“I’m a teacher, and I had a student with your name who looked a lot like you last year,” Ms. Franco says. Relief fills Leah. Ms. Franco didn’t actually recognize her, she just saw Leah’s nametag! But she has to make sure she doesn’t do anything to arouse Ms. Franco’s suspicions.
“That funny,” Leah chirps in a high-pitched voice. She sticks her thumb in her mouth and sucks on it. Ms. Franco chuckles and ruffles Leah’s hair.
“I like you a lot more than the other Leah,” she says. Leah forces a girlish giggle. “You know what? I’m going to stick close to you.” Leah’s relief is replaced with dread again. She’ll have to keep up this extra childish behavior if she doesn’t want Ms. Franco to recognize her.
Ms. Franco takes Leah’s hand and boards the bus with her, then sits next to her. Leah tries to calm herself down. The continued sucking of her thumb is doing a remarkably good job at that, but isn’t quite enough. She has to tell herself that this is perfect for her experiment. If she can convince her old teacher that she’s a different person and a toddler no less, it proves she can pose as younger than her actual age.
“You’re very quiet and well-behaved for a little girl your age,” Ms. Franco remarks as the bus begins the long drive to Camp Bumblebee. Leah’s mind races. Nipping any suspicions in the bud is crucial. She needs to do something to firmly cement that she’s a little girl.