn was about to reply when a tall boy Anna had never seen before tapped her on the shoulder. “Um, could you guys move this somewhere else?”

Jessamyn spun on him. “Butt out!” she snapped.

“I would,” said the boy, “but you’re blocking my locker.”

Surprised, Anna stepped out of the way. She watched the boy open what she’d thought was Emma’s locker.
That’s weird,
she thought.
How did I get that wrong?

Jessamyn shot Anna one last poisonous look, then stalked back to her friends, her hair swishing behind her. Anna’s knees were still shaking as she made her way back to her own locker, but she was smiling, too. She couldn’t believe she’d stood up to Jessamyn.

It’s because of Emma,
Anna thought. Emma made her feel strong and brave, like she could do anything. Emma was the coolest person Anna knew, and she was … right there, standing in front of Anna’s locker!

“Emma!” Anna rushed over to her. “I’ve been dying to talk to you. Something really weird happened yesterday. With Benny.”

Emma smiled, almost as if she hadn’t heard her. “I’m so hungry!” she said, widening her eyes in exaggeration. “Let’s go out to lunch. My treat.”

“Emma —”

“Don’t worry. No dine and ditch. I’ve got money today.”

Emma reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet. It was made of pink leather, with a little lady-bug charm attached to the zipper.

“Fine,” Anna said with a sigh. She didn’t care where they went, as long as they could talk.

When the halls were clear, they headed out a side door and walked to the deli where they’d gotten lunch on the first day they met. On the way, Anna told Emma about Benny — first about their afternoon at Moxie, then about his accident and the strange things he’d said when she went to visit him.

“I told you he was a twerp,” Emma said when she was done. “He’s just messing with you.”

“Messing with me? How could he be
messing
with me? He really got hurt.”

“So?” said Emma. “What makes you think that has anything to do with you? People get hurt all the time. Is that your fault?”

“No. But he
said
it was my fault somehow. He said he saw me. Why would he say that?”

“Oh, don’t be dense, Anna,” Emma snapped. “Isn’t it obvious? He said it so he wouldn’t have to hang out with you anymore.”

Anna pulled up short and stared at her. “What?”

“Come on,” Emma said, stopping too, “you didn’t really think a guy like Benny would go for you.”

Anna felt as if she’d been punched in the stomach. She wasn’t sure which hurt more — that Emma would say such a thing, or that it might be true.

“Think back,” Emma told her. “He was there with all his friends, right? They were probably laughing at you behind your back.”

Anna thought about the afternoon at Moxie. She remembered how Benny’s friends had smirked when he left with Anna. At the time, she’d assumed they were just teasing him. But maybe there had been another reason.

Emma slid an arm around her shoulders. “Forget about him, Anna,” she murmured. “He’s a jerk. They’re all jerks. You and I, we’re the only ones who can count on each other.”

Anna felt tears pressing against the backs of her eyes, but she didn’t want to cry. She clenched
her jaw, telling herself,
Benny is just a jerk. He doesn’t matter. He’s nothing to me,
until the tears went away.

At the deli, Emma bought lunch just as she’d promised, pulling a twenty-dollar bill from her wallet with a little flourish. The day was moderately warm, so they ate again in the little park across the street. Emma kept up a cheery dialogue, but Anna couldn’t enjoy her lunch. Each bite of sandwich turned to sawdust in her mouth, and she finally threw it away.

When they got back to school, they noticed a small commotion down the hall from Anna’s locker. A bunch of kids were clustered around Jessamyn’s locker. Lauren had her arm around Jessamyn, who seemed to be upset.

“I wonder what happened,” Anna said.

“Poor little Jessamyn,” Emma sneered. “Probaby broke a nail.”

Anna nodded numbly. She was too unhappy to give Jessamyn much thought.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period. Almost instantly, the hallway flooded with kids coming back from the cafeteria.

“Well,” said Emma, turning to her. “It’s been fun. See you on the flip side.” She gave Anna a wink and headed off, blending into the crowded hallway.

Anna turned back to her locker and slowly collected her books. It wasn’t until she was on her way to Spanish class that she thought that had been a strange thing to say.
See you on the flip side.
What did
that
mean?

Anna was still thinking about Benny in math, her last class of the day, when the office messenger came in. The messenger handed a note to the teacher, who unfolded it and scanned it quickly. “Anna?”

Her head jerked up. “Me?”

“You’re wanted in Ms. Turk’s office. Take your things with you.”

