As Zoe took Dawn into the fitting rooms, Sarah used the opportunity to approach Karyn.
"So you're thinking you'll get some tee shirts?" she asked.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Karyn replied with a small smile before turning back to the display.
A moment passed.
"Listen, Karyn," Sarah spoke up again, "I don't have any memories of the 'original' reality, but--"
"Don't worry about it," Karyn interrupted. "There's enough craziness going on already without getting worked up about what alternate universe versions of us might have done. I see you now, the person right in front of me. So far this morning you've been a good friend to Zoe, and you're trying to help Dawn. I'm willing to call this a blank slate."
"Thanks." Sarah felt a slight warmth rising in her cheeks. "But that's not what I meant.”
Karyn put down the shirt she was looking at and turned to give Sarah her full attention. Another moment passed.
“I don’t want to just be ‘not-that-Sarah,’” Sarah sighed. “I want to be your friend. We’re both wrapped up in this together, and I don’t want to go through it with a blank slate, I want to go through it with someone I care about. We’re on the same team, and, well, cheering for your team is kinda my thing.” She punctuated this with a self-conscious flounce.
“Okay,” Karyn wasn’t sure how to process this information. “So, what?”
“So,” Sarah continued, “I just want to make sure you understand that what I’m about to say is very much my opinion, and if you disagree that’s fine, because if your sense of style really is graphic tees and you know that, then great.” Sarah realized she was rambling.
“But?”
“But… okay, so the reason I had Zoe and I dress in these outfits isn’t just because they’re stylish. I mean, they are, and we look great, but that’s not the real reason. It’s because when you’re out shopping for clothes and trying stuff on, it’s super-annoying to always be changing in and out of your base layer,” Sarah knew she was still rambling but she couldn’t stop. “And since the outfit is so skin-tight, I mean aside from the cardigan of course, but since it’s skin-tight you can just take off the cardigan and try on whatever on top.”
“So…”
Sarah suddenly realized she’d been avoiding the other girl’s gaze, and forced herself to look Karyn in the eye. Then she took a deep breath. Then she grabbed Karyn by the wrist. “Come here.”
The cheerleader lead her new friend around a corner, where a small pile of clothes had been neatly folded and placed atop one of the racks. “Now, these are a gift from me,” Sarah said, indicating the small pile. “They’re yours. If you want to wear them, great. And if not? That’s great, too.”
Karyn picked the items up, one by one: they were a camisole top, a pair of bike shorts, and a duster cardigan, almost exactly like what Sarah and Zoe were wearing.
Except this set was in all green.
