Untitled Story 1: Chapter 2

I looked to the calendar hung on the wall beside me. Today was June 4th. It was my birthday. "How come I'm always the last to know everything?"

Jamal laughed and shook his head. "Your just lucky I guess. And forgetful."

"No I'm not. I just don't run around telling everyone, even strangers, to give me a present. Like YOU!" I went back to my seat and flung a stray Pebble at his head.

He laughed again as the cereal barely made it to his side of the table. "Hey what can I say? I like presents." He pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket and slid it towards me. "I know you'll like the one I got you."

It was a ticket. A ticket to my favorite band of all time. "Woah! Jamal! How didja get it? I thought they were sold out!"

He shrugged. "I ordered them like the first day they went on sale."

I jumped up and hugged him then jumped around the kitchen. "This is the most awesomest, most wicked gift you've ever gotten me! Even beating out the three pound Hershey Kiss!"

Jamal put on a look of fake shock. "What? How could something that weighs like 5 grams beat out a three pound blob of chocolate? How long did it take you to eat that thing anyways?"

I stopped jumping and tilted my head in thought. "Uhh... about.. 2 months."

He shook his head. "Chocoholic.. I had one, lasted me a year."

I just laughed and scampered into the living room to tell Mom. It turned out she knew. She had gotten me a long, leather duster jacket. The kind of jacket that goes down practically to your ankles. I've always wanted one of those..

_________

The next weekend Jamal and I were in line of the concert. Talking and laughing at how some people dressed. Though I didn't have much room to talk, I was wearing my duster.

"Look at that dude's hair. It's green! Makes him look like he uses it for a tissue." I nodded towards a guy about ten people up.

Jamal snorted. "Why don't you dye your hair that color? Then I can call you Snot instead of Tetris."

I shook my head. "Why don't you get your hair that color?" I looked around for someone else to pick on.

"Hey, if I was white. I'd have it all the colors under the sun. Not at the same time though."

"No.. cause then it'd look like poo."

He chuckled. "Sorta like your hair." Jamal's mouth dropped open and he elbowed me. "Look Nat! The guy looks just like you!"

"Oh, First my hair looks like poo and now I look like a guy?"

He shook his head and pointed. "No. No. No. Your hair looks fine. Like chocolate, not crap. His hair is the same color. Look!"

I followed the general direction his finger was pointing and felt my heart do a flip. If I had a twin and it was a dude, He'd probably be it. We did have the same hair. And the same big ears. Similar facial features all the things that Mom said I got from Kyle. She said I had his eyes too. I wonder if this guy had the same greenish-yellow color.

"Hey! Hey Guy! Dude! You!" I ignored the catcalls of other guys going 'Hey baby! Talkin' to me?' and tried to keep my eye on my 'twin' as he went inside. He was behind Snot Hair and for a few moments, I lost him.

As the lady took my ticket, I started to run but Jamal grabbed my arm. "Natalie. Calm down. I see look alikes all the time. No need to get upset."

“I-I’m not upset. I just-just have to find this guy.” My eyes searched frantically around the crowd of people but mostly all I saw was a sea of black.

“Why?” He still had a hold of my army, gently squeezing it, as if to keep me in tune with reality.

I hardly felt him there. “Why what?”

Why do you have to find him?” His voice sounded far away even though he was right beside me.

“I... I don’t... I don’t know Jamal. I just have to. If I don’t find him... something might happen.”

“What will happen? Something bad?“ From what I could hear his voice was fearful. I was scared myself. Was I losing my mind?

“I don’t know. Just something.” And then the feeling was gone. Left just as quickly as it came but Jamal’s voice was still far away.

“Natalie. Your kinda scaring me. Are you going to be okay? Natalie!”

With a sudden whoosh his voice came back to full volume. He was standing right in front of me shaking me by the shoulders. I couldn’t tell you when he had started shaking me.

“Do I need to get help? Do you need to sit down?” A million questions came from him all at once.

“I’m okay. I’m all right now.” My voice didn’t sound like my own for a moment. Not the loud strong tone that I usually had but small and timid.

“Are you sure Natalie?” Jamal looked scared. More frightened than I had seen him in a long time. He still had a grip on my shoulders, like if I passed out or something he’d catch me.

“Yeah. Yeah.... I’m fine. Let’s just go find our spots.” I gave him a smile and he returned it but the whole time the concert went one, he watched me out of the corner of his eye.