Replica - Mystery Mother Part 6

"Yeah, okay. Tasha, I have to find out who this woman is and why she's following me."

"There's probably a very simple explanation," Tasha said. "Maybe she's Dr. Jaleski's nosy cousin or aunt or something, and she's always believed that he was a mad scientist, like Dr. Frankenstein. Family rumors about his weird experiments have probably spread far and wide, and now she wants to see a real live human clone. You're better off keeping away from her."

"That's a little far-fetched."

Tasha shrugged. "Maybe, but wait till you hear what I found out! Have you ever heard of Sarah Travers? She's on a soap opera. Anyway, I was searching a gossip file, and there was an item from years ago, about how she gave birth to her costar's child and put the baby up for adoption. And it was on the same date as Jeanine's birthday! Right here in Los Angeles!"

Amy groaned. "I refuse to believe that Jeanine has celebrity parents. Beside, there were probably a thousand babies born that day in Los Angeles."

"But I accessed a photo of this Sarah Travers," Tasha continued. "She looks like Jeanine! Well, I guess Jeanine looks like her. They both have squinty eyes and tiny noses."

"Lots of people have squinty eyes and tiny noses," Amy said. "Especially if you include aliens." Then she remembered something else. "Besides, Jeanine wasn't even born in Los Angeles."

"She wasn't?"

"No. Don't you remember how she told everyone she was Little Miss North Carolina, or Miss North Carolina Baby Princess, or something like that, when she was six?"

Tasha's face fell. "I don't have your memory."

"Now will you help me find Camilla Jaleski?" Amy asked.

"I still want to check out another rumor I read," Tasha replied. "The main singer in one of those boy bands supposedly had an affair with a girl from a big girl band before they were famous. They might have had a baby."

Amy rolled her eyes. "They probably would have had to have been around ten years old at the time to be Jeanine's parents."

"Well, I've found some pretty weird stories about adoptions," Tasha informed her. "There was this husband and wife, they'd been married for a long time, and both of them knew they'd been adopted as babies. They wanted to find their real parents. And they discovered that they were actually brother and sister!"

"Gross," Amy commented.

"No kidding. Can you imagine me married to Eric?" Tasha shuddered. "Then I read another true story about this guy who was searching for his natural father, and he found him, but the father was in jail for armed robbery of a gas station. And the guy was the policeman who had arrested him!"

Tasha chattered on about strange adoption tales all the way to school, and Amy had to admit the stories were pretty entertaining. They certainly kept her from thinking about Camilla.

But once they got to school and Tasha logged on to the computer in the media center, Amy had nothing to do but ponder and fantasize. What if Tasha was right? What if Camilla Jaleski was nothing more than just a curious relative, snooping around and prying into Dr. Jaleski's past? Still, Amy would like to hear the woman herself admit it.

The opportunity to do just that presented itself during the last period. The dreary geography teacher was rambling on about South American exports. Half the cla.s.s appeared to be sleeping, while the other half was staring out the windows. Amy was among the second half, gazing out the window at nothing in particular and wis.h.i.+ng the time would pa.s.s faster.

Suddenly she sat up straight. Was her mind playing tricks? Was it wishful thinking, or was she really watching a bright blue sports car turn into the Parkside Middle School parking lot?

Amy closed her eyes and opened them again. The blue sports car was definitely moving slowly through the crowded lot, and as it pa.s.sed directly in front of Amy's cla.s.sroom, she caught a glimpse of blond hair. It was Camilla Jaleski.

Amy leaped up from her seat. The teacher frowned at her. "Amy? Do you have a question?"

"Um, could I be excused, please?" Amy asked. She was already moving toward the door as she spoke.

The teacher's frown deepened. "Cla.s.s will be over in five minutes. I believe you can wait that long."

"No," Amy said. "No, I can't!" And she ran out of the room.

No one was in the hall, so Amy could move at top speed.

She burst out of a side door and looked wildly over the parking lot. The sports car was still there, idling, as if it was waiting for Amy. Knowing that her cla.s.smates and the geography teacher could see her now, Amy proceeded at normal speed. Camilla too could see Amy coming in her rearview mirror, and if she didn't want a confrontation, she could easily take off. But the car didn't budge. It remained in place as Amy arrived at the driver's side window.

"h.e.l.lo," Camilla said softly.

Amy didn't bother with polite conversation. "What do you want?" she asked. "Why have you been following me?"

Camilla gestured toward the pa.s.senger seat. "Will you take a ride with me? I'd like to talk to you."

How stupid did this woman think Amy was? Like every other kid in the world, she'd been taught never to get into a car with a stranger.

"We can talk right here," Amy declared. "And I'm not getting into your car."

The woman nodded. She turned off the engine, opened the car door, and got out. Amy took a step backward, even though she wasn't afraid. She knew there was no way the slight, delicate woman could overpower her.

"Who are you?" Amy asked.

"My name is Camilla Jaleski."

"I already know that," Amy said impatiently. "But who are you? What do you want?"

A veil seemed to cover the woman's bright blue eyes. Amy had the feeling she was trying very hard to hold back tears. But she said nothing.

