Читать книгу A Crossed Reality - Gerald Pruett - Страница 10
ОглавлениеChapter Four
At a coffee shop near Harvard, Kenny, Brandy and Cindy were sitting at the back table with their drinks. Brandy was on the phone while talking to Ben. When she hung up she said, “Well, Ben is leaving Atlanta and he’ll be here as soon as he can.”
“Which will be a waste of time for Ben to come here if Alex and Doug don’t find Randy,” Kenny said.
“Let’s hope Randy is able to be found in this reality,” Cindy said.
“Why wouldn’t he be found in this reality?” Brandy asked.
“Last year, in our own reality I made a family tree and apparently so did the Cindy of this reality. Like me, Cindy of this reality still had the file on her flash disc, and earlier when I accessed the file, my baby brother Cory wasn’t on the family tree; however, I did see that my mom had two younger brothers and no sisters. In our reality, my mom is the only child.”
“I ran into similar situations earlier,” Kenny said. “I called a friend’s house and when his mom answered I asked to talk to my friend. In this reality my friend died at the age of two. I got an ear full before she slammed the phone down.”
“I must be a boring person,” Brandy said.
“Why would you say that?” Kenny asked.
“Earlier I scrolled through the school transcripts belonging to the Brandy of this reality and they’re exactly the same in our reality. I placed a few phone calls to friends and old boyfriends. All of that is the same. I even have the same roommate. Me and the Brandy of this reality are so much alike that if it weren’t for the lives around me being different, I wouldn’t have known that I jumped into a whole new reality.”
“If we can’t get back to our own reality, perhaps you’re the lucky one,” Cindy said.
“Brandy, if it helps you to know this, my college life is pretty much the same in this reality as it was in our reality,” Kenny said.
“Ditto,” Cindy said.
“What I’m curious to know is how the ‘We’ of this reality are adjusting to our reality?” Brandy asked.
“They are probably completely confused and disoriented,” Cindy said.
“Chances are they don’t even have a clue as to how their reality got switched,” Kenny said.
In the reality Alpha 0.0.0.0.0.0.0, at a hospital near Harvard University, Alexander O’Brien was heavily sedated and strapped to a bed.
Doug, Randy, Kenny, Brandy, Benjamin and Cindy were also at the hospital, and each one was held in a separate quarantine room.
Beverly and Nicholas O’Brien along with Phyllis Miller stepped out of a cab in front of the hospital and walked straight to the nurse’s station. The waiting area was in view from the nurse’s station. As the three stepped up, the nurse asked, “May I help you?”
“Yes, I’m Nicholas O’Brien and this is my wife Beverly and a neighbor of ours Phyllis Miller. Dr. Theodore Simon called my house and Phyllis’ house and told us that it was urgent to get here as soon as possible. Dr. Simon also told us to ask for him when we arrived.”
The nurse picked up the phone’s handset while saying, “One moment please.” She then dialed the phone. There was a short delay before she spoke again. “Dr. Simon; Nicholas and Beverly O’Brien and Phyllis Miller are standing in front of me and they’re requesting to speak to you.”
“Tell them to wait there and I’ll be right down,” Dr. Simon said.
“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse said before hanging up. “Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien; Ms. Miller, Dr. Simon will be right down.” She then gestured towards the chairs. “So you three can have a seat while you wait.”
Beverly nodded while saying, “Thank you.”
Beverly, Nicholas and Phyllis walked over to the waiting area and sat down. They sat quietly for ten minutes before Phyllis saw a doctor stepping up to the nurse’s station.
When Phyllis saw the nurse pointing in her direction, she said, “I believe Dr. Simon is coming.”
Beverly, Nicholas and Phyllis stood up once they saw Dr. Simon walking their way. When Dr. Simon stepped up, Dr. Simon introduced himself with a handshake for each of them while starting with Nicholas.
“I’m Nicholas,” he said before pointing out the others. “This is my wife Beverly and Randy’s mother, Phyllis. Phyllis is also a friend of ours.”
Once the handshakes were done, Phyllis said, “Dr. Simon, I understand that our sons are here somewhere, but no one will tell us more than that.”
