Evey Umber and Evie Fields looked up from their game of Minecraft, and locked eyes. Grinning, Evey Umber yelled, “It was EV!”
Evie Fifield laughed, and called out, “Yep, definitely EV!”
Exasperated, Evie Fields’s mom yelled back, “Which EV?”
“The one with the dark brown hair!” said the one with light hair.
“The one with blue eyes,” countered the one with brown eyes.
“The one who always wears black,” yelled the one in shades of yellow and blue.
“The short one!” giggled the taller one.
“Rude!” the short one protested.
Both EVs burst into fits of giggles, as Evie Fields’s mom rolled her eyes and gave up.
The two girls were best friends, and their families were extremely close. As a result, they spent a lot of time together.
They also happened to have the same first name – “Evelyn” – and they both went by the nickname, “Evie.” And although their names were spelled differently, they were pronounced exactly the same way, which caused no end of delight for the girls, and exasperation for their parents. They loved causing mischief, and blaming it on each other. They counted on the confusion with their names to get them out of trouble altogether, and were often successful.
Their families had taken to calling the girls by their last names, “Umber” and “Fields,” which helped. But the two EVs couldn’t resist playing the name game when it came to blame.
As they laughed over their latest successful dodging of responsibility (and as Evie Fields’s dishes sat, unrinsed, by the sink), they failed to notice a faint shimmering in the corner by the couch they were sitting on…
***
A few days later they were watching TV at Umber’s house, when Umber’s little sister, Addy, came running in. Her arms were wrapped around her body, and the long sleeves of her dress were tied behind her back like a straitjacket.
“Dad!” she yelled. “The EVs tied my sleeves behind my back, and now my arms are stuck!”
Umber’s Dad groaned. “Girls! What have I told you? It’s not funny when you mess with Addy! She’s too little to fight back!”
Evey Umber looked up at her father with wide, innocent blue eyes. “But Dad, she asked us to! We were playing ‘magician!’”
“Yeah,” Fields chimed in. “She wanted to be the beautiful assistant. It was either this, or sawing her in half.”
Addy growled at the EVs, who giggled mischievously.
“Besides,” said Fields breezily, “It wasn’t me who convinced her to play magician. It was EV.”
“Yes,” Umber agreed solemnly. “The EV who loves wolves.”
“The one who’s obsessed with anime.” Fields nodded.
“The EV who does hip-hop dancing.”
“The one with long, shoulder-length hair.”
The shimmer by the couch was back, and it seemed to have taken on a humanoid shape, like a young teenage girl. Neither of the EVs noticed.
“The one – “
“That’s enough, girls,” Umber’s Dad interrupted. “You can’t keep getting into trouble like this and expecting to dodge responsibility. Now, turn off your show, and come untie Addy.”
The EVs sighed deeply, as only young teenagers really can. They paused their show, and got to work trying to undo the knots that held Addy captive.
Umber poked her little sister in the shoulder. “Stop wiggling.”
“I can’t help it,” Addy complained. “My arms are falling asleep!”
After a few minutes of effort, the sleeves came untied. They dangled, stretched out and wrinkled, from the ends of Addy’s arms. Addy examined them, dismayed.
“Ooh, Mom’s going to be so mad at you guys!” she warned.
“What?” Umber said, innocently. “It was EV’s idea!”
Fields nodded. “Yup. This was all EV!”
In the corner, the shimmering grew stronger, and the humanoid outline began to take on more detailed features – blue eyes, shoulder-length dark brown hair, and a mischievous smile. It looked like a young teen, about the same age as the EVs, and with similar features to both the girls. It glowed faintly, and although it was clearly visible, you could also see through it easily – if anyone had stopped to look.
No one did.
Fully formed now, the apparition grinned, then snuck away, disappearing into a wall.
***
The next day, Umber’s mom discovered that all the leftover Easter candy had gone missing. The candy had been out of reach of her youngest daughter, and her husband assured her he hadn’t eaten it.
That left just one likely culprit.
Evey Umber was drawing art on her tablet when her mom burst into the room, looking irritated.
“Evey! Did you eat all the Easter candy?”
