Chapter Seven

The following morning at Oxford University Hallie was leaving her first class of the day. Spencer was walking through the hallway and saw Hallie leaving the class. He was dressed in his usual slobbish manner. He caught up to Hallie and told her a joke.

Hallie looked at Spencer and grinned. She then said, "I can't believe you still know jokes you haven't told me yet."

"I might have two or three more," said Spencer. "I just can't think of them at the moment."

"And what will you do when you don't have anymore jokes to tell me?"

"Perhaps I can start in on telling you these poems I know," said Spencer. Hallie just stared at Spencer for a second with a delightful grin on her face. "I think you would like them."

Hallie broke the stare she was giving him and looked away. She then said, "Oh Spencer, we were seen last night at the theater, so we have to be careful where we go."

"Who saw us?"

"Chessy saw us. She's kind of like my aunt."

"She not your aunt though?"

Hallie slightly shook her head and said, "Six years ago she was my nanny; however, since she was considered family my dad didn't want to just let her go, so my dad paid her way through business school. She is now my parents' personal assistant."

"So what did Chessy say about what she saw?"

"She was curious about why I wasn't with Colby. I assured her of what she saw was innocent."

Spencer said in an unconvincing tone, "That's good."

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing. So Hallie, where are you going?"

Hallie did a quick check around the hall to see who was around her. She then said, "Spencer you need to call me Annie around the university and I'm going to the library."

"I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay, I don't think anyone heard you," said Hallie.

"What would it take for me to convince you to come with me for an hour or so rather than going to the library?"

"Go with you where?"

"I would like to surprise you."

"Spencer, I would really prefer to start my assignment. I don't want to get behind after the second day of the semester."

"You will still have time later. So how about it?"

"I hope I don't regret this later, but sure."

After leaving the university Spencer drove to the botanical garden.

"This is where you're taking me?" asked Hallie.

"Do you have anything against coming here?" asked Spencer.

"Not at all. I wanted to come here, but I wasn't planning to do it today."

As Spencer was opening his car door he asked, "So should we go in?"

"Sure."

As Hallie and Spencer were walking through the garden, Hallie would come across people that she and Annie knew. After talking to the people briefly Hallie and Spencer would continue through the garden.

As Hallie and Spencer were walking down the path in a casual manner Spencer said. "You and your sister know a lot of people,"

"And Colby knows the same people, so I will be hearing about being seen here with you from him later."

"Do you want to leave?"

"It's too late now to worry about being seen together. Beside all these people are seeing is that we are enjoying the garden together."

"I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."

"Colby is dating my sister, not me. So what kind of trouble would you cause me?"

"You just said that you will hear from Colby later about us."

"He will just tell me to be more careful about being seen with you."

"That's good."

"So Spencer, tell me one of those poems that you know."

As Hallie and Spencer walked through the garden Spencer recited several poems that he knew.

Ninety minutes later Hallie and Spencer were returning to the university to prepare for their next class.

Colby saw them as they were entering the building and walked up to them. He then asked, "So did you two enjoy your stroll through the garden?"

"Well you found out about it quicker than I expected," said Hallie.

"Hallie, our friends are beginning to ask questions about what is going on between Annie and me," said Colby. "I even got Penelope Wright batting her eyes at me."

"Who's Penelope Wright?" asked Spencer.

"An image you don't want in your head," said Colby. "Hallie, since I can't tell our friends that you're not Annie what am I supposed to tell them. Annie's friends have also been curious to why you haven't been spending time with them?"

"Colby, relax," said Hallie. "We can start eating lunch together. I will also start hanging out with some of Annie's friends. That should relieve most of their curiosity."

"As long as Penelope stops batting her eyes at me I'll be happy."

"Well, Spencer and I have a class this coming hour and we can go to lunch after that."

"My class begins when yours end, so we can go to lunch after my class," said Colby. "In the meantime you should go hang out with Tracey, Robert, Angela and Lawrence."

"If it was just those four I would be fine with hanging out with them, but unfortunately Helen would be among that group."

"Helen is also Annie's friend," said Colby.