“Please come with me and I will explain on the way.” As everyone walked towards the elevator Dr. Simon continued to say, “Alexander, Douglas and Randy along with four others Kenny Johnson, Brandy Harrison, Cindy Hartford and Benjamin Bell had all passed out in Harvard’s library. This greatly concerned the librarian and he called nine-one-one. By the time the paramedics got there all seven of them were awake and very disoriented. Alexander was the worst of the seven. He was delirious and had to be sedated.”
“In what way was he delirious?” Beverly asked.
As they stepped up to the elevators, Dr. Simon pressed the call button before saying, “According to the paramedics and the police, he was raving about that he was a she, and somehow she fell into the twilight zone and became a he.”
“Alex woke up thinking that he was once a she?” Nicholas asked.
“He did, but that’s just half of it,” Dr. Simon said.
“What’s the other half?” Beverly asked.
“Douglas also shares Alexander’s delusion and the other five have delusions of their own.”
“What are Randy’s delusions?” Phyllis asked.
“The only thing we can get out of Randy is that he doesn’t know how he got to Harvard and that he doesn’t know any of the others. The others also claim they don’t know Randy.”
“Alex and Randy have been best friends since the first grade,” Beverly said.
The door to the elevator opened and everyone stepped in. As Dr. Simon pressed the button for the correct floor, he said, “Well, we had video taped Douglas, Randy and the other four, and you can see for yourselves the extent of their delusions.”
As the door was closing Nicholas asked, “Do you know what caused them to faint and what is causing their delusions?”
“We are still looking into that,” Dr. Simon said. “We did test them for drugs and they all tested clean, so the possibility of drugs is out.”
“Could there be something in the air?” Phyllis asked.
“There was nothing toxic in their system either, so something in the air is not likely.”
“So what is going to happen to them?” Beverly asked.
“I would like to keep them in the hospital for seventy-two hours for observation. We can discuss my recommendation once that time is up. Mrs. O’Brien…”
“You can call me Beverly.”
“Okay, I will. Beverly, are you a doctor in St. Louis?”
“No, but I did attend two years of medical school. I got pregnant with Alex and Doug, and I had to drop out. I didn’t have the money to finish medical school after they were born.”
“According to Douglas, you are a surgeon at a hospital and that you are married to a doctor named Avery Larson.”
“Where am I supposed to be?” Nicholas asked.
“Douglas claims that he doesn’t know who you are,” Dr. Simon said.
“So in his delusions I was replaced by a fictional character,” Nicholas said.
“Dr. Avery Larson is not a fictional character,” Dr. Simon said. “He has a private practice in St. Louis. I would also like to get him out here and see what his role is in Douglas’ delusion.”
“If you think that would help then by all means do it,” Beverly said.
The elevator stopped and everyone exited.
In the reality Alpha 0.0.0.1.0.0.0 at 11:55 P.M., Alex sat on her bed at Harvard and was writing out the events of the day along with writing a detailed explanation of what happened. After writing for several minutes she put the diary up and went to bed.
Friday, October 22 at 8:30 A.M., Alex, with no makeup on, was casually eating breakfast in Harvard’s lunchroom while reading one of her diaries. Her plate was more than half full with her breakfast. Her purse and book bag were on the table beside her.
Miles was carrying his food tray towards the tables and saw Alex sitting at one of them. As he stepped up to her, he said, “Alex, hi.”
Alex looked up and stared at Miles as if he was a stranger before saying, “Oh hi.” Alex turned her attention back to the diary.
Miles gave Alex a confused look for a second before saying, “Oh I get it. You’re giving me the cold shoulder treatment.”
Alex looked up and replied, “I’m sorry, I was reading. What was that you said?”
“I get it, Alex. You’re mad at me for not rescheduling our date.”
Alex looked at Miles while trying to figure out who he was. It suddenly dawned on her who she was talking to. “Miles. Uh, I’m not mad at all, but I am reading here.”
“Alex. Maria and I dated for four years and I just can’t move on after being broken up for only three weeks.”
“You don’t have to explain, Miles. It’s fine. Now if you don’t mind, I am trying to read.”
Miles looked at the book that Alex was reading before saying, “What you’re reading looks like a diary.”
