Jackie tensed slightly as they arrived at the Transportation Center. Hacker insisted that anytime anyone travel anywhere outside of their Cybersite, they go through the Transportation Center, so that their names would be on record. As far as anyone in Smallsville knew, they were still Mike, Jessie, Donald and Irene Chase, but they'd always been extremely cautious to avoid any place where the security would take down their names. Now it felt like they were walking straight into the dragon's lair.
Inez's fingers curled around her hand. They'd kept up the charade that they were going to visit a sick relative in Radopolis. They'd packed light, and now were hurrying through the Transportation Center with concerned expressions on their faces.
Matt caught her eye and gave her a reassuring smile.
It felt so good to think about him as Matt.
For so long, she had only been able to refer to her friends as their aliases – she couldn't afford to slip up and say the wrong name in front of the wrong person.
At last, they arrived at the pod that they needed to be in. Matt settled their suitcases on a couple seats and sat down next to them. Digit hopped up on the seat next to him, stretching his wings leisurely, as though he didn't have a care in the world.
Jackie and Inez took seats across from the boys. Inez settled back and began to yawn. It was almost nearing midnight, and she hadn't been getting enough rest recently, Jackie knew.
She looked down at the little girl next to her. Inez's eyes began to flutter closed, and soon she was breathing deeply. Jackie stared down at her fondly, but instead of focusing, she allowed her mind to wander. She tried to remember what Inez had used to look like before she had been thrust into the age of four. It startled her to realize that the image her mind conjured up was fuzzy.
She gazed across at Matt and Digit, and realized that she couldn't remember what they used to look like, either. With a start, she sat up straight. What did she used to look like? What was she liked before she had assumed the identity of a seamstress? She now knew Jessie like the back of her hand, but who was Jackie?
Jackie quickly picked up and Inez and moved to the boys.
"I'm going to use the bathroom; watch Reeny." She ordered. Matt looked at her strangely, as though he knew that she was about to have a panic attack. Nevertheless, the sweet boy merely smiled and took his "daughter."
"Okay, just make sure you're back in ten minutes. We're going to be leaving soon."
Jackie nodded tightly and rushed into a private bathroom. She locked the door behind her and stared at her reflection.
Her black hair was long, and at the moment, severely tangled and frizzy. She knew she was supposed to look as though she'd just stumbled out of bed, to keep up with their story. Instead, she pulled a comb out of her purse and slowly undid the tangles.
With trembling fingers, she reached into her bag and pulled out her yellow scrunchie hair tie. She wrapped her hair around her head and tied it up, so it was in a bun.
Almost instantly, her breathing slowed and she felt herself calm down. The reflection in the mirror almost resembled a girl named Jackie. She stared at herself for a while, looking for similarities between Jackie and Jessie.
Eventually, she undid her bun and let her hair fall free. She washed her face and gave herself a shakily confident smile in the mirror.
Then, she unlocked the door and returned to her family.