A mall of options

“The mall,” you say, still focusing on the road, stuttering the car to a halt at the intersection awkwardly. The heels are already beginning to annoy you. “Although we need to come up with a better plan.”

Jimmy kicks back in the passenger seat, slouching and reaching into his pockets. “How so?”

Typical Jimmy; mischief first, thinking later. You turn the car to the right, concentrating on the gear change as you get going again. “Three problems,” you say, your motherly voice adopting a chiding tone. “First, we can't access their memories, or skills, or personality. So beyond the cash we've got, how are we going to get any more? Second, if we swap skins, Jessica and her mom are going to wake up naked in a shopping mall, wondering how they got there. And third, what about us? Isn't your mom expecting you back any time soon?”

Jessica snorts, pulling the pen out of her pocket. No – out of the corner of your eye you can see it's different. This one is brown, not black. Jessica's hands turn it over, appraising it. “Maybe this will help, dude. It was in the attic, along with the black pen. No instructions though, I have no idea what it does. Maybe it's designed to help with the small stuff, help you act like them. Or maybe it's to fill in the blanks while they're out. I don't know, but it's worth a try.”

“Maybe,” you say, tasting your lipstick as you bite your lip in concentration, navigating the route to the mall. “It's too risky to try in public, though.”

Jimmy agrees. Instead, he decides to tackle one of your problems head-on. In a moment he's got both Jessica and her mom's phones out, and is hastily texting. By the time you've arrived at the mall – and parked in a bay where you didn't run the risk of hitting another car – it's finished.

“Point three, no problemo,” Jessica beams a nauseatingly Jimmy smile, unbuckling. “We're covered. Jimmy, Jessica and David are heading to a movie marathon tonight. David's mom was a little concerned, until she found out they were getting a lift and being chaperoned by Mrs Hunt. And you have told Katie what's happening, and given her instructions to cook tonight. Nobody's expected back until gone midnight. Thanks, mom!”

Jessica leans over and throws her arms around your neck for a hug. You pat Jimmy away. “Dude!”

“Aren't I the one that's supposed to be embarrassed of you?” Jimmy retorts, climbing out of the car. “Come on, mom, let's go shopping!”

A quick lap of the mall, and it's clear nobody can tell you're not a genuine mother-daughter shopping trip. You walk around slowly – your heels won't let you do anything else – while Jessica darts around, looking for options. If you were nervous to start with, any worries are gone now. In fact, you're beginning to enjoy the strange experience of being someone else. You are Denise Hunt. You relax into your role, smiling her warm, pleasant smile, even daring to stop and pretend to take an interest in some of the window displays.

“All right,” Jimmy says eventually, that infuriating smirk still plastered all over Jessica's face. The sooner you switch skins the better. “I've been thinking about your so-called problems. Here's what we do. There are two prime spots for swapping. First up, look over there, at the hippy shop.”

You turn and look. It's some kind of mysticism boutique – junk like astrology, tarot, and palm reading. At least, you thought it was junk; now you're not so sure. “What about it?”

“The woman who runs it is pretty hot, even if she is always wearing those flowing gowns and loop earrings. Here's the deal. You head in for a fortune telling, we zap her and take over the store for a bit. We've got the pick of her customers for the next disguise, and it'd be a blast making up phony fortunes for suckers. We can hide Jessica and her mom out back, take them home and zap 'em back later. Shit dude, we could even see if there's a book about these pens, find out what this brown one does.”

As a plan it's pretty weak, but Jimmy's grin suggests he's got another. “Alternatively,” he says slowly, “there's a reason I brought us here. I overheard Ms Martinez and Ms Franklin talking at school last week. You know Franklin's getting married? It's the bachelorette party tonight. They've booked hotel rooms in the centre of town, and they're planning to go wild. Before that though, they were talking about final dress fittings at that bridal shop on the second floor. Think about it, dude; they're going to have to use private booths. We could zap the store attendant, and then take our pick of their group to switch into. They're going to have wallets full of money for the night, we know what they're planning to do, nobody's going to suspect if we act out of character, and they're not going to question waking up in a hotel room without any memory.”