In the Image of Grace

by Charlotte Ann Schlobohm

  Lawrence turned around in his seat facing the whole class. “A big misunderstanding,” he announced.

  “Oh, right,” somebody behind me said.

  I then too turned in my seat. “I did not get kidnapped, okay.”

  “Keep tellin yourself that,” one guy with greenish hair said.

  A couple others gave me a thumbs up. I have the slightest idea what it was for. Were they trying to tell me; you’re fooling yourself with lies, we really know you got kidnapped? Or gee golly we’re glad you’re okay, or you’re boyfriend got arrested and you were involved in a police raid and we think that’s awesome. I turned back towards the front of the classroom where Mrs. Brown was setting up an overhead while wearing a quilted snowman vest.

  …………………………………………………………..

  I ran through the halls to division once class was over. I wanted to be one of the first people there, so they wouldn’t stare at me as I walked into the room. The only person in there was the girl with the unfortunate skin. She looked up at me and smiled. I walked up to the desk next to her.

  “Mind if I sit here?” I asked.

  “No, go ahead.”

  “Thanks,” I said as I threw my bag to the ground and slid into the seat. I put my elbows up on the desk and rubbed my temples. I was only done with the first class of the day. I was already ready to go home.

  “You okay?” The girl with the unfortunate skin asked.

  I stopped rubbing my temples and looked over at her. Her hair was cut in a short layered bob and she had really light blue eyes. “Yeah,” I answered her. “It’s just going to be a long day.”

  “Yeah, people suck.”

  “Today, I’m starting to believe that.”

  “Jeremy Moretti is your boyfriend?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “You know him.”

  “Yeah, kinda, I know the drummer from his band. I’ve seen them play a buncha times. They’re really good.”

  “You think?”

  “Yes, and Jeremy seems like a very nice person and I’m pretty sure he didn’t really kidnap you, did he?”

  “No,” I said starting to realize the room was filling up with other students. “Hey, I’d hate to ask this, but I don’t know your name.”

  “Oh, Rain,” she told me. At first I thought I miss heard her, but then she said, “Seriously, that’s my name.”

  “It’s pretty,” I said as Mr. Alvarez walked into the room.

  “Thanks,” she said smiling at me.

  The kids in my division stared at me, but I wasn’t bothered as much, talking to someone and having my energy focused elsewhere somehow helped drain them out. ………………………………………….

  My next couple of classes went like all the rest. Some stared, a few made comments, but I was learning to tune them all out. During study hall I went to the library of course. I looked around. The library was quite dark that day. No light shone through the windows. I didn’t see Jeremy, so I started in fiction and looked down all the aisles. I didn’t find him. I went upstairs and found him in the last row of reference sitting on the ground with his knees drawn up and his chin on top of them.

  Jeremy looked up and smiled. “Been waiting for you.”

  I went and sat next to him leaning up against the wall. He put his arm around me and pulled me in close.

  “How does your stomach feel?”

  “Fine,” Jeremy said laughing. “I sure did not prove my manliness last night.”

  I gave Jeremy a pouty face sticking out my bottom lip. “What did you mom and stepdad say about everything?”

  “God, they were furious.”

  “But you didn’t do anything.”

  “I think my mom was madder that I took the car outta state and Brett, was really pissed because he had to drive all the way there to get me. Then they kept goin on about me being irresponsible and yadayadayada. N how I’ll prolly really grow up to be a criminal. N they said there prolly was some truth to the whole situation.”

  “Really,” I said. “I wouldn’t take you for the criminal type.”

  “What happened after your dad got you?”

  “Nothing. Nothing was said the car ride home and when we got home we went straight to bed and of course he was already gone when we woke up.”

  “Oh,” Jeremy replied. “How scared were you when those dudes busted in through the door?”

  “Totally. I was so worried about you and so confused. All of a sudden there’s these guys busting into the house and dragging me out. It all happened so fast.”

  “Tell me about it. Robert was standing in the doorway talking to me, n I was drinking tea, n he heard Helen yell and then Robert went to go n check on her, n then all of a sudden there were these guys yellin at me to stand up. I still felt sick, so I just kinda sat there, n they yanked me off the ground and were yellin stuff at me, n I had the slightest idea what they were sayin, n handcuffs were being slapped on me, n I was being dragged away, n God did I feel like shit,” Jeremy paused and rubbed his face.

  “It was pretty outstanding when you projectile vomited on that swat guy’s back.”

  “I felt a lot better after that. Ya wanna know something?”

  “Of course.”

  “I was so scared shitless. I think I still am. It really freaked me out.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said feeling pretty bad because if he didn’t have any affiliation with me he wouldn’t have gone through the whole mess.

  “Stop saying that will ya? You have nothing to be sorry for. Anyways, how are you processing everything else?”

  “I don’t know. What Mr. Carl said just really confirmed everything. My father really isn’t my father at all. It explains so much. We’re just science experiments to him and that’s what I am really. I’m somebody’s science experiment. I was never really anybody’s child. Grace never knew about me. I was just an experiment growing in the petri dish of our house.”

