Read Online Doppelganger by David Stahler Jr. - Free Book Online

girl taped to the inside door that looked like it had been taken out of one of the magazines in Chris’s closet. I looked over Chris’s books as students continued to rush by on their way to class.
    â€œHurry up,” Josh barked, “we’re going to be late.”
    Finally I just grabbed the whole stack and followed Josh down the hall. We made it to class just in time, taking the last pair of seats as the bell rang. Mr. Johnson called the class to order, and I was off—my first day of school had officially begun.
    Fortunately history turned out to be U.S. history, something I’d learned about already. Of course, it wasn’t a high school book I’d studied back at the cabin, but based on the questions Mr. Johnson asked us, it wasn’t that much harder. In fact, I don’t mean to brag, but I seemed to know morethan most of the other kids in the class did. It was early in the year, and we were in the middle of the Revolutionary War. After a bit of discussion, the lights were turned out and we watched a video, while Johnson graded papers at his desk.
    The video was a documentary on the Founding Fathers. It turned out I’d seen the whole series three times already on public television, so I used the period to go through Chris’s notebook and try to get a sense of what was going on. Fortunately his schedule was taped to the inside. History, study hall, science, phys ed, math, English—it all seemed pretty run of the mill. The only class that really raised a flag was Spanish 2, right before lunch. The only Spanish I knew was what I’d learned watching Sesame Street .
    The bell rang and everyone headed out. Josh and I parted company, and I followed the door numbers until I found my next class.
    The day went on like this. I kept a low profile, and nobody really called on me or anything. Even Spanish turned out not to be too bad. The teacher, Mrs. Olson, spoke mostly in English as we worked on conjugating verbs. At one point, though, she turned to me, rattled something off in Spanish, and waited. I just repeated it back to her and then held my breath as she gave me a sort of funny look and a few kids snickered. There was a long pause. Uh-oh , I thought.
    â€œThat was excellent, Chris,” she said at last. “Really, a good job.”
    â€œGracias,” I said, and smiled.
    In spite of that, I found the period to be pretty stressful, so when the bell rang and everyone headed off, I went up to speak with her.
    â€œI was wondering if it was too late to drop the class,” I asked.
    She frowned a little and shook her head. “It’s still early enough in the year,” she said, “but I wouldn’t advise it. Remember, most colleges require at least two years of a language.”
    â€œWell,” I said, “somehow I don’t think I’ll be going to college.”
    â€œNow, Chris,” she said, “I know you’ve had your struggles in school, especially in my class, but you shouldn’t give up. I hear a lot of talk about how you’re due for a big football scholarship. Just stick with it. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”
    Yeah, really bright , I thought. “Thanks,” I murmured. I suddenly wanted to disappear, to shrivel up and blow away or crawl into some dark hole. I wondered if that culvert Chris was in had room enough for two.
    â€œBesides,” she said, “I’ve never heard you speak so fluidly as you did today. It was beautiful—I think you may be turning a corner.”
    â€œMaybe,” I said.
    I turned and left the room, resisting the urge to break into a dead run and keep on going right out the front door. Instead, I ducked into the boy’s bathroom and splashed some water on my face. All of a sudden, I wasn’t feeling so good.
    â€œKeep it together,” I said, looking in the mirror, watching the water drip off my face.
    That was when I saw it.
    It started with just a