"Can I ask you something?" I say as Anna wraps Christmas presents for the hospital kids. She just finished plopping a blue bow right in the center of a plain white wrapped present.
"Of course." She says, pausing only briefly to look at me.
"Are you me?" The question catches her off guard. She stops midway through wrapping a big box in bright pink paper.
"I think I'd better go." She looks scared. She gets up to go leave.
"No! Please just tell me."
"Listen, I'm going to tell you this. But you can't ask me that question ever again. I'm a clone of you, but my life was fast-forwarded by some scientists who conducted an experiment on you when you were five. There. Now you know. But don't ever ask me that again, OK? You aren't supposed to know. Now come here, and I will teach you how to wrap presents."
I walk over, and I give her a big hug. And then she starts to teach me how to wrap presents. But then I get to thinking. If the scientists can fast forward time, what is to prevent me from reversing it?
No. I push the thought away. I'm only 10, I am in a hospital for something they don't know how to treat. Not for being the smartest human being on earth.
But my mind keeps holding on to the thought. Okay, Anna. We are just gonna keep that idea in the idea box, and we're gonna keep it there, I think.
Okay, something's really wrong now. I'm talking to myself, that's just odd.
"Hey Anna," I say.
"Hmm?" She doesn't look up from her wrapping.
I think about whether to bring up travelling back in time, "Which bow should I put on by this one?"
-------
"Today, we are going to work on your academic skills." Says Anna as we walk down a twisty hallway.
"Anna, are you married?" I say.
She raises an eyebrow, "That's an odd question, but no, I'm not."
"Okay. Hey, can I have bacon for breakfast?"
She laughs. "I think you need something a little more solid than bacon. How about eggs, cheese and bacon on a biscuit?"
"Sounds amazing, as usual." I've been here for about a week and a half now. The past days have been me moving and personalizing my room. I settled on a minty green color for my walls, and my bedding is white, but my furniture is coral pink. I have a nice, big plush sofa on the edge, and a 55" TV opposite of the sofa. And I liked that cloud floor, so I have that, too. I even have my own closet, with my own clothes that I get to pick out myself! After a little bit of training, Anna has me matching clothes and shoes and scarves and bows in no time. And she taught me how to do my hair really cute.
Today, I'm wearing a white blouse, a pink pleated skirt, and black flats.
"Let's go to Foreign Languages today," I suggest.
"Yeah, that sounds OK." Anna says.
After eating (Anna gets me a biscuit with eggs, cheese and bacon) we head down a different hallway, and arrive at a door marked with the big letters 'FL' (foreign languages).
Anna busies herself by talking to the receptionist while I play on an iPod (Anna managed to get me one). I like the game called,'Angry Birds'. The blue bird is my favorite because he's small and can duplicate himself.
My new professor walks in. He's maybe in his early thirties, probably late twenties. He has shaggy dark brown hair and a straight nose, and a wide smile. He's actually kinda cute.
I think Anna agrees. She has her mouth wide open and staring at him. It's quite a funny sight.
His name is Professor Garron. He says he's going to teach me French. And not only does he teach me, he also gets me an app on my iPod called Duolingo. It's actually very entertaining.
Honestly, I think Professor Garron is beginning to like Anna. He says he doesn't like Anna like that, but he does. I told him that they should get married.
"No, that isn't allowed here." He has a very soothing voice. It's so deep and I think he could be a good singer.
"Professor Garron, you should be a singer." I say in the middle of our French lesson.
"I like my job, but thank you." He says.
My french lesson is over. "Don't forget to practice on your iPod!" Professor Garron days as we walk out the door. I smile and give him a thumbs-up.
"Where are we going now?" I ask Anna.
Her response is simple, and she says it with a mischievous glint in her eye, "Crazy."
We walk into the front lobby.
"Yes, My name is Anna Arangale, guardian of patient GP7, I would like to check her out." Anna says to the man behind the counter.
"OK, I just need your hospital card and both of your fingerprints.
The man holds out a pad of blue ink, and tells me to stick my finger on it and then on the box on a piece of paper. Anna does the same after he scans her card.
"Alright, let's go." She takes my hand and we run towards the front door.
She tells me that these giant metal contraptions are cars, and she owns one, and we are gonna ride in it.
She walks towards a white car, that's relatively small. It's got fake eyelashes on the headlights (Anna told me that they were headlights). She opens the door for me and shoves me in and shows me how to put on a seat belt.
It's oddly soothing, being on the road, and I find myself drifting off.
"Where are we going?" I ask lazily.
She laughs. "Go to sleep, I'm not telling you until you wake."