“It’s one of my diaries from a few years ago. I’m trying to remember certain details. Now if you don’t mind, I would like to be left alone.”
“You say you’re not mad, but you’re not inviting me to eat breakfast with you either. If that is not giving me the cold shoulder then I don’t know what is.”
“Miles, I don’t want any company this morning. Not yours; not anyone’s. And I swear I wasn’t mad at you, but now I’m starting to be.”
“Okay, Alex. If you want to be left alone then I’ll certainly do that,” Miles said before turning and walking away.
Alex watched Miles for a second before turning her attention back to her diary.
Miles walked over to a table that was several tables from Alex and as he was taking his seat, Trudy walked into the room and saw him by himself. She then saw Alex at a nearby table.
Trudy walked over to Miles and said, “I understand that last night was a bust, but the least you can do is talk to Alex.”
“I tried. She doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“That doesn’t sound like Alex.”
Miles gestured towards Alex while saying, “Well go talk to her and see for yourself.”
“Okay, I will,” Trudy said before turning and walking towards Alex. Without saying a word, Trudy sat down in a seat across from Alex.
Alex looked up from her diary and when she saw who it was she said, “Trudy, I really want to be left alone right now if you don’t mind.”
“Actually, I do mind. You have been acting weird since yesterday and I’m worried about you.”
“I know I have been acting a bit out of character, but…”
“A bit out of character?” Trudy quickly echoed. “That’s an understatement. You’re not even wearing makeup and that alone is out of character for you.”
“Trudy, please just give me some space, and I’m sure I’ll be back to my normal self in no time.”
“Alex, we have been friends since our freshman year. I’ll admit we weren’t close friends right away, but I think… or at least I thought that we were becoming close friends. I know I think of you as a close friend, and if there’s anything troubling you, you can always come to me.”
“Thanks, Trudy, but what is going on with my life right now, I really need to solve it on my own. Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to read.”
Trudy looked at what Alex was reading before asking, “Isn’t that one of your diaries?”
“It is. I’m trying to refresh my memory from a few years ago and I can’t read with distractions. That is why I would like to be left alone.”
As Trudy stood up she said, “All right, but the only important memory that you need to remember is what happened on February 3, 2010.”
Trudy noticed that Alex was acting uncomfortable before she replied, “Yeah; yeah, I doubt that I will ever forget that day.”
Trudy gave Alex a perplex look for a second before saying, “Well, I’m going to join Miles. Hey, don’t you have a history class in twenty minutes.”
“I do. I’m going to read for another ten minutes before I go.”
“I just thought I would remind you. I’ll see you later.” Trudy then turned and walked away.
Seconds later, as Trudy was taking a seat next to Miles, Miles asked, “So is she giving me the cold shoulder treatment as I suspect?”
“I don’t think that’s her problem. I think she is having memory problems.”
“Why do you think that?”
“As a joke, I mentioned a bogus date as being an important date to remember and she tried to play it off as if she knew what I was referring to.”
“Perhaps she was going along with your joke.”
“I don’t think so,” Trudy said before standing up again. “Hey, I’m going to the library and research what would cause a person as young as Alex to lose her memory.”
As Trudy was leaving, Miles said, “Bye.”
Trudy just waved as she walked away.
Minutes later, Alex dumped half of her breakfast in the trashcan before leaving for her classroom. A short time later, she and Kenny were approaching their classroom at the same time.
Before Alex was able to step into the classroom, Kenny asked, “So what happened last night in St. Louis? Were you and Doug able to find Randy?”
“Things could have gone better last night, and no, we couldn’t find Randy. Doug and I have a clue as to where he might be though. We’ll go over everything when the group is together.”
“Where do you think he might be?”
“I’m thinking he is in Mexico City, Mexico.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Three years ago in our reality I talked him out of going there to search for his dad. I think he went there in this reality.”
Kenny said sarcastically, “That’s just great. How are we going to get to him if he’s in Mexico City?”
“All of us or at least one of us will have to go there and bring him back.”
“You can’t be serious!”
