Jen yawned and stretched her arms upward. She opened her eyes and screamed.
Taylor peered down into her face. “Scare ya?”
Jen sat up. “No, not at all,” she said sarcastically. She yawned again. “What time is it?”
Taylor glanced at her watch. “Uh…nine-thirty.”
“And you’re awake?”
“You sound just like Morgan,” Taylor replied, referring to her identical twin sister.
“She’s just as bad most of the time. But, seriously, what are you doing here?”
“Mom’s boyfriend came over.” Taylor slid off the bed and walked over to Jen’s closet.
“Ohhh.” Jen knew that Taylor hated her mother’s current boyfriend, Tim. Of course, Taylor never like the guys her mother saw.
“So, what did your mom say about it?” Taylor asked from the depths of the closet.
“About what?” Jen asked, before remembering the piercing. Her hand flew up to it automatically. “Oh, that. She doesn’t know.”
“She doesn’t know?” Taylor emerged, bringing a shirt with her. “This is cute. Where did you get this?”
“Uh-uh. I hid it with my hair. Maddie got that for me for my birthday.”
“Awesome.” Taylor threw the shirt at her. “Wear it.”
“Bossy, bossy,” teased Jen, catching the shirt. “Why? Are we going somewhere?”
“Well, I want you to come to the mall with me.”
“Okay, sure.” Jen slid out from under the covers and caught the dark blue jeans that Taylor threw at her. She walked into her bathroom, leaving the door opened as she changed so she could hear Taylor.
“You think your mom will let you go?”
“Yeah, of course. She loves you, Tay. I’m not sure why…”
“Funny.” Taylor flopped down on the unmade bed. “We have to stop by my house first to see if Morgan needs rescuing and so I can get some money. Oh, yeah! You haven’t seen her new haircut, have you?”
Jen emerged from the bathroom, wearing the jeans and the red shirt that proudly proclaimed ‘You Can’t Resist Me’ in black lettering. “No.” She ran the brush through her hair. “Okay, I’m ready, let’s go. Oh, hey, should we ask Mad if she wants to go?” she asked as they went downstairs.
Taylor shrugged. “Sure, wouldn’t hurt.”
“Hey, Mad, you want to go to the mall with Taylor and I?”
Madeline looked up from the TV. “No, thanks. I got things to do.”
“Okay, your loss.”
The two girls made their way to the kitchen where Jen got permission to go with Taylor, and then they went outside into the bright sunlight. Jen climbed into the passenger side and Taylor walked around back to the driver’s side.
“Buckle up,” Taylor said as she put the key in the ignition. She started the car.
Jen yelped and covered her ears, leaning away from the speakers.
Taylor grinned and turned down the music. “Oops.” She sang softly under her breath as she backed out of the driveway. She sighed. “Don’t you just love Taylor’s voice?” she asked, referring to Taylor Hanson on her CD.
Jen looked at her.
“What? Why are you looking at me so strangely?”
“Taylor likes Taylor’s voice.” Jen grinned.
Taylor rolled her eyes. “You find the strangest things amusing.”
The rest of the ride was silent except for occasional singing. The Hanson CD was still playing.
Taylor pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. “You coming in?” she asked, undoing her seatbelt.
Jen mimicked her move. “Yeah, of course.”
They got out of the car and went into the house. “I’ll be right back,” Taylor promised and went into her room.
“ ‘Kay,” Jen said, walking from the hallway into the living. “Hey, Morgan, what’s up?”
Morgan looked up from the couch, where she was reading a book.
Jen giggled. “Well, besides your hair.”
Morgan had cut her hair short, about 3-5 inches, and had spiked it. She grinned. “You like?”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. What’d your mom think?”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “Well, she thought it was, like, a gang symbol or something at first, but she’s getting used to it.”
Taylor walked into the living, her purse on her shoulder. “Hey, Morg, you wanna come to the mall with us?”
Morgan shook her head. “No, but thanks. Josh is coming to pick me up soon.”
“Josh?” Jen questioned.
“Morgan’s man of the month.”
“Oh.” Jen nodded. “He cute?”
“Jennifer! Don’t be so shallow!” scolded Morgan. Then she looked down at her fingernails. “He’s a total hottie.”
Jen giggled.
“Well, love to stay and chat but we got clothes to buy and boyfriends to steal.”
Morgan nodded. “Okay, see you later.”
“Yep. Come on, Jen.”
Jen waved at Morgan, then the two girls were out the door.
It was almost eight when Jen finally got home. She lived in a small town, and the mall was a couple of hours away.
Jen sat down at the computer and swung her long hair over her shoulder. She sighed as she logged onto MSN Messenger.
Cowboy: Hi! Thank goodness you’re on!
Jenni: Lol didn’t know you loved me so much already! J/k, why?
Cowboy: Cuz no one else is on and if I’m not talking to anyone I have to get off.
Jenni: Oh, I c. So, what have you been up too?
Cowboy: Oh, not much. The usual. U?
Jenni: Well, I went to the mall with Taylor and got some new clothes.
Cowboy: I still can’t get over that-a girl named Taylor.
Jenni: Why? She has a twin named Morgan.
Cowboy: I don’t know, it just always seemed like a boy’s name to me. She has a twin?
Jenni: I think it’s more of a girl’s name…oh well, it’s unisex just like Jamie I guess. Yeah, she’s pretty cool, but I don’t know her as well as Tay.
Cowboy: Understandable. Are they identical?
Jenni: Yeah
Cowboy: Hard to tell apart?
Jenni: Not anymore, lol, Morgan cut her hair short and spiked it.
Cowboy: Interesting…
Jenni: lol
Cowboy: Well, sorry to leave in such a rush, but my older brother wants to get on and check his email. So, ttyl
Jenni: Yep, later. Bye
Cowboy: Bye
Jen logged off and sighed. She couldn’t help but wonder who “Cowboy” was. He just seemed so mysterious. Of course, anyone you met over the Internet would seem mysterious, but “Cowboy” was different. He didn’t seem to want to talk about himself at all. He practically avoided it, in fact. Oh, well. Jen sighed again and went up to her room.
