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

little twitch in the corner of my right eye. As I leaned in to check it out, both eyes swelledto watery, yellow bulbs, both pupils drew into slits, and there I was, staring into doppelganger eyes. I jumped back and gasped.
    It only lasted a moment before fading with no more than a ripple.
    A toilet flushed, sending my heart into my throat. I dried my face with my shirt as one of the stall doors opened and a tall boy with a shaved head came out.
    â€œCome on, Parker,” he said, barely looking at me as he headed for the door. “You’re going to miss lunch.”
    I followed him to the cafeteria and went to the end of the lunch line. It was pretty straightforward—get your tray, get your food, swipe your card, find a seat. I fumbled a little before finding the right card in Chris’s wallet, but pretty soon I was through the line, looking desperately for a seat amid the sea of students. Steve flagged me as I drifted by.
    I sat down, nodded to everyone at the table, and began picking at my food. It wasn’t that I didn’t have an appetite. I did. I hadn’t had that much to eat these last few weeks and it was all starting to catch up with me. But suddenly I didn’t feel like eating. It’s like I couldn’t swallow right or something. Meanwhile, Steve started going off on all the kids around us, making nasty comments about this guy’s face or that girl’s tits or which freshman he’d like to bang. Really gross stuff. I tried to ignore it for a while, but toward the end of lunch I just sort of lost it.
    â€œDude, will you shut up?” I said. I was practically yelling. I knew I shouldn’t have said it, but I was still feeling pretty lousy from my talk with Mrs. Olson, not to mention freaked out by what I’d seen in the bathroom. A few heads turned.
    Steve seemed pretty taken aback. He kind of shrank for a second.
    â€œWhat’s your problem?” he snipped. Then he looked up over my shoulder. “Oh, I get it,” he said. He picked up his tray and left. So did everyone else.
    â€œFeeling better?” a girl’s voice said behind me.
    Even before I turned, I knew it was her. I’d never heard her speak, but it was like I just knew. I looked up and saw her standing there in a cheerleading outfit, looking down at me. Her red hair was pulled partway back and hung around her like a fiery halo, and she was smiling, but in a weird sort of way. Her lips were tight, like she was trying to hold in a secret.
    â€œHi,” I said, a bit hoarsely. I moved over and she sat down. As soon as she did, the smile dropped. I reached forward to take her hand and saw her flinch. It was almost imperceptible—I don’t think anyone else noticed—but it made me pull back.
    â€œI was looking for you this morning,” I said.
    â€œFunny,” she said. Ouch. I could almost feel the ice crystals creeping up my legs from the bench we shared. I decided to just shut up.
    â€œWhere’s your jersey?” she asked after a bit.
    â€œForgot it,” I said. That goddam jersey.
    â€œGreat. At least we would have been matching. Now I look like even more of a dork in this thing,” she said, giving a tug at her uniform. “And I swear just about every guy in school has checked out my ass today with this stupid skirt as short as it is.”
    â€œCan’t say as I blame them,” I said, trying to smile. I figured it was the kind of thing that Chris might say. I musthave been right, because she gave me a nasty snort and rolled her eyes.
    â€œSo,” she said, after a little bit, “we still going out tonight or what?”
    I froze as soon as she said it.
    She sensed my hesitation. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine with me. I’d just as soon not go. But Cheryl’s been bugging me all week. Says she even got a DJ. I think it’s that jerk who graduated last year. Oh, what’s his name?”
    â€œI