All eyes in the classroom swiveled to Anna. Ms. Turk was the dean of the school. Students were only called to her office when they were in trouble.

Anna’s heart began to pound as she stood and collected her books. She guessed someone had seen her and Emma sneaking off campus for lunch and ratted them out. She wondered how much trouble she was in.

The door to Ms. Turk’s office was open, but Anna knocked anyway. The dean waved her inside and
pointed wordlessly to a chair across from her desk. Anna perched on the edge of the chair.

The dean folded her hands on her desk and eyed Anna. She was a stout woman with a pointy nose and sharp, beady eyes that reminded Anna of a weasel.

“Now,” said the dean, “can you tell me why I’ve called you in here?”

Anna weighed her options and decided to play it safe. She gave her head a tiny shake.

“Do you know a girl named Jessamyn Ito?”

“Everyone knows Jessamyn,” Anna replied.

The dean picked up a pen and tapped the end of it against her desk. “Jessamyn’s wallet was stolen from her locker today. Do you know anything about that?”

Anna began to relax. She hadn’t been caught skipping school after all! “No,” she told the dean. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Jessamyn’s friends are always hanging out by her locker. Have you talked to them?”

“Yes, I have,” Ms. Turk replied. “Jessamyn’s friends say that
you
are often hanging around her locker, too. You aren’t friends with Jessamyn, are you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“So can you tell me why you might be hanging around Jessamyn’s locker when you don’t have a reason to be there?”

Worry began to creep back in.
Was this some kind of setup?
Anna wondered. Was Jessamyn getting her back for their argument this morning? “My friend’s locker is near Jessamyn’s. I was waiting for her.”

“Oh?” The dean’s eyebrows arched. “What’s your friend’s name?”

“Emma,” said Anna. “Emma Diablo.”

The dean made a note on a pad on her desk. Then she set the pen down and gave Anna a long look. “Anna, we take theft in this school very seriously. We get the police involved if we have to.”

She thinks I did it!
Anna realized with dismay. Whatever Jessamyn had told the dean had convinced her that Anna was the thief. For a moment, Anna’s rage at this injustice overcame her worry. She could feel her face turning red.

The dean’s eyes narrowed. “For the last time, are you
sure
you don’t know anything about Jessamyn’s wallet?”

Anna pressed her lips together and shook her head. As she did, an image flashed through her
mind: a little pink wallet with a ladybug charm.
Emma’s wallet.

No,
Anna thought, as the truth dawned on her.
Emma wouldn’t have a wallet like that. But Jessamyn would.

Something must have showed on her face, because the dean leaned forward. “Anna? Is there something you want to tell me?”

Anna shook her head again. At that moment, all she wanted was to get out of there and find Emma. She had to ask her what was going on.

Ms. Turk sighed. “Anna, you realize I’m going to have to search your locker.”

“What? Now?” Anna blurted. She didn’t have time for this. She had to find Emma!

“Yes, now,” the dean said sternly. “Come with me, young lady.”

As the dean marched her down the hall, Anna felt as if her feet were moving in slow motion. But her mind was churning.

It can’t be true. Emma wouldn’t have stolen anything,
she told herself.
She breaks the rules sometimes, but she would never actually
steal.

But she
did
steal,
said another voice in Anna’s mind.
She stole those cans of paint from the art
room. And dining and ditching — that was stealing, too.

Come to think of it, Anna had never seen Emma pay for anything. Even when she brought chips and candy for lunch, she pulled them out of her pockets, not from a bag like anyone else would have.

Anna suddenly felt certain that Emma was in big trouble. Was there some way she could warn her? Frantically, she tried to remember what class Emma was in — Spanish, PE? She realized she didn’t know Emma’s schedule at all.

They had arrived at Anna’s locker. “Go ahead,” Ms. Turk ordered. “Open it.”

Anna slowly spun the combination.
The bell is going to ring soon,
she told herself.
Then school will be out for the day. I’ll find Emma right after school.

These were the thoughts that were going through Anna’s mind as she swung open her locker door. At once, she forgot everything she’d been thinking.

There, on the top shelf of her locker, was the pink wallet with the ladybug charm. Anna noticed a detail that she’d missed when the wallet had been in Emma’s hand — a name stitched across the flap in white thread:
Jessamyn.

Anna stared at the wallet, hardly able to believe her eyes. “I — I didn’t take it!” she stuttered. “She must have put it there.”

