part seven: my gay boyfriend helps me find Jane Patterson

I had a headache the moment I rolled out of bed in the morning. The noise from upstairs wasn't really helping, either. But I swear, it was louder in my room. So I dragged my sorry ass out of bed and flopped down on the couch. What, I asked myself, was I going to do today?

I vowed that I would continue daily on my quest to rescue Annalisa, and I could think of only one thing left to do: go to the orphanage and ask about her real name. Maybe Annalisa had tried to protect her new identity by sabotaging her old one? I was definitely grasping at straws, said one part of my brain. The stubborn part of my brain attacked it and told it to shut up. I had to try.

As I lay on the couch thinking about Annalisa and my headache (a 50-50 ratio), Dad came out of the room. He didn't say anything to me, so I didn't say anything to him. I just closed my eyes and listened to the dulcet tones of him getting ready for work. It made a nice duet with the metallic pipe noises.

The duet ended with the final chord of "doorslam," and I sat up groggily. I grabbed a quasishower and then walked over to school. Maybe it was the days lengthening that did it, but it felt really late. I was so used to getting up insanely early for swim practice, and even leaving later than usual, I still ended up sitting by myself outside the school for about forty minutes. I listened to music for the first thirty-four, until my iPod died, and then I sat there without saying anything.

At long last, the bell rang, and I walked into math and took my regular seat. Hana didn't even acknowledge me. I sat through math class, paying only moderate attention, and she never said a word to me. Apparently, the swim team had been a rather exclusive and bitchy clique. One that I was now out of. This was idiotic. So I took a nap.

I had a rather fascinating dream about Annalisa. In this dream, as she was dragged whimpering down the tunnel, I jumped out and sword-fought the police, stabbing them both through the heart. But then this weird Medusa effect happened, and they both grew two hearts where I'd stabbed the first one. Suddenly they were really compassionate, and let both of us go. We skipped off down the streets, which were orange, and--

The bell rang. I jumped and grabbed my books in one fell swoop, and sauntered out of the classroom just behind Hana, who swung her obnoxious ponytail in my face as I crossed the threshold into the hallway.

Thank God I had chem next. I walked into chem with an enormous smile, and my enthusiasm was matched only by Arjun's grin and loud exclamation, "Hey, Babs!"
I didn't think I really liked the nickname, but I rolled with it. As it turned out, we had a lab involving a centrifuge, and we worked as partners.
As I added the chemicals to our second test tube, he looked up and said conversationally, "So, what were you sick with, anyway?"
I froze. Did he know I wasn't sick? I didn't have any idea how to answer that. But now I'd paused too long. "Uh, chicken pox," I said less-than-confidently.
He shot me an impressively withering glance. Oops, crap...
"Nice scars, then, genius."
Shit. "On my back?" I offered. But he'd found me out already. I just smiled.
"Next time, try a plain "it was a virus." Anyway, so what was up?" he asked again. I answered a slightly different question than he asked.
"I'm on a mission," I told him, cryptically. But it was almost our turn for the centrifuge.
"Tell me at lunch?" said Arjun.
I nodded.

Lit was absolutely miserable. I was completely alone. It was like some awful sitcom, where I was the invisible girl in the corner while everyone else talked and laughed. I wanted to pinch myself, or wave my hands in front of someone's faces. Even the teacher ignored me. Once, about three-fourths of the way through class, a boy came up to me. I was actually excited that someone realized I existed, until he asked me for a pencil sharpener.

I was the first one out the classroom door when the bell rang. I would've swung my ponytail in Hana's face, but she had hung back to talk to Carrie and the Shannons.

Arjun actually wasn't at lunch. But I got a text as I sat down that said he had a project. I saved his number to my phone, and wondered how he'd gotten mine. A girl walked past my lunch table and told me that she didn't care what others said, she thought Arjun and I were positively adorable together. I never did figure out who she was. Isn't that the strangest thing? When people know you, like, obviously, and you really don't have the wildest clue as to who they are?

Apparently the world was convinced that Arjun was my boyfriend. I bet myself a snack that he had probably done that intentionally. I didn't really care, though. I was busy being interested in the strange nature of our sudden friendship. Instafriends. Just add being in the closet and being kicked out of cliques. Okay, that wasn't actually funny. Sorry.

