The fluorescent lights of the department store dressing room were doing Kim no favors. Or maybe they were doing her too many favors.

  ?She stared at herself in the three-way mirror. She was wearing a pair of ripped black jeans and a leather jacket that Macy had insisted she try on. It wasn't Kim. Or at least, it wasn't who Kim used to be. The old Kim wore pastels and sundresses. The old Kim wanted to look approachable.

  ?The girl in the mirror looked dangerous. Even in this stupid getup.

  ?"Come on, let us see!" Macy called from the other side of the door.

  ?Kim took a breath. The air in the mall was recycled and stale, filled with the scent of floor wax and cheap pretzels. And just a hint of death.

  ?Sam had followed them into the store. Kim could hear her heart beating. It didn't sound like Macy's or Adam's. Their hearts were the steady, rhythmic thumps of life. The heart beat she knew was Sam's was unnaturally slow, mechanical, and sluggishness. Thump...... thump...... thump. Like an engine running on fumes.

  ?"I'm coming out," Kim announced.

  ?She pushed the door open. Macy gasped theatrically.

  ?"Okay, I hate you," Macy groaned. "You look like the lead singer of a band I would definitely follow on tour."

  ?Adam looked up from his phone, his face turning a shade of pink that Kim found endearing. "It... uh... it fits well," he managed.

  ?"See! Even Adam is struck dumb, and he usually only gets that way about me," Macy laughed. "Go on give us a spin."

  ?Kim forced a smile. The clothes felt uncomfortable next to her skin. But she obliged her outgoing friend. Not just for the sake of fashion. She wanted to see what was coming.

  ?"Kim?"

  ?The voice came from the aisle of racks behind them. It was syrupy sweet, but it made the hair on Kim's arms stand up.

  ?Sam walked into the view of their little circle. She was holding a hanger with a beige blouse on it—something the old Kim might have worn.

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  ?"I thought this might look good on you," Sam said, ignoring Macy and Adam completely. She stepped a little closer.

  ?The smell hit Kim instantly. Something like vanilla bodywash and rot, masked by layers of expensive floral perfume. It was like someone had sprayed Chanel No. 5 on roadkill. Kim had to fight the urge to gag.

  ?"Desperate much" Macy quipped, stepping between them. "We were both at the same McDonald's right?"

  ?Sam didn't look at Macy. Her eyes were locked on Kim. To anyone else, Sam looked like the perfect prom queen. But with her new eyes, Kim saw the truth. The skin was too smooth, like it had been stretched out over a frame designed to look like Sam. She didn't blink enough. And the smile... it didn't reach her eyes. To Kim when Sam looked more like an animal baring its teeth.

  ?"I'm just trying to spend time with my friend," Sam lied.

  Sam dropped her voiice to a conspiratorial whisper as she leaned around Macy. "You've changed, Kim. I can see it. You're not the same scared little rabbit you were before camp ."

  The realization hit Kim like a ton of bricks. This thing wasn't Sam. Sam was a terrible person. But she was a person. This was a thing.

  "I'm sorry Sam, you're not my type." Macy quipped. Sam had leaned into her heavily. "If I was going to be a lesbian it would be with a real girl. Not one that melts in the heat!

  ?Kim’s breath hitched. Whatever this thing was, it knew what was happening to kim.

  ?"I don't know what you're talking about," Kim said, her voice steady despite the nausea rolling in her gut.

  ?"Don't you?" Sam said as Macy tried to shove her back, but Sam stood like a statue. She didn't stumble. She didn't even sway. She just looked at Macy with a bored expression, then turned her gaze back to Kim.

  ?Adam stood up, sensing the tension in the air. "Sam, seriously, get lost!"

  ?Sam finally blinked. She looked at Adam, then back to Kim, and the mask of the popular girl slid back into place perfectly.

  ?"Fine," she sighed, tossing the beige blouse onto a rack. "I just wanted to welcome you back. We should hang out sometime, Kim. Without the babysitters club. I think we might have a lot to discuss."

  ?She turned and walked away. Kim watched her go. She noticed that Sam’s hips didn't sway naturally; it was a practiced, mimicked motion.

  ?"God, she is such a bitch," Macy huffed, dusting off her hands as if she had touched garbage. "Are you okay?

  ?"She stinks," Kim muttered, staring at the spot where Sam had stood.

  ?"Yeah, that perfume costs more than my car but some how smells like a funeral home," Macy agreed. "Ignore her. She's just jealous because you look like a rockstar and she looks like crack addict barbie."

  ?Kim nodded, but her heart wasn't into the discussion. Whatever Sam was she wasn't jealous. Sam was hungry.

  ?"I'm buying the jacket, But the jeans and shirt have to go." Kim said, changing the conversation."And then I should probably get home."

  ?"Deal," Macy said. "But we are getting pretzels first. I don't care if they taste like cardboard to you, I need salt."