At the brink of exhaustion, Gladys collapsed at the doorstep of the Taylor house. The family inside heard a loud noise at the front door.
"I'm getting my gun!" said the patriarch of the Taylors. He ran into his bedroom and found his weapon while the other Taylors left through the back door just as he had planned long ago. He then emerged, armed and ready for any menace ... but by then all he could hear was a weak "Help ..."
Was that a girl's voice behind the door? A trap to lull him into lowering his guard? Maybe. At least he had his gun. Nobody could take that from him. Certainly not the huge girl that he saw upon opening the door. "Oh my God!"
Gladys was coated in sweat, her blouse stained by a welcome mat. She struggled to utter two syllables between strained breaths. "Water ..."
Mr. Taylor dropped his gun and groaned as he pulled her up. She was so heavy ... heavier than him though she was at least twenty years younger. "Come on in."
"Thanks ..." Gladys struggled to see through eyes stinging with sweat. She stumbled toward a sofa and dropped herself onto it. Her body was still, but her heart was still racing and she was still panting. She looked up to see Mr. Taylor with a glass of water. "Here you go."
Gladys grabbed the glass and gulped all of its contents in a single swallow. Sufficiently refueled to finish her journey, her expression blanked out as she stood up and instinctively headed for the Taylor twins' shared bedroom. Mr. Taylor ignored her as he picked up the empty glass and took it back to his kitchen.
Once inside the bedroom she felt she was hers, she donned one of Sarah Taylor's girls' suits which instantly expanded to fit her body. At the moment, Gladys Taylor didn't look anything like her twin sister Jennifer, but her DNA was already slowly beginning to change. "I'm late!" There was a confidence in her voice that Gladys Brewer never had. She ran out of her house with newfound energy. "Bye, dad!"
Meanwhile, Sarah Taylor was already at Lake Point High while Gladys took her clothes. She walked out of her early morning AP Physics lecture without attracting any attention. She didn't belong there anymore. She felt like an imposter in a girls' suit that was no longer hers. It fit her body, but not her mind. She needed an outfit that matched her better. But where could she find it?