"Actually Helen is more Angela's friend. Annie just tolerates Helen because Annie is good friends with Angela."

"Annie told me that she has been friends with Angela and Helen since she was eight."

"That is true, but Annie ignores a lot of what Helen does and says. Myself, I have a hard time ignoring Helen."

"What is wrong with Helen?" asked Spencer.

"Helen is a living punch line to one of your jokes," said Hallie.

"Seriously, what is wrong with her?"

"She's very judgmental, she's arrogant, she a bit snobbish, she's has a warp sense of humor and she gets flustered when someone proves her wrong."

"And yet you go out of you way to prove Helen wrong," said Colby.

"I originally thought if I prove her wrong she would be less arrogant, but then it sort of became a hobby of mine."

"When you are pretending to be Annie can you please don't go out of your way to prove Helen wrong?" asked Colby.

"If I do that she would know who I am. As I said Annie just ignores her, so I must do the same. Well, Spencer and I need to get to class."

"I will see you in couple of hours," said Colby.

Hallie and Spencer walked away from Colby.

At Harvard Annie was leaving the cafeteria to go to her first class of the day. As she was walking down the hall Susan saw her and rushed to catch to her. Susan called out, "Hallie,"

Annie stopped and turned around. She then asked, "Susan, what's going on?"

Susan walked up to Annie in whispering distance and whispered, "Annie, do you have time to talk?"

Annie looked at her watch and said, "I can talk for a short time."

"I done that background check on Kristina Carpenter"

"You did that already?"

"I did and the results are iffy."

"What do you mean?"

"Kristina has plans to become a FBI agent after college. Given who chosen career path I don't know if she can be trusted. So whatever you do, you need to keep your true identity from her."

"And keeping my secret from her is too late."

"She knows who you are?"

"Unfortunately she saw too many clues for me to keep my secret from her."

"What clues did she see?"

"Hallie and I switched places after Hallie was already here, so she saw Hallie and me together. I wore a wig into the airport to make us look different and Hallie wore the wig while leaving the airport, except that didn't stop Kristina from noticing that we were twins. Then in front of Kristina both Julian and Travis mention that I seamed like a different person than who I was last year. I believe that is when she went and found the third clue to support her suspicions."

"What was the third clue?"

"I originally told Kristina that my sister's hair was dyed, but she analyzed some of the loose hair she found and discovered it was actually hairs from a wig."

"Annie, you need to come up with a plan that will defuse what she knows about you if she decides to use it against you."

"Perhaps you and the rest of the gang can help me."

"You have a plan already?"

"I do. Kristina's information is only good as long as she knows for sure that I'm Annie, so I'm thinking to let Kristina think that Hallie and I are switching back."

"How are you going to do that?"

"To begin with I need your help and the rest of the gang's help for me to become Hallie by telling me Hallie's detailed biography of last year. That way people will stop asking me if I attended Harvard last year. Then in front of Kristina, Hallie and I will meet at the airport again. After she believes that we had switched back she would have nothing to take to the dean."

"You better hope she doesn't get wise of your plan and take your fingerprints to keep as evidence."

"I'll be careful. Also I won't tell her that you and the others know about me. If she knows that you and the others know she might get wise." Annie looked at her watch. "Well I better get to class."

"Oh Annie, perhaps you should keep a journal of your time here. That way Hallie can read your autobiography, so she doesn't appear out of touch when she returns"

"That's actually a good idea. I will tell Hallie to do the same. I will see you later."

"Okay, bye."

Annie walked away.

Not too far from Oxford University, Hallie was walking into a small café. After seeing Angela, Tracy, Helen, Robert and Lawrence she walked over to them and sat down beside them.

Helen looked at Hallie and said, "I see you finally decided to be sociable."

"I'm sorry," said Hallie. "These past couple of days I had a few things I had to take care of. So what was everyone discussing before I walked in?"

"Actually we were discussing you and that guy Spencer you were being seen with," said Helen.

"He's my study partner," said Hallie. "We have four classes together, so we will be seen together a lot."

"So you and Colby aren't breaking up?" asked Tracey

"No," said Hallie. "Colby and I are just fine. In fact Colby is supposed to meet me here after his class."

