"You and Mavis became best friends after you started attending Uppity Downs,"
Penny Simon recounted to her daughter. "You spent hours here every day after
school. I assumed you two were studying together, since you got perfect marks
on your assignments."
Beat, still lying on the couch in the Cutlers' modest living room, moaned and shook her head slowly. "Mum, I think I need another Advil," she requested. "My face really hurts."
As Mrs. Simon ran her fingers over Beat's sweaty forehead, the front door to the house burst open and Francine charged in, her expression filled with anger and determination. Without bothering to close the door after her, she approached the place where Mrs. Simon was soothing her daughter, and seemed to cool off a little. "Will she be all right?"
"Yes," replied the British aardvark woman. "Her face is swollen and she's missing two teeth, but she'll be as good as new after a little dental work."
Francine (or, more properly, Sue Ellen in Francine's body) gazed down at Beat's face and felt pangs of guilt when she beheld the black bruises and red swollen areas that were left partially visible by the ice packs. "I'm sorry, Beat," she said as she slowly removed her red jacket. "I wouldn't have done this if I'd known it was you."
Mrs. Simon shot her an astonished look. Beat turned her left eye in Francine's direction. "It was you, Frankie?" she marveled.
"Don't call me Frankie," Francine snapped at her. "You know I'm really Sue Ellen. And you've got to switch us back before my dad leaves for good."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Beat answered weakly.
"She can't remember anything from the past three weeks," Mrs. Simon told Francine.
"I don't have time for any more tricks, Beat!" Francine exclaimed furiously. "You've got to go to my dad and tell him what you did, so he'll bring Francine back, so I can get my body back! He won't listen to me!"
Attracted by the shouting, Dr. Cutler entered the room from the kitchen, clutching a bottle of Advil and a glass of water. "What's going on?" she asked.
"She's lying!" said Francine, pointing at Beat and walking toward the doctor. "There's nothing wrong with her memory. She just doesn't want to own up to what she did!"
"You must be a friend of Beat's," said Dr. Cutler calmly as she seated herself. Mrs. Simon took the medicine and water from her hands, and went to administer them to Beat.
"Not anymore." Francine's voice was starting to break, and her eyes were tearing up. "Not since she switched our bodies."
"Hmm...okay," muttered the doctor with a hint of incredulity. "Now why don't you sit down, take a deep breath, and tell me all about it."
Francine complied, taking a seat in a chair opposite Dr. Cutler. "My name's Sue Ellen," she began. "I was the cat girl with the curly hair at Mavis' party last month. But I don't look like that anymore, because I'm in Francine's body, and she's in mine."
"Interesting." Dr. Cutler's detached tone gave Francine the impression that she was being psychoanalyzed. Cold winter air poured in through the front door, which no one had taken the trouble to close.
"Francine and I went to the old barn by the creek because we thought Muffy would meet us there," Francine went on.
"Muffy Crosswire?" asked Dr. Cutler. "The missing girl?"
"Yeah," Francine answered. "Only when we got there, it wasn't Muffy. It was a girl with a mask, and she knocked us out with some kind of gas. When we woke up, we were in each other's bodies."
"Right," said Dr. Cutler flatly.
From the corner of her eye, Francine noticed that Mrs. Simon was staring at her with a glazed expression. "We stayed that way all week," she continued, undeterred. "Then today, someone called me and told me to go back to the barn with Francine so we could be switched back. But when I got to my house, Francine and my mom were already gone. They...they had to make an emergency move. My dad wouldn't believe me when I told him I was really Sue Ellen." Tears began to roll down Francine's cheeks as she related the painful story. "I thought I would lose my parents forever. I was really mad at the person who did this to me. I wanted to get revenge. I went to the barn, and the girl with the mask was there. I don't know if it was the same girl or a different girl. She was about to knock me out with her gas again, but I kicked it out of her hand, and then we had a fight, and I won. I didn't know it was Beat until I took off her mask. There was blood all over her face. I wanted to help her, so I reached into my pocket to get a handkerchief...and then she used her knockout gas on me. As soon as I woke up I went to Beat's place, and Mr. Simon told me to come here."
By this time, Dr. Cutler was fingering her chin and staring blankly into space. Francine turned and saw that Beat was sitting up, the two ice packs sitting on her lap, her grotesquely swollen nose and bruised right eye exposed. Mrs. Simon was seated next to her, glaring at Francine indignantly.