Startled, Umber dropped her pencil. “What? No, of course not!”
“Really?” her mom drawled, clearly not believing her daughter. “Well, Dad didn’t do it, and Addy can’t reach. I know it wasn’t me, so that only leaves one suspect.”
Umber frowned. “Mom, seriously, it wasn’t me! I swear!”
“Who else could it have been, then? And you can’t blame it on the other EV this time – she doesn’t live here, and I can’t imagine that she’d steal things from a friend’s house.”
Mind whirling, searching for an explanation, Umber protested, “I don’t know! I mean, maybe Evie…”
“No!” Mom shook her head, frustrated. “You can’t dodge the consequences this time. You’re grounded from desserts for a week!”
“But mom!”
“No buts! You need to learn to take responsibility for your actions!” Mom whirled around and left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
A faint giggle echoed through the room. Umber whirled, searching for the source of the noise.
Sitting on her bed was a faint, glowing girl. She grinned at Umber, her eyes laughing and twinkling. “Not so fun taking the blame for something you didn’t do, is it?”
Umber gaped at her, open-mouthed. “Wha-? Who are you? What are you?”
Cocking her head cheekily to one side, the girl smirked. “I’m EV.”
“You’re not Evie,” Umber frowned. “Evie’s my best friend. I think I would know if Evie was a glowing ghost girl. Besides, you don’t look anything like her.”
The girl’s eyes opened wide in feigned surprise. “Don’t I? Are you sure?”
Looking more closely, Umber realized that the girl did, in fact, share a lot of features with her best friend. They had the same dark hair, the same nose, and the same love of black. But the eyes were different, and the haircut….
Evey Umber gasped. The eyes, the hairstyle, the height – those were all hers!
This ghostly-looking girl was a perfect combination of the two EVs! What on earth was happening?
“Who are you?” Umber asked again, more slowly this time. Her mind was whirling.
“I told you,” the girl said, tossing her hair. “I’m EV. You know – the one you and your friend blame for all of your mischief? I figured it was about time I caused a little mischief of my own. It’s only fair, after all.”
Umber gaped at her. “You ate the Easter candy?”
“Yep!” the girl – EV – smiled cheekily.
“I just got punished for that!”
“I know!” she laughed. “It was a beautiful moment.”
Umber just stared at the girl. She had no response.
The glowing EV hopped off the bed, dusting herself off. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go pay a visit to the other Evie’s house. Toodle-oo!” She wiggled her fingers in farewell, then disappeared through the wall.
After sitting in shocked silence for several long seconds, Evey Umber grabbed her phone and dialed Evie Fields’s number.
She’d better warn her that something strange was coming her way.
***
“I’m sorry,” Fields said into her phone, “But you’re not making any sense. Maybe you should go see a doctor.”
“Listen to me!” came the voice from the phone. “There’s a weird ghost EV that’s trying to cause trouble for us. She already ate all the leftover Easter candy, and I got blamed! She’s on her way to your house now.”
Trying to stifle a laugh, Fields responded, “Are you sure you didn’t eat the candy? I mean, it does sound like something you would do.”
Umber groaned. “No! It wasn’t me, I swear! It was the other EV!”
Fields snorted. “Whatever you say, weirdo.”
“Fine, don’t believe me. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Shrugging, Fields said goodbye and hung up the phone. Clearly, Umber was trying to pull a prank on her. How gullible did she think Fields was?
“Evie!” Her mother’s voice yelled from her bedroom. “Come here, now!”
Feeling concerned at her mother’s tone, Evie Fields hurried to her mom’s room. She found her in the master bathroom, holding a broken lipstick in one hand, her other hand clenched in a fist against her hip.
“Why?” her mother asked, sounding angry. “Why did you do this? Were you just feeling rebellious and destructive? This was my favorite lipstick!”
Fields gaped at her. “I didn’t break your lipstick!”
“It would be one thing if you had just borrowed it,” her mom continued, ignoring the interjection. “But writing on my mirror? And you completely broke the lipstick in the process! This is expensive stuff, you know! You’re going to need to buy me a new one, and clean the mirror.”
Still feeling bewildered, Fields asked, “What happened to the mirror?”
