You can see why I would be surprised when my box buzzed, announcing someone wanted to enter the complex to see me. “Hello?” I said dubiously into it.

“Tolly?” sighed a voice identical to mine. Joy.

“Brynn.” I said slowly, attempting to sound murderous. “What brings you to this old place?”

“We need to talk.”

“Uh-huh. And I care…why?”

“Please?”

If there’s one thing my sister never did, it was beg. I rolled my eyes, and jabbed the button that would unlock the gate. A few minutes later, there was a pounding at the door. Okay. That couldn’t have been Brynn. She would’ve been worried a nail might break or something. I glanced at Goldy, “What do you think?”

Goldy flicked her tail.

“I’ll do it.” I stepped to the door, opening it cautiously.

“What took you so long?” Brynn complained in her snobby voice, placing a gloved hand on her waist. Ah, she was back to normal.

“I was consulting someone.” My eyes darted to Goldy. Then, I remembered to be mad. “Why are you even here?”

“It’s an emergency.” Wow. I didn’t even know that word was in her vocabulary.

“What’s wrong?”

“I need you to do me a facor.” She soothed the sides of her short, black dress.

“Right, ‘cause I’m so up for it.” I drawled sarcastically.

“You don’t get it.” she said in a troubled tone. “It’s a matter of life, or, like, death.”

“Name the favor.” I allowed.

“I need you to be me.” When she saw my shocked expression, she added, “Only for Arachnophobia.”

“What!?!” I blurted. “You expect me to be you for an entire film?”

“Only for the beginning. Well, for the first half of it.”

“Why? Why can’t you?”

“Because?”, she eglanced at the windows, “I’m going to run away..”

My jaw dropped. Something had to be seriously wrong for Brynn to purposely run from her acting life. “Tolly, just listen to me. Pretend to be me for six months. That’s it.”

“Well…why can’t you?” I repeated.

“Because…” she heaved a sigh, “It’s a secret. Anyway, from here on, I’m on the run. If I’m not back by July…you’ll understand why. Take this.” She shoved her Prada satchel bag and paused.

Seeing her anxious face, and trying to understand the words she uttered, I made my decision.

“What else do I do?” I asked quietly.

“My agent will handle everything. She’ll tell you about which interviews, commercials, or magazine covers you’ll do. Just don’t tell her about me.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “Anything else?”

“No…just don’t tell anyone that you’re not really me.” Brynn bit her lip. “The movie is filming in Australia. Your ticket is in the purse. It’s for tonight.”

“Why?” I whispered. “Why are you running away?”

“Sometimes a girl has to run.” Brynn responded swiftly, placing her hand on my shoulder. “Bye, Tolly.”

“Bye.”

She wrinkled her nose in the direction of Goldy’s tank, and took off.

*^*^*

I emptied the contents of the purse and found:

16 flavors of lipgloss (Insane, right?)

Eye shadow and blush kit

Heart-shaped mirror

Comb

iPhone

The Gossiper (Unfortunately, it was open to that article)

Tweezer

Mints

Notebook

The notebook intrigued me. She actually writes?

I was somewhat right; she only wrote on the first pages. It read:

“Somewhere Over the Rainbow”

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far
Behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly.
Birds fly over the rainbow.
Why then, oh why can't I?

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can't I?

It was the lyrics to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. That’s all it was. I wondered…was it a clue to why she was so desperate to leave?

I sincerely hoiped it wasn’t for something illegal. If it was, I would murder her. At least, then, we’d end up in jail together. Oh wait, never mind, she’d be dead.

My life could honestly not get more crazy.