"You...don't believe me, do you?" Francine ran her fingers over her cheeks to wipe off the tears.
"Back when I was editor of a fantasy journal," Mrs. Simon replied, "I must have rejected about three dozen body-swapping stories that were better than yours."
"Frankie wouldn't hurt me without good reason, Mum," said Beat as she replaced one of the ice packs over her black eye. "Maybe I did something bad to her, but I can't remember it."
"How'd you get so good at martial arts, Beat?" Francine asked her. "You were blocking me left and right. It was all I could do to get a punch in."
Beat shook her head disbelievingly. "I-I've never studied martial arts."
Mrs. Simon rose slowly from the couch. "I think you should go home now," she admonished Francine. "Expect me there shortly. I'm going to have a long talk with your parents."
Barely able to contain her fury, Francine leaped from her chair and took several steps toward Beat. "I'm warning you," she growled as Mrs. Simon put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. "If my dad leaves and I still don't have my own body, I'll...I'll visit you in the middle of the night, and I'll strangle you while you sleep!"
The next thing she felt was Mrs. Simon's hands pushing her forcefully toward the front door. Still seething, she hardly noticed Beat's tearful, pleading voice calling after her: "Whatever I did to you, I'll make it right, I swear!"
Once Mrs. Simon had escorted Francine out of the house and closed the door her, she turned to her daughter, whose eyes were welling up. "Don't cry, dear," she said compassionately. "None of what happened is your fault, no matter what Francine says."
"I should talk to her parents as well," Dr. Cutler recommended. "I think that girl needs a full evaluation."
Mrs. Simon put her arms around her sorrowing daughter, who was struggling to sniffle through her swollen nostrils. "What if she's right, Mum?" she said anxiously. "What if something terrible happened? If only I could remember!"
"Nothing terrible happened," Mrs. Simon reassured her. "It's been business as usual between you and Francine, ever since we went to visit Mr. Putnam." As she caressed Beat's unruly hair and rabbit ears, Mavis came out of her bedroom and joined the pair on the couch.
"Mum, maybe we should see Mr. Putnam again," Beat suggested.
"That may be difficult to accomplish," Mavis told her.
"Why?" asked Mrs. Simon, turning to face the girl.
"There's something else you've forgotten, Beat," said Mavis. "Something they announced at school yesterday. Mr. Putnam is dead."
(To be continued...)
Beat, still lying on the couch in the Cutlers' modest living room, moaned and shook her head slowly. "Mum, I think I need another Advil," she requested. "My face really hurts."
As Mrs. Simon ran her fingers over Beat's sweaty forehead, the front door to the house burst open and Francine charged in, her expression filled with anger and determination. Without bothering to close the door after her, she approached the place where Mrs. Simon was soothing her daughter, and seemed to cool off a little. "Will she be all right?"
"Yes," replied the British aardvark woman. "Her face is swollen and she's missing two teeth, but she'll be as good as new after a little dental work."
Francine (or, more properly, Sue Ellen in Francine's body) gazed down at Beat's face and felt pangs of guilt when she beheld the black bruises and red swollen areas that were left partially visible by the ice packs. "I'm sorry, Beat," she said as she slowly removed her red jacket. "I wouldn't have done this if I'd known it was you."
Mrs. Simon shot her an astonished look. Beat turned her left eye in Francine's direction. "It was you, Frankie?" she marveled.
"Don't call me Frankie," Francine snapped at her. "You know I'm really Sue Ellen. And you've got to switch us back before my dad leaves for good."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Beat answered weakly.
"She can't remember anything from the past three weeks," Mrs. Simon told Francine.
"I don't have time for any more tricks, Beat!" Francine exclaimed furiously. "You've got to go to my dad and tell him what you did, so he'll bring Francine back, so I can get my body back! He won't listen to me!"
Attracted by the shouting, Dr. Cutler entered the room from the kitchen, clutching a bottle of Advil and a glass of water. "What's going on?" she asked.
"She's lying!" said Francine, pointing at Beat and walking toward the doctor. "There's nothing wrong with her memory. She just doesn't want to own up to what she did!"
"You must be a friend of Beat's," said Dr. Cutler calmly as she seated herself. Mrs. Simon took the medicine and water from her hands, and went to administer them to Beat.
"Not anymore." Francine's voice was starting to break, and her eyes were tearing up. "Not since she switched our bodies."
"Hmm...okay," muttered the doctor with a hint of incredulity. "Now why don't you sit down, take a deep breath, and tell me all about it."
