Rikki went to class, scared and yet a little relieved that she knew exactly where her math classroom was. She walked in about five minutes after the bell, so the teacher was well along into her lecture. She ducked her head like an embarrassed student, her hair covering her face as she crept along the back row to her seat.
It felt awfully hot in the classroom, but it didn't take her long to realize the heat was from her own heavily blushing face. She was actually feeling embarrassment, even though she knew this wasn't "her" class and she didn't have to worry about how this made her look. No matter how she tried to rationalize it, she couldn't stop the feeling. Every time the teacher turned to the class, she could swear she was giving Rikki a disapproving glare.
She forced herself to plow through the class, then the next one, and then the next one. She believed that as long as she concentrated on remembering that she was Rick, a college student, and not this fake hippie girl, she could make it through the day. It turned out the hardest part wasn't holding onto her old memories so they wouldn't be buried underneath the new ones, but dealing with all her loose hair. Sure, it looked lovely, in a way, but it constantly went where she didn't want it to go... most of the time, in her eyes. She almost asked one of the girls she sat next to in study hall to help her braid it, but figured it wasn't worth drawing suspicion.
Thankfully, since she and Emily arrived at the school so late, she only had to endure half a day's worth of classes. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when the final bell rang. Rikki practically jogged to the front of the building and looked for Emily. Emily wasn't hard to spot, with her hair as long and loose as Rikki's.
"Emily, thank God! Was your day hell, too?"
Emily turned to her and smiled cheerfully. "Like always."
Rikki's blood turned cold. "Em?" she said carefully. "What grade are you in?"
Emily tilted her head and peered at her sister. "Eleventh? Duh?"
Rikki slapped her hand over her face. "No! nonono! Emily! You're in college! I'm Rikki-- I'm your BOYfriend RICK!"
Emily giggled. "Oh! So that's what you think happened when Dad got us with the camera?"
"Wait, what?" Rikki shook her head. Emily's confusion was confusing her, too. "So you remember being changed with the camera?"
Emily's expression turned more sober. She started to seriously think. "I remember the camera itself, but I also remember growing up with you as my twin sister. Are you really my boyfriend?" she asked with an undeniable sneer in her voice.
"Yes!" Rikki shouted, exasperated. "Focus! Do you remember anything about what happened today?"
"Yeah... Dad was here, but he looked different? I don't remember how different, though. And then after he took our picture, he and Mom left. But all the rest fell out of my head the minute Mr. Rodriguez put that test in front of me. I panicked because I hadn't studied."
"And... the more you focused on remembering the material, the more you forgot?" Rikki suggested, piecing it together.
Emily scratched her head. "I guess?" She tried to de-tangle some of her locks. "Hey, let's go home. My hair's a total mess from running around all day."
"Forget the hair!" Rikki said. "We've got to get the camera back from our... your parents and change us back to normal!"
"Fine with me, Rikki."
Rikki cringed, not only at the name, but at how terrifyingly familiar it sounded to her. "Please don't call me Rikki... I'm Rick, and I'm trying really hard to keep my memories."
"S-sorry," Emily said. She gave Rikki a sympathetic look. Rikki couldn't help but think it might have actually been skepticism.
Just then, they heard someone calling to them.