Jeff ran up the stairs, practically tripping over himself, to get to his room, and see what Elizabeth had done to his computer. Now that Elizabeth was preoccupied downstairs, he had a chance to fix everything with the program. He doubted Elizabeth could have done too much damage. She was nice girl, but not that bright. Jeff was the one tutoring her, after all.
He opened his door and was surprised to see that the computer was not only in one piece, it was actually turned on and running the program. He had thought that he might have to sneak around her room to find the power cord, at least. Why had she turned it back on? he thought. What was she doing? He sat down at his desk, and began to explore the program. Suddenly, a password prompt popped up, blocking the screen.
What's this? he thought. I don't remember the program requiring a password before. He tried using all the commonly used passwords he could remember- like "password" - but nothing would grant him access. He looked around his room for the instruction manual, hoping it could provide him the default password, but could not find it anywhere in his room.
Did Elizabeth take it? he wondered. Why would she bother to take the manual, if he had the computer and the program? Then, he saw the user name on the password prompt - Elizabeth!
Damn, she's locked me out, he thought. He spent several hours trying to guess what her password was. He used the names of her old parents, the names of her old horses, even her birthday, but nothing seemed to work. After several hours he gave up.
I guess I just don't know her very well, he thought with a little sadness. Maybe if I followed her around tomorrow, I can learn a little bit more about her, and it will give me some kind of clue what kind of word she would use for a password. He was suddenly very tired; it had been a long draining day. He lay down in bed, and drifted off to sleep.
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The next morning was a typical day for Jeff - or a typical day for Jeff in this new reality. First, he had to fight his sisters for access to the shower. Then he had to wait his turn for the sink space he needed to brush his teeth and shave, as his sisters spent an inordinate amount of time primping and preening.
They are horses, for God's sake, what the hell could they be doing in there? he thought, as he waited outside the bathroom. I mean, it's not like they have to put on makeup or anything.
The highlight of the morning was breakfast.. His Mom kept good on her word, and prepared a huge breakfast for him. His sisters had a ball making sure he ate it all, practically shoving the food down his throat, giggling the whole time. Finally, he was ready to go. He grabbed his keys, and headed out the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something, young man?" asked his Mom.
Jeff walked back to his mother, gave her a kiss of the cheek, and said, "Love you, Mom."
Suzy giggled. "Well, thank you, Jeff, I love you, too, but that's not what I meant. Your sister, " she said, pointing to Elizabeth, "needs a ride to school. Just like every morning. I swear, you would forget your head if it wasn't attached to your neck. " Suzy giggled even louder. He looked back, and saw Elizabeth staring at the her hooves, smiling and slightly embarrassed to be an imposition. She was wearing a large pair of long blue-jean overalls, and a flannel shirt that stretched tightly across her chest. She was not wearing any shoes, but he saw that she had been shining her hooves this morning.
"Well, don't just stand there. If you're going, let's go. I don't want to be late, " said Jeff briskly. Elizabeth looked up and smiled brightly, and bounded out the door before him, the floor shaking under her weight. When Jeff went outside, he was disappointed to see that his car - a mint condition '67 Mustang - had been replaced with a large van in this reality. It made sense -they would need a large car to move Elizabeth and Suzy around town, but it still hurt. He had spent years working on that car and restoring it. The back of the van was empty, except for a single chair, large enough to accommodate Elizabeth, with a hole in the back to allow her tail to fit through it. Elizabeth sat down in the chair, and Jeff closed the van door.
Jeff was silent during their drive to school, and Elizabeth could sense his frustration. She crawled out of her chair, ducking to avoid the ceiling of the van, and moved behind Jeff's position in the driver's seat. She leaned her arms on the back of the passenger seat headrest, turned to look at Jeff, and began to talk to him. "I'm sorry about your car, Jeff, " she said. "I know you really cared about it, and worked very hard to fix it up. Maybe I can convince Mom to let you spend some of the money you make from breeding on another car you can work on. "
"She's not YOUR Mom, " said Jeff shortly. He continued to stare ahead at the road, refusing to turn and face her gaze.
"Well, she is now " said Elizabeth defensively. "And she really likes me. We had a lot of fun just talking at dinner last night. You should have joined us."
"I didn't feel very comfortable, " said Jeff. "Or welcome."
"Oh, Jeff, don't be that way. We all like you. Mom and Suzy had nothing but good things to say about you, " she said.
"Stop talking about them like that. They aren't your family! " yelled Jeff.
Elizabeth sighed. "Look, Jeff, things have changed and you better get used to it. They aren't going back to the way they were before. I'm not exactly thrilled to just become a farm hand for my old parents, but your Mom and Suzy are really nice. And together we make a good family. Jeff, like or not, you and I are going to be together for a long time - as brother and sister - and if you don't change your attitude, it's not going to be pleasant for either of us."
Jeff said nothing, just stared ahead at the road and continued to drive.
Elizabeth sighed, and leaned back into her seat in the back of the van. "So, did you have any luck with the password last night?" she asked, slyly.
Jeff jerked the wheel, almost sending the car off the road before he corrected.
"Whoa, there cowboy! " said Elizabeth with a laugh.
He looked back at her face, trying to gauge her expression. Then, he resumed looking forward out the windshield as he drove.
"No, " he said dryly. "What don't just tell me what the password is?"
"You know I can't do that, Jeff " she said sadly.
"I promise I'll let you stay the way you are, just like you want, " he said.
"I wish I could believe that. I really do. But I just don't trust you yet. Give me some time, so we can get to know each other - I mean really get to know each other - then, maybe, if I decide I can really trust you, I'll give you the password and you can have your program back, " said Elizabeth.
Jeff said nothing, as the car pulled into the school parking lot. Elizabeth opened the rear door of the van, and began to get out. She stopped and turned to Jeff one last time, " Thanks for the ride, Jeff. Thanks for everything. You're a good friend and a good brother. I love you." Jeff remained silent, and Elizabeth sadly walked out of the rear door. They each made their way separately into the school.