Identity Crisis - Pt 12

Below is chapter 12 of an ongoing novel about a young man who was kidnapped as an infant and returned to his biological family 15 years later. For earlier chapters check my profile page.

Identity Crisis

Chapter 12

Climbing onto the bus Monday morning, Jason felt like he was in a fishbowl. Every eye on the bus turned to Anthony, then to him. It was like a cone of silence had been lowered as conversations ceased for a few seconds. Standing at the front of the aisle, Anthony looked down the center of the rows of seats. “What’s the matter? You guys never seen a found kidnap victim before?” A guy in the second seat on the right gave Anthony a high five, and the teens turned back their friends and phones.

Anthony sat next to his friend in the second seat as Melinda clambered into a seat farther back with another girl. Jason looked around. Most of the seats were taken as they were almost the last stop on the route. Noting a skinny boy in a red, short sleeved button up shirt sitting alone in the seat in front of where Melinda sat talking with a dark-haired girl, he headed in that direction. “Mind if I sit here?” he asked.

The young man moved his backpack, setting it on the floorboard by his feet. “Sure.”

“Thanks,” Jason said.

“You’re Anthony’s twin? The one that was kidnapped, what, fifteen years ago?”

“Seems so.”

“Wow. That’s messed up. By the way, I’m Rodger. Jason, right?”

“Yeah. Pleased to meet you, Rodger.”

“I don’t guess you really want to talk about it all. You’ll get plenty of that at school.”

“No doubt.” Jason smiled and held out his hand which the teen shook.

As the bus pulled back into the traffic lanes Melinda leaned on the back of their seat. “Rodger Dodger here is on the track team. That’s how he keeps ahead of the real jocks.” Melinda clapped the boy on the shoulder. Rodger’s face flushed and he turned to look out the window. “Anyone on the chess and debate team that’s smart enough to be good at long distance running has a bright future ahead of him.”

As Melinda leaned back and resumed talking with the tanned brunette next to her, Jason looked at his seatmate. Rodger had shaggy dark hair and was thin almost to the point of emaciation. His nose was a bit long for his face and had some acne spots scattered on and around it. He was studiously trying not to look flustered.

“Don’t let Melinda bother you,” Jason said. “She’s into dramatics.”

“Drama. Not dramatics, Shadow.” Melinda said from behind him.

Rodger looked back at Jason. “Shadow? What’s that about?” he asked.

“She says I’m the shadow she’s been living in her whole life.”

“Huh. She may have a point. I’m sure growing up in a house where your parents are grieving for a missing kid you never even met wasn’t easy.”

“You may be right.”

“Only the Shadow knows.” Rodger chuckled. “Still, not on you. How do you like Greenfield?”

“So far so good, I guess. Not enough bikinis.”

Rodger laughed. “Just at the public pool and the lake.”

“Yeah, but only in the summer. At least in Florida they can keep them on through November.”

About twenty minutes later the bus pulled past the Greenfield High School sign into the bus loop. The driver stopped the bus and opened the doors. A loud mass exodus took place with jostling, laughing students exiting onto the sidewalk. Melinda scooted past Jason and Rodger, accompanied by her friend. “You need to head to the office to check in. Catch you later Shadow,” she said. Her friend looked back and winked. Anthony was already off the bus and walking off with a group of his friends.

Stepping off the bus in front of Jason, Rodger started to head inside, then looked back. “You good, Jason?”

“I need to go to the office to get a schedule. Do you know where it is?”

“Come on, I’ll take you.” Following the boy who appeared, based on the lack of greetings, to be a loner, Jason headed into his new school.

Walking into the main office Jason’s first thought was that school offices seemed pretty much the same everywhere. Pictures on the wall of the principal, the school commissioner; certificates of excellence in various educational endeavors; a large clock over the counter which was manned by a tired looking secretary.

“Anthony Trilby, what did you do to your hair?”

Jason looked at the heavyset, prim woman behind the counter. She was smiling at him like he was someone she knew. “I’m Jason Trilby, ma’am. Anthony is my brother.”

“You’re Jason Trilby, the new student transferring from Florida? I didn’t realize Anthony had a brother.”

“It’s a recent development.” Jason gave a shrug. “I need to get my schedule.”

The lady looked confused but pulled out a file and passed him a schedule. “If you need anything just let us know Jason. Welcome to Greenfield.”

“Thank you.” Jason turned to see Rodger standing behind him, a bemused expression on his face. Checking the schedule, he saw a list of classes that matched pretty much what he had been taking at his old school. “What’s your first class?” Rodger asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Algebra two, Mr Blenis. It says room 235.”

“Cool. Me too. Come on, I’ll show you where it’s at.”

Threading his way through crowded hallways full of strangers, following a kid he’d just met an hour ago, Jason felt glum. He wished it was Dan next to him making jokes about Chester the Molester and talking about Fortnite or Call of Duty. Turning a corner, he saw a blonde girl in a red blouse and jeans pulling books out of a locker. For a second his heart leaped. He almost called out “Laura,” before he remembered where he was. The girl turned and, seeing him looking at her, gave a half wave before lowering her hand with a strange look on her face. Several kids, apparently the ones who knew who he was, took pictures of him with their cell phones as they walked by.

“Are you Anthony’s brother? The one that, uhm, was … missing …?”

