Mumnesia Read Free Page A

forehead creases
into a million lines. ‘Gross! I’ve got
wrinkles
!’ I wail, trying to smooth them out with my
fingers. ‘And
grey roots
!’
    The girl nods. ‘I’ve been telling you
to dye them for ages.’
    ‘Why didn’t I?’
    ‘It’s like you stopped caring ever
since D—’ She stops suddenly.
    ‘Since what?’
    ‘Since you dyed it the first time,’
she says quickly.
    I shake my head, still struggling to take it all
in. I can’t believe just yesterday I was twelve years old,
totally flat-chested, praying for my spots to clear up, and now .
. . well, now I’ve got boobs at least, and the spots are
gone – but there are big bags under my eyes, wrinkles
everywhere, and – ugh! – saggy skin beneath my chin.
I prod it – and it wobbles!
Gross!
    ‘This is so freaky,’ I squeal.
‘Like that movie –
Freaky Friday
!’
    ‘Yeah.’ The girl nods. ‘Except
unlike Lindsay Lohan, I haven’t changed too, thank
goodness!’
    ‘Who?’ I ask.
    ‘Lindsay Lohan,’ she repeats.
‘The daughter.’
    ‘You mean Jodie Foster!’
    ‘Who?’ She frowns, twirling a strand
of hair around her finger – just like I do – and
suddenly I can’t help but smile. She’s my future
daughter
. How incredible is that? It’s even more
unbelievable than travelling through time!
    ‘So, like, what’s your name?’ I
ask shyly. It seems like a crazy question to ask my own daughter,
but . . . ‘Wait!’ I snap my fingers.
‘Lucy?’
    She stares at me. Then nods. Then her eyes
narrow. ‘Is this all fake, Mum?’
    ‘No!’ I insist. ‘I
promise!’
    ‘Then how would you know—’
    ‘It’s my favourite girl’s
name,’ I explain. ‘Ever since I read
The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe
.’
    Lucy smiles nervously and sits down on the bed.
‘That’s my favourite book.’
    ‘Me too!’ I cry, plonking myself down
next to her. ‘And, please, call me Shazza. Mum sounds so
old
!’
    ‘
Shazza?
’ she splutters.
    I nod. ‘That’s what my friends call
me. I
hate
the name Sharon!’
    ‘OK . . . Pleased to meet you . . .
Shazza.’ Lucy smiles shyly.
    ‘Pleased to meet you too, Lucy.’ I
beam.

7 LUCY
    ‘I can’t believe we’re
both twelve!’ Shazza cries, grabbing my hands excitedly.
‘
That’s so weird!
’
    ‘This is
all
uber-weird!’ I cry, staring at
her as she jumps up to peer at the mirror again, as if gazing at
a stranger. But it’s also pretty cool. I mean
time
travel
? Wow!
    ‘Hey, look at my ears – they’re
pierced
!’ Shazza squeals. ‘Rad! Wonder when
that happened. I’ve been begging Ma for
ages
but she
always says I’m too young.’
    ‘Tell me about it,’ I mutter.
    ‘Yours won’t let you either?’
    ‘Uh,
you
won’t, no.’
    She blinks. ‘Right. Me.’ She frowns.
‘Future-me.’
    ‘But
you’d
let me, wouldn’t
you?’ I say quickly.
    ‘What?’
    A slow smile spreads across my face. ‘
You’d
let me get my ears pierced, right, Shazza?’ I am
overwhelmed by the geniusness of my plan – now I’ll
definitely know if she’s putting on an act!
    She looks conflicted for a moment and I’m almost sure
I’ve called her bluff . . . but then she shrugs. ‘Why
not?’
    ‘
Why not?
’ I stare at her.
‘Seriously?’ I’m torn between being
uber-thrilled and uber-freaked out.
    ‘Come on!’ She grabs my hand. ‘Let’s
do it!’
    OK, so freaked out beats thrilled. By a landslide. Especially
when she asks me to fetch a needle and two ice cubes and says we
should go into the bathroom ‘in case it gets
messy’.
    Messy how . . . ?
    ‘Relax!’ Shazza laughs as I
perch on the side of the cold bathtub. ‘Stop shaking
– I don’t want to stab you in the face!’
    Funnily enough, this does not help me relax. ‘Um, have
you done this before?’ I ask nervously as she squeezes my
earlobe between the ice cubes.
    ‘Yep. Just last night actually.’
    ‘
Last night?
’
    ‘I mean – well, decades ago, I guess!’ She