Читать книгу A Crossed Reality - Gerald Pruett - Страница 8
ОглавлениеChapter 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?”
“She wouldn’t say.”
Avery pondered over a thought for a moment with a worried expression across his face before he told Tiffany, “Let Mrs. Jones know that I’ll be a few minutes.”
Tiffany stood up and said, “Yes, Doctor.”
Avery turned and walked into his office. After sitting down at his desk, he picked up the phone and dialed it.
At the hospital, Beverly was just about ready to scrub in when her cell phone rang. After looking at the number, she answered, “Hey, Honey, this isn’t a good time to talk. I’m about ready to scrub in for surgery.”
“Did you tell Alex about Nicholas O’Brien?”
Beverly said in a confused tone, “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to her, but she just called here and asked Tiffany about him. Beverly, before we got married we agreed not to say anything about Nicholas.”
“And I didn’t. Honey, I don’t know how Alex heard the name, and I will deal with it later, but right now, there’s a man on a table who needs a surgeon.”
“All right; goodbye,” Avery said before hanging up. He then stood up and walked out of his office.
On the road to go find Randy, Alex was reading the diary. Alex had read a few pages before saying, “Guess who Alex of this reality dated.”
Doug thought for a second before saying, “Myron Bennett.”
“You can’t be serious. Myron in our reality is a nerd and is in desperate need of help with clearing up his acne.”
“Who is it then?”
“Stephen Keith.”
Doug slightly grinned before questioning, “You dated Harvard’s first string quarterback?”
“No, the Alex of this reality dated the quarterback. Stephen broke up with Alex on September 15th and started dating Becky Steward.”
“I don’t know Becky Steward.”
“I don’t know her either, but Becky and the Alex of this reality used to be good friends before September 15th. There is also another woman who I don’t know. Her named is Catherine Weis. She’s a friend to Alex and Becky. Catherine is even remaining a friend to both of them in spite that Alex and Becky are no longer friends.”
“Interesting; what else did you learn from that?”
“Not too much, but I’m still reading,” Alex said before flipping to the next page.
A short time later, Doug parked in front of the house. After Alex and Doug stepped up to the front door, Alex knocked. Seconds later, Alex was stunned to see a ten-year-old girl answering the door.
“Hi; are you here to see my mom?” the girl asked.
“I’m sorry,” Alex was the one to say. “I believe I have the wrong house. I was looking for a man named Randy Miller.”
Before the girl was able to respond, the girl’s mom stepped up behind the girl and asked, “Hi, may I help you?”
“I’m sorry to trouble you, Ma’am,” Alex said. “My friend Randy Miller was supposed to have moved into this neighborhood just recently, and when he told me the address, I must have gotten it wrong. Again I apologize for troubling you.”
“If this helps, I did see a moving van and two men three weeks ago two blocks up the street,” the woman said while gesturing in the direction.
“Thank you for the information,” Doug said. “Bye.”
The woman and the girl just waved. Alex and Doug waved back before they turned and walked back towards the Jeep.
Before reaching the Jeep Alex questioned, “Doug, what are we going to do if Randy isn’t attending Harvard?”
“Randy is the one who had talked you and me into applying to Harvard, so if we’re here then he has to be here.”
“I hope you’re right,” Alex said as they were approaching the Jeep.
“Of course I’m right. So do you still want me to drive?”
“Yeah, I want to read more of the diary.”
As Alex was opening the passenger’s door, Doug was walking towards the driver’s door.
Alex and Doug didn’t speak to one another while Alex read the diary. After Doug parked the Jeep in Harvard’s parking lot and turned off the engine Alex looked up. When she saw where she was she put the diary in her purse.
Just before Alex was able to reach for the door-latch to get out, Doug asked, “So have you learned anything else from that diary?”
“I have. My roommate’s name is Trudy Appleby. Apparently she and I became best friends after Stephen broke up with me to go out with Becky.”
“Is that all you learned?”
“That’s all I learned that I’m willing to share with you. There is a lot of private and personal stuff in here that I don’t want to share.”
Doug amusingly grinned before saying, “Okay.” He then opened his door to get out. Alex followed suit.
As Alex and Doug were walking away from the Jeep, Kenny, Brandy and Cindy were approaching them. Alex and Doug watched them with uncertain expressions on their faces.
Kenny was leading and when he stepped up he stared at Alex while saying, “Doug, we need to talk to you for a minute in private.”
“What about?” Doug asked.
“This is a private matter and I don’t want to discuss this in front of your friend,” Kenny said.
Before Doug was able to respond, Alex blurted out, “Does it have anything to do with reality being changed?”
Kenny gave Alex a curious look before saying, “That’s right. How do you know about it?”
“Kenny; Brandy; Cindy, let me introduce you to my twin sister Alexandra.”
Brandy stared incredulously at Alex while asking, “Alex?”
Alex grinned before saying, “It’s me. How do you like my makeover?”
“Doug, what’s going on?” Kenny asked.
“I’ll give you one hint; Randy Miller,” Doug said.
“What about him?” Cindy asked.
“He was working on the idea of traveling into different realities,” Doug said.
“You can’t be serious,” Brandy said.
“Brandy, look at me,” Alex said with her arms spread out wide. “This makeover wasn’t my doing.”
“So what do we do to correct this?” Cindy asked.
“We find Randy,” Doug said. “Since all of us had traveled… jumped… or whatever the hell we did, I’m going to say that he did too. Alex and I were on our way to the admission office to find out what dorm he’s in.”
“He wasn’t living in the dorm in our reality,” Brandy pointed out.
