The next morning, 'Maisie' was surprised to find herself still not awoken from a dream that was too good to give up.
Ellie was already out of bed and in the bathroom with the shower running.
Today was the first day of truly being 'Tara'.
Tara got out of bed and fixed her covers, making her bed look neat and tidy. She walked over to pastel mermaid bag in the closet and pulled out a near-identical hairbrush.
It had been so long since she'd brushed her hair that when she began running the bristles through her hair, she found herself a bit surprised.
'How weird….I never realized that you used your muscles when brushing your hair before. I can feel them working. This feels...so fascinating.'
Ellie came out of the bathroom in a white robe with a white towel draped over her head, her glasses all fogged up and held carefully in her hand.
"You're up. Since you're new here, I can show you around the campus a bit if you want?" Ellie asked, biting her lip nervously.
Tara slowly nodded.
"Can you show me where you got that sandwich from yesterday? I really want to try some."
Ellie nodded at her and Tara excitedly went to the bathroom to get ready for her big day.
Later on, the two walked along the campus. 'Tara' was even more in awe now than she was in the car.
The little streets, and the miniature town inside the campus for students to shop and eat at were something she'd never expected to see.
"Wow! Are you sure we're still on campus?" Tara said quietly.
"Yeah. Apparently, there was some serial killer ages ago that was targeting college women, so they decided to create a town inside the campus and close the gates off to keep the students safe." Ellie explained.
There was a gleam in her eye, her posture straightened, and her energy shifted.
Tara stopped in her tracks and stared at her as her eyes blinked rapidly in surprise.
Ellie continued to walk on a few more steps before realizing that Tara was no longer beside her.
She turned her head around and tilted it in confusion.
"Why did you stop?"
"You..." Tara stopped to think of how to word her thoughts properly, "…I'm just surprised. You seemed to really light up when you started talking about something so scary…how can you talk about it so…"
A look of disgust washed over Tara's features. The memory of when she, herself was murdered, flashed into her mind and a wave of nausea followed soon after.
She gulped hard, trying to shove the feeling down.
"…happily."
Ellie walked back with a laugh and hooked her arm with Tara's before concerned flashed across her face.
"Tara, you're shaking!"
Suddenly, Tara covered her mouth, to stifle a gag.
"Ah! Ahhh!! Hu-Hurry! In here!" Ellie grabbed her arm and dragged her into one of the nearby shops and into the bathroom.
While Tara expelled her insides, Ellie guarded the bathroom door outside.
'How could she be so happy speaking about something so scary and tragic? How can that kind of thing bring her joy?'
Tara hugged herself tight and rubbed her arms, trying to calm down and stop the shaking.
"Hey! Are you okay in there?" Ellie called out from the other side of the door.
Tara took a deep breath, she couldn't stay in the bathroom forever.
"Yeah, I just need one more minute." Tara replied.
She took one more deep breath and then went to the sink to wash her hands and take a sip of water.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Ellie asked, her voice full of concern as Tara emerged from the bathroom, looking her up and down.
Tara gulped again and nodded, dabbing her mouth to dry the extra water around it.
"Why were you so happy talking about that stuff?" Tara asked again, with a little more point in her voice.
Ellie looked taken aback, as if Tara had just spit in her face.
"I'm a criminology major. I want to help solve crimes and bring justice, but I'm also interested in how a murder isn't just a murder, you know? This used to just be a university campus, but now it has its own little town, the gates get closed off, it's become its own little world."
Tara breathed a sigh of relief and cursed herself for getting worked up over something as minimal as that.
"Not just that either! There are laws and organizations and communities built as a result of a murder! I want to be someone that takes part in not just getting justice for victims and their families, but taking part in creating something that helps ease things for the people left behind."
Tara nodded slowly. It was clear Ellie was passionate about this kind of thing, but she couldn't help but wonder if that notion applied to 'ugly people' too, like the real Maisie.
"That sounds really nice."
'I wonder if anything came of my death?' Tara's chest suddenly felt ice cold as the question popped into her mind.
"Yeah. My oldest sister was…well, you know. They botched her case. So I want to make sure other families don't go through what mine did."
"Oh my god!" Tara exclaimed unexpectedly, staring at Ellie with shock.
"I'm sorry that happened." How could Ellie just drop that piece of information so suddenly?
Surprisingly, Ellie just smiled.
"You don't have to be. It was a long, long time ago. Plus, I'll make sure her death wasn't for nothing!"
Despite the glow around Ellie as she spoke about what she was the most passionate about, the air felt charged with awkwardness.
Tara opened her mouth to speak when the door to a nearby shop swung open.
"EEEK!" She shrieked as she felt an ice cold liquid soak through her shirt and skirt.
Ellie's hand flew up to her mouth as her jaw fell open.
"Are you okay, Tara?!" She exclaimed, her words muffled against her hand.