It had taken a lot of bribes, just to get hold of him. And then the surgery had cost a lot more, but for the parents, it was worth it to have their Amber back again. They knew that he would not want to replace her, which was why they had implanted a little electro-shock device into him for training purposes. As well as that, a bangle that *she* could not take off contained a GPS device so they would know where their little princess was at all times. They waited for *her* to wake so they could attach the hair extensions and tell *her* her fate.

My head was pounding...like the bender to end all benders. Where had I been? I was getting gas at that self-service place on the way home from the rock festival. A van backed in front of my car as I was pumping gas...I heard scuffling and that was the end of it. Something must've happened. I'm sitting up though...

"Wake up, Amber, wake up. You're safe now...safe, that is, as long as you play your new role. You murdered our sweet Princess...you killed her, and you thought you were only going to spend a few years in juvenile jail. Well, when we have finished with you, you will wish you were back in a cell. We have already made you look and sound like our daughter, now we will train you to act like her. Our slightly boy-crazy, girly-girl daughter. It will take time, but we have plenty of that. Soon you'll be cheerleading, going out with boys,shopping for girly things, you love that or rather she did, so will you. I'm Helen but you will call me Mummy or Mum." Helen held up a mirror so that the new *Amber* could see her new face and body.

I could barely understand what this person thought she was saying. I forced open my eyes though and saw a glimpse of a cute girl. I mean, not cute as in I wanted to date her -she looked too young for that. But perhaps cute enough that I would might have years ago.

She was sitting, hunched forward, elbows on her knees...a "eager to know you" type of pose, her hands clasped in front... Her legs were hugged in tight jeans, something sparkly near the hems. Thin, bare arms came out of a sheer pink tee with some pop star's face stretched across the front. A silver heart dangled from her neck, with a separate peace sign charm in front. I looked at her and laughed in spite of myself -- you see a dozen of these girls at the mall.

The girl laughed back. At the same time. Even in my stupor, I figured out that the girl was me. It took me a second to realize that much -- a lot had changed. My hair was a radiant blond, and feeling around my face, some bangs were cut just long enough to trouble my eyes. My eyes were a pale blue, and my lips a shiny pink, and tasting of something disgustingly sweet.

I went to stand up, but couldn't. The fishing line, so thin and pale that I hadn't seen it, was holding me fixed in that position...I couldn't even pull my hands apart. I looked up, huge silver hoop earrings batting my neck. "What the hell do you think you're doing? What is this, psycho? And who the hell is Amber? Not me, I'm Thomas. What have you done to my voice and my body?" My voice was...different, and totally feminine.

"Me? I'm Helen Robinson, the mother of Amber Robinson...until you murdered her. And so, you'll take the place of the girl you killed. Simple. You will live her life for her so that when I see you move, hear you speak, kiss you goodnight, it will be as if I had my darling of a daughter back with me again." Helen kissed *Amber's* forehead, sure that the fishing line would keep *her* from wiping the kiss away. "You look so sweet right now. You're wearing a Justin Bieber T-shirt, she was a big Justin Bieber fan and so shall you. When your father comes back from work I will demonstrate my control devices and then we will put you to bed with your hands tied around your favourite teddy bear and kiss you goodnight. When we can trust you, you can be a night owl, but not quite yet."

I feel the motherly kiss on my forehead, trying to understand what she's saying. "Listen, lady, I have no idea who this Amber kid is, but whatever twisted form of grief counseling you're getting isn't working for you. I'm not about to pretend to like this horrid, wretched excuse of a singer...and I think my legs are going numb from these jeans. But that's not important. Why don't you loosen these ties a little bit and you can tell me about Amber. She sounds like a nice kid, and I'm happy to help you catch the real killer."

I didn't like the sounds of these control devices, but my best hope was to talk her out of this. By the sounds of it, escaping won't be easy. Better to push her off this subject before the husband gets home and backs her up.

"Oh, I'll loosen your ankle ropes, I don't want to hurt your limbs." She bent down and loosened the ankle ropes a little. "But you are staying tied up until your father comes home and we can put you to bed. Have you noticed how sweet your new voice is? Just like Amber's was. Amber....she was wonderful. One of your bangles...you can't take it off and it has a tracking device in it so we will know if you try and run away." She took out what looked like a TV control from her handbag with buttons on it numbered from 1 to 12. "I'm going to test this on it's very lowest setting, it would be unfair to try it on a higher one. The highest setting is fatal and the second highest setting would knock you out, but the lowest setting is not anywhere near as bad although it will hurt." She pointed it at *Amber* and pressed the button marked 1.

My legs had a little less pressure, but I was still hunched over in a coquettish way, staring at the bangles trying to determine which one wasn't coming off. I barely paid attention to what the crazy lady was saying when I felt a sharp shock, kind of like a bad static electricity ping, hit my left thigh. I jumped as much as I could despite myself. "F--k, that hurts!"

