SARAH TEXTED ME LATER THAT morning to let me know that Mona would meet us in the computer lab at lunch. When we arrived, she was already there.

Waiting for her to finish up something she was doing on the computer, I found myself mesmerized by her hair. I wasn’t a hair person, but I had to admit that Mona’s hair was a work of art. Each curl appeared to have a full and complete life of its own.

“She won’t let you boing them, if that’s what you’re wondering. I tried once and she wasn’t having it.”

Sarah was grinning at me from her seat on one of the computer lab tables, her feet pushing a chair onto its back legs until it almost tipped over.

I flushed. “I wasn’t wondering that. I would never—”

Mona shook her head. “It’s okay, I know.” She shot Sarah an unimpressed look. “Sarah is just winding you up. She’s a big fan of doing that to people.”

Sarah tilted her head and looked dismayed. “Oh no—was that a dig at my social skills, perchance? Should I reform my ways so I can be part of your idiotic girl gang?”

Mona rolled her eyes, then typed a few more words. “Okay, I’m done,” she said. “And it’s a squad, not a gang. And dialing back the sarcasm wouldn’t be a terrible idea, if you’re planning on asking me for a favor.”

I started to relax. I’d been worried about this meeting, about how awkward it might be between me and Mona. But this Mona was an entirely different creature from the Mona on the roof, or even the Mona with Lauren and Beth. She seemed confident, at ease. Like she was slipping right back into a conversation she’d been having with Sarah forever.

“Favor?” Sarah asked, eyes wide and innocent. “I don’t know about that. Of course, if you’re bored, then I might have something you could take a look at. Jess might have something too, if you can handle it.”

“Thanks oh so much. What do you have for me this time?”

“Well, since you insist—my phone is being kind of weird.”

“Weird? Did you try turning it off and then on again?”

“Yeah, like ten times. You’ve drilled that into me. I even do that with my damn toaster now when it starts burning the bread. Off, wait ten seconds, and then on again. I’m a goddamn off-and-then-on-again robot.”

“Does it help with the toaster?”

“Sometimes.”

“Well, there you go. Have you been making all the updates to your phone, like I told you to?”

“Yes.” Sarah paused. “Like, most of them, anyway.”

Mona sighed. “So what’s it doing?”

“It will barely hold a charge. It’s completely drained after two hours. I’ve started carrying my charger around everywhere I go, but competition for the outlets is fierce.”

Mona made a beckoning gesture. “Give.” Sarah pulled it from her pocket and Mona frowned as she reached over to take it. Then Mona turned to me. “So what did you bring me? I’m hoping something more exciting than this piece of junk.”

I unzipped my bag and gently pulled out the Ziploc bag containing Anna’s phone and handed it over.

“Whoa,” she said, eyebrows shooting up. She turned it over with a reverent expression. “Now, that’s what I’d call broken.”

Sarah smiled. “Glad we could bring you something worth your while.”

Mona opened the bag, slid out the phone, and examined it more closely.

“So what did you do to it?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I mean, it’s not…it’s not really my phone.”

Sarah frowned. “Wait, then whose…” She trailed off.

Mona looked at Sarah and then back at me. “Anna?” she asked gently.

I nodded.

Mona started to put Anna’s phone down. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know if this is a good idea. Besides, this is just a hobby for me, and this phone—I don’t know if anyone could do anything with this phone.”

“Couldn’t you try?”

“I could, but…” She shook her head. “Look, I know she was your sister—”

“She wasn’t just my sister; she was my twin.” I closed my eyes tight, embarrassed at how suddenly they’d begun to flood. Don’t cry, I thought. Just take the phone and get out of here. This was a bad idea. The phone is obviously ruined; it was only going to be a dead end anyway.

“Okay,” Mona said quietly. “I’m sorry. I— Phones are just really personal things. But I get that this is different, especially since—”

Especially since Anna’s never coming back.

“—you guys were twins,” she finished awkwardly.

“Thanks,” I said, pinching my arm hard to keep the tears from spilling out.

“Do you think there’s any way you might be able to fix it?” Sarah asked.

“I don’t know,” Mona said. “I’d like to try. I’ve never seen a phone this messed up before, though. Not in person.” She stared at the phone. What she said next was so quiet I barely heard her, so quiet I wasn’t even sure she knew she asking it aloud. “Two stories, right?”

I nodded. “Two stories.” Two stories and the weight of my twin sister. This is what your phone would look like, Mona, I thought, if you had jumped. And when I looked up at her again, as she moved her fingers softly over the shattered screen, it seemed like she was thinking that same thing.

The three of us were silent for a minute. Then Mona closed her fingers around the phone and gave me a single decisive nod.

“I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.” She stood up, tucked Anna’s phone back into the bag, and placed it in the front pocket of her backpack. Sarah’s phone she left on the table.

“Hey, what about mine?” Sarah asked.

“I changed my mind,” Mona said. “It’s time for you to get a new one.”