"I'm glad to here that you're not dumping Colby for that loser," said Helen.

"And why is Spencer a loser?" asked Hallie.

"His grandma is paying his way through Oxford…" said Helen.

"And that makes him a loser?" asked Hallie.

"You didn't let me finish. His grandma used to be Donald Russell's chambermaid for thirty years. She and the rest of Donald Russell's staff got the inheritance when he died. If it wasn't for that Spencer wouldn't be coming here."

"Interesting. Now why is Spencer a loser?"

Helen looked at Hallie in a puzzled manner.

"Annie; Helen, we should change the subject," said Angela.

"Annie, have you heard from Hallie since she started back at Harvard?" asked Robert.

"I have," said Hallie.

"How is she holding up?" asked Robert.

"She's doing well," said Hallie.

"That's good to hear," said Robert. "She was a mess since Hallie's boyfriend killed himself."

"He didn't kill himself," said Hallie.

"You know what I mean," said Robert.

"No, I don't," said Hallie.

"Annie, anyone that flies an airplane in the manner that I heard Hallie's boyfriend did is not using good sense," said Robert.

"I will agree with that he didn't use good sense; however, what happened was an accident. Scott was a good pilot."

"Annie, are you okay?" asked Tracey. "You're acting a little defensive."

"You're right, I'm sorry," said Hallie.

The waitress walked up to the table and asked, "Annie, can I get you your usual?"

"That would be great. Thanks."

"Can I get anyone anything else?" asked the waitress.

Lawrence handed the waitress his cup and said, "I'll take a refill."

"I'll be back in a minute," said the waitress.

As the waitress was walking away, Robert saw Spencer walking in. He then said, "Annie, your study partner has just walked in."

Helen looked at Spencer in a disturbing manner and said, "Look at the clothes he's wearing."

Hallie looked at Helen as if she was about to say something, but stopped.

"Helen, not everyone is a stylish dresser like you," said Angela.

"That's true, but at least a person can make an attempted," said Helen.

Hallie stood up and said, "I'll be back in a second." She walked up to Spencer. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"I thought if you didn't mind, I can join you and your friends," said Spencer.

"I don't think that would be wise."

"Why not?"

"Helen, the short hair blonde who is wearing the dark dress would try her best to make you feel inferior the moment you sit down."

"What about the others?"

"The others will be a little more hospitable than Helen."

"I would like to take my chances."

"Just don't say I didn't try to warn you." Hallie and Spencer walked back to the table. Spencer got a chair from an adjacent table. "Everyone, although you all know Spencer none of you were formally introduced to him. Spencer, going clockwise is Robert, Tracey, Angela, Lawrence and Helen."

Hallie moved her chair over to give Spencer room for his seat before sitting back down.

"It is a pleasure to meet everyone," said Spencer.

As Spencer was taking a seat Tracy said, "Likewise."

"Spencer, I can't help to notice that you have a unique fashion style," said Helen.

"I don't worry about fashion," said Spencer. "I just wear what I'm comfortable with."

"That goes without saying," said Helen.

"I actually find what you are wearing interesting," said Spencer.

"What is wrong with what I have on?"

As the waitress returning with the drinks Spencer said, "Nothing is wrong with it, you look very nice. I also thought that the elderly woman who I saw earlier looked elegant. She was wearing the exact same dress."

Helen said in a distasteful manner "Really."

Hallie had an expression on her face as if she was holding back a chuckle.

The waitress stepped up and said, "Okay, here are your drinks."

Hallie said as she took her drink "Thanks."

After the waitress handed Lawrence his drink she turned to Spencer and asked, "So what can I get you?"

Spencer pointed to Hallie's drink and said, "You can get me what she is drinking."

"Coming up," said the waitress. She then walked away.

"So Spencer, tell us a little about yourself," said Lawrence.

"There's not much to tell," said Spencer. "I grew up a few miles west from London. I've done well in school. I like to play rugby, billiards and a variety of other sports."

"So do you have any hobbies?" asked Tracey.

"Scuba diving is my favorite hobby, except I don't do it as much as I would like," said Spencer. "My second favorite is sculpturing and I probably do that more than I should."

