Nick opened the letter, and began to read:
Nick,
I know you're freaked out, but it will get better. I've set up new identities for both of us... you are now Catherine Cooper, but people just call you Kate, or 'CC'. I am now Anika 'Nikki' Cooper, your twin sister. By the time you've finished reading this, Mike will have been told that you were Nick's girlfriend (he will have seen some pictures of Nick and Megan), and that you were trying to find out what happened to him, when you found the Amulet. The next bit gets complicated, and we'll go over the details in person, but suffice it to say that he'll think we all believe that Nick is trapped in the future, and that I went back to try to get Mike to call him back in Vegas, thinking that it would prevent him from going into the future.
Anyway, the point is Mike knows now about the Amulet, and that he's been bounced three years into the future. He'll think that he and I were dating before this happened, and that the Vegas accident means that things changed so that only I remember it. The fact is, I've been in love with him for several weeks now, at least. He does not know, and will never know, that we were Nick.
As my sister, you're going to see a lot of how that turns out. It's going to weird you out at first, but try not to let it show, after all Mike thinks that you're a straight girl (trust me "“ you are!).
I know that you are still thinking of turning back into a man, believing that you can wait it out and go get the medallion. You can't. Even if you did want to by then, it has to be where you left it. I've done a lot of research "“ the medallion will go from that bathroom floor to a Vegas high-roller who a few hours later ends up swapped forever with a hooker. The hooker lived the high-roller's life for a few weeks, not knowing what she really had, until she lost it in a poker game to an airport baggage handler, whose secret habit of stealing women's underwear got him turned into a Chinese woman who got arrested with no identity. When the medallion was confiscated, it sat in an evidence box for weeks, until a clerk who was itemizing boxes accidentally turned into his pregnant wife. The two pregnant women managed to keep it for months, right in to the delivery room, when it got accidentally cleaned up by an orderly. They did give birth to the first known identical twins born to different mothers. The medallion ended up in the laundry room, where a 58 year-old widow who worked there found it, and figured out enough of what it did to try out many bodies, and settled down as a 25-year-old man and married a woman he fell in love with. The next owner ended up stuck as a 6-year old girl, who'd be 8 now. And so on, until someone dropped it off at that yard sale with a note. The point is, if it's not there to be found, none of this would have happened, which means that it was indeed there to be found.
But cheer up! It gets better. First, money won't be a problem. In the wallet you'll find a paper with some numbers. Play these numbers in the lottery 3 weeks from now, but remember to put both our names on it "“ the Cooper sisters will win big! Until then, the cash and credit card I've given you will let you stay in a decent hotel and get some clothes and supplies. After that, you'll be too busy living it up to be too upset about your genitalia. Oh and we're all three going to Southern Italy next month to celebrate, so don't make any plans for then. Italy will be great "“ lots of grappa + hot Italian guys = your first trip to second base, as second base!
Nick will just become a missing person as far as the law is concerned, and the real Megan will get over it, especially when the police find evidence that he was seeing another woman (My doing I'm afraid, but it's for the best!). She'll end up moving back to her home town, but she'll meet a good guy, and I think she'll be happy. She won't find out about us, but I make some inquiries from time to time to check on how she's doing.
Lastly, no, my Amulet of Time won't work "“ it's inert too. The reason is simple "“ I brought someone back with me...
