Diary/Journal/Whatever is Manly

Chapter 17

"Wait, so you're telling me, there's two of me?"

"No."

"I have a clone then."

"No, because you have one body and one mind really."

"It's multiple personality disorder."

"Except you never claim to be anyone other than yourself.

"This is perfect."

"How so?"

"I could commit murder and get away with it."

"Ummm."

"Think about it."

"All I see, is you murdering someone and, Tyler waking up confused in a maximum security prison."

"Tyler's murdering someone?" Stacey asked, as the gang sat down at the table.

"Not Tyler, Tyler 2.0," Misty rectified.

"Oh okay, that makes much more sense," Dennis said.

"Wait, why am I 2.0? Why can't I be the original?" Tyler complained.

"Because it makes sense to make the more responsible one, the original one."

"Why?"

"Because, they don't engage in useless arguments." Tyler made a face at Misty's response. Smiling triumphantly, Misty just turned her attention back to her work. She had been alone in the library working on a minor project for her course work when she was interrupted by Tyler, or Tyler 2.0 as she had began to call him. As he attempted to make a move on her, she dropped the bomb that his memory gaps weren't memory gaps at all. He had taken it in stride, as she expected, proceeding to ask her question after question about his alter ego. He managed to waste quite a bit of time, before the gang had shown up, alerting her that she had neglected her work for long enough.

"They should do a '60 minutes' on me." Tyler laughed to himself, as his brain processed the information about the liquid in his brain.

"You need to move to Australia first."

"I'd make a great Australian... G'day mate, shrimp on the barbie, Crickey!"

"You're an idiot." Tyler gave Misty a megawatt smile, as though agreeing with her statement wholeheartedly. The rest of the gang bursting into laughter at their antics. Once the laughter died down, everyone set to work at their different projects. Occasionally asking each other for opinions on different aspects of work. 

Misty was quite surprised really. 

Considering, all group study sessions she had witnessed, ended with no work completed at all. However, they managed an hour and thirty minutes of serious work, before anyone started feeling antsy. 

"Tyler could you draw me something?" Misty asked, breaking the silence.

"I guess."

"Could you draw two identical people," Misty finished off her request.

"Can I ask why?"

"Because I need it."

"Misty!"

"What?"

"When someone askes you for a reason why, they usually want more than 'I need it.'" Stacey explained.

"But I do need it," Misty rebutted.

"That might be so, but what do you need it for?" Stacey asked.

"Class."

"We'll discuss this later," Stacey decided.

"Anything specific you want with your twins?" Tyler interrupted the two girls.

"Just to look the same." Misty answered, turning her attention to Tyler.

Tyler let out a small laugh, "that's a given."

"Thanks." Misty managed to get out. With a frown on her face and eyes facing downwards, she mumbled, "I'm feeling tired. I'm gonna go now." She disappeared, faster than the gang could say goodbye. Leaving everyone to wonder, when she had packed up her belongings. 

Misty tried to fight the tears stinging her eyes, but a few proved too strong, trickling down her cheeks. She messily wiped them away, with the sleeves of her oversized shirt, as she sped walked away from her friends. She finally felt like she could breathe, once she had pushed past the library doors. With her eyes closed, she faced the skies, and took a few deep breaths to calm down her racing heart.

She had thought she was getting better, but...

Releasing a breath, she schooled her features and, shakingly started in the direction of her dorm rooms. 

"Misty!" Misty ignored the call in favour of walking faster. She just wanted to reach the comfort of her damn room. She just wanted to sink into the comfort of her warm sheets (nothing could hurt her under there).

"Misty!" This time she could not ignore call, considering the owner grabbed her arm and spun her around. "I was calling out to you, didn't you hear me?"

Misty did not bother to give Tyler a response. Just kept staring at him, as though her stare alone could make him unhand her. Sick of being near him huff and puff she snapped, "what do you want!?"

"You rushed out of the library so quickly, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. Mission accomplished. Now let me go."

"It was Stacey wasn't it?"

"What?" Misty snapped her head up to look at Tyler, not expecting him to be so perceptive. "Wha-what are you talking about?" Misty stammered out.

"I'm not claiming to know anything but, it seems you have a deal with the twins. They help you with social ques and what not?"

"Listen Tyler--"

"No, I don't care. I'm not judging. It's just that the ironic thing is that they're teaching you to be sensitive in the most callous way."

"What?"

"They're so dismissive, and... I guess what I'm saying, is that, the only reason I was able to perceive anything... is from experience. I'm not saying we're the same, just that, I know what it's like to be dismissed."

"You don't get it. I didn't rush out of there because of Stacey's brashness. I ran out of there because of you!"

"Me?"

"You laughed... You laughed, and that's worse than any snippy attitude Stacey could show me." Tyler could not believe it. So, he did the one thing that would escalate the situation, he laughed. "You're doing it again."

"I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing at the absurdity of the situation. I wasn't laughing at you at the library, I was laughing at what you said, because I find you funny. Not funny in the sense like you're the joke, but funny in terms of one trait of your wonderful personality." Misty stared at Tyler, processing his raw confession. It was clear as day that all he had said was the truth in his reality. And for the first time in her life, Misty understood how one could laugh at oneself without self-loathing.