“He is the only person who can straighten this crossed reality mess out. So it’s either go to Mexico and find Randy or we live in this reality for the remainder of our lives. In either case, we’ll have to worry about that later.” Alex gestured towards the classroom as she continued to say, “This is my class and it’s getting ready to start.”
“It’s my class too,” Kenny said before gesturing towards the door. “Ladies first.” Alex grinned, shook her head and rolled her eyes all at the same time before walking into the classroom. Kenny followed her in. “Oh, uh, Ben arrived last night. He checked into a motel.”
“That’s good,” Alex said as she and Kenny were walking up to two empty seats that were next to each other.
Soon after Alex and Kenny sat down and got settled in their seats Kenny saw Doug walking into the classroom. Kenny gestured towards Doug while saying, “It seams that you and Doug took the same courses in this reality also.”
Alex stared at Doug while saying, “So it seems.”
Doug saw Alex and Kenny and walked towards them. As Doug stepped up, he said, “I spoke with Brandy and Cindy. All of us are to meet Ben at the Little Bucks Bar and Grill at eleven o’clock.”
“Okay, I’ll be there,” Kenny said.
“Ditto,” Alex said.
“Well, I better take a seat,” Doug said before turning and walking towards an empty seat.
An hour later, Alex, Doug and Kenny were leaving the classroom. Trudy was waiting in the hall outside the classroom while holding papers. When she saw Alex, she stepped up to her and asked, “Alex, can I speak to you in private?”
Alex gave Trudy a curious look. She then turned towards Doug and said, “Doug, I’ll catch up to you and Kenny in an hour.”
“All right,” Doug said before he and Kenny walked away.
As Alex and Trudy were casually walking in the opposite direction, Trudy said, “I believe I know why you are reading your old diaries and why you aren’t acting like yourself.”
Alex gave Trudy a curious look before asking, “You do?”
“You’re having memory problems, and I have done some research as to what could cause it,” Trudy said before she held up the papers. “Here is what I found.”
Alex continued to give Trudy a curious look while asking, “Where did you get the idea that I’m having memory problems?”
“Alex, February 3, 2010 was an ordinary day,” Trudy pointed out. “There’s nothing special to remember about that day. I said what I did as a joke and you acted as if you were hiding the fact that you couldn’t remember what took place on that day.”
“Okay, I’ll admit that I thought I had forgotten something when you mentioned that day, but I don’t have memory problems.”
“Okay, then you won’t have any problems with answering a few of my questions.”
“Trudy, I’m not going to play twenty questions with you.”
“If you’re not having memory problems then these will be easy questions.”
“Trudy, I’m not answering any questions. In fact, I’m going to end this discussion and walk away.” Alex then turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Trudy watched Alex for a second before yelling after her, “Admitting that there is a problem is the first step at getting help.”
Alex just waved as she continued to walk away.
Trudy turned and went straight to the soccer field. She watched Miles for twenty minutes as he was practicing at stopping the soccer ball from entering the goal.
Miles knew that Trudy was watching and when he took a break he walked over to her.
When Miles stepped up, Trudy said, “You look like a natural goalie. I think the coach was right to put you in that position.”
“Since you don’t care too much about sports, I doubt that you came here to talk about me being a goalie.”
“I came here to get your help.”
“Help with what?”
“Alex will confide in you if you talk to her.”
“Confide in me about what?”
“Alex is having memory problems, but she denies it. If anyone can get her to admit to it, it’s you.”
“With what happened earlier, you think she’ll confine in me?”
“I know Alex. She had a crush on you for a while now, so I’m thinking…”
“Wait a second,” Miles quickly interrupted with. “How long has Alex had a crush on me?”
“I promised Alex that I wouldn’t tell you this, but she liked you even before she started dating Stephen Keith. Alex would never tell you this because you were with Maria.”
“I can’t believe Alex liked me for that long and I didn’t know.”
“Well she did, and I think you’re the only one who can get Alex to admit she has a problem with her memory.”
“I’ll be here for another thirty minutes. I’ll try to talk to her after that.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, I just hope she doesn’t blow me off the way she did this morning.”
“I don’t believe she will. So, are you ready for your first game as a goalie this evening?”