“We just came from where he lived in our reality and he doesn’t live there,” Alex said.
“Okay, let’s go to the admission office,” Kenny said. “Oh and when we get there, we need to ask about Benjamin also.”
Doug sighed before saying sarcastically, “Of course we do.”
Minutes later, the group walked into the admissions office. The worker at the desk gave the group a confused look as they stepped up. In an uncertain tone, the worker asked, “May I help you?”
Doug pulled out his student ID before saying, “I’m looking for a fellow student. His name is Randy Miller and I want to know what his dorm number is.”
The worker typed for a second at the computer. When the search showed, ‘No match found’ the worker said, “There is no one at this university by the name of Randy Miller.”
“Are you certain?” Doug quickly asked.
“I’m positive,” the worker said.
“What about Benjamin Bell?” Kenny asked.
The worker typed again on the computer. Again the message, ‘No match found’ came up. “He’s not here either.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. “We’re sorry to trouble you.”
“No problem,” the worker said.
Alex and the group turned and walked away. When they stepped into the hallway Cindy asked, “What now?”
Alex pulled out her cell phone from her purse and said, “I’m going to call Randy’s mom. Perhaps she can tell me where to find him.” Alex then dialed the number. A woman’s voice answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello, Ms. Miller.”
“I’m sorry, but you must’ve called the wrong number,” the woman said.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am, to have bothered you,” Alex said. Alex then put her phone back into her purse. “Well, that number doesn’t belong to Randy’s mom in this reality.”
“So what now?” Cindy asked.
“I think Doug and I should talk to Randy’s mom in person,” Alex said.
“You can’t be serious,” Doug quickly said.
“Randy is the only person who can return us to our reality, so we have to find him,” Alex said.
“Doug, I think Alex is right,” Kenny said. “You and Alex are the only two who know where his mom lives… unless Randy’s mom doesn’t live in the same place.”
“Doug, since I’m a woman in this reality, it might be better if you came with me, but if you don’t want to, I’ll go alone,” Alex said.
“And how are you going to get there?” Doug asked. “Neither one of us can afford a plane trip to St. Louis.”
“Doug, let me check my bank account and make sure I still have the same amount of money in this reality. And if I do, I’ll give you and Alex the money to go to St. Louis,” Brandy said.
“Brandy, are you sure about that?” Alex asked.
“I’m positive,” Brandy said. “If our only chance to correct reality is to find Randy then helping you get to Randy is no problem for me.”
“Okay, thanks,” Alex said before gesturing towards her purse. “So check your bank book.”
“Let’s go to my dorm. I’ll check my bank account from the Internet,” Brandy said. Brandy turned and walked away. Everyone walked along side her.
A few minutes later, Brandy was logging onto her laptop while Alex and the others were standing nearby.
Once Brandy logged onto the Internet, Brandy saw a message from Ben. When a curious expression crept across Brandy’s face, Alex asked, “Brandy, what is it?”
“Ben sent me a message.” While everyone was gathering around Brandy’s laptop, Brandy opened the message and read it aloud, “Brandy, I’m hoping what happened to me has happened to you as well, otherwise you will see this e-mail as a prank. Fifteen minutes ago, I was at Harvard while studying with you, Kenny, Cindy and Alex. I don’t know what happened; I blacked out and when I woke up, I was at a tire and auto shop while wearing the shop’s uniform. According to the people who know me, I didn’t get the scholarship and I took a job here. If you understand what I’m talking about then please respond; otherwise, I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“Well, we know what happened to Ben,” Kenny said.
“Brandy, reply to Ben first, so he knows that he’s not alone,” Alex suggested.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Brandy said before clicking on the reply icon. She then typed out a message explaining what had happened. After sending her message, she checked her bank account. “Good news. Every cent I had is still there and not a penny more. Now while I’m on the computer, I’ll book you two a flight to St. Louis. When do you two want to leave?”
“The sooner the better,” Alex said.
“Okay, I’ll book you and Doug on the first available flight,” Brandy said before logging onto the site to book a flight. After a short time Brandy was looking over the flight schedules. “And the first available flight to St. Louis is at 3:00 P.M.”
“Book it,” Doug said.
“Okay, I’ll book it and both of your tickets will be waiting at the airport when you get there,” Brandy said before pressing a few buttons.
“Oh, Brandy, our last name in this reality is Larson,” Alex said. “So book the flight using that last name.”
“Okay,” Brandy said.
“Why is your last name Larson?” Cindy asked.
“We haven’t found that out yet, but I am working on knowing why,” Alex said.
Doug pointed to the computer clock while saying, “Alex, we need to get going if we’re going to make it to the airport by three.”
“Brandy, thanks a lot for doing this,” Alex said.
“You can thank me by finding Randy,” Brandy said.
“I’ll do my best,” Alex said. “Oh; before Doug and I leave, I should give you the number to my cell phone.” Brandy got out her cell phone and put in Alex’s number. Brandy then gave everyone her number. “Bye, everyone.”
“Bye,” everyone said.
“And good luck,” Cindy added.
Alex and Doug left Brandy’s dorm.
Minutes later, as Alex and Doug were walking up to Alex’s Jeep liberty, Doug said, “I’ll let you drive this time.”
“Fine,” Alex said. Alex walked up to the driver’s door. “We still need to find your Jeep at some point.”
“As long as we have yours, we should be all right,” Doug said before he and Alex climbed into the Jeep.
Several minutes later, as Alex and Doug waited at the airport for their flight, Alex read more of the diary. Alex was only able to read for a few minutes before she and Doug had to board the plane. After getting comfortable on the plane Alex again pulled out the diary to read.