  “Charlotte, you’re not just some science experiment. You are a loving, smart, teenage girl that has deeply affected my heart.”

  “You’re not just saying that?”

  “Of course not, it’s the truth.”

  I kissed him on the cheek.

  “What kind of father does that?” I asked Jeremy. “Report a fake kidnapping. I know he must have some sort of ulterior motive. I mean he did say there would be severe consequences if I snuck out again, but I don’t know if that’s it and what does this all mean for me and my sisters? Once word gets out that were clones, I don’t know how I’ll handle it. I partook in a fake kidnapping and people have been staring and pointing all day, wait,” I said. “That’s it. How much you want to bet my father did this to start drumming up publicity because didn’t Mr. Carl say something about the press release being soon?”

  “Yeah,” Jeremy said. “I bet he wants to get your face out there before he totally shocks everybody. Maybe like easing into it cuz in some of the news stories The Clonation Foundation was mentioned and that’s prolly what they want. It’s going to happen real soon.”

  “Should I just runaway now?”

  “Don’t say that,” Jeremy said making a pouty face. “It would make me too sad.”

  “Do you think I’m weird because I’m a clone?”

  “Of course not,” he said running his hand over my hair.

  “People are going to think I’m a total freak.”

  “Well, if they do I’ll beat them up.”

  “Really, thanks.”

  The bell rang and I sighed. “Can we just stay here the rest of the day?”

  Jeremy stood up. “C’mon, I’ll take you to lunch,” he said reaching his hand out to me.

  We went to a regular old fast food chain restaurant that served hamburgers that were way to thin. I noticed there were more stares when the two of us were together. We stood in line behind a bunch of other teenagers who were stealing glances.

  “They want to know if it’s really true. If I really forced you to
go with me and since I have such power over you if I forced you to go to lunch with me today,” Jeremy said wrapping his arms around me as we waited.

  “What they don’t know is the extent of our passion and that we were really running away together and my sisters got in the way, so we abducted them. It was a team effort you know. You keep getting all the credit for being the kidnapper,” I said.

  “Hey, it’s you guys,” somebody that we didn’t know said from behind us. I turned and looked and it was a proportionally large teenager wearing black plastic glasses. He was pointing up to the TV above the food counter.

  And sure enough up on the screen were two side by side shots of us and underneath in big letters it said, “Elaborate hoax?”

  “They’re on to us,” Jeremy conceded out loud putting his hands up into the air.

  “Really,” said the proportionally large teenager. “You guys staged it?”

  “Of course not,” Jeremy said. “It was just a parental over reaction.”

  “That’s an understatement,” I whispered.

  We got to the front and ordered our food. Jeremy took the tray and we found one of the last tables and sat.

  “I wonder what else the news reporters will dig up,” Jeremy said raising his eyebrows and eating a French fry.

  “Or what is leaked to them,” I said. “I have a feeling my father tipped them off about the kidnapping thing.” I didn’t have much of an appetite. I just poked at my food.

  Chapter Fifteen

  After school I met up with Clarissa and Isabelle as usual. There was actually a crowd around them and it seemed Clarissa was giving a detailed dramatic account of what happened. She was eating up the attention. The crowd seemed to be mostly male and it appeared as if they were swooning with their heads tipped and mouths turned in smiles as she flailed her hands in her recreation. As I was watching Clarissa’s show I heard a, “Hey,” from behind me. I turned to see Jeremy standing there with his backpack slung over one shoulder ready to go home for the day.

  “Hey yourself,” I said back.

  “Going home?”

  “I kind of feel like I have to, I don’t want you to get arrested for anything again. Would you like to come with us?”

  “I don’t think I’d be welcome. Your father did accuse me of abducting you and your sisters.”

  “He shouldn’t even be home. The worst thing is Ms. Dunderfeltz will tell him that you were there.”

  “All right, supposedly I’m never supposed to leave the apartment again, but my mom and Brett are both working tonight. I have my laptop in my bag. We could see what we’re supposedly up to now in the news.”

  I told Clarissa and Isabelle that I was going ahead with Jeremy. I don’t know if they even heard me. Clarissa was still telling the story, occasionally giving Isabelle a prompt to say something.

  “Let’s go,” I told Jeremy and we were off.

  ……………………………………………..

  When we got to the house the only person there was Ms. Dunderfeltz who buzzed me in because my key had yet to be returned to me. She didn’t say anything when I brought Jeremy inside with me. I grabbed his hand leading him up the stairs. We peeled off our coats and bags, tossed them down and sat on the floor. We both sat crossed legged. Jeremy leaned back on his hands and looked around my room.

  “Nice,” he said.

  “My own personal prison,” I replied also looking around my large room which I had spent so much of my life in.

  “You’re gaining your freedom.”

  “I guess, but does it really count as freedom when your father has your boyfriend arrested when you leave the house with him.”

