There wasn’t a line in the ice cream parlour, probably, Taylor reasoned, because it was just past one in the afternoon and everyone had better things to do. It did mean that the bored twenty-something behind the counter gave them a wave and waited for the pair of them to order with an expression that silently screamed ‘kill me.’

“So, what do you want?” Taylor asked. She had one eye on the tubs full of ice cream behind a glass partition and another on Cheshire to make sure she didn’t pull a fast one and make a mess. She was also counting her pocket money in the back of her mind. She probably had enough that she didn’t need to worry, but ice cream was always expensive.

“I want that one,” Cheshire said as she pointed at the most god-awful mix of neon coloured ice cream.

“Uh, are you sure?” Taylor said. She pointed to the much tamer flavours right next to it. “Those ones look less likely to give you a stomach ache.”

“Hmm,” Cheshire said as she leaned onto her tippy toes to look into the display. “Y’er right. I’ll have a scoop of that one too.” She pointed at the chocolate flavoured tub.

“Two scoops?” Taylor said, a note of contrite surprise in her voice. She felt a pang when she realised her mom had used the same tone on her, once upon a time.

“Yeah, two scoops,” Cheshire confirmed.

“I think you’re better off with just the one.”

Cheshire turned to face Taylor, fang poking out and looking extra sharp. “Did you see the look on that bitch’s face when I decked her in the cooch?” she asked. Her voice was high and strident, enough that the girl behind the counter heard it all clear as day and was suddenly paying them a great deal more attention.

“Cheshire.”

“Betch’a she won’t be able to walk straight for, like, a week.”

Taylor gave it much thought.

She thought about encouraging that kind of behaviour in Cheshire.

She thought about Emma’s face going pale.

She thought about the squeak that escaped her lips before she started screaming.

“Yeah, okay, two scoops. With sprinkles.”

Their orders placed and Cheshire’s impatience bled off by her bouncing on the spot, the two girls made their way outside and found seats across from each other under the shadows cast by a parasol.

Cheshire grinned at her cone before she started to chomp into it with happy little noises and the occasional growl.

Taylor watched her eat for a moment. She had to admit, in the privacy of her own mind, that while Cheshire might have been a bit of a pain in the ass, she was also damned cute. “So, how did you find me anyway?” she asked.

Cheshire rubbed the back of one hand across her mouth, spreading yellow and blue ice cream from her lips to her cheeks. “You go to school, duh.”

“Yeah, I know, I meant... did you get a sense that I was in trouble or something?”

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Nah. Told ya, I was just bored.” She took another bite off the topmost scoop.

Taylor nodded and started on her own cone before it melted over her hands. So, her supposed power didn’t keep an active connection with the... clone? Was it a clone if the duplicate wasn’t like the original? Or maybe she was.

Taylor eyed Cheshire for a moment, wondering if she had run into a similar girl around Winslow, or maybe on her way home. How close had she come to Shadow Stalker? Was Shadow Stalker in any way similar to Cheshire?

She had a whole lot of questions and only so many ways to get answers. “So, Cheshire,” she began, grabbing the girl’s attention. Cheshire looked up and blinked big brown eyes at her, the far end of her ice cream melting over her knuckles without her noticing. “Do you have... memories of the person I, uh, cloned you from?”

“Nah,” Cheshire said. She went back to her ice cream. She was doing a real number on the cone, taking big bites off the top and swallowing them whole. Then she paused, eyes going wide before filling with tears. Her free hand came up and started rubbing at her forehead.

“What’s wrong?” Taylor asked as she sat up.

“My head hurts,” Cheshire whined.

Taylor slumped back into her seat. “Press your tongue to the top of your palette, it’s just a brain freeze,” she said.

Cheshire waved her arms around and smacked the table while her feet kicked under it. It took all of half a minute for her to calm down and start glaring at the remains of her ice cream, then she bit into it.

With a final, decisive chomp, the girl finished off her cone a moment before Taylor finished her own. “We should head home,” Taylor said as she got up. She picked some napkins from a dispenser and placed a hand on Cheshire’s head to keep her from moving too much.

Like a lightbulb going off, Cheshire froze as soon as Taylor’s hand landed and she let her cheeks and chin be rubbed clean without fuss or protest until Taylor let go of her head and she turned a glare up at Taylor. “What’ch’a do that for? I ain’t no baby,” she said.

A few women walking by, both in their mid thirties if Taylor had to guess, laughed and hid their mouths as Cheshire ranted. It only tossed fuel on the flames.

“Yeah yeah,” Taylor said with no feeling. “You’re a big girl. Now come on, we need to get home.”

“What? I don’t wanna go home. And we need to walk off the calories,” Cheshire said. She pointed off towards the Boardwalk. “Let’s go that way,” she said.

“I’d rather walk back home,” Taylor said.

Cheshire snorted. “You would. It’s cause y’er lazy. It’s all gonna go to y’er ass, ya know. C’mon.” Grabbing Taylor’s hand, the girl started pulling her with surprising strength towards the far busier Boardwalk.

Taylor sighed. This was her life now.