Seeing is Believing

Chapter 4

One of the guards had spoken in a very kind and respectful voice. Like I really was a passenger. I just stood there staring for a second before I could even think anything. Had I really been on the journey back from my Aunt’s? If I had been then why was Adam there? Wait. In my new memories had I known Adam? Things were still coming back to me, small memories, one at a time, and it was still giving me a splitting headache. Yes, I had known him. His family were neighbors to my family, living in the next manor, and our families had been very close. I felt like he and I were pretty close friends, which was odd because he wasn’t exactly the same person. He had come to America on some business of his father’s and was supposed to be keeping me company on my journey home. Yes, oh mighty powers who had taken control of this fake life. Good job of following the story line, keeping us locked in separate rooms. I didn’t have time to think any more about it because the guard told me again;

“I think your father is rather impatient to set off, miss. You had better make haste.”

“Yes, of course,” I said rather absentmindedly as I walked out into the hallway.

The formal language was killing me. I hated it, but at least I had a head full of memories to help me. I knew how to speak and behave properly, but it wasn’t a habit. I would have to be careful.

Thinking about that though, I realized that my other life had to be the real one. My body wasn’t used to the dress, my mouth wasn’t used to the language, the accent…

The accent. I hadn’t even realized that I had spoken to the guard with an American accent, but all of my new memories were in an English one. I wouldn’t have a problem with changing; I had a really good accent. I watched way too much British television… I thought in a British accent half the time anyway, so it wouldn’t take long for it to become a habit. When I realized this I took a moment of silence to remember anything about me that was normal, ‘cause if there ever was, the last of it had just died.

I’ll explain this by saying I was a giant nerd. I was a cool nerd, but I was a part of about three different sci-fi fandoms, a bunch of fantasy fandoms, and the I think my life is a Jane Austen novel group of fandoms. These included Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Downton Abbey, basically everything you could think of. For those of you who didn’t stop reading after the phrase “I was a giant nerd,” I was really smart too. No, I’m not trying to brag; it’s important to the story. I had gotten into Georgia Tech on a full ride, and that’s basically where my life was at the moment. I was going to study theoretical physics, and hopefully end up with some research grants. The last thing I remember was going into Barnes and Noble to look around on my last day before classes started, and I was really nervous that I wouldn’t be able to make friends because of how much of a nerd I was. That’s kind of a nonissue now, because I’m not there anymore. I’m stuck in the eighteenth century! Yay!

On the way to meet my family we caught no to Adam and his guard. I don’t know what me possessed me to do what I’m about to tell you; I feel stupid just thinking about it. I guess it was me trying to flirt, or the stress, or…yeah I don’t know. But as we caught up to them I spun around so that my dress floated out around me and put my arms up in a pirouette.

“Do you like my dress?!” I asked, giggling as I spun.

Do you like my dress? What the heck was I asking him?

He laughed at me of course, but I kept on grinning like an idiot.

“We just got released after two days of being locked up and we still don’t really know where we’re going, and all you can say is ‘Do you like my dress?’”

“But we do know where we’re going! We’re going to meet my family to go home. So much for your escape plan! Oh yeah did you wake up with all sorts of new memories, with a new home and all?”