Her mom groaned, rolling her eyes. “Do not play dumb with me. You know exactly what happened to the mirror. And you can’t blame it on Umber this time! She isn’t here!”
Fields slid past her furious mother and peeked into the bathroom. Written on the mirror in “Royally Riotous Red” lipstick were the words “Evie rulezzz!!!!!” with three “z’s” and five exclamation marks.
Her mom sighed, suddenly looking more disappointed than angry. “Seriously, kid, what the heck? Why?”
Blinking back tears, Fields tried to explain. “Mom, I swear I didn’t do this. Evey Umber warned me that there’s another EV trying to make mischief – “
Mom barked out a short, irritated laugh and held up one hand. “Stop. No. That is not going to work. I love you, but you can’t wiggle your way out of this one, kid. Clean this mess up, and then grab your wallet. You’re going to buy me a new lipstick.”
She turned on her heel and marched out of the room.
Reluctantly, Fields grabbed the cleaning supplies from under the sink. As she turned back to the mirror, her eyes caught on a figure standing behind her. She gasped, whirling around and coming face to face with a translucent, glowing girl.
Her mouth fell open in disbelief. Everything Umber had told her suddenly made a little more sense. “You – you’re EV, aren’t you?”
The girl smirked and gave a quick curtsey. “At your service.”
Fields frowned. “It sure doesn’t seem like you’re ‘at my service.’ It seems like you’re trying to get me into trouble.”
The glowing EV pretended to consider this, then winked. “Yup, that’s what I meant.” She laughed, and sat on the edge of the bathtub. “It’s only fair, after all. You and the other EV don’t seem to mind putting all the blame on me when you do things you shouldn’t.”
Fields shook her head angrily. “That’s not the same thing. We were just joking around. We weren’t blaming anything on you. We don’t even know you!”
“Really?” the other EV challenged. “Because you’re the ones who created me. I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you. I came from your imagination – yours, and Evey Umber’s. Every time you tried to get out of trouble by blaming some mysterious, unknown ‘EV’ for the mischief you caused, I became a little more real. So, how can you honestly say that you ‘don’t know me?’”
“It was a joke!” Fields protested. “We weren’t trying to get anyone in trouble! We were just being funny!”
The apparition tilted her head to one side. “Were you? It didn’t seem very funny to me.”
And with that, she vanished.
Fields stared at the spot where the other EV had been for a long moment. Then she pulled out her phone, and dialed Umber. They needed to talk.
***
“My Yaya says that whatever you put out into the universe comes back to you.”
It was later that night, and the two families had gotten together at the Umbers’ house. The EVs were tucked away in Evey Umber’s bedroom, discussing their spectral visitor.
Evey Umber continued, “Maybe she’s only here because we kept using the name ‘EV’ to create confusion and keep ourselves out of trouble. It’s like karma or something.”
Evie Fields nodded slowly. “She did say we created her. Ugh, why did we have to put so much obnoxiousness into the universe?” She flopped back on the bed in discouragement.
Umber joined her, and they stared up at the ceiling. “We didn’t know. We were just trying to be funny. But I guess we weren’t being very nice. Maybe that’s why this other EV isn’t so nice, either.”
Fields popped up. “That’s it!”
“What do you mean?”
Excitedly, Fields explained. “We weren’t being nice. We were putting mischief and sneakiness into the universe, so that’s what we got back.”
Umber frowned. “Right?”
“So, what if we started doing nice things, and giving ‘EV,’” she made quotes with her fingers, “the credit for that? Maybe that would change her mean tricks into kindness!”
Slowly, Umber sat up and nodded. “Put something good into the universe. That just might work!”
Thrilled that they had a plan, the EVs put their heads together and got to work.
***
The next day, Umber’s mother found a bouquet of freshly-picked flowers sitting on the kitchen counter. With them was a homemade card, with the words, “Because you’re the best!”
“These are beautiful!” Umber’s mom exclaimed. “Evey, did you do this?”
Umber shrugged. “Maybe it was EV.”
Mom frowned, confused. “Evie Fields? Why would she give me flowers?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it was the other EV. You know, the one with the shoulder-length hair, who loves wolves and anime, and wears a lot of black.”
