Monday night me and Lily searched on the computer for a few hours trying to figure out what sort of stuff I might be interested in, but nothing really appealed to me. She did her best to help but I really had no idea.

I finally gave up and just streamed a movie, then went to bed.

Tuesday it seemed like everyone's mood was down. I hadn't heard from Melissa since she was here on Saturday, even though I sent her a couple texts on Sunday and Monday night. I didn't know what was bothering mom but she was kind of quiet as well.

Then just past noon that guy from the insurance company showed up. Him and mom sat at the kitchen table and talked, while I sort of hung around in the living-room and pretended to read while I listened in.

The guy had some legal documents for mom to sign, basically by accepting the settlement she was promising she wouldn't sue later on. It was kind of depressing, even though she was getting money out of it. It got to me a little too, and I wasn't even dead. But it sort of felt like they were putting a dollar value on my life.

Some dude in his SUV wasn't paying attention and accidentally killed me, and a big corporation came up with a number that they figured my life was worth. Now mom was signing forms to basically agree with them on the price of killing me.

I couldn't help thinking if I was actually still dead, it would have been a whole lot worse and even more creepy.

As it was, mom still wound up crying and I went into the kitchen to give her a hug and to be her moral support.

The insurance guy wasn't a jerk about it, but he did seem kind of cold or whatever about the whole thing. Though if that was his job, he probably saw this a lot and maybe he was used to it.

When it was all done, he put one copy of the paperwork back in his briefcase. Mom kept the other copy. Then he gave her a cheque for a half million dollars, and apologized for her loss. Then he left.

Mom cried a bit more, then I went with her to the bank. That ended up taking the rest of the afternoon. We met the bank manager, then the manager helped mom open some special savings accounts and stuff. I even got my own bank account under my new name, since the account I had in my dead-name wasn't really mine anymore.

Mom put a few thousand dollars in my account, then she put a bunch of money into a special education fund for me. Another bunch of money went into her account so she could look at buying a new car. And the rest went into another special account that she said was there for a rainy day.

After all that was done and over with we just had enough time for her to eat a quick dinner before she had to go to work again.

Lily had been quiet through the whole day, and mom didn't say anything about her either. After mom went to work Lily was there to help me again as I tried once more to figure out what I wanted to learn at college.

My heart still wasn't in it though, and I still had no idea what to do. Mostly I was still worried about mom, I still felt sad for her. And I was still kind of sad for myself too, I was feeling lonely even though Lily was there with me. We ended up just streaming a movie before going to bed early again.

Then Wednesday morning it was like suddenly everything was better.

I woke early, around eight in the morning, and I felt fantastic. I had loads of energy, my mood was way up. I didn't really know why, but I chalked it up to the insurance money.

Mom had enough money to get herself a brand new car. And the other account had almost enough to get a nice house too. It wasn't enough money for her to retire, but it meant she didn't have to worry so much.

The education fund mom set up for me had fifty-thousand dollars in it. That was more than enough, I could do like five years of college and still have some left over. I just needed to figure out what I wanted to take.

And I had a shiny new bank card and my bank account had five thousand dollars in it. I could order all the stuff I needed to set up a little studio in my bedroom and I'd still have more than half the money left over. It was literally more money than I'd ever had in my whole entire life.

And all this wasn't even counting what we'd get from the lottery.

It was kind of weird but I was almost starting to think between the insurance money and being reincarnated as a hot girl, getting killed was the best thing that ever happened to me.

I got up and hopped in the shower, then wound up taking a lot more time in there than I planned. My imagination was going, combined with my good mood and all the extra energy. I pretended I had a camera set up on a tripod in the washroom and I was recording a performance.

Whether I ended up really doing any of that stuff or not it was exciting to fantasize about it.

Lily kept quiet but I could almost sense she was awake, and I could imagine she had a hand over her eyes as she blushed and shook her head while I had a very enjoyable shower.

When that was all done and I was dried off and everything I just pulled on a comfy black tunic-top then went into the kitchen to see about food.

I was humming happily to myself as I prepared breakfast when mom wandered into the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Good morning mom!" I stepped away from the stove long enough to give her a hug, then as I got back to the frying pans I added "I put the coffee on, it should be ready now. And breakfast will be done in another minute or two."

