Free Projection by Risa Green

out when the police questioned her. She thought about how Jessica had appeared in the hallway and then quietly taken her aside, asking her not to say anything about Rob getting them drinks, or about Rob at all, actually. He didn’t want Michelle to find out, and even in the state of shock Gretchen had been in, she’d understood. Michelle
was
terrifying.
    “Clear your mind,” Jessica said in a soft, low voice. “Clear your mind. Picture the anklet shining in the sun, and imagine that you are the warm amber. Nothing but warm. Nothing at all.”
    Gretchen could see the anklet on her mother’s ankle, the sunlight glinting off of it. She relaxed into the image of it,letting all of her thoughts fall away as Jessica’s voice trailed off. She was the amber. She was warm.
It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work
. Her breathing slowed, her mind repeating the mantra with each exhale.
It’s not going to work. It’s not going to work
. She felt like nothing, like she was asleep and awake all at the same time.
    She heard Jessica whispering in Greek. “
Écho exorísei aíma egó dió xei ostó n, proválloun ti n psychí mou se állo spíti
.” And then she felt Jessica’s mouth on hers, and as she inhaled, a warmth like nothing she’d ever experienced was filling her up. It felt as if she’d swallowed the sun itself. And then she opened her eyes, and she felt cold again.
    “Holy shit,” Jessica said. Except it wasn’t Jessica’s mouth that formed the words, and it wasn’t Jessica’s voice that spoke them. It was hers. But yet, it wasn’t hers, exactly. Her voice sounded different, coming out of Jessica’s throat. It sounded just like the way it did whenever she heard herself on video.
    I can’t believe it worked!
But before she could verbalize the thought, before she could examine her own face staring at her, before she could even pinch herself to make sure this was all real, she noticed a bright light coming from the door of the teepee. On instinct she turned toward it.
    “Smile,” said Ariel Miller’s voice from behind the light. “You’re on candid camera!” She let out a gleefully wicked laugh, and then the light disappeared, leaving nothing but the black cashmere darkness and the fast crunching of wood chips as she ran away.
    “Oh, no,” Gretchen said slowly. The realization of what had just happened sank in. Her own face, suddenly drained of color, stared back at her, eyes blinking. It felt different to speak with Jessica’s mouth. She pushed her tongue againstthe unfamiliar front teeth, noting that they were further away than her own.
    “We are so screwed,” she said, trying it out again. “Do you understand what just happened? Ariel Miller just saw us trade souls!” She watched, fascinated, as Jessica shook Gretchen’s own head from side to side. She realized that she, like everyone, had only ever seen herself reflected in a mirror.
What a cool thing
, she thought,
to be able to see myself the way everyone else does
.
    “No,” said her mouth, which, she’d never noticed before, was slightly lopsided. “She didn’t see us trade souls. She has no idea about all of that. All she saw was us kissing for a split second. Big deal.”
    “But what if she does?” Gretchen asked, trying not to focus on the fact that she was actually Jessica. That she was
inhabiting
Jessica. “What if she knows about the Plotinus Ability?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. How could she know? Nobody even talks to her, let alone shares secrets with her.”
    Gretchen revealed her theory about Ariel murdering her mom in order to steal the anklet and start a society of her own. Jessica just stared back at her with Gretchen’s big, blue eyes, the long, dark lashes framing them like tiny spider legs.
    “That doesn’t even make sense, Gretchen. How could she possibly know about it? Who would ever have told her? She’s not friends with anyone in the Oculus Society. Come on, think about