"I'll let you off this time, but Amber never swore in front of her parents. In private maybe yes, for all we knew, but not in front of us. If you swear and me or your father hears it you get a level three times as bad as you got now." The door opened and a man who was clearly Amber's father came in and kissed *her* forehead. "Hello, Princess. I'm James, your new father. Call me Daddy or Dad.Let's get you up and into bed with your hands tied around Spirit, your favourite teddy bear." Helen untied the ankle and leg ropes and between them they took *her* into the bathroom. "Time to take off your make-up," Helen said.

I can't even swear now? If swearing will get me three times as bad as that, I'm in trouble. And James....looks like someone who could throw up a flight of stairs. No way I'm getting out while he's around. With his arms around my elbow, I wasn't going anywhere. But ... "How can I take off my makeup with my hands tied, James?"

"Call me Daddy and your new mother Mummy. Mummy will take it off for you." Helen took off the make-up with care from her new faux daughter and stood with the control ready whilst she was put into a pink nighty with little hearts all over it. Then her hands were freed and tied with fishing line around a big white fluffy teddy bear so she looked as if she was holding it tightly by choice. Then she was put to bed and her ankles tied to the bedposts. Both Helen and James kissed her cheeks. "Don't you look adorable, Princess?" A duvet was put over her.

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say....actually, I am. "Thank you Mommy. Thank you Daddy." I tried as gently as possible to pry my hands off the bear, but nothing doing. My ankles were also not going anywhere. The duvet was huge and I felt that it buried me. Nowhere to go, at least for now...might as well get some sleep. I lay on my back and stared up...

Helen kissed her daughter's nose, slipped a sleeping mask over her ears and put earphones in her ears, and started a tape. "This will help you get used to being Amber." She and James turned the light off and left the room.

Well, I was in for the night...the ties around my legs felt pretty secure, and I wasn't letting go of "Spirit" anytime soon either. Then I heard the voice coming through the head phones. "I love lip gloss. I love makeup. I love cheering..." it went on and on, a slightly mechanical female voice always listing something new. It was monotonous and all I could focus on, essentially unable to move or to see. I was distressed that to the outside world I probably looked the picture of contentment in Amber, but I was screaming on the inside...

The next day James came in. "Good morning, Princess." He cut the bonds holding me in bed and took out the earplugs, and took the sleeping mask off. "Time to get dressed and come downstairs. I'll leave you to get dressed in private but don't try and escape, there are bars on the windows and we are on the third floor anyway." He pointed to a pile of clothing and jewelry and left the room.

I get up, stretching after being immobile all night I look toward the windows, and yep -- they're barred. I consider just staying upstairs, but realize that wouldn't be in my best interests. There are probably a couple cameras in here anyway, knowing these crazies. I'm surprised I wasn't enjoined to wash up, but I'm not going to ask too many questions. I walk over to the pile, looking for something that is at least kind of masculine.

Twenty minutes later, it appears that won't be the case. The pants are either skin tight, having something unacceptable printed across the seat, are festooned with sparkles, or some combination thereof. Instead, I choose an ankle-length white tiered skirt with sequins along the bottom, and a right sweater. The sweater is comfy, but ends strictly at the waist -- unless I constantly tug at it, my midriff shows whenever I raise my arms. Along with the one bangle sealed tightly around my wrist, I add a gaudy red beaded bracelet. Hopefully that will please Mr. and Mrs. Crazy.

I head downstairs...

Helen and James hugged me, and kissed my cheeks. Helen said "Amber, you look so adorable today. I'm going to put on your make up and then classes will start at the *Amber Academy* with us as the teachers and one pupil, you. Today you will read her diaries, watch home movies, learn the names of your family and friends, what music you like,even how to walk like a girl. It might take a long time but when we have finished Amber will live again through you. We will drill you day by day and hour by hour until our darling daughter stands before us again in all her glory, inside and out."

"Thanks, Mummy. Thanks Daddy. Am I allowed to have breakfast at least? That Amber Academy sounds like a true challenge." Better to go along with it until I have an opening to escape. "Do you think anyone would truly believe and accept that I'm Amber? That would require some thorough preparation...I could learn the superficial aspects, but all the details..."

"Of course you can, feel free to have some bread and butter and apple juice. You are right, it will need a lot of practise to learn all the multiple Amberisms that made up our daughter, it can't be done overnight. After the meal you will study her diaries first of all. She was a complex and wonderful daughter...now she is lying in our back garden next to the grave of her pet rabbit, and if you fail to take her place...you will be joining her there. Do I make myself clear?" James asked.

I'm starving, and that's the first good news I hear. The lessons sound horrible, but I can deal with that when the time comes. First things first. "Got it Dad. Do you have any bacon to go with that bread?"

"She was not a great eater of bacon,so rarely will you get any but you can have some tonight if you are good. I didn't want to let her go, you know, I kept her in her bed for two days and the freezer for three more, before your mother made me bury her in the back garden. I spent much of my free time in those days talking with her as if she was alive.Here are her diaries, start reading." He gave me two diaries with pink covers.

I take the diaries. Scratches on the front cover showed where a lock what been pried off each one. Evidently, my "Daddy" was creepy and grisly, and if he did kill me, it would probably take a long, painful time. I am starting to think "Mommy" is the only hope I have for escape. I see a stack of white lined paper, and a pink pen or two on top. "Can I...should I...take notes? And I'm guessing you've read through all these? What am I looking for?"