She stared at me for a few moments, then got herself a mug of coffee and sat down at the table.

I was humming again and almost dancing in place, like between my great mood and feeling so energetic I could barely stand still. As soon as the food was ready I served it up for the two of us. It wasn't anything too fancy, just toast and my attempt at making omelettes.

They weren't very pretty but I figured they ought to taste all right. I put some spinach and cheese in with the eggs, and they smelled good.

"Thanks Mara," mom said as I sat down across from her. "What's gotten into you this morning?"

I had a sip of juice then shrugged, "Dunno? I just woke up feeling awesome!"

She nodded slowly then started eating. After the first bite she commented, "This is really nice hon. Well done."

I beamed, "Thanks! I'm glad you like it! They're not pretty but it's kind of my first attempt."

After breakfast mom sat down on the living-room sofa with another mug of coffee and her laptop while I did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. When I was all done in the kitchen, I got myself a glass of water then went into the living-room and sat down next to mom on the sofa.

I was still smiling as I sat with her and asked "Hey mom, whatcha looking at?"

She glanced at me then replied "Car reviews. I've never been in a position to buy a brand new car before, so I'm doing my homework and figuring out what's the best value, what's the most reliable."

"Neat!" I grinned. "Anything stand out yet?"

"There's one or two, but I'm not going to make any decisions just yet. I'll take a few days to come up with a short list, then perhaps go and do some test-drives."

"Can I come too?" I asked. "That sounds like fun!"

Mom wasn't even looking at her laptop now, she was just staring at me with an odd look. "Are you sure nothing's up with you this morning? I'd almost ask if you've had too much coffee, but you don't drink it. Or have you started?"

I shook my head, "Nope. All I've had is a glass of OJ and now some water. And no idea whats up this morning? Like I said, I just woke up in a great mood."

She continued looking at me for a few more moments then asked, "Have you stopped drinking cola? I noticed the other day you were drinking water with dinner, and I can't remember the last time I saw you with a can of soda in your hand."

That finally got me to stop smiling. I frowned for a few moments as I thought about it. I couldn't remember when I stopped drinking cola either.

Finally I shrugged and smiled "I haven't quit, it's not like I've sworn off the stuff or whatever? I'm just cutting back. Like, there's loads of sugar in that stuff right? I've got this great sexy new body, I wanna eat healthy and treat it right."

Mom just nodded slightly. I honestly thought she'd be pleased I was thinking about health and stuff, but instead she just looked a little worried.

"Actually," I added, "It looks like a really nice day out? I think I might go for a walk. Down the park or something?"

"Ok Mara," mom still looked strangely uneasy. "Just be careful."

"I will!" I grinned then got up and went back to my room.

I hadn't heard from Lily yet this morning. I figured she got too embarrassed when I was enjoying myself in the shower, so she went and hid or whatever. I didn't really know what it was like for her 'in there', but since she talked about having naps and stuff I sort of imagined she had like a little apartment or something. Or at least a bedroom where she could have naps and hide and stuff.

It occurred to me I should ask her at some point what it was like for her. I didn't want her to be bored or anything while she was stuck in my head. And I really didn't want it to be like another kind of prison for her, I wanted her to be happy and comfortable and stuff.

For now I got properly dressed, I went with a short black skirt and a cute dark burgundy top. And my favourite sneakers of course. I grabbed my little purse and made sure my phone and keys were inside, then headed for the door.

"See you mom," I said as I stepped out the door. "I'll be back later!"

Mom replied "Ok Mara, be careful."

I just grinned then set off for the park.

There was a wide smile on my face as I walked. The weather was perfect, and I loved the feeling of my skirt swishing against my bare legs. It took a half hour to reach the park, but it was worth it.

I spent a while just wandering around enjoying the fresh air and nature. There were lots of trees, some open grass, and I enjoyed listening to the sound of the river running over rocks and under the footbridge.

I wound up standing on the bridge looking down at the sunlight playing on the surface of the water as I asked, "Hey Lily? How come I feel so awesome today? Did you do something to make me feel good?"

She replied "Not exactly Mara. I didn't do anything to you to affect your mood. That's a side-effect of something else I did last night, while you were asleep."

"Oh?" I asked. "Well it feels pretty damn great! What did you do?"

"I fed."

PurpleCatGirl

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