table. There were no piles of dirty clothes or discarded shoes. His closet was partially open, and I saw shoes stacked in a metal rack. His shirts and pants hung in an orderly way, but cords and a karaoke microphone were tangled in a corner. Math, puzzles, and karaoke — Eli continued to surprise me.
I paced his room, pausing to study photographs arranged on a wall. There was one of a bald baby (Eli?), another of Eli in a soccer uniform posing with a ball, and a formal framed portrait of his family. His father looked exactly like Chad, while Eli had his mother’s kind eyes and lopsided smile. Sharayah was posed in the middle, with dark hair curling above her shoulders, intelligent blue eyes, and a shy smile. She didn’t look wild or irresponsible, but the picture was from a few years ago. I wondered if I’d ever get the chance to meet her.
Lifting my gaze to the ceiling, I played a game of guessing the movies and books that matched the puzzles. Some were super easy, like the hobbit wearing a gold ring, the sword-wielding rider astride a sapphire blue dragon, and the Quidditch players flying on brooms. But I was still trying to guess the dark-haired girl riding an armored polar bear when Eli returned.
“Here.” He tossed me a tie-dyed T-shirt, like something from the seventies, and a pair of flared jeans.
I started to say, “No way are these skinny jeans gonna fit,” but then I remembered who I looked like. No surprise — the jeans not only fit, they were baggy.
“You can turn around now,” I told Eli. “I’m decent.”
“Words I never expected to hear from Leah’s lips,” he teased, then grew serious. “It’s still so freaky how you look like her. We hate each other, so I avoid her.”
“No avoiding allowed,” I teased. “This may be Leah’s body, but she’s not home.”
“Got it … but what’s the deal with Leah?” His forehead puckered. “Where is she?”
“I honestly don’t know. But I’m hoping she’s in my body waiting for me to show up so we can switch back. That why I’m desperate to get to the hospital.”
“I’ll drive you there.”
“Thanks, but it won’t be easy.” I explained to him about Dark Lifers. “The glowing-energy thing should have almost worn off me, but I don’t want to get near that creepy security guard again. He’s probably still guarding the elevators.”
“I’ll distract him.” Eli sat in his computer chair and swiveled to face me. “And if you can’t use the elevators, try the stairs.”
“Good idea — but I’ll still have to get past the nurses and into the room.” I flipped Leah’s long hair over my shoulder as I sighed. “It’ll never work. I always have such high expectations, but then things never turn out like they should. I can’t screw up again or it’s all over.”
“What do you mean?”
“My body will die. It’s so hopeless, like I’m doomed to fail.”
Instead of sympathy, Eli frowned at me. “Are you always this dramatic?”
“Well … not
“That’s too drab and very depressing. How about ‘Amberama’?”
“I like that — and I know Alyce would, too.” I sighed. “I miss her so much. And Dustin, too. They could come up with an amazing plan to get me into the hospital.”
“Dustin Cole?”
“You know him?”
Eli nodded. “He’s in my science class. Cool dude but terminally opinionated. He can’t just listen in class, he gets in arguments with the teacher.”
“That’s Dustin all right.” I smiled sadly. “When he has a strong opinion, you’re gonna hear about it or read it online. He goes after anyone abusing power. When he puts his mind to a project, nothing can stop him.”
“Sounds like the guy to help us. Should we visit him?”
“I can’t … not looking like this.”
“Yeah, you’re so ugly,” he joked.
“That’s not what I mean. I know what Leah looks like. But this isn’t me, and Dustin would never understand.”
“Give the guy a chance. I believed you, didn’t I? Show him who you really are and he’ll believe you, too.”
I bit my lip, considering this. As much as I longed to see Dustin, I was terrified about him seeing
Miserably, I shook my head. “There isn’t time to ask him or anyone else for help. Let’s just figure out how to get into the hospital room. I have no idea how.”
“I do.”
“What?” I gave him a curious look.
“It’s an extreme, risky idea.” Eli tilted his head with a sudden change of expression. “But if you’re up to the challenge, it might just work.”
Then he told me to take off my clothes.
20
I weighed the percentages for and against Eli being crazy while I waited in his room. I deduced 32 to 68 percent odds that he had a good plan and a reasonable amount of sanity. He was an honor student, after all, not a pervert. So why did he loan me clothes, then tell me to take them off?
“Sorry I took so long,” Eli said the moment he returned. “But I finally found this.”
I eyed the bulging plastic bag in his hand. “And it is … what?”
“Your uniform.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I’m serious.” He handed me the plastic bag. “A uniform is like an invisibility cloak.”
I bit back a retort about him reading too many fantasy novels and instead opened the bag. Inside I found khaki slacks, a matching cap, and a button short-sleeved top. “This is a guy’s uniform.”
“That shouldn’t matter. Try it on.”
“Way too big,” I said dubiously. “Like something a janitor would wear.”
“Bingo. Only the official term is Maintenance Engineer. My Uncle Trey wore this uniform when he stayed with us after going bankrupt and losing his house. He’s a lazy jerk, but still he’s family, so Dad gave him a job. Uncle Trey complained he was allergic to dirt, and quit after one week. Last I heard he was living with his second ex-wife and still allergic to work. He left the uniform in the guest room.”
“Once I put on the uniform, then what?”
“I drive you to the hospital and you breeze inside wearing your ‘Get Into Hospital Free’ uniform. People only see the uniform, not the person.”
“Security Guard Karl won’t be fooled.”
“Leave him to me. You just get to the stairs.”
“Okay,” I nodded, hope rising again.
* * *
What would have been a very long walk to the hospital took less than fifteen minutes in Eli’s father’s mint- green deluxe Camry.