Francine complied, taking a seat in a chair opposite Dr. Cutler. "My name's Sue Ellen," she began. "I was the cat girl with the curly hair at Mavis' party last month. But I don't look like that anymore, because I'm in Francine's body, and she's in mine."
"Interesting." Dr. Cutler's detached tone gave Francine the impression that she was being psychoanalyzed. Cold winter air poured in through the front door, which no one had taken the trouble to close.
"Francine and I went to the old barn by the creek because we thought Muffy would meet us there," Francine went on.
"Muffy Crosswire?" asked Dr. Cutler. "The missing girl?"
"Yeah," Francine answered. "Only when we got there, it wasn't Muffy. It was a girl with a mask, and she knocked us out with some kind of gas. When we woke up, we were in each other's bodies."
"Right," said Dr. Cutler flatly.
From the corner of her eye, Francine noticed that Mrs. Simon was staring at her with a glazed expression. "We stayed that way all week," she continued, undeterred. "Then today, someone called me and told me to go back to the barn with Francine so we could be switched back. But when I got to my house, Francine and my mom were already gone. They...they had to make an emergency move. My dad wouldn't believe me when I told him I was really Sue Ellen." Tears began to roll down Francine's cheeks as she related the painful story. "I thought I would lose my parents forever. I was really mad at the person who did this to me. I wanted to get revenge. I went to the barn, and the girl with the mask was there. I don't know if it was the same girl or a different girl. She was about to knock me out with her gas again, but I kicked it out of her hand, and then we had a fight, and I won. I didn't know it was Beat until I took off her mask. There was blood all over her face. I wanted to help her, so I reached into my pocket to get a handkerchief...and then she used her knockout gas on me. As soon as I woke up I went to Beat's place, and Mr. Simon told me to come here."
By this time, Dr. Cutler was fingering her chin and staring blankly into space. Francine turned and saw that Beat was sitting up, the two ice packs sitting on her lap, her grotesquely swollen nose and bruised right eye exposed. Mrs. Simon was seated next to her, glaring at Francine indignantly.
"You...don't believe me, do you?" Francine ran her fingers over her cheeks to wipe off the tears.
"Back when I was editor of a fantasy journal," Mrs. Simon replied, "I must have rejected about three dozen body-swapping stories that were better than yours."
"Frankie wouldn't hurt me without good reason, Mum," said Beat as she replaced one of the ice packs over her black eye. "Maybe I did something bad to her, but I can't remember it."
"How'd you get so good at martial arts, Beat?" Francine asked her. "You were blocking me left and right. It was all I could do to get a punch in."
Beat shook her head disbelievingly. "I-I've never studied martial arts."
Mrs. Simon rose slowly from the couch. "I think you should go home now," she admonished Francine. "Expect me there shortly. I'm going to have a long talk with your parents."
Barely able to contain her fury, Francine leaped from her chair and took several steps toward Beat. "I'm warning you," she growled as Mrs. Simon put a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. "If my dad leaves and I still don't have my own body, I'll...I'll visit you in the middle of the night, and I'll strangle you while you sleep!"
The next thing she felt was Mrs. Simon's hands pushing her forcefully toward the front door. Still seething, she hardly noticed Beat's tearful, pleading voice calling after her: "Whatever I did to you, I'll make it right, I swear!"
Once Mrs. Simon had escorted Francine out of the house and closed the door her, she turned to her daughter, whose eyes were welling up. "Don't cry, dear," she said compassionately. "None of what happened is your fault, no matter what Francine says."
"I should talk to her parents as well," Dr. Cutler recommended. "I think that girl needs a full evaluation."
Mrs. Simon put her arms around her sorrowing daughter, who was struggling to sniffle through her swollen nostrils. "What if she's right, Mum?" she said anxiously. "What if something terrible happened? If only I could remember!"
"Nothing terrible happened," Mrs. Simon reassured her. "It's been business as usual between you and Francine, ever since we went to visit Mr. Putnam." As she caressed Beat's unruly hair and rabbit ears, Mavis came out of her bedroom and joined the pair on the couch.
"Mum, maybe we should see Mr. Putnam again," Beat suggested.
"That may be difficult to accomplish," Mavis told her.
"Why?" asked Mrs. Simon, turning to face the girl.
"There's something else you've forgotten, Beat," said Mavis. "Something they announced at school yesterday. Mr. Putnam is dead."
(To be continued...)
