7. Finding the watch
When Catty and Jimena finally got to Vanessa's house, they could see Vanessa posing for the other Catty, who was making another painting of her.
"Okay, this is going to be really hard. I know for a fact that we're not going to be moving for awhile since I started the painting over three times. I stayed over at Vanessa's house for four hours, and neither of us moved during that time. All we did was talk. I'm afraid that if the watch appears during that time, we'll either have to leave it there and never go home, or go inside and show ourselves to my other self and to Vanessa."
"Okay. I've never been really patient, but I'll try. Besides, if we're lucky, it won't take too long."
"Even then, I'm not sure we could let ourselves be seen by my other self and Vanessa. It would be so much easier if Vanessa were here instead of you, we could at least be invisible and follow our other selves everywhere. Besides, you're not really in a good position to help identify our locations at these times...."
Catty was going to keep on listing reasons why Vanessa being there instead of Jimena would be much better, when she noticed the hurt look on Jimena's face. She hadn't really meant to hurt her feelings like that. But Vanessa had always been her best friend, and she had never liked Jimena as much as the others. In fact, she had always been kind of scared of her. She knew that she had had a shady past, and she wasn't sure whether she was really a good person. Jimena had proved herself many times to Catty and her friends but even then, she had always found her a little bit too extreme, which was kind of weird, coming from Catty. Everybody else usually found her too extreme.
Jimena had been listening quietly to the warnings Catty was giving her, careful not to attract the other Catty's and Vanessa's attention. But then Catty's words' meanings seemed to change direction as she kept on talking. And that's when she'd had enough.
"What are you saying chica? I'm not good enough for you, is that it? Do you think that just because I don't have any powers anymore and I can't remember much, I can't be of any help? In a few months, you won't be worth anything more than me. The life I used to live before was dangerous, but at least, when someone was down with you, you knew it for sure!"
She had apparently talked a little too loud, which caused the other Catty and Vanessa to look out the window of Vanessa's house. Catty had just enough time to dive under the window pulling Jimena with her before the others that were inside turned around and saw them. Catty could remember looking out the window and seeing nothing but a branch in motion that Catty and Jimena had shaken while falling to the ground.
"Probably just a bird, so don't use that as an excuse to get up and leave Vanessa."
Even though Vanessa loved doing anything to help her best friend Catty, even posing for her paintings, she was way too impatient to sit in the same place in the same position for hours. Catty who usually seemed to be the impatient one seemed to change her nature completely while painting. She'd sit still for several minutes and stare at the person in front of her that she was about to paint, as if to impregnate herself with every single detail about them. Then, she'd sit with her back completely straight, without touching the back of the chair she was sitting on for hours at a time. Vanessa couldn't understand how anyone could create such beautiful work in such an uncomfortable position. Catty smiled as she heard Vanessa say all these things on the other side of the wall of the house.
Her smile disappeared quickly as she remembered who she was lying on top of. She put her finger in front of her mouth to show Jimena that she should be quiet. She didn't really like bossing her around, especially right after the conversation they were having that had just been interrupted. Catty waited until she heard her other self sit back down and start brushing paper again as Vanessa heaved a sighed which clearly showed she was completely bored.
Catty then slowly got up from on top of Jimena and looked at her getting up. All of a sudden, she felt really sorry for her. You could still see the hurt on Jimena's face, even though she was desperately trying to hide it. She started to realize how hard it must have been to feel that all of a sudden, there was a big wall between her and her own friends, and she didn't even know why. Even though it had barely been more than a week since Jimena had turned seventeen, that was already enough time to feel extremely hurt by the way her friends seemed to be pushing her away lately for no apparent reason. Besides, she didn't really have any detailed memories of the things that had happened ever since she learned she was a daughter. And even memories of a time before that were kind of vague. And now, Catty was telling her that just because she didn't have any powers anymore, she wasn't worth any help. Catty was mad at herself for talking to Jimena like that.
"Okay," started Jimena, "I don't really care what you think right now, all I know is that I need to get home, and I'll do that no matter what it takes, even if I have to stay with you."
Catty understood that she had deeply hurt her feelings, but she was also completely aware of the fact that she didn't have enough time to try to explain to Jimena that she cared, and so did the others. She found it wiser to just stay quiet, look through the window, and wait until they were back home safely to mend back together the pieces of their friendship.
Jimena tried as hard as she could to keep any feeling from her face. These were one of these times when one thing went wrong, and some evil voice in the back of her head started to list all of the bad things in her life. For example, the voice reminded her that she had been feeling really lonely lately, and that her boyfriend and friends had been distant with her. Every single thing that the voice named seemed to add some kind of invisible weight to her shoulders, and it made her want to cry. But she knew she was too proud to cry in front of Catty.