Amy raised her voice. "Why are you following me? Tell me or I'll make a scene and you'll have to answer to school officials and the police."

Camilla's voice trembled, and it was barely louder than a whisper. But Amy heard her loud and clear.

"Amy . . . I'm your mother."

9.

Amy had no idea how long she remained silent. It was as if the woman in front of her - Camilla Jaleski - was speaking in a foreign language. All Amy could do was stare at her without understanding.

"What did you say?" Amy finally managed to ask.

"I'm your mother, Amy. Your birth mother."

Again Amy went numb. It was as if all her senses had been shut off. She couldn't see. She couldn't hear. She couldn't think. She couldn't speak.

She couldn't feel a thing. She felt nothing.

Then she became dimly aware of a bell ringing, of shouting students streaming out of the school building, and of Camilla, who was starting to speak again. Amy took off.

She didn't run, but she walked with such long and furious strides that she'd almost reached her own front door before she heard the breathless voices behind her.

"Amy! Amy, wait!"

"Slow down!"

She stopped and turned. Eric was running toward her, and Tasha was about half a block behind him. Amy waited.

"What's going on?" Eric asked. His expression showed a combination of disbelief, anger, and fear. "Why were you walking like that? You were faster than a speed-walker! People were looking at you!"

She'd had no idea she'd been moving that fast. She was always so careful about not revealing her special skills in public. It had become almost second nature to walk at the rate of a normal person.

Tasha caught up. She wasn't exactly the athletic type, and her face was red from the exertion. Her voice came out in spurts. "Are - you - okay? We've been calling - and calling - to you - all the way from school! Couldn't you hear us?"

"No," Amy whispered. But she could hear perfectly well now. All her senses came rus.h.i.+ng back - she could see, hear, think, speak . . . she could feel. And she burst into tears.

Eric took one arm, Tasha took the other, and together they pulled Amy into her house. "Ms. Candler?" Tasha called out.

"I don't think she's home," Eric said. "I'll call her at work."

"No!" Amy cried out. "No, don't call her!" She was gasping as she tried to control herself. Tasha and Eric exchanged worried looks.

Tasha put an arm around her. "Amy, I think you need your mother."

"My mother," Amy murmured. She started to giggle, but it came out as hiccups.

Tasha turned to her brother. "Eric, get some water."

When he returned with a tall gla.s.s, Amy took it and drank thirstily. The hiccups disappeared, and she felt calmer. "I'm okay," she said, which wasn't exactly true, but at least she no longer felt as if she was on the verge of totally losing control.

"I was just outside the gym when I saw you in the parking lot," Eric told her. "You were talking to that woman we saw at the mall."

"I saw her too," Tasha said. "But by the time I got outside, you were gone."

Amy nodded.

"What did she want?" Eric asked. His face darkened. "Did she threaten you?"

"No." Amy took a deep breath. "She just wanted to tell me she's my mother."

There was a moment of silence. "Could you say that again?" Tasha asked carefully.

"She says she's my mother," Amy said. "My natural, birth mother."

Tasha's eyes widened. "Are you serious? She really said that?"

"She's a wacko? A total wacko?" Eric asked.

Amy didn't know what to say.

"She has to be nuts, Amy," Eric went on. "What she said isn't possible!"

"I know that," Amy said.

Eric turned to Tasha. "I think we should call the police."

"No!"

Tasha and Eric were taken aback. Amy herself was startled by how strong her response was. She continued more quietly.

"No, I don't want to call the police. I don't think she's dangerous, and maybe . . ."

"And maybe what?" Eric asked.

Tasha guessed what Amy was trying to say. "And maybe she's telling the truth."

Eric stared at his sister. "Now you're talking like a wacko." He turned to Amy and spoke slowly and patiently, as if he was trying to explain something to a child. "Amy, listen to me. You don't have a natural mother. No one gave birth to you. You are a clone. You were created in a laboratory."

"I know how I was born, Eric," Amy said.

"Then why don't you want me to call the police?"

"I don't know." Amy stood up and moved around the living room restlessly. "You know, sometimes I wonder if my mother told me the complete truth about myself."

"That's what I'm thinking," Tasha said. "Your mother could have made up the whole story, just to explain how she got you! Or maybe you were switched at birth, like the girl on the news last week. Did you see that? She got the wrong name tag fifteen years ago when she was born, and she just found out because her real mother tracked her down! Maybe that's what Camilla has done!"

"Yeah, right." Eric snorted. "The whole clone story is a fairy tale. Then how do you explain Amy's powers? You think Camilla is Wonder Woman? Or Mrs. Superman?"

"Or Mrs. Jaleski," Amy said. "That's her last name, Eric. Camilla Jaleski."

"She could simply be a relative," Tasha reminded her.

Amy nodded. "But she could have been his wife. You know how I had this special feeling about Dr. J."

"That's just because he created you," Eric said.

"Yes," Amy replied. "But maybe in a different way than I always thought."

Tasha was nodding. Eric looked at both of them and groaned.

"You're both wacko." He got up. "I have to get ready for my game tonight. You sure you're okay?"

Amy nodded.

"I'll stay with you," Tasha offered.

"You need to find Jeanine's parents so you can get your ears pierced," Amy reminded her.