Doppelganger: Anamorphosis

Chapter six. Salem

Rick had urged her to take the mirror to the airport, but Judy had insisted on public transportation, reasoning that the man would need more time to mentally prepare for his first flight.

He was terribly nervous, but he also had the excitement of a little boy about to dare to ride the tallest slide in the amusement park. At the airport, he stared around with childishly eager eyes.

Then he fidgeted in his seat for a long time, trying to get comfortable. Rick was comically trying to fit his legs under the front seat, fiddling with the belt and armrests. Judy furtively watched his fiddling, leafing through the airline brochure and coming up with messages to anyone who might be concerned about her absence.

"Hello. Needed to check on my mom," she texted Gabi and, after a moment's thought, sent word of apology to Camila as well. Their trip to Salem wasn't likely to last long, since they'd expected to turn out to be a day, but it wasn't worth teasing the beast anyway.

- The stewardesses are hot, - Ricardo said, whistling after the flight attendant who passed between the rows. As soon as the girl in the airline uniform was out of sight, he began to whistle:

- Do you have to buckle up, eh? Will they feed you? Will it take a long time to fly? Will it shake? Have there been any crashes on this flight? You know how to survive in the woods, make fire and stuff like that? You've got a gun with you, you can go to the animals there... How many seasons of "Lost" have you watched?

- Jesus, - Judy groaned, turning on the screen on the back of the front seat, - why don't you go watch a cartoon or read a book?

Rick called her a "heartless bitch" with one lip and turned his attention to the available assortment of entertainment for a while.

Judy checked her cell phone in the meantime.

Gabriella had flooded her with a lot of worried messages, and the number of question marks in them clearly exceeded all the acceptable norms.

Camila limited herself to a dry "Ok. Stay in touch," and she couldn't resist the temptation to imagine in color the sour face with which the arrogant bitch was dignifying her message with a reply. Judy strictly forbade herself to fantasize about where this unpleasant person hid her gadget while in bird form. But her thoughts were creeping in that direction, making her giggle uncontrollably.

Seriously! How did this incomprehensible foul thing even have phones!

The smartphone in her hands suddenly vibrated and Judy cursed under her breath. Gabriella had probably taken her panic to the extreme and had already launched a rescue expedition after her friend. Judy wouldn't be surprised if Gabby was scurrying around the airport right now, expecting to intercept her before she left. And interrogate her.

But contrary to Judy's expectations, it wasn't her agitated friend who was bothering her, it was the unknown number. She glanced at the scoreboard in the cabin, estimating how much time was left before takeoff, and just in case, she dropped the call.

Almost immediately the screen came back to life.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Judith."

"You broke both arms and can't type? Write down a voicemail."

"I hate voicemails, but broken arms are a good reason."

The likelihood that someone new or old had targeted Judy for a silly prank was about zero. And Camila was unlikely to react so emotionally.

It was easy to guess who exactly was interested in the girl's hasty departure. The last message finally dispelled all of Judy's doubts.