In the reality Alpha 0.0.0.1.0.0.0, at the library, Kenny, Brandy and Cindy were together at the same table, but on the opposite side of the library. They were faced down, passed out on their books. The librarian walked up to the table and as he shook them awake, he said, “Hey, wake up. You three can’t sleep here.”
After waking up, Kenny looked around before asking, “What happen to Alex, Doug, Randy and Ben?”
Brandy had a confused expression on her face before asking, “How did we get at this table?”
In Ben’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, Ben woke up at a local tire and auto shop while wearing the shop’s uniform. Other workers and customers were standing over him while giving him a deeply concerned look.
Doug woke up in his dorm room with Richard Hawkins standing over him with a worried look on his face.
When Doug saw Richard hovering over him, he sat up and asked, “What happened?”
“Dude, you just collapsed to the floor for no apparent reason,” Richard answered.
Doug looked around without standing up and saw that he was in his dorm room. After refocusing on Richard he asked, “Okay, I’ve seen you around campus, but who are you and why are you in my dorm?”
Richard stared at Doug as if he had lost his mind before asking, “Did you hit your head when you fell, Dude?”
Doug thought about his condition for a moment before saying, “My head is killing me. Who are you though?”
“I’m Richard; your roommate,” he pointed out. “I think you better go and get checked out at the hospital.”
“You’re not my roommate,” Doug said with strong certainty in his tone.
“Yes, Dude, I am,” Richard corrected. “We have been roommates since our freshmen year.”
“My brother is my roommate.”
“What brother? You don’t have a brother.”
Doug said sarcastically, “My twin brother Alex. We have been roommates all our lives.”
“Now I know you hit your head when you fell if you’re thinking that Alex is your twin brother.”
“He is my twin brother,” Doug insisted.
“No, Dude; Alex is your twin sister.”
A shock expression flashed across Doug’s face while uttering, “What?!”
“Alex is your twin sister,” Richard repeated. “I know you can’t think of her as being hot, but come on; even you have to admit that she is a knockout. She stands five feet, five inches tall; she has the most gorgeous body with beautiful red hair that flows midway down her back. She has the most beautiful green eyes. She’s a snob though so she could really use a personality makeover.”
Doug thought for a second before blurting out, “Randy Miller, I’m going to kill you when I get my hands on you.”
“Who is Randy Miller?”
“Never mind,” Doug said as he shook his head. “Richard, you’re right, I think I did hit my head and I’m having memory lapses. So can you take me to my sister?”
“Sure, Dude,” Richard said before reaching his hand out to help Doug up.
Minutes later, Doug stood next to Richard as Richard knocked on a dorm door. Trudy Appleby opened the door and when she saw Doug, she said, “Thank God that you’re here, Doug. Alex fainted a moment ago and when she woke up she went hysterical. She acted shocked that she’s a woman.”
Richard gave Doug a perplexed look before asking, “Is there a twin thing going on between you and Alex?”
Doug looked at Richard as if he had lost his mind for a moment before shaking it off and facing Trudy again. “Where is Alex now?”
“She’s in her bedroom,” Trudy answered while gesturing. “She’s looking into her mirror and repeating, ‘I’m dreaming this. This is not happening.’ Doug, you need to go in there and talk to her.”
“I will,” Doug said before walking into the dorm.
In the common room there was a couch, a coffee table and an entertainment center. The entertainment center held a TV, a combination VCR and DVD player, and a small stereo system. There were two bedroom doors.
Doug stepped up to the closed door and knocked. “Alex, it’s me; Doug.”
Alex opened the door and said sternly, “You are not real. This is all a dream.”
Doug lustfully gawked at Alex for a moment. He then shook it off and whispered, “You’re not dreaming, Alex. We jumped into another reality.”
“We jumped?” Alex confusingly questioned just as the reality of the situation had hit her. “We jumped!”
Alex walked back into her room and looked into the mirror.