Jason turned back to see the blonde girl had walked up behind him. He saw now that her hair was lighter than Laura’s, almost a platinum blonde, and her eyes darker. Her face, while pretty, was thinner than Laura’s and her lips fuller. “Jason,” he said, with a thin smile.

“I’m Yvette. Anthony’s girlfriend.”

Jason was taken back for a minute. “Really? Nice to meet you.” Jason wondered why his brother hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend.

“I’m Rodger.” Rodger held up his right hand and gave a small wave. Yvette gave Rodger an icy glance and immediately dismissed him.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around. It’s nice to finally meet you, Jason.”

“You’re going to go viral man,” Rodger said with a laugh, looking at the students with phones out snapping pictures or taking video.

“I’ve gotta get to class. It was nice meeting you Yvette.” As Yvette smiled and walked off, Jason turned to Rodger. “I feel more like I’ve got a virus. Patient zero, dude.”

Rodger smiled. “Michael Crichton fan or Stephen King?”

“More Dean Koontz in general but King is pretty cool. I loved Under the Dome.”

“Yeah. King and Koontz are both great at delving into the human psyche. That book was like an extended version of Lord of the Flies Under a Dome. Really delved into human nature and how people react to stress and weird stimuli.”

Jason glanced at his new … friend? Maybe so, he thought. Rodger had an earnest look on his face that showed a passion for the subject at hand. He could see why the boy was on the debate team. Rodger was smart and passionate.

“Here we are,” Rodger said, opening a classroom door. Holding the door, he swept his other hand in an after you motion and bowed his head. Jason chuckled and stepped into his first class at his new school.

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Feeling exhausted after two hours of being stared at and talked about, Jason entered the gymnasium for his third period class. There was a full court basketball court with about twenty teens playing a scrimmage game. On each side of the gymnasium were metal bleachers that folded back up to the wall. The prevalent smell of floor wax and sweat filled the air. Most of the students not playing ball were heading to a locker room. Those coming out were wearing basketball shorts with a Greenfield High logo on the right leg. On his left stood a black man about forty years old wearing off white pants and a black polo shirt with “COACH” written across the back. He had a clipboard in his left hand. Glancing at his schedule, Jason figured that must be his Physical Education teacher, Mr. Simpkins. As Jason walked up to him the coach blew the whistle that was on a lanyard around his neck and waved the teens off the court.

“Excuse me. Coach Simpkins?”

The coach glanced at Jason. “Yes?”

“I’m the new student. Jason Tribly.”

The man flipped over some papers on his clipboard. “Okay. From Florida, right? Says here you’re a soccer player.”

“Yes sir. I was hoping to try out for the team.”

A passel of milling students were gathering around the coach. Voices echoed around the large open space. “You got your shorts for dress out yet?” the coach queried.

“No sir.”

“All right. Look, there’s a sign-up roster on the billboard over there.” The coach pointed toward a billboard mounted next to a door marked COACH. “You can put your name on the list. The try outs are Monday at end of day on the field. We’ll meet here after last bell. In the meantime, why don’t you head to the office and get the forms for purchase of the school shorts and shirt.” Coach Simpkins scribbled a pass for Jason, handed it to him and turned to the group of milling students, many of whom were staring at Jason with unabashed curiosity. One boy in particular seemed to be almost glaring at Jason. The boy was black, well built with broad shoulders and stood close to six feet tall with a short cut afro. Rather than a basketball, the youth was holding a soccer ball. Noting Jason looking at him, the boy dropped the ball, caught it on top of his right foot, held it for a couple of seconds, then tossed it back up with a quick flick of his leg and caught it. The boy smirked at Jason. He didn’t look friendly.

What’s his problem? Jason wondered. Dismissing it as irrelevant, Jason pocketed his hall pass and headed to the billboard where he added his name to the list of those who wanted to try out for the soccer team before heading back to the school office.

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As Jason walked into the house followed by Melinda and Anthony his mother looked up and smiled. “How was school Jason?”

Jason shrugged. “Exhausting.”

“My day was fine Mom,” Anthony said as his mother walked up to give his brother a hug. “That’s nice dear,” she said.

Melinda rolled her eyes and headed to her room, not bothering to comment as her mother was solely focused on Jason.

“Uncle Phil will be here Wednesday with all your stuff Jason. He’s driving up in a U-Haul.”

“Cool,” Jason replied.

“Your father is going to put up some more shelves in your room for your trophies and stuff.” Looking at her other son she said, “Anthony, we may have to put some of your stuff in the garage.”

“Naturally,” Anthony said. “Gotta make sure the prodigal son has space.” Anthony sighed and headed to his room to change clothes.

Disengaging from his mother, Jason walked into his room. Anthony was pulling on a pair of swim trunks. “I met your girlfriend today.”

“Yvette? When did you meet her?”

“In the hall before first period. She seems…, interesting. Doesn’t seem to like Rodger very much.”

“Yeah, she can be that way.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about her?”

“I just didn’t see the need. I know you miss Laura.”

Jason flopped onto the bed. “For a second when I saw her at her locker I almost thought she was Laura.”

“Guess we have similar tastes. Don’t go getting any ideas.” Anthony tied the drawstring on his trunks and headed out to the pool. Jason pulled out his phone and looked at the picture of Laura he had set as a background. The two girls were similar but Laura was prettier in his estimation. God I miss her, he thought. Rolling over on the bed he quick dialed her number.