3. Selena

Selena

The next day, Torrence teleported back into my room right after lunch. She had bags under her eyes and her hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head, like she hadn’t slept all night. But she dropped her bag on the trunk at the end of the bed, reached in, and pulled out two vials of bright red potion. One was marked with a T, and the other was marked with an S.

“Two vials of transformation potion,” she said, handing me the one with the S on it. “As promised.”

Despite looking tired, she sounded as excited as ever. She pulled off her clothes, revealing her skintight, black academy uniform underneath. The academy uniforms were spelled with special magic that would mold with shapeshifting. I was already in mine.

I uncapped my vial and held it up for a toast.

Torrence did the same.

“To the best birthday present ever,” I said.

“To twenty-four hours of adventure.” Torrence smiled and clinked her vial with mine.

We brought the vials to our lips and drank them at the same time.

The transformation potion tasted sweet, like raspberry, and it fizzed on my tongue. The fizzing quickly expanded down into my throat, into my stomach, and out toward my fingers and toes.

Torrence blurred in front of me, the lines around her body becoming hazy. Her auburn hair turned blond, she became shorter, and her sharp green eyes turned violet.

She’d transformed into me.

“Whoa,” Torrence said, looking at me. “That’s sick.”

I moved to stand in front of my full-length mirror. Sure enough, it wasn’t myself staring back at me.

It was Torrence.

I reached up to touch my cheek, watching as Torrence’s reflection in the mirror mimicked my movement.

“It worked,” I said, surprised when the voice coming out of my mouth wasn’t my own. It was Torrence’s, although her voice sounded slightly different from inside her head. A bit lower pitched.

“I wouldn’t give you a birthday present that didn’t work,” she said. “Now, are you going to change into my clothes or what? Because you only have twenty-four hours as me, and the clock started ticking the moment you finished that potion.”

Once I’d changed into Torrence’s clothes, she teleported me into her bedroom in LA. She had a pink comforter, a shelf full of kids’ books, and matching pink, frilly drapes.

It was a bedroom for a ten-year-old.

“I guess you haven’t redecorated since coming to Avalon?” I asked with a laugh.

“Nah.” She shrugged. “I’m not here that often, so oh well.”

This was so weird. My best friend looked like me… but she still had that wicked glint in her eyes. My eyes. Although I was sure I’d never looked as mischievous as that.

“Don’t do anything too crazy while you’re pretending to be me,” I said. “No flirting with guys or anything like that. Got it?”

The last thing I wanted was to get back home and have to deal with any drama Torrence left in my wake.

“I promise I won’t do anything crazy, like flirting with guys.” The sarcasm in her tone made it clear she didn’t think flirting was crazy, although I knew she’d keep her word and respect my wishes. “But I’ll totally plant some seeds in Reed’s mind that’ll make him interested in me.”

“Of course you will,” I said, since there was no way of stopping her. Torrence was doing a lot for me this weekend. If she wanted to have her fun and plant seeds in Reed’s mind, then that was what she’d do.

“He’s not married yet,” she said. “He’s still fair game.”

Suddenly, she jerked her head to the side, instantly alert.

Now that we were both quiet, I heard what she’d already picked up on.

Someone was walking down the hall.

“That’s my mom,” she said quickly. “I gotta blink out. Cya tomorrow!”

I didn’t have a chance to say bye before she teleported out of her room.

A few seconds later, Amber—Torrence’s mom—knocked on the door. At least I assumed it was Amber, since that was what Torrence had said.

I needed to remember to call her Mom while I was here. It would be strange, but I could do it.

“Come in,” I said, trying to imitate Torrence’s blasé yet confident tone.

The door swung open, and sure enough, Torrence’s mom stood in the entrance. She wore light jeans and a pink tank, and her blond hair was up in a high ponytail.

Amber looked more like me than the pictures I’d seen of my biological mother.

Except for my violet eyes. No one was sure where those came from. A genetic mutation was the best guess.

“I thought I heard you pop in,” she said with a warm smile. “I had breakfast ready a bit ago, but you’re later than expected. It’s probably cold now.”

“We stayed up super late after Selena’s birthday party and I slept through my alarm.” I shrugged, giving the story Torrence and I had planned ahead of time. “Sorry.”

“No worries,” she said. “Want to head downstairs? I can whip up something else, if you’re hungry.”

“Actually, I was hoping we could go out to brunch,” I said. “And then maybe to the beach? We could do a mother-daughter day and explore like we used to.”

“I like that plan.” Amber smiled. “When do you want to leave?”

“Now.” I bounced on my toes in anticipation of my first day experiencing the world beyond Avalon.

This really was the best birthday present ever.