The World Through Various Eyes

[11] The Flip Side (Jade's POV)

A small room packed with the latest technology was all that was visible as my eyelids slowly peeled back to reveal the aforementioned scenery. I arose tentatively, taking in the atmosphere around me. My nostrils flared ever so slightly as I experienced a scent reminiscent of drying paint and WD-40. My eyes were blinded promptly after opening them all the way, what with the various monitors and flickering lights in otherwise pitch black darkness.

The first thought that crossed my exhausted mind was the obvious "Where am I?" Come on, I know you saw that coming. You don't really believe that my own room would be packed full of shit I don't even know how to use? I don't think so...

There was only one person I knew who could own a room like this and that was...

Alex?

What the hell would I be doing in Alex's room? This thought startled me for a second, but I quickly dismissed it. Although I hadn't been to his house since I was ten, I knew full well that him and his dad could barely scrape by with the money they had, and certainly would not be able to afford all this high-tech equipment,

Honestly, that realization didn't exactly help calm me. What if I was in some sort of government facility, and they were monitoring me? I couldn't recall anything that I had done wrong; not particularly. Thankfully, I released this idea as well as the third out of five monitors pinged, alerting me of something that suggested something completely different entirely.

To: AbstractAnonymous

Subject: The Usual Tech Help Inquiry

Content:

"Okay, not exactly the usual. Actually, I don't know what kind of submissions and requests you receive, I just know that you get a lot. I understand if you aren't able to because of this reason, but I figured asking couldn't hurt. I think my boyfriend is cheating on me and I was wondering if you could somehow monitor his internet and messaging activity. He means the world to me, but I'm not sure if I am the same to him. I'm willing to offer a large payment for this. I have a lot of money to spare."

~beaglelove21

I shut off the monitor of the computer, thus eliminating my last source of light. I stared off into the dark nothingness of the room, as I processed what I had just read. Each subsequent event in this chain of bizarre events just threw off my theories further, leaving me with not a single hypothesis as to why I was here. I got up from the desk chair cautiously, avoiding the action of hitting or bumping into something nearby as I made my way towards a light switch. After not too long, my hand reached what I had thought was a light switch of sorts, and I flicked it on. The small room illuminated at this action, a flickering, flourescently artificial light flowing through the cramped space.

I was semi-blinded and I reached for my glasses to remove and clean them out of habit. Unfortunately, one thing stood in the way of me doing so.

They weren't there.

I felt around my face, searching for the rectangular, ebony frames I knew so well. Not long after, I had sufficiently exhausted every possibility of me wearing them. I even checked if they were propped up on my head, which if I had found them there, I would have felt very dumb and oblivious. But alas they were not, so I continued to scan the room for places I could have set them down on. The odd thing was, I had absolutely no recollection of ever taking them off.

Had I woken up wearing them? Of course not! Who wears glasses to bed anyway? Somebody hoping to break a good pair of expensive frames most likely. Seeing as I did not fit this criteria, it was obvious that they were elsewhere. Or maybe I was wearing contacts. That was the only logical explanation, since I could see clearly. Then again, my prescription was not that high, so maybe I could see fine without them.

I needed a moment. Too much was happening too fast, and it would be a blatant lie to claim that I was coping well. I wasn't sure why this was getting to me so much, I usually was able to stay calm and think things through rationally.

Look where that was getting me now. Absolutely no further than when I woke up. I was still in the same room, still wondering why, and not having a clue of my situation.

I guess I was the sort of person who couldn't handle it when I was unable to grasp a concept quickly, and no matter how hard I tried, I just could not deduce how my presence in this room made sense. How? And why?

As I previously stated, I needed a moment. I wasn't certain as to what form this moment would take, but I knew I needed it. Ultimately, I decided to call Alex. He had turned to me when he had had a similar occurrence like this one, so I was reluctant to reach out for fear of showing weakness. I had always been the calm one (well, most of the time), the logical one with her life together. But I suppose desperate times called for desperate measures.

I thought this as I turned to a conveniently placed home phone on the shelf above me to the left. Why it was there was a mystery but I wasn't one to question good things. My fingers, which were slightly thicker and not manicured for some reason, punched in Alex's number and waited in silence for him to pick up.

What I didn't expect, though, was for the response to come from as close by as across the room, under the bed. The cell lit up in alert, and I cursed under my breath. I wouldn't be able to get through to him after all.

Oh no.

Oh.

No.

No. It couldn't be. This must be a mistake! I started spouting off random facts, quotes from books and sonnets of Shakespeare with this voice. But it remained the same no matter what I said or how much I said of it. And at that moment, a shocking realization hit me like a ton of bricks. This is a widely overused metaphor but I felt it was the most applicable in this situation.

I was Alex. My voice belonged to him and him only, no mistake. My nails were not manicured and my fingers were thinner because my nails were not mine and my fingers weren't either..

By that logic, I was Alex.

And Alex was me.

Hey reader! Thanks for reading my latest chapter in "The World Through Various Eyes"! If you enjoyed it, make sure to comment your thoughts about the book's plot so far, and your opinions on it in general. Also, if you think it deserves it, make sure to vote for it! Thanks again!

~DistantDreams (Claire)