Inside Alex’s bedroom was a small wardrobe closet, a twin bed with a purse setting near the head of the bed, a dresser and a small desk with a chair pushed in. On top of the desk was a laptop computer. The mirror that Alex was looking into hung on the wall over Alex’s laptop.
Doug stepped into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
As Alex looked at Doug’s reflection, she said, “I’m going to kill Randy Miller when I see him.”
Doug amusingly grinned while saying jokingly, “You know, I have to admit that this is a great look for you.”
Alex looked at Doug with a distasteful grin while uttering, “I’m glad you are enjoying this. Look at me. I’m a woman.”
Doug said in a lustful tone, “Oh believe me, I definitely see that you’re a woman.”
Alex said sternly, “Stop that! And stop looking at me like that. Although, I’m not Alexander on this side of the twilight zone, we are still siblings… at least I think we are.”
“We’re still twins, but apparently in this reality you were born a girl. Mom must really like the name Alex for that to be your name in this reality.” Alex checked her pockets. She then looked around the room for a second. “What are you looking for?”
Alex pointed to a purse on the bed while saying, “That. Most likely that would be mine and I want to check to see what Alex is short for.” Alex walked over and took out a wallet from the purse. When Alex looked at her driver’s license Doug saw a disturbed expression on her face.
Doug moved closer while asking, “What is it?”
“My name is Alexandra Nicole Larson,” Alex said while standing there with a confused expression across her face. Doug went to pull out his wallet. “Am I married in this reality?”
Doug looked at his driver’s license before saying, “No; you’re not married. My name is Douglas Christopher Larson.” Alex saw an uncertain expression on Doug’s face as he looked at her. “Alex, we don’t live on Victoria Place anymore.”
Alex looked at her driver’s license before saying, “The street name on my driver’s license is Wild Deer Road. The city is still St. Louis.”
“That’s what I have too,” Doug said as he gazed at his license.
Alex went to put her license and wallet away while saying, “I don’t know why our last name is Larson or why we live on Wild Deer Road, but we need to be concentrating on a way to get back to our reality.”
Doug was putting his wallet away when he said, “I believe our first step on that is to find the one person who’s responsible for us being here.”
Alex crossed her arms while saying, “Randy Miller.”
“Exactly. We should check his house.” Doug motioned towards the door as he continued to say, “Ladies first.”
Without attempting to move, Alex said with a smirk, “You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“Okay, I’ll go first,” Doug said as he made a slight move towards the door.
“Well, before we leave, I want to check something,” Alex said before turning towards the dresser.
“What do you want to check?”
As Alex walked towards the dresser, she said, “Since mom keeps a diary, perhaps I would too.”
Alex pulled open the top drawer; searched it thoroughly and then closed it. As she was going onto the next drawer, Doug checked underneath the mattress.
Alex was opening the third drawer when Doug said, “You can stop looking. I found what you’
re looking for.”
Alex faced Doug before asking, “How did you know to look underneath the mattress?”
Doug held out the diary for Alex to take and said, “That’s where mom keeps hers.”
As Alex took the diary, she asked, “You read mom’s diary?”
“No,” Doug quickly answered. “I just saw her placing it there one day.”
Alex glanced at the diary before questioning, “How come I get the feeling that you might’ve read my diary in this reality?”
Doug gave Alex a concern look before asking, “And you are becoming sensitive about the mere idea of the Doug of this reality reading your alternate’s diary?”
Alex thought for a moment before saying, “You’re right. This is not our reality and we shouldn’t get too focused on what the us of this reality did or didn’t do.” Alex put the diary in her purse and then put her purse over her shoulder. “Well, we better get going. I’ll read this diary on the way. Oh, you wouldn’t know my roommate’s name by any chance, would you?”
“I sure don’t,” Doug said while shaking his head. “I never even saw her in our reality.”
Alex gestured towards the door while saying, “Well, let’s go and maybe we can find out what her name is without appearing that we lost our memories.”
