2

On Sunday night, my mother locked my bedroom door.

From the inside. She locked herself, me, and Mia's entire closet in my room and said, "We don't have much time. You have to become her by tomorrow morning."

Mia's closet had arrived in three big suitcases. Her mother had packed everything while Mia was sleeping in the hospital her uniforms, her cheerleading jacket, her makeup, her perfume, her shoes. The room smelled like expensive vanilla, not like me.

"Mia never wears grey," Mom said, looking at my hoodie with disgust. She picked it up with two fingers and threw it into the trash bag. "She wears navy, white, pink, cream. She straightens her hair every morning. She doesn't wear glasses. And she never, ever stutters."

"I don't stutter," I mumbled.

"You do when you're nervous," Mom snapped. "So don't be nervous. Mia is never nervous. Mia is confident."

She pulled out a navy pleated skirt. "Try this."

I had never worn a skirt that short in my life. At school, Mia's skirts always made the boys look. My skirt, when I wore one in 9th grade, made people laugh.

"I can't..."

"You can. You are Mia now."

I changed behind the small curtain. The skirt felt cold on my legs. The white shirt was tight in a way my t-shirts never were. Mom pulled out a pair of tan pantyhose. "Mia wears these"

My face burned.

Then came the hair. Mom plugged in a straightener that cost more than my entire wardrobe. She straightened my long, wavy, frizzy hair strand by strand. It took an hour. My scalp burned. But when she was done, I looked in the mirror and didn't recognize myself.

My hair was sleek, shiny, falling like a curtain. There's no frizz,no mess.

"Contacts," Mom said, handing me a small box. "Mia has perfect vision. You will wear these."

I had never worn contacts. The first lens made my eyes water. The second made me cry. But when I blinked, the world was clear and my face had no glasses hiding it.

"Now makeup."

Mia's makeup bag was like a professional artist's kit. Foundation, concealer, contour, highlighter. Mom did it she knew Mia's face better than mine. She covered the small pimple on my chin that Mia never had. She drew a small wing on my eyes. Pink lip gloss.

"Say something," Mom said.

I looked at the mirror. A girl looked back at me. She had Mia's hair, Mia's clothes, Mia's makeup. But her eyes were mine. Scared.

"What do I say?" I whispered.

Mom frowned. "Say, 'Hi, I'm Mia Lane.' Say it like you own the school."

I took a breath. "Hi, I'm Mia Lane."

"Again. Louder. Smile."

"Hi, I'm Mia Lane," I said louder, and forced a smile. Mia's smile. Teeth showing, confident, a little bored.

Mom clapped. "Yes! That's it!"

I stared. The girl in the mirror was beautiful. She was not Maya. Maya was the girl with milkshake in her hair. This girl looked like she had never been bullied in her life.

Mom handed me Mia's phone. The newest iPhone, with a pink glitter case. The lock screen was Mia and Jaxon kissing at a football game.

"You have to answer as Mia. If her friends text, you answer. If Jaxon texts, you answer. Don't mess up."

The phone buzzed immediately.

JAXON: Babe, how are you feeling? Chloe said you were in an accident. I'm coming to the hospital tomorrow.

My heart stopped. Jaxon.

I looked at Mom. "What do I say?"

Mom read it over my shoulder. "Say you're fine, you need rest, you'll see him at school next week. Say you love him."

I typed with shaking hands.

MIA: hey babe im fine just need rest. dr said i need to sleep. see u at school next wk love u xx

It felt disgusting, typing 'love u' to a boy who was not mine. But also... thrilling.

He replied in seconds: I love you more. Rest well, princess.

Princess. He called her princess.

I put the phone down.

At 6 a.m. on Monday, I left the house as Mia Lane.

Mom drove me to school. She parked far so no one would see me get out of her old car Mia always got dropped off in Dad's BMW.

"Remember," Mom said, grabbing my arm. "Chin up. Walk like you own the hallway. Don't talk to nerds. Don't help anyone. And don't let Jaxon touch you too much. He will know."

"I know."

"And Maya," she added, her voice dropping. "If you fail any of her exams, you're done. No art school."

I nodded and got out.

Westview High looked different when you were not invisible. People moved out of the way. Boys looked. Girls whispered, but not laughing whispers jealous whispers.

"Oh my God, Mia! You're back!" Chloe ran to me, hugging me. She smelled like Mia's perfume. "We heard about the accident! Are you okay? You look... different. Did you do something to your hair?"

I did the smile. The Mia smile. "Thanks, babe. Just rest and... you know... new serum."

Chloe clinked her arm with mine. "You look hot. Come on, everyone is waiting."

She pulled me into the center of the hallway. The popular table. The cheerleaders. The basketball boys.

And there he was.

Jaxon Cole was leaning against the lockers, his varsity jacket on, his dark hair messy. He saw me and his face lit up.

He walked straight to me, past Chloe, past everyone, and pulled me into a hug.

He smelled like cologne and grass. His arms were strong.

"God, I was so worried," he whispered into my hair. Only I could hear. "You didn't answer my calls."

For a second, I forgot I was supposed to be Mia. I forgot I was supposed to be cold and perfect. I hugged him back tightly, like Maya would hug someone she loved.