“I’ll be ready,” Miles said before gesturing towards the water cooler. “Well I’m going to get some water before my break is over.” When Trudy nodded, Miles turned and walked away.
11:00 A.M. at Little Bucks Bar and Grill, Alex and Doug were walking in. Alex was noticing a ‘help wanted’ sign for a waiter or waitress at the moment when Doug saw Kenny, Cindy, Brandy and Ben at a back table.
Doug gestured to the table and said, “Alex, this way.”
Without responding Alex turned away from the ‘help wanted’ sign and followed Doug to the table.
Alex took a seat next to Brandy, and after getting comfortable she saw that Brandy was giving her a curious look. Alex gave Brandy a confused look while uttering, “What?”
“Oh… uh, I was just noticing that you had makeup on yesterday, but you’re not wearing any today,” Brandy said.
“Yesterday I joined this reality after Alex had put on her makeup, and since I’m a guy in our reality, I don’t know anything about putting on any makeup,” Alex answered. “I’d probably look worse than a cheap whore if I would attempt to put some on.”
“I could always teach you how to put on makeup.”
Before Alex was able to answer, Doug said, “I don’t mean to interrupt girl talk, but we have more important issues to discuss than Alex learning how to put on makeup.”
Alex whispered to Brandy, “I’ll consider it.”
As Ben stirred his coffee, he asked, “Does anyone know where Randy is?”
“Alex and I have a clue to where he might be; however, that clue is a weak one,” Doug said.
“What is the clue?” Cindy asked.
“Three years ago in our reality, and I’m thinking in this reality also, Randy was told that his long lost dad was in Mexico City, Mexico,” Alex began. “In our reality I had talked him out of going to Mexico in search of his dad, but I think he did go there in this reality.”
“Do we wait here and see if Randy will look for us?” Ben asked.
“Alex thinks we should go to Mexico and look for him,” Doug said.
“And that would be a waste of time if he’s not in Mexico,” Cindy said.
“Well, we have to start looking somewhere, and Mexico is the only clue we have,” Alex said.
“How do you propose that we get to Mexico?” Ben asked.
“I’m open to suggestions,” Alex said.
“Since driving would take too long, we would have to charter a plane,” Brandy said.
“Where are we going to get the money to charter a plane?” Ben asked.
“We need to find out how much it will cost first, and then go from there,” Brandy said.
“When we leave here we can search the internet for Charter companies,” Kenny said.
Alex saw a waitress approaching and as she stared at the waitress she said, “Meanwhile I’m going to get something to eat.”
Everyone turned and looked at the waitress as she stepped up. She pulled out her writing tablet and asked, “What can I get everyone?” One by one they gave the waitress their food and drink order. After the last one was done, the waitress put her tablet away. “I’ll be back with your drink order.” The waitress then turned and walked away.
As the waitress walked away, Doug asked, “Alex, have you learned anything interesting while reading Alexandra’s diaries?”
“I’ve been learning quite a bit from the diaries actually. One important thing I learned is that Alexandra was a very unpleasant person to be around in high school.”
“Why do you say that?” Doug asked.
“I have been reading about when Seth and Alexandra dated back in high school, and Alexandra took Seth for granted,” Alex began. “She would cancel dates so she could go to parties with certain friends. Seth finally dumped Alexandra when he caught her at a party after telling him that she was sick.”
“Was Alexandra always like that?” Cindy asked.
“Actually, she became like that after becoming friends to four girls in her high school sophomore year. Losing Seth as her boyfriend actually woke Alexandra up a little on how she was treating people. She dumped those four friends and tried to make amends with her old friends.”
“At least Alexandra realized at what she was doing was wrong,” Kenny said.
“Well, unfortunately most of her unpleasantness took place in her senior year, so she wasn’t able to make amends with all of her old friends before everyone went off to college. There was one person in particular she wanted to make an amends with, but she was unable to.”
“Let me guess; that particular person is Seth,” Cindy said.
“No, actually the person is a girl named Jennifer,” Alex corrected. “Jennifer and Alexandra had been friends since kindergarten. Alexandra became hateful towards Jennifer in the beginning of their junior year and before Alexandra started making amends to people Jennifer moved away.”
