The next day after school, Victoria returned home to find that the only person there was Annie!

George had to stay behind at school to attend the Tutoring club session. Betty and her mother had gone shopping while Josh and his Dad were at a birthday party.

'Hi Annie,' said Victoria cautiously. 'Want to play?'

Annie glared at Victoria. 'None of your business,' she said.

'Oh, ok,' said Victoria. 'I just thought since we are alone, we might just as well hang out with each other. We can do anything you want.'

Annie looked surprised. 'Anything I want?' she asked.

'Yeah,' said Victoria.

'Very well,' said Annie. 'If that's the case, I want you to do something really daring.'

'Daring?' asked Victoria.

'Yeah,' said Annie. 'I want you to take me to the pet shop.'

Victoria looked confused. 'How is that daring?' she asked.

'Ah, but here's the catch,' said Annie. 'You need to dress up like an adult, wear a ton of makeup, and talk like an adult. If anyone asks you, you're my Aunt Polly.'

'Wait, there's no way I can impersonate an adult! I'm not tall enough!'

'Fine, you can be a teenager instead, and you can be my cousin. All you have to do is wear Betty's clothes, wear high heels and makeup.'

'I don't want to,' said Victoria.

'I thought that we could do anything I wanted,' said Annie.

'Fine, I'll do it,' said Victoria. 'But only to make you happy.'

Half an hour later, Victoria felt super awkward. She was wearing Betty's blue blouse and pink skirt. She wore Betty's high-heeled shoes with straps.

Victoria was wearing lipstick, blush, and eyeliner that she had raided from Mrs Franklin's drawer. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail.

How did she know how to do it all so well? Victoria had once seen makeup tutorials on YouTube and decided to teach herself to do it herself with pretend makeup.

Victoria did look a bit like a teenager with all of those changes. Even Annie was surprised to see her all made up.

'Wow, you look good,' said Annie. She put a hairband on Victoria's head. 'There. Now you look good. Let's go off to the pet shop!'

In spite of the voice in Victoria's head screaming, YOU WILL REGRET IT! Victoria managed to pull off her ruse quite well. Everyone who saw her was convinced that she was a teenager. One boy even flirted with her, complimenting her hairstyle and her outfit.

Victoria wasn't sure if she was happy or not. She was thankful when she arrived at the pet shop.

Victoria gasped when she saw all the adorable puppies wagging their tails and all the sweet kittens playing with each other. She was tempted to hug all of the animals. But she was a teenager now, so she stayed put.

Of course, Annie was only too happy to play with all the puppies and kittens. Some of them even seemed to enjoy her company.

However, Victoria was starting to feel hot. Her hairband was slipping off her head, so she kept pushing it back up. But it ended falling to the ground, messing up her hair a little.

One of the puppies suddenly grabbed it in its mouth and started running around. Victoria gasped.

'No, that's not a chew toy! Come back.'

But Victoria may just have been talking to a stone wall, for the puppy ignored her and kept running with the hairband. Victoria tried to grab it, but ended up sliding on the floor and crashing into a pile of cages.

Annie gasped in shock. 'Victoria, what are you doing?' she asked.

The store manager was angry. 'Both of you get out of the store!' he said. He then proceeded to push them both out.

Annie was cross. 'Now you've done it! Why did you have to act in such a wild manner? You could have blown your cover!'

'I don't know how to act like a teenager!' said Victoria. 'I would like to see you try it.'

'Well, if you embarrass me any further, I will tell Mom that you hit me!'

Victoria gasped. 'Annie, you can't do that! I thought that we were getting along.'

'And why would I want to get along with you?'

'Because we're sisters,' said Victoria in a hurt tone.

'Sisters? You're not my sister, and you will never be my sister!'

Victoria felt hurt. 'Annie, what did I ever do to you?'

'You came into my life,' said Annie. 'The four of us were fine alone. I don't know why our parents decided to adopt you.'

Victoria felt upset and ran away. Why did Annie insist on making her miserable? Did she really hate her that much? She cried so much that her makeup ran down her face.

When Victoria stopped crying, she found out that she was lost. She felt terrified. And Annie was nowhere in sight. 'Hello? Annie? Anyone?'

There was no answer. It was getting dark and Victoria was in a quiet part of town. The temperature had dropped rapidly and she was freezing.

'Help!' called Victoria.