9 I'm Ready

Grace woke up the next morning with a banging headache. She looked around the room with disgust. She still couldn't come to terms with the fact that she'd have to live in this rat hole. They had simply laid a blanket on the floor where she had slept.

She remembered all Sara had told her about Ann, Miss goody-two-shoes. She had to find out what was going on at home, she reached for her phone, and suddenly remembered she had no phone.

She needed a phone; she got up from the room to look around the house. It seemed like everyone had gone out, leaving her to sleep.

Her stomach rumbled, and she remembered she hadn't eaten the previous night before sleeping off. She saw the plate of food covered on the table, and she uncovered it to find just chicken and rice porridge. She looked around for side dishes and found none.

She couldn't eat such a meal. She had never eaten such before, so she left it and went back to continue her search for a phone.

She entered Mrs. Shu's room, but before she could search it, Sara came inside the house.

"I can see you're up. How're you feeling today?" Sara asked, not minding that Ann was in her mother's room.

"Much better," She said stiffly.

"Where is Ann's phone? Sorry, my phone?" She corrected.

"Oh! It got broken during your accident, so I went to fix it. I just got back; here it is," She answered as she handed the phone to Ann.

Grace looked the phone over. It looked old and outdated. But it would at least serve its purpose. She logged in to the internet to check for news about Jiang Grace, but nothing was new. She searched for news related to her family and found none.

That could only mean she wasn't missing, or else her news would have been all over the place. And if she wasn't missing, someone else had to be there, impersonating her. And who else would it be other than the person whose body she was currently occupying?

The question now was, what exactly had happened? How did this swap take place? She wasn't a believer in voodoo neither did she believe in deities or whatever they were called. There had to be a logical explanation as to what had happened.

"Ann, why are you looking at your phone so seriously? What are you searching for online?"

She glanced at Sara, whose face was a picture of concern. She'd totally forgotten the chubby lady was still standing there.

"I'm ok, just trying to figure out my next step."

"What next step? Do you want to stay at home or come with me to the shop? The doctor said we should allow you rest, so I'm sure if you choose to stay back, mom would understand."

"It's fine. I'd rather go out with you than stay in this... indoors. I'll just get ready so that we can go."

Just as she was about to leave, her stomach rumbled loudly.

"I can't believe you haven't eaten. Mom prepared your favorite before she left," Sara said, glancing at the plate of chicken and rice porridge.

Favorite meal? What a joke. I'm sure if Ann should taste a meal in my home, she'd never eat this nonsense again.

"I don't have an appetite."

"You can eat it if you want," She added when she noticed the way Sara's gaze kept going to the meal. No wonder she looks so chubby.

"Really? You can't tell mom I ate your food. Promise me," Sara said, rushing over to the table.

She considered Sara for a second, "On one condition," She said when Sara raised the spoon to her mouth. Grace was never one to make promises that didn't benefit her.

Sara paused to look at her in surprise. Ann never liked people attaching conditions to favors. "Ok, what condition?"

"That you would owe me a favor. Whenever I ask for a favor, you won't say no," Grace said, holding the plate of food away from Sara. The best way to train a dog was with food. Holding the plate of food from the dog always made it obey instructions faster.

Sara glanced from the plate Ann was holding to Ann. What favor could Ann ask that she wouldn't agree to? The Ann of old knew she only needed to ask. "If that's all, then I will. Now drop the food and go get dressed."

A few minutes later, Sara went to the room to see the whole place turned upside down. "What are you looking for?" She asked, bending to join in searching for what she didn't know.

"I'm searching for what to wear. Everything here is old and ugly," Grace said as she continued her search frantically.

A green gown suddenly caught her attention, and she picked it up. It looked new and a bit to her taste. She smiled as she checked it out.

"Are you going to a party?"

"What party? Didn't you say we were going to the shop?" Grace asked, already putting it on.

"It's just that you.. this gown, you," Sara said, not knowing how to say what she wanted to say without mentioning Tae-joon's name. Her mother had told her not to say anything about Ann's infatuation to her.

"Ok then, I take it there is no objection."

Grace stood in front of the full-length mirror. She might have another face, but she was still Jiang Grace, and as such, she intended to take good care of this body until she figured out a way to return to her own body.

She looked around the makeup table, and all she could find was a cheap lipstick, mascara, and eyeliner. These should do.

Sara looked at her in surprise, she had always pleaded with Ann to apply makeup, but Ann had always hated using makeup, and the expertise with which Ann applied it shocked her even more. Could amnesia change a person this much?

She needed a plan, but first, she needed to get in touch with whoever it was in her house impersonating her, and then she would take it from there, Grace thought as she turned to Sara.

"I'm ready."