After school, I walked outside and went to call Arjun to see if he was free. I was hoping that maybe I could tell him about my plot and maybe even drag him along to the orphanage. I really shouldn't have even been worried, though, because no sooner had I dialed the number than he appeared behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Arjun!"
He busted out laughing and let go of me. "People already think we're going out. Isn't this a bit far?"
But I kind of liked it. Was I that much of an attention whore? I definitely didn't like Arjun like that.
He just stood there and laughed. "We're going to the orphanage," I said.
He stopped laughing and looked puzzled. "Why?"
"I'll explain on the way."

I didn't give him the full spiel like I had to Dad and Dmitri. I wondered fleetingly what had happened to Dmitri, anyway. I would've liked to have thought he was my friend. But suddenly he was out of my life. Like Annalisa, but not. Anyway, so I told Arjun the general outline of things, and we got to the orphanage with that beautiful cinematic perfect timing of mine.

I walked up to the front desk. The lady looked like she didn't know what to make of us. Too young to be adopting. Too lacking-in-baby to be giving up. I answered her thoughts. "We're looking to check the orphanage records," I said. "Actually, to be precise, looking for a girl named Jane adopted in 2007-ish."

The woman fiddled with some paperwork and a computer for a few minutes. "Jane Patterson? That's the only Jane I have here."
Sure. Jane Patterson. "Yeah, that's her. Thanks."
"What? Oh... I mean, okay."
I thanked the lady for her time and we walked out.

"Want to get sodas?" I asked Arjun. I didn't have any homework, and I knew Dad would be really busy with his job anyway. So we did. We sat there, and he had a Coke, and I had a Fanta. Not that it matters for the story. I tried to make a joke about how he should have the Fanta because he's the fruity one, but he just glared at me.
I grinned.
"So, wait," he said, abruptly changing topics. "You know her as Annalisa, but her real name is Jane Patterson? Why'd she change it?"
"She had a new life. Wanted more glamour, I guess. At least, that's what she told me."
He nodded pensively. "What's she like?"
"Strong," I said. "Not specifically physically. But emotionally very strong. Realistic. Tall, with really long chocolatey hair, kinda wavylike." I paused and sipped my Fanta. "She's really a bitch at first, but then she opens up to you and she's wonderfully hilarious." Another pause. "The best friend I've ever had. No offense."
"None taken." He was smirking at me. "A bit of a hypocrite, aren't you?"
"What?" I was genuinely confused.
"Nothing, then," said Arjun, still smiling. "Um. I hate to be presumptuous--"
I shook my head. "Don't say it. Don't say anything."
"What?"
"I don't know."
There was a silence so thick that I could've karate-chopped it with my foot.
"What do we do now?" I said, changing the topic again for the umpteenth time.
"Have you asked the police?"
"Yep. Hold it-- but not about Jane Patterson."

We paid for our sodas and went back to the police station. "Hi," I said smoothly as we sauntered in like we knew what we were doing. "I'm looking to see if the police have a Jane Patterson on record."
Front Desk Man took forever to check, and then spoke.
"Jane Adamson," he said. "No Pattersons."

Another dead end. It was getting well into the afternoon by now. We sat on the curb and talked about random things. Birds. Sleepovers. Gossip. Bitchy swim girls.
Suddenly, Arjun leaped to his feet. "Babs. Let's go."
"Why? What? Where?"
"There's an antique shop near the pet store. I think the guy also claims to be a detective."
I was incredibly suspicious. Usually I'm not in the habit of hiring or talking to random detectives. Do they even have those? I mean, outside the FBI. But I thought a minute. I really had nothing to lose. Except possibly money.

So we walked over to Jack's Jems (hilariously sketchy name...) and into the store. There was a guy standing in there, presumably the salesperson/detective.
"Can I help you?" He seemed to be pretty nice. I was still a bit dubious about modern-day antique shop detectives. But I swallowed that.
"You're the detective?"
He was.
"I need you to help me. I've lost my best friend."
"Go on."
I started talking, and he pulled out a sheet of paper and started taking notes.
"Her real name is Jane Patterson. She was supposedly adopted at age 12, but really just went to live in secret tunnels under the city and changed her name to Annalisa. Tall, white, with chocolatey long hair."
That was the second time I'd used that today.
"My name is Xiu Li Zheng. I was living with her up until a few days ago, when she sacrificed herself to the police for me." I ignored Arjun's facial expressions and whatever he was mouthing at me.
He examined his notes.
"Please," I said, a little too desperately. "This is my last way, and I've told you everything I can. Please. I need you to find Annalisa."