Trudy and Richard were having a casual conversation in the common room and they abruptly stopped talking when Alex and Doug stepped out of the bedroom.
Trudy faced Alex before asking, “So how are you feeling?”
“I’m good,” Alex said with an embarrass grin. “Well, Doug and I have something to do.”
“You’re leaving now?” Trudy quickly asked.
Alex gave Trudy a curious look while asking, “Is there a reason that I shouldn’t?”
“We have a class in ten minutes,” Trudy pointed out.
Alex asked in a tone as if to make a point, “I’m not failing this class… am I?”
Trudy, with a confused expression across her face, answered, “Well, I know you’re not failing. But what does that have to do anything?”
“Well, if I’m not failing then missing this one class won’t hurt my grade.” Trudy continued to give Alex a perplexed stare as Alex continued to say, “I’ll see you later.” Trudy was slightly baffled as she watched Alex and Doug leaving the dorm.
Chapter Two
As Alex and Doug were walking towards the parking lot, Doug reached into his pocket and pulled out a car remote. When he saw that the car remote was for a Jeep vehicle, he said, “Well, I don’t own a Mustang in this reality.”
Alex saw what kind of remote Doug was holding and questioned, “You own a Jeep in this reality?”
“Apparently so,” Doug said before noticing that Alex was deep in her own thoughts. “Is there anything wrong?”
“Dad wouldn’t approve if one of us bought a Jeep, Chrysler or a Dodge vehicle,” Alex said as she and Doug were walking into the parking lot.
“Maybe Dad didn’t get hurt at the Chrysler Plant and sued the company in this reality.”
“Doug, I’m getting an uncomfortable feeling.” When Alex saw that Doug was giving her a concerned look she asked, “Why are you staring at me that way?”
Doug stopped walking and said, “You are beginning to sound like Mom.”
“Doug, I’m serious. This reality is totally different. Our last names are Larson; we live on Wild Deer Road and you own a vehicle that was made by Chrysler. Aren’t you curious to know why things are the way they are?”
“No, I’m not, Alex. This is not our reality, and I for one am not worried as to why things are the way they are in this reality.”
“Well, I am, so I hope you don’t mind that I investigate some.”
“As long as it doesn’t hinder us getting back to our reality, investigate all you want.” Doug then looked over the parking lot and when he saw a Jeep Wrangler a few cars from him, he pressed the remote. Nothing happened when he pressed the button. “Well, that’s not it.”
Alex looked around and saw a Jeep Liberty at a distance. She pointed to it and said, “There’s a Liberty over there. Perhaps that’s it.”
Alex followed Doug to the vehicle and again nothing happened when Doug pressed the button. “Do you see any more Jeeps around here?”
As Alex and Doug were looking in all directions, Alex said, “We might have to check the other parking lot.”
Doug looked at Alex with an amused grin before saying, “I didn’t think I would ever say this to you, but check your purse. See what kind of car keys you have.”
Alex rummaged through her purse and pulled out another Jeep vehicle remote. Alex grinned before saying, “Apparently I own a Jeep also.” Alex then pressed the button, and the Jeep Liberty locks popped up. “Hey, it appears that this Liberty is mine.”
“Good, we’ll take your Jeep and worry about mine later.”
Alex held out the keys for Doug to take while saying, “You drive; I want to read the diary.”
“Okay,” Doug said while taking the keys. As he was opening the driver’s door, Alex walked to the other side to get in.
After Alex put on her seat belt, she pulled out the diary from her purse and flipped to the first page. As Doug was starting the car, Alex read aloud, “Personal diary belonging to Alexandra Nicole Larson; fourteenth volume. The first date of entry is July 9, 2010.”
As Doug was backing out of the parking spot, he said, “The date of our twenty-first birthday.” Doug stopped, put the car into drive and drove away. Alex set the diary to the side and opened her purse. “What are you looking for?”