Ms. Turk’s face was grim. “I very much doubt that Jessamyn broke into your locker to leave
her
wallet there.”

Anna hadn’t meant Jessamyn, of course.
But why would Emma do it?
she wondered. Emma was her friend.

“You’re in very big trouble, young lady.” Ms. Turk grabbed the wallet with one hand and Anna with the other. Her grip was surprisingly strong. It felt like a steel clamp on Anna’s shoulder.

As the dean dragged Anna back to her office, the final bell jangled overhead. All up and down the hall,
classroom doors popped open, and students spilled out into the hall. When they saw the dean and Anna coming, they got out of the way, like the sea parting. Anna was aware of kids staring at her as she passed. At one point she caught a glimpse of Dory, her eyes goggling at Anna from behind her thick glasses.

“It’s a mistake, Ms. Turk,” Anna kept pleading. “If you’ll just let me explain….”

“You can do your explaining when your parents get here,” the dean replied as they entered her office.

My parents?
Anna’s heart sank. “Please don’t call them,” she begged. “I’ll tell you everything.”

So, feeling like a traitor, she told the dean about Emma, how she’d offered to buy Anna lunch at the deli and paid for it with money from the pink wallet.

The dean’s frown deepened. “The deli? You mean, you
left
school? You know you aren’t allowed to leave the school grounds during school hours.”

Oops.
Now she’d really done it. She was only digging them both in deeper.

“Yes, ma’am,” Anna said miserably.

“Is this the first time you’ve done this?”

“Yes,” Anna lied.

“All right, go ahead.” The dean nodded.

“That’s it. Emma paid for lunch and we ate it and we came back. That’s all, I swear. I didn’t know she stole the wallet,” she added. Anna was afraid to say more until she found out what was going on.

“And how did the wallet end up in your locker?” asked the dean.

Anna shook her head. “I don’t know, ma’am.” That was the part that baffled her, too. She believed Emma had put it there — but why?

“Anna, since the wallet was found in your locker, you are clearly involved. I’m going to have to call your parents. You may wait outside my office.”

There was a small vestibule outside the dean’s office, which was empty except for two hard plastic chairs. Anna plopped down in one, a puddle of misery. As the minutes ticked by, she kept thinking of Emma and the wallet, going over and over things in her mind. Why had she left it there?
When
had she left it there?

“Anna, what is going on?!” Anna’s mother stood in the doorway. The collar of her coat was rolled under on one side, and her hair was sticking out in every direction. She had clearly come as quickly as she could.

As soon as Anna saw her, the tears that had
been lurking behind her eyes spilled over. “I didn’t do it, Mom!”

“Didn’t do what? Tell me what happened.” Mrs. Dipalo sat down in the other chair and listened as Anna briefly explained what had happened. She felt like she was betraying Emma. But what choice did she have?

To Anna’s astonishment, her mother didn’t seem angry, only concerned. “We’ll get this straightened out, sweetie,” she said, patting Anna’s knee. “The dean will talk to Emma and her parents, and everything will get straightened out.”

Even if we do,
Anna thought,
Emma will never be my friend again.

For a while they sat in silence, waiting for the dean. Anna leaned forward, with her elbows on her knees, staring at an old stain on the dingy gray carpet. Her mother sat with her head tipped back, staring into space.

“Emma,” she murmured. Her eyes were distant, as if she was remembering something. “The girl with silver eyes.”

Anna’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”

Her mother glanced over at her. “Oh, nothing. I was just remembering something you used to say
when you were little, about your imaginary friend, Emma. Once I asked you what she looked like, and you told me, ‘Mommy, she has silver eyes.’ I always remembered that, because I thought it was so funny.” Mrs. Dipalo shook her head. “I don’t know why I’m thinking about this now.”

At that moment, the door to the dean’s office opened. Anna’s mother stood up quickly. “Hello,” she said. “I’m Anna’s mother,” she said.

“Mrs. Dipalo, thank you for coming,” the dean replied. “As you’ve heard, Anna has run into some trouble.”

“Anna was just telling me about it,” said her mother. “And what about the other girl, Emma? Were you able to get in touch with her parents?”

The dean was silent for a moment. “Mrs. Dipalo, have you ever met Emma?”

“No, I haven’t yet. But Anna has told me a little about her. Why?”

The dean’s eyes flicked to Anna. “I’ve just been checking our records. There is no Emma Diablo. We’ve never had a student by that name.”