Status: working on it...
Roman.
Ch. 13
"Hey, you're not supposed to be up here!" Roman turned to see an old Janitor that looked like he smoked too much pointing at him with a bony finger, "Oh, I'm sorry I just..never mind."
Roman whisked past the old man and back down the stairs, his mind was officially blown. Why was he in that picture when he was just now starting to live here? That picture was of two years ago. Roman wasn't even here two years ago, was he? Something seriously wrong was going on here?
Maybe it was that look alike that kept popping up in his dreams? A ghost trying to warn him of something? But of what?
He just knew he had to investigate this even further.
He waited until the janitor walked down the stairs and out of the door until he emerged from behind a tower of boxes.
Once back in the attic he looked around to see an old, dark, and dusty room. The picture that he saw earlier still sat on top of some boxes. He looked around trying to decide where to start looking until he saw a box marked OLD YEARBOOKS. That was perfect, in his mind he figured out what two years ago would be and he found the appropriate yearbook. It looked familiar, but he didn't know why. This would be all he needed for now, he would try to come back later if he needed to.
He shoved the book into his backpack and slowly walked back down the stairs to go to his next class.
When the teacher asked him why he was late he had to make up a reasonable excuse, "I had some...difficulties in the restroom, sorry for being so late."
It was gross, but he knew there would be no questions asked.
His teacher was going on about some historical battle between the North and South that Roman could care less about. Instead of listening he pulled out the yearbook and held it close to him so that he could look through it.
In the front he saw the Principal and the staff, none of them had really changed but apparently a few quit or were fired because he saw them around town but not in the school. He flipped the page to see himself along with his friends smiling back.
The caption underneath read: Alexander and the rest of the A-List helping out with charity. The five of them were in a soup kitchen feeding the hungry and smiling about it. Now he knew that this never happened, but he couldn't help the feeling that he did it before. Even now he could smell the stench of musty old men and women and the smell of the vegetables and spices put in the food and soups.
Who was Alexander? He saw Ethan, and Maya, and Sutton, and Hanna... And 'himself', but no Alexander. Unless the look-a-like was him?
It just didn't make sense. He continued to flip through the pages and saw more pictures of the football team, with Ethan standing tall and smirking, he saw cheer leading pictures, the library staff, more pictures of the 'A-List', finally he got to the picture of the students in the yearbook.
Sure enough when he turned a few more pages he saw himself smiling back, the name: Devereux, Alexander.
This just was... Too much.
He went through the rest of the day in a haze, even at lunch he was much more silent that usual.
His friends didn't notice, not even Ethan as he insisted on driving him home or to the Clubhouse.
Roman refused, and said he needed time to himself.
He walked the whole way home, which really wasn't a too far walk. He needed to clear his head and think about this stuff.
When he got home he would have to check online for an Alexander Devereux.
As he walked up the front porch steps he heard laughter coming from inside.
There was his mothers laugh, his sisters, and another that he hardly recognized.
He snuck over to the kitchen window to see what was going on and almost fell as what he saw sunk in.
"No, Cassie. I don't think so." The boy laughed, "Oh come on, Rome. You've gotta do it. I have and it was too hysterical."
"Cass, I am not doing the cinnamon challenge and that is final." He continued laughing as Roman watched his mother and his very own sister conversing with this look-a-like.
Someone was out to get him, or take over his life. And this was it. This guy, who was pretending to be him.
He walked backward away from the house and the tears started to fall.
He knew he couldn't go into that house because they wouldn't believe that he was who he said he was.
They would believe the other guy who looked just like him...
He needed to breathe. He needed Ethan...
He turned and ran straight for the Clubhouse, not planning on stopping anytime soon.
Roman whisked past the old man and back down the stairs, his mind was officially blown. Why was he in that picture when he was just now starting to live here? That picture was of two years ago. Roman wasn't even here two years ago, was he? Something seriously wrong was going on here?
Maybe it was that look alike that kept popping up in his dreams? A ghost trying to warn him of something? But of what?
He just knew he had to investigate this even further.
He waited until the janitor walked down the stairs and out of the door until he emerged from behind a tower of boxes.
Once back in the attic he looked around to see an old, dark, and dusty room. The picture that he saw earlier still sat on top of some boxes. He looked around trying to decide where to start looking until he saw a box marked OLD YEARBOOKS. That was perfect, in his mind he figured out what two years ago would be and he found the appropriate yearbook. It looked familiar, but he didn't know why. This would be all he needed for now, he would try to come back later if he needed to.
He shoved the book into his backpack and slowly walked back down the stairs to go to his next class.
When the teacher asked him why he was late he had to make up a reasonable excuse, "I had some...difficulties in the restroom, sorry for being so late."
It was gross, but he knew there would be no questions asked.
His teacher was going on about some historical battle between the North and South that Roman could care less about. Instead of listening he pulled out the yearbook and held it close to him so that he could look through it.
In the front he saw the Principal and the staff, none of them had really changed but apparently a few quit or were fired because he saw them around town but not in the school. He flipped the page to see himself along with his friends smiling back.
The caption underneath read: Alexander and the rest of the A-List helping out with charity. The five of them were in a soup kitchen feeding the hungry and smiling about it. Now he knew that this never happened, but he couldn't help the feeling that he did it before. Even now he could smell the stench of musty old men and women and the smell of the vegetables and spices put in the food and soups.
Who was Alexander? He saw Ethan, and Maya, and Sutton, and Hanna... And 'himself', but no Alexander. Unless the look-a-like was him?
It just didn't make sense. He continued to flip through the pages and saw more pictures of the football team, with Ethan standing tall and smirking, he saw cheer leading pictures, the library staff, more pictures of the 'A-List', finally he got to the picture of the students in the yearbook.
Sure enough when he turned a few more pages he saw himself smiling back, the name: Devereux, Alexander.
This just was... Too much.
He went through the rest of the day in a haze, even at lunch he was much more silent that usual.
His friends didn't notice, not even Ethan as he insisted on driving him home or to the Clubhouse.
Roman refused, and said he needed time to himself.
He walked the whole way home, which really wasn't a too far walk. He needed to clear his head and think about this stuff.
When he got home he would have to check online for an Alexander Devereux.
As he walked up the front porch steps he heard laughter coming from inside.
There was his mothers laugh, his sisters, and another that he hardly recognized.
He snuck over to the kitchen window to see what was going on and almost fell as what he saw sunk in.
"No, Cassie. I don't think so." The boy laughed, "Oh come on, Rome. You've gotta do it. I have and it was too hysterical."
"Cass, I am not doing the cinnamon challenge and that is final." He continued laughing as Roman watched his mother and his very own sister conversing with this look-a-like.
Someone was out to get him, or take over his life. And this was it. This guy, who was pretending to be him.
He walked backward away from the house and the tears started to fall.
He knew he couldn't go into that house because they wouldn't believe that he was who he said he was.
They would believe the other guy who looked just like him...
He needed to breathe. He needed Ethan...
He turned and ran straight for the Clubhouse, not planning on stopping anytime soon.