Alex pulled out a cell phone before saying, “I saw this phone when I was looking for car keys. I’m going to call mom and subtly inquire about the other thirteen volumes along with seeing what I can do about getting my hands on them.”
“I don’t think that’s a wise idea.”
As Alex scrolled through the numbers that were stored on the phone, she asked, “Why not?”
“If you call mom and start asking bizarre questions, you’re going to get her thinking that something is wrong.”
“I know how to handle it,” Alex said while seeing a phone entry that was titled ‘mom’.
After Doug saw Alex pressing the button he asked in disbelief, “You’re calling her, aren’t you?”
Before Alex was able to respond, her mom, Beverly, answered the phone. Alex just nodded as she was saying, “Mom, it’s me. Alex.”
“Sweetie, if this is not an emergency, can I call you back. I’m about ready to go into surgery.”
Alex uttered in a concern tone, “Oh my god, Mom! What’s wrong?! Why are you going into surgery?!”
Beverly said with a confused tone in her voice, “Since I’m a surgeon, going into surgery is my job.”
Alex said in a delightful tone, “You’re a surgeon.”
Beverly asked with a concerned tone in her voice, “Alex, sweetie, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, mom. I’ll just call you later… or you can call me when you’re not busy. Bye.”
When the call ended, Beverly curiously looked at her phone before shaking it off and putting it away.
After Alex had ended the call, Doug sarcastically said, “Real subtle.”
“Okay, I’ll admit it. That could have been more subtle, but mom is a doctor in this reality.”
“Well, in our reality, mom was in her second year of medical school when she got pregnant with us. After giving birth to us, she never went back and finished.”
“I know that, but I’m really curious to know why she was able to finish medical school in this reality and not ours.”
As Alex scrolled through the numbers again, Doug asked in a worried tone, “Who are you planning to call now?”
“Dad’s phone number is stored in the phone too, and I’m going to try him.”
As Alex made the call, Doug said, “You are going to get a net thrown over us if you aren’t careful.”
As the phone was ringing, Alex said,
“Relax; I’m just trying to get some answers to a few questions. Besides, we may not get back to our reality right away, so we will need all the information we can get.”
“Just don’t get us sent to the funny farm.”
“I won’t. Oh, uh, your name is also listed on my phone, so you also have a cell phone.”
“I’ll look for it when I get back to the dorm.”
The phone rang a few times before the receptionist, Tiffany Lydell, answered the phone with, “Dr. Avery Larson’s office. How can I help you?”
Alex asked in a confused tone, “Who am I talking to?”
Tiffany asked in an inquisitive tone, “Alex, is that you?”
Alex cringed before responding in a cautious tone, “It’s me. Who am I talking to?”
Tiffany said in a confused tone, “It’s me, Tiffany. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It just didn’t sound like you. Can I talk to my dad?”
“He’s with a patient. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Have you ever heard of a man name Nicholas Christopher O’Brien?”
“I can’t say that I have. Who is he?”
“Never mind, Tiffany; I’ll talk to you later.”
As Tiffany was hanging up the phone, Avery and Mr. Taylor were leaving the examination room.
When Avery and Mr. Taylor stepped up to the receptionist’s desk, Avery said, “Schedule Mr. Taylor to come back for a follow up visit in two weeks.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Tiffany said.
Avery patted Mr. Taylor on the back and said, “I’ll see you in two weeks.”
“Thanks again, Dr. Larson,” Mr. Taylor said.
Avery just nodded and as he was about to step away, Tiffany said, “Oh, Dr. Larson, Alexandra called a short time ago.”
“What did she want?”
“She really didn’t say, but she was inquiring about a man named Nicholas Christopher O’Brien.” Avery stared at Tiffany as if she was a ghost. “Doctor, are you okay?”
Avery broke the stare he was giving Tiffany before saying, “Yeah-yeah, I’m fine. Did Alex say why she was asking about Nicholas O’Brien?”
A Crossed Reality Page 2