this.â
Suddenly a mop hovered through the opening, spraying dirt all over me.
âOoopsie,â Sydney said. âMy bad.â
She cackled. Forget Glinda. She would make an excellent Wicked Witch. I grabbed the mop from her, coughing.
âAnd hereâs the bucket,â she said.
And as I looked up to catch a glimpse of a bucket. A bucket that tilted sideways andâ
Water came splashing down on my head! Brown, smelly water!
âOoopsie,â Sydney said again. âMy bad again.â
âSydney!â I tried to yell at her, but her head disappeared. I heard footsteps running away.
I was drenched in water that was apparently used to clean the floor, and from the smell of it, not recently. I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the mirror. I was disgusting.
Bzzzzt! I limply pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was from Tess.
P: getting drama club pix 4 yrbk! & headshot pix 2 use 4 audition. Come up!!!!!!!
I sank down on the bucket. This was all because of our stupid twin switching! This totally and completely stunk.I blinked back tears and tried not to cry. Okay, that wasnât working. I pretty much started to cry.
I started to text Tess back that I wasnât coming. Just go on without me, Drama people. Donât mind me, covered in muddy water in the filthy basement.
Bzzzzt! It was Emma.
Do u have the starring role yet? Should I ask for ur autograph? lol.
Not particularly good timing for Emmaâs attempt at humor. I texted back.
No. Everything stinks. Including me.
Almost immediately, my phone buzzed with a call.
âSo, Iâve got a few minutes to kill before mathletes. What stinks?â Emma asked me. Then she paused. âAre you crying? Youâre crying. Why are you crying? Tell me what happened.â
I told Emma what happened.
âOh,â Emma said sympathetically. âThat does stink.â
âAnd I stink. I smell disgusting because Iâm covered with muddy water while everyone else is going to get their picture taken,â I concluded miserably. âI wonât be in the yearbook picture. And I wonât get a headshot.â
âBut you should have a headshot for your audition if everyone else does,â Emma said indignantly.
âI canât audition,â I said. âIâm on cleanup duty.â
âBut at least you have to be in the yearbook picture,â Emma said. âYou have to prove to everyone youâre part of Drama Club, no matter what! What if Counselor Case sees the picture and thinks you skipped out on Drama Club? Your yearbook picture is proof.â
âI guess she could ask Burkle if I was hereâ,â I said, but Emma wasnât listening.
âSydney cannot sabotage this, too!â Emma said. âEnough is enough. March up there and get your picture taken.â
âEmma,â I wailed. âIâm covered in muddy water! Iâm a mess!â
There was silence at the end of the phone.
âPayton. Meet me at the JC. Now.â
And I heard the click of Emma hanging up the phone.
The JC? The JC was the janitorâs closet, our secret twin meeting place. And that meant only one thing: Emma wanted to switch places. I tried calling Emma, but she didnât pick up. I texted her and she didnât answer. But we couldnât switch places, could we?
I slowly climbed the ladder and peeked my head out. The first thing I saw was Sydney, smiling and posing in front of a big white screen as Mrs. Burkle took her picture for her headshot. I quietly pulled myself back onto the stage and then bolted for the side door and out into the hallway.
Fortunately, the halls were empty as I raced to the janitorâs closet. And there was Emma standing in front of it.
âEw!â she said. âYou smell like the JC and weâre not even in it.â
âThanks,â I said. âYouâre helpful.â
âOh, Iâll be helpful,â she said, and