They waited and waited, uncomfortably crouched in the grass under the window, looking up every once in a while to make sure that the watch hadn't appeared somewhere already. To their huge disappointment, when the other Catty left, the watch hadn't appeared yet. They waited a few minutes, and then they went back to Catty's house, trying their hardest to follow the exact path that the other Catty had taken. Jimena and Catty walked slowly side by side in silence, looking around on the ground and on the trees to make sure that the watch wasn't there, but of course, it wasn't. Both of them felt extremely uncomfortable walking together like this, one because she felt guilty, and the other because she felt betrayed.
The other Catty finally got home. She sat in front of the T.V. and ate popcorn. She had also ordered a medium pepperoni pizza for dinner and had eaten it all by herself. Catty blushed when she saw herself doing that. She never ate like that in public. But then, it occurred to her that Jimena probably wouldn't care much. Or at least, not after the conversation they'd had in the afternoon.
Jimena had found it extremely boring to watch the other Catty watch rented movies while only wearing her panties and a tank top. (Catty wasn't embarrassed at all. She didn't understand why so many people were shocked by the way she dressed sometimes. She knew that if someone had made a comment about the pajama she was wearing that night, she would have answered that seeing her wearing that was the same thing as seeing her wearing a swimming suit at the pool.) She was dressed very lightly and it was obvious that she didn't think anyone else would see her that night. Jimena had also been surprised to see her eat savagely a medium pizza by herself, and then still have enough room left to eat two huge bowls full of popcorn. But Jimena didn't let that distract her too much. She couldn't imagine how horrible it would be to spend the rest of eternity doing the same things over and over between the time they had appeared and the time the watch would appear. Her body would move by itself and do the same things as the first time she had done them, but with her soul being completely aware of the truth, and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. She would be doomed to boredom.
Catty was trying to concentrate on looking for the watch, but it was hard. Then she saw an expression of horror come over the face of her other self. She saw herself disappear in the kitchen and come back with a piece of paper towel in her hand. She looked around and saw a weird look on Jimena's face that confirmed she had no idea what was going on. She then whispered:
"There's a spider on the wall. I have a feeling the watch is going to get here soon. Let's walk around to the window of the downstairs bathroom."
Even though Jimena was mad to be ordered around, she knew that Catty was probably right. So, she followed Catty around the side of the house to the bathroom window, through which they would soon be able to see a spider's days be ended in a flush. They heard hurried steps and saw the light being turned on. Then they saw the other Catty walk over to the bathroom, drop the paper towel in the toilet, flush, and run fast out of the room, disgusted, without even turning off the light. Catty and Jimena took that occasion to stand fully and had just enough time to see the watch twirling down the toilet....
When Catty and Jimena finally got to Vanessa's house, they could see Vanessa posing for the other Catty, who was making another painting of her.
"Okay, this is going to be really hard. I know for a fact that we're not going to be moving for awhile since I started the painting over three times. I stayed over at Vanessa's house for four hours, and neither of us moved during that time. All we did was talk. I'm afraid that if the watch appears during that time, we'll either have to leave it there and never go home, or go inside and show ourselves to my other self and to Vanessa."
"Okay. I've never been really patient, but I'll try. Besides, if we're lucky, it won't take too long."
"Even then, I'm not sure we could let ourselves be seen by my other self and Vanessa. It would be so much easier if Vanessa were here instead of you, we could at least be invisible and follow our other selves everywhere. Besides, you're not really in a good position to help identify our locations at these times...."
Catty was going to keep on listing reasons why Vanessa being there instead of Jimena would be much better, when she noticed the hurt look on Jimena's face. She hadn't really meant to hurt her feelings like that. But Vanessa had always been her best friend, and she had never liked Jimena as much as the others. In fact, she had always been kind of scared of her. She knew that she had had a shady past, and she wasn't sure whether she was really a good person. Jimena had proved herself many times to Catty and her friends but even then, she had always found her a little bit too extreme, which was kind of weird, coming from Catty. Everybody else usually found her too extreme.
Jimena had been listening quietly to the warnings Catty was giving her, careful not to attract the other Catty's and Vanessa's attention. But then Catty's words' meanings seemed to change direction as she kept on talking. And that's when she'd had enough.
"What are you saying chica? I'm not good enough for you, is that it? Do you think that just because I don't have any powers anymore and I can't remember much, I can't be of any help? In a few months, you won't be worth anything more than me. The life I used to live before was dangerous, but at least, when someone was down with you, you knew it for sure!"
She had apparently talked a little too loud, which caused the other Catty and Vanessa to look out the window of Vanessa's house. Catty had just enough time to dive under the window pulling Jimena with her before the others that were inside turned around and saw them. Catty could remember looking out the window and seeing nothing but a branch in motion that Catty and Jimena had shaken while falling to the ground.
"Probably just a bird, so don't use that as an excuse to get up and leave Vanessa."