Umber’s mom looked bewildered. “Okay, weirdo. Thanks for the flowers, I think.”
Evey Umber laughed, and skipped off to her room.
***
Over at the Fields’ house, Mom and Dad were walking into the kitchen to make lunch. All the dishes were washed and put away, and the counters were cleaned off and wiped down.
“Did you do this?” Fields’s mom asked her dad.
“Not me,” he shrugged.
“Evie,” mom called. As Fields came running into the room, Mom grabbed her and gave her a hug. “Thanks for cleaning up the kitchen, Peanut. That was really sweet of you!”
“It wasn’t me, Mom,” Fields protested, her eyes twinkling. “Maybe it was a different EV. A shorter one, with blue eyes and dark brown hair.”
“Okay, weirdo,” Mom laughed, ruffling Evie’s hair. “Well, tell this mysterious ‘EV’ thank you for me.”
Spotting a shimmer in the corner, Fields grinned. “Will do, Mom. Thanks, EV! You’re the best!”
Mom and Dad rolled their eyes, laughing. Fields kept her gaze on the shimmer in the corner, which seemed to blush a rosy pink and sparkle a little more brightly.
***
A few days later, the EVs were holed up in Field’s bedroom, discussing how their plan was going. They had done chores without being asked, organized Addy’s toys, given small gifts to their family members, bathed the dogs, and had taken none of the credit. Instead, they’d insisted it was “some other EV” any time they were asked about it.
They’d also begun to notice other nice things happening - things that they had nothing to do with. Someone had baked a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies for Umber’s family, and cleaned up the kitchen, without ever being seen.
Over at Fields’s house, the downstairs floors were swept and mopped, and a box of cream-filled donuts were left on the counter for the family to enjoy.
Both girls had caught the occasional glimpse of a glowing figure, twirling through the house, all smiles and sweetness.
“We did it!” Fields cheered. “We turned our mischievous, trouble-making third EV into something kind and generous!”
Umber grinned, “I have to admit, it’s been pretty fun, too. I like doing nice things and pretending it wasn’t me. You get to be sneaky, but people are actually happy about it.”
“Yeah,” Fields agreed, “This has been a lot more fun than just causing trouble and trying to dodge the blame.”
“It seems you’ve learned your lesson,” a third voice chimed in.
The EVs jumped, and saw the sparkling form of the third EV sitting in a desk chair behind them. She smiled, but rather than looking mischievous, this time her grin was sweet and sincere.
“My work here is done!” she proclaimed, waving her arms over them grandly, like a fairy godmother bestowing a wish.
Fields frowned. “Are you leaving?”
“Yes,” the third EV said simply. “You don’t need me anymore.”
“Huh,” Umber said. “You know, I think I’m actually going to miss you.”
Sparkling a little more brightly, the third EV laughed. “That’s sweet, but I hope you won’t slide back into your old bad habits just so you can see me again.”
Umber and Fields shook their heads. “No way. I think we’ve learned our lesson,” Umber agreed.
“Yeah, we’re not going to miss you that much,” Fields laughed.
“I hope not!” The third EV stood, stretching her translucent arms over her head. “I do hope, though, that you’ll keep being kind to people. You’ve gotten rather good at it, you know.”
The EVs grinned at each other. “It is pretty fun,” Fields acknowledged.
“And it’s like my Yaya always says,” Umber continued, “Whatever you put out into the universe is what you get back in the end, good or bad.”
The third EV smiled. “She sounds very wise.”
And with that, she faded away, disappearing into a ray of afternoon sunlight.
The two remaining EVs looked at each other for a long moment.
“I’m lucky to have you, you know,” Evey Umber smiled at Evie Fields. “You’re the best EV.”
Fields shrugged. “Nah, the best EV is the one with a pet snake.”
“I think the best EV is the one who laughs like an artic fox,” chimed in Umber.
“Pretty sure it’s the one who wants to marry Benedict Cumberbatch.”
“The one who wears spiked collars to school…”
The EVs laughed. Some things, it seemed, would never change.
The End
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