"Are you any good at sculpturing?" asked Hallie.

"I won first prize once and second prize three different times in an art contest," said Spencer.

"Were they high school contests," asked Helen.

"Two of them were," said Spencer.

"Helen, I don't think what kind of contests they were matters," said Hallie.

"I'm just curious to know what kind of contests he was in," said Helen.

"I will admit they weren't big contests," said Spencer. "After all my sculptures are my hobby and not my chosen profession."

"What is your chosen profession?" asked Helen.

"I'm planning to become a lawyer," said Spencer.

"You know Oxford University is a big-jump from the schools you're use to," said Helen. "I sure hope you didn't bite off more than you can chew."

"I'm sure I will do fine," said Spencer. "Out of curiosity, how do you know what kind of schools I'm use to?"

"Although we never met before today, I heard of you," said Helen. "I also know you didn't attend Oxford University last year."

As the waitress was returning, Spencer said, "Well, I'm here now and I doubt they would have let me in if they felt I couldn't handle it."

Helen said with a distasteful grin on her face, "Right."

"So here is your drink, love," said the waitress.

As he took the drink Spencer said, "Thank you."

"Enjoy," said the waitress. She then walked away.

Spencer set his drink down and asked, "Annie, where's the men's room?"

Hallie pointed out the restroom and said, "The men's room is over there."

Spencer he stood up and said, "I'll be back."

Hallie watched Spencer for a brief moment as he walked off.

"Spencer seems like an okay person," said Tracey.

"I think he would make a good match for Hallie," said Helen. "Annie, you should introduce Hallie to him."

Hallie looked at Helen in a curious manner and asked "What do you mean he would make a good match for Hallie?"

"Annie, I know you told me not to talk about Hallie unless she is here to defend herself, but let's face it; Hallie has a reputation of dating guys who shouldn't be allowed to dress themselves. Take Henry for an example. That guy dressed like he was some refugee."

"When Hallie dates a guy she dates him because she likes him and not on how he dresses," said Hallie.

"That's my whole point; however, Hallie should consider that on how the guy dresses can reflect on her."

"Helen, not everyone is as conscious on how people are dressed as you are," said Angela.

"So Angela if you weren't dating Lawrence would you date Spencer on how he dresses?" asked Helen.

"Now this conversation is getting interesting," said Lawrence.

"Helen, I am dating Lawrence and I'm not going to answer a hypothetical question like that," said Angela.

"Angela, should Lawrence and I take a little stroll, so you can answer that question?" asked Robert.

"Don't bother, I won't answer it."

"Chicken," said Robert.

"I would date Spencer; however, I would take him to get him better clothes," said Tracey.

"Tracey, I can't believe you," said Hallie. "You're not much better than Helen."

Everyone looked at Hallie in a confused manner. Angela asked, "Annie, are you okay?"

Hallie was quiet for a brief moment. She then said, "Actually I think I can trust everyone at this table with my secret."

"What secret?" asked Lawrence.

"I'm not Annie."

"Oh my god, you're Hallie," said Angela.

"I am. I have been hanging out with Spencer because I feel like myself again when I'm with him."

"Why did you and Annie switched places?" asked Tracey.

"Actually Annie had the idea of getting me and Spencer together before Helen did, except I'm still in love with Scott."

Lawrence cleared his throat. He then asked, "Hallie, you do realize..."

Hallie interrupted, "Lawrence, don't finish that sentence. I know Scott is dead. In fact I still have nightmares of seeing his plane crashing a short distance from me, but I just can't turn off my feelings."

"Oh yes," said Robert. "You're Hallie."

"And please do not tell anyone."

Spencer was returning.

"Hallie, we would never nark on you and Annie," said Angela.

As Spencer was walking up everyone turned and looked at him. Spencer had an uncertain expression on his face. He then looked at his clothes and asked, "Do I have something on me?"

"You're fine," said Hallie. "Spencer, I told them about me and Annie."

"I'm a bit relieved," said Spencer. He then sat down. "I've been nervous I would slip up and call you Hallie."

"I think Colby will be a little relieved also," said Hallie.