Even though Vanessa loved doing anything to help her best friend Catty, even posing for her paintings, she was way too impatient to sit in the same place in the same position for hours. Catty who usually seemed to be the impatient one seemed to change her nature completely while painting. She'd sit still for several minutes and stare at the person in front of her that she was about to paint, as if to impregnate herself with every single detail about them. Then, she'd sit with her back completely straight, without touching the back of the chair she was sitting on for hours at a time. Vanessa couldn't understand how anyone could create such beautiful work in such an uncomfortable position. Catty smiled as she heard Vanessa say all these things on the other side of the wall of the house.
Her smile disappeared quickly as she remembered who she was lying on top of. She put her finger in front of her mouth to show Jimena that she should be quiet. She didn't really like bossing her around, especially right after the conversation they were having that had just been interrupted. Catty waited until she heard her other self sit back down and start brushing paper again as Vanessa heaved a sighed which clearly showed she was completely bored.
Catty then slowly got up from on top of Jimena and looked at her getting up. All of a sudden, she felt really sorry for her. You could still see the hurt on Jimena's face, even though she was desperately trying to hide it. She started to realize how hard it must have been to feel that all of a sudden, there was a big wall between her and her own friends, and she didn't even know why. Even though it had barely been more than a week since Jimena had turned seventeen, that was already enough time to feel extremely hurt by the way her friends seemed to be pushing her away lately for no apparent reason. Besides, she didn't really have any detailed memories of the things that had happened ever since she learned she was a daughter. And even memories of a time before that were kind of vague. And now, Catty was telling her that just because she didn't have any powers anymore, she wasn't worth any help. Catty was mad at herself for talking to Jimena like that.
"Okay," started Jimena, "I don't really care what you think right now, all I know is that I need to get home, and I'll do that no matter what it takes, even if I have to stay with you."
Catty understood that she had deeply hurt her feelings, but she was also completely aware of the fact that she didn't have enough time to try to explain to Jimena that she cared, and so did the others. She found it wiser to just stay quiet, look through the window, and wait until they were back home safely to mend back together the pieces of their friendship.
Jimena tried as hard as she could to keep any feeling from her face. These were one of these times when one thing went wrong, and some evil voice in the back of her head started to list all of the bad things in her life. For example, the voice reminded her that she had been feeling really lonely lately, and that her boyfriend and friends had been distant with her. Every single thing that the voice named seemed to add some kind of invisible weight to her shoulders, and it made her want to cry. But she knew she was too proud to cry in front of Catty.
They waited and waited, uncomfortably crouched in the grass under the window, looking up every once in a while to make sure that the watch hadn't appeared somewhere already. To their huge disappointment, when the other Catty left, the watch hadn't appeared yet. They waited a few minutes, and then they went back to Catty's house, trying their hardest to follow the exact path that the other Catty had taken. Jimena and Catty walked slowly side by side in silence, looking around on the ground and on the trees to make sure that the watch wasn't there, but of course, it wasn't. Both of them felt extremely uncomfortable walking together like this, one because she felt guilty, and the other because she felt betrayed.
The other Catty finally got home. She sat in front of the T.V. and ate popcorn. She had also ordered a medium pepperoni pizza for dinner and had eaten it all by herself. Catty blushed when she saw herself doing that. She never ate like that in public. But then, it occurred to her that Jimena probably wouldn't care much. Or at least, not after the conversation they'd had in the afternoon.
Jimena had found it extremely boring to watch the other Catty watch rented movies while only wearing her panties and a tank top. (Catty wasn't embarrassed at all. She didn't understand why so many people were shocked by the way she dressed sometimes. She knew that if someone had made a comment about the pajama she was wearing that night, she would have answered that seeing her wearing that was the same thing as seeing her wearing a swimming suit at the pool.) She was dressed very lightly and it was obvious that she didn't think anyone else would see her that night. Jimena had also been surprised to see her eat savagely a medium pizza by herself, and then still have enough room left to eat two huge bowls full of popcorn. But Jimena didn't let that distract her too much. She couldn't imagine how horrible it would be to spend the rest of eternity doing the same things over and over between the time they had appeared and the time the watch would appear. Her body would move by itself and do the same things as the first time she had done them, but with her soul being completely aware of the truth, and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. She would be doomed to boredom.
Catty was trying to concentrate on looking for the watch, but it was hard. Then she saw an expression of horror come over the face of her other self. She saw herself disappear in the kitchen and come back with a piece of paper towel in her hand. She looked around and saw a weird look on Jimena's face that confirmed she had no idea what was going on. She then whispered:
"There's a spider on the wall. I have a feeling the watch is going to get here soon. Let's walk around to the window of the downstairs bathroom."
Even though Jimena was mad to be ordered around, she knew that Catty was probably right. So, she followed Catty around the side of the house to the bathroom window, through which they would soon be able to see a spider's days be ended in a flush. They heard hurried steps and saw the light being turned on. Then they saw the other Catty walk over to the bathroom, drop the paper towel in the toilet, flush, and run fast out of the room, disgusted, without even turning off the light. Catty and Jimena took that occasion to stand fully and had just enough time to see the watch twirling down the toilet....