"Of course you can, Princess. We've looked through them, yes. You are looking for the sort of things that show our daughter's personality, the things she likes, the names of her friends, that sort of thing. We will question you on it later and you had better get it at least 80% right or the consequences will be shocking. I'll watch you as you work to keep you from running away or trying to call the police. The landline has been disconnected whilst you are down here and we have the only mobile phones in the house," Helen said, looking lovingly at *her*.

I simply nod and take my plate of bread and butter to the table, and flip open the first diary. Before I even got to finish the first page, I had a raging headache. Her handwriting was garishly large, and Amber clearly had little appreciation for even the simplest point of grammar. Her "sentences" typically consisted of several actual sentences run together, strung by "then" or "an". Not to mention navigating through the little sketches in the margins. I think the last entry was about going to play mini golf because she had a crush on the boy who worked there...and one of the boys who was going to be there...or maybe one of them going with her. I honestly wasn't sure. I tried to organize, but quickly found that I couldn'ttell which name went where. No way could I straighten this out enough to make sense of anything.

"May I ask, what kind of grades did Amber typically earn in school?"

"C's. and a B or two. You can do better at school if you want...as long as you keep your basic Amberishness that we so love about you,and that is which is keeping Daddy from dealing out a brutal revenge for the naughty thing you did that made you take Amber's place," John said. "You will be homeschooled until we can trust you to be a good girl at school and not play truant or tell the teachers or other pupils who you really are. Now it's time to watch a home movie, Princess."

My head was swimming. I still wasn't clear on Amberishness, or really much about this girl except she seemed to think every girl she met (except Lily) was her friend and every boy she met was cute. Maybe the home movie would help. I tugged down my sweater as I prepared to see Amber for the first time. "Er, Daddy, does the fact that I have nothing to do with Amber's death cause any guilt in the midst of all this?"

He scowled, took out a control from a pocket and pointed it at "Amber". "I don't want to punish you but you really got my goat with that remark, of course you did it. And sometimes a father has to be nasty to be kind." He aimed well, put his finger on the button marked "4" and pressed it.The agony.....I don't even want to describe it. It felt like...I don't know what. Surgery without anesthetic. I never lost consciousness, but it was a long time before my breathing returned to normal. "I guess not," I thought. Outside, I just smiled and said, "Sorry."

He turned on the TV. "Study this well, for how you behave is as important as how you look, if you act up I will shock you as much as needs be to have my princess back again."

The movie started with a dark pink blur...the turned out to be the upclose of Amber's sweatshirt as she tried to figure out how to turn on the camera that was already on. Finally after some mumbling, one hears, "It is? Omigod! That's embarrassing!" The girl then lightly walks into full frame, waving with her arm around another girl. "Mummy, Daddy, I promised I'd take a video while we're at(Did you mean 'camp')! We're at um.....some battle place...from the Revolutionary War.." Turned out to be Gettysburg. Anyway, after a disastrous trip into history, she started talking about the awesome time she had with her friends. At one point shushing a friend who asked about "Eric". Like her diary, the thoughts were scattered and often incorrect. After 20 minutes it mercifully ended. My first thought -- my days of using polysyllabic words were over.

"Ah yes. Does your daughter walk...differently? And can we take a break and I can catch the headlines on ESPN or something? It's hard to adjust to....to....the way Amber looked at the world."

"She walks much like you really except on the rare occasions when she runs, when she breaks into a gallop like a horse. And...yes, you can take a break,watch the headlines...she was interested in the news to an extent. She was not greatly political but she was not idiotic either. Afterwards you can watch OMG to see the latest pop news, and there is a Justin Bieber concert on as well that I'm sure you would love to see."

I smile, turning on ESPN...I wonder how my Maple Leafs are doing. When the tv focuses though, it just reads "channel blocked". I try ESPN2 -- same thing. As a matter of fact, all but a couple channels, such as E!, MTV, etc., are blocked. "Um, Daddy, what's wrong with the tv?"

He grins. "For now at least, we want you to be even more like her then she was,so we blocked all the channels except the channels our little princess watched most often. Perhaps when you are fully trained you can watch the headlines again as she did watch them at times. For now you get a steady diet of pop videos and the like, only five channels are not blocked for now. Enjoy your viewing,Amber."

I slouch down, pouting, flickering from mindlessness to mindlessness, finally settling on a rotating series of sugary pop videos. I leaf through Amber's diary again, skimming about her anxieties over her first kiss, constant sniping about Lily, and worries about whether she should wear a skirt or cute jeans to school. I tug the sweater down as my midriff once again exposes itself! I walk back to the kitchen, and look in the fridge. No soda, even diet stuff. I end up pouring a glass of water, and realize halfway done that I'm singing the pop anthem I'd just heard to myself ... "Friday, Friday, everyone loves Friday..."

I start breathing heavily, furious at my situation, at myself. How am I letting some little shock get me into this? I look in the silverware drawer for a knife...I don't know what I'd do with one if I find it. Cut this heart-charm bangle off that no doubt has the GPS to start with. Or something more drastic.