He froze.

He pulled back and looked at me. Really looked at me. His brown eyes searching my face.

His eyes dropped to my shoulder. To my neck. Then back to my eyes.

"You..." he started, frowning. "Your perfume..."

My blood ran cold.

Mom said he would know.

Mia wears perfume. Dior. Sweet and strong. Mom sprayed it on me this morning, but I must have walked too fast, because it had faded.

Jaxon was still holding my shoulders, his frown deepening.

"Your perfume," he said again. "You always wear so much it gives me a headache. Today you smell like... soap."

The hallway went quiet. Chloe and the other cheerleaders were watching us. This was the morning show Jaxon and Mia, the perfect couple reuniting after the accident.

I had to fix it. Fast.

I did what Mia would do. At least, what I thought Mia would do.

I rolled my eyes, pushed his chest lightly, and said in a bored voice, "Oh my God, Jaxon, are you really complaining about how I smell? I was in a hospital, not a perfume factory. Be grateful I'm alive."

For a second, I thought I had messed up completely. My voice shook at the end.

But then Chloe burst out laughing. "Okay, she's back! That's definitely our Mia!"

Everyone laughed. Jaxon's frown softened into a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry. I'm just glad you're okay, princess."

Princess again.

He leaned in to kiss me. On the lips. In front of everyone.

My first thought: Mom said don't let him kiss you.

My second thought: Maya has been waiting for this kiss for three years.

I didn't move away.

His lips touched mine. Soft, quick. He tasted like mint gum. The whole hallway cheered. Someone whistled.

It was over in one second, but my knees went weak. I had to grab his jacket to stay standing.

When he pulled back, he was staring at me again.

"Mia," he whispered, so only I could hear. "Are you okay? You never grab me like that."

Mia never needed to grab anyone. She was always steady.

"I'm still dizzy from the meds," I whispered back, using Mom's excuse.

He nodded, but he didn't look convinced. He kept his arm around my waist as we walked to class, like I would fall.

First period was Math Mia's worst subject, my best. I sat in Mia's seat, front row, middle. Everyone's seat is assigned by popularity here, I swear.

The teacher, Mr. Davis, said, "Well, Miss Lane, welcome back. We heard about your accident. We will go easy on you today."

Easy. He said easy, but then he put a pop quiz on the projector. Five questions. Algebra.

Chloe leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, just copy mine, I studied."

Mia never studied. Chloe always let her copy.

But I looked at the questions. They were easy. For me. For Maya, who does math for fun. For Mia, who pays people to do it.

If I got them all wrong like Mia would, my parents would kill me. They said don't fail her exams.

If I got them all right, everyone would know I'm not Mia.

I decided to get three right, two wrong. On purpose, I wrote 2+2=5 on the last one. My hand hurt writing it.

When Mr. Davis collected the papers, he glanced at mine. "Interesting, Mia. You actually tried today."

During break, the first test came.

We were in the cafeteria. I was sitting at the popular table now, not in the back. Mia's tray was full salad and bottled water.

A junior girl I didn't know walked past with a tray full of spaghetti. She tripped over someone's bag. The spaghetti flew....

And landed all over Chloe's new white sneakers.

Chloe screamed.

The junior girl started crying. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

In real Mia's world, this is where Mia would laugh, point, and say, "Eww, watch where you're going, loser!"

Everyone expected me to do it. Chloe looked at me, waiting for me to defend her. The whole table looked at me.

But I saw the junior girl's face. She looked like me days ago. Covered in food, everyone laughing.

Before I could stop myself, I stood up.

"It's okay," I said to the girl. I grabbed napkins. "It was an accident. Here."

I helped her wipe the sauce. I gave her my own napkin. I smiled at her Maya's real smile, not Mia's bored one.

The table went silent.

Chloe stared at me. "Mia? What are you doing?"

I froze. My hands full of red napkins.

"I... I mean... it's not that deep," I said quickly, trying to sound like Mia. "She can pay for your shoes. Right? You can pay, right?"

The junior girl nodded, terrified. "Yes! Yes, I'll pay!"

But the damage was done. I had been nice. Mia is never nice to nobodies.

From across the table, Jaxon was watching me. He wasn't with the other basketball boys today. He was watching only me. His eyes narrowed.

After lunch, he caught my wrist in the hallway. Empty hallway. There's no one around.

"Mia," he said. His voice was low. "Can I ask you something?"

My heart hammered. "What?"

"Since when do you help people?"

I swallowed. "What do you mean? I'm a nice person."

He laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh. "Mia, last month you told the janitor to stop breathing so loudly near you. You told me being nice is for people who have nothing else to offer."

That sounds exactly like Mia.

"I... I hit my head in the accident," I said. "Maybe it made me nicer."

He stepped closer. He was so tall. I had to look up.

"Maybe," he said softly. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek. I shivered. "Or maybe you're not Mia at all."

The world stopped.

He knew.

He knew it was me.

Before I could answer, the bell rang. Loud, screaming.

Jaxon dropped his hand. "We will talk after school, Mia. "

He walked away, leaving me in the empty hallway, wearing my sister's clothes.

I had survived one day as Mia Lane.

And I had already failed.