“And I doubt that Jennifer would’ve let Alexandra know as to where she had moved to,” Brandy said.
“Exactly,” Alex said. “I found pictures of Alexandra and Jennifer together in Alexandra’s wallet so I know what Jennifer looks like if I ever see her.”
“That’s good,” Cindy said.
“It is,” Alex agreed. “Anyway, let’s talk about something else.” Cindy grinned before she started a new topic.
The group had a casual conversation before and after the food arrived. Alex was only able to eat half of what she had ordered before getting full and pushing her plate away. After everyone was done eating, the group paid for the meal and went back to campus.
The group was walking towards the entrance of the dormitory when Miles saw Alex. As Miles was stepping up to the group he looked into the faces of the others before saying, “Alex, I would like to talk to you.”
Alex looked at her group while saying, “Hey, guys, I’ll catch up with everyone after I speak to Miles.”
“All right,” Doug said.
As the group walked away Alex looked at Miles and asked, “So what do you want to talk to me about?”
Miles glanced at the departing group before focusing on Alex and saying, “Trudy came to me and expressed her concerns about you…”
“Stop right there,” Alex quickly interrupted with. “If this is about me having memory problems then I’m leaving right now.”
“Alex, you have to admit that your memory hasn’t been reliable for the past twenty-four hours.”
“There is an explanation for that,” Alex quickly said. Miles gave her an inquisitive look. “But I can’t tell you what it is.”
“Why can’t you?” Miles quickly questioned.
“Miles, I’m going to rejoin my friends, so I’ll talk to you later.”
Before Alex had the chance to walk away, Miles asked, “Since when have you and your brother been hanging out with those four people?”
Alex gave Miles a curious look before asking, “Why are you concerned about that?”
“I’m not concerned about it. It’s just that… I’ve never seen you even talking to any of those four people before. And that one guy I’ve never even seen before.”
“Most likely you’re referring to Benjamin, and we all do know each other. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rejoin them.”
“Alex, why won’t you talk to me?” Miles quickly asked.
“Because you want to discuss topics that I won’t discuss with you or Trudy,” Alex said before turning. While walking away she said, “Bye, Miles.”
Miles watched Alex for a second before he turned and went to the lunchroom.
Trudy and three women were sitting at a table eating when Miles stepped up to the table. When Trudy noticed him stepping up she asked, “What’s up?”
Miles gestured towards an empty table while asking, “Can we sit at that table over there?”
Trudy looked at her group and said, “I’ll see everyone later.”
“See you,” the three said.
Trudy got up with her food tray and followed Miles to the table. As Trudy and Miles were taking their seats, Trudy asked, “What’s going on?”
Once Miles was seated, he faced Trudy while saying, “I briefly talked to Alex and she definitely won’t confide in me as to what is going on with her. Whatever is going on with her, I have a feeling that it’s not her memory like you suspect.”
“Why don’t you think it’s her memory?”
“When I was talking to Alex, the vibe I picked up from her felt as if I was talking to a complete stranger.”
Trudy grinned and asked, “You think Alex was replaced by an imposter?”
“Okay, I know it sounds ridiculous, but when I talked to her within just those few minutes, it just felt as if I wasn’t talking to the same Alex who you and I know. She and Doug are even hanging out with four people who they normally don’t hang out with. Three of them I’ve seen around campus, but I’ve never seen the fourth one before.”
“Well, I still think that her problem is her memory, and I feel that we both need to confront her about it at the same time.”
“Alex will just walk away again like she did before.”
“Then we won’t give her a chance to.”
“How will we do that?”
“You and I will wait in my dorm. Alex has to return sometime and when she does we won’t let her leave until she admits that she has a problem.”
“When do you want us to do this?”
“We can start now and we will wait all night if we have to.”
“Trudy, both of us have classes.”
“I have two classes this afternoon and I’ll skip them if I have to. I want you to skip whatever classes you have.”
“Well, I have a game at seven that I can’t miss, so I can only stay for a few hours.”
“Fine; I just hope Alex will return before you have to leave.” Trudy then stood up. “Well, we might as well go wait for her now.” Miles stood up and walked alongside Trudy as they walked away from the table.