  “Just think what kind of stories you can tell when you’re all old and gray,” Jeremy said smiling, unzipping his bag and pulling out his laptop.

  We went onto a few different news sites and a couple for the local newspapers. It seemed people were starting to suspect that our kidnapping was some kind of hoax as we saw earlier on the TV during lunch. A few said it was some sort of teenage prank and then others were starting to incorporate info about my supposed father. One actually mentioned The Clonation Foundation and how it might be some sort of stunt on their part. Then there was a debate if we should pay the bill for the use of all the extra law enforcement because it would be wrong to have the tax payers foot the bill for something that was all a hoax.

  “Get out your check book,” I told Jeremy.

  Jeremy laughed. “It would just bounce. Then I’d owe Indiana and my bank.”

  I laid my head on Jeremy’s shoulder.

  He kissed the top of it. I turned and looked at him. I looked into brown eyes and at his lips that were always turned up in that smile of his. Jeremy reached up and touched my face. I put my hand on his neck and we kissed and kept kissing. I couldn’t stop kissing him. I pushed him backwards, sat on top of him, leant forward and we continued to kiss. I don’t know if I could say kiss because it was more passionate than that. We were wholeheartedly making out and I was enjoying every second. That is until I heard Clarissa in the doorway.

  “Uh, sorry, but Ms. Dunderfeltz wants to know if Jeremy is staying for dinner.”

  I looked down at him. He was still lying on the floor and I was still sitting on top of him.

  “Do you want me too?” He asked.

  “Of course,” I said smiling at him, but wondering why Ms. Dunderfeltz wasn’t doing anything about Jeremy being there. It was strange, but I went with it. “Tell her yes.” I rolled off of him and we gazed at my ceiling together. I reached over grabbing his hand. It was nice just lying there holding hands in silence. It was very comforting. I felt like I was about to doze off, but I didn’t want to have one of my dreams with him in the room. I didn’t want to wake up in a frantic anxiety ridden state.

  “Hey,” I said feeling comfortable enough to tell him about my dreams and Elizabeth.

  “Yes,” he answered squeezing my hand.

  “I have Elizabeth’s dreams.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Every night since the night we started school I’ve been having the same kind of dreams Elizabeth had, with the woman screaming and she wants my help or wants me to do something. I do believe it’s my mother. I can’t be for certain, but I feel a connection to the screaming and there’s this darkness and its damp, like a basement or cave maybe, and somebody is down there with me. It’s because of my dreams we started looking for our mother. I heard Elizabeth when I was sleeping right after the first time I had the dream and she told me to find our mother. It felt like she was in the room with me.”

  Jeremy reached up and brushed my hair out of my face. “She could have been.”

  “That’s why I need answers. I need to do it for Elizabeth and Isabelle and Clarissa.”

  “You’re doing a good job. You’ll get the answers you need.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so,” Jeremy declared with confidence.

  “Let’s go eat,” I said sitting up. I held out my hand. Jeremy grabbed it and stood up. I led him downstairs to where Clarissa was setting the table. Isabelle was in the kitchen getting some last instructions from Ms. Dunderfeltz. I think Ms. Dunderfeltz was trying to teach Isabelle and Clarissa how to cook since our main cook was no longer with us. I took a seat at the table. Jeremy sat down next to me.

  “I’ll be going now girls,” Ms. Dunderfeltz said as she was walking out of the kitchen.

  I gave her a little wave. “We dine alone, we’ve never had the company of an adult while eating,” I explained to Jeremy.

  “You’re actually the first dinner guest we’ve ever had,” Clarissa stated placing a glass next to the white porcelain plate that sat on the table in front of him.

  “Well, I feel special,” Jeremy said giving Clarissa a head bob.

  Isabelle brought out the food. We were having lemon chicken with asparagus and wild rice. It was quiet good.

  Clarissa and Isabelle sat across the table from us as w
e ate

  “Delicious,” Jeremy said holding up his fork with a piece of chicken on it.

  “Thanks,” Isabelle said with a slight smile. “Ms. Dunderfeltz did most of it though. I can’t take all the credit.”

  “None the less, it is delicious. I never have real food at home, so I’m enjoying this.”

  Clarissa then turned her head to the side and looked at Jeremy. “Hey, take off your glasses for me.”

  Jeremy raised his eyebrows at her.

  “I just want to see what you look like without them.”

  “Clarissa,” I chided. I thought she was being kind of rude.

  “No, don’t worry. I think almost every day somebody asks me that,” Jeremy said pulling his glasses off.

  “You ever consider contacts?” Clarissa asked.

  I gave her a mean scowl.

  “Another question I get asked a lot. I tried. The whole putting my finger in my eyeball thing didn’t work out that great n it took too much effort for me. I’m part lazy.”

  “Push your hair out of your face,” Clarissa demanded of him.

  He did as he was told by my fourteen year old sister.

  She stuck a finger out at him. “You’re a secret stud.”

  Jeremy scrunched up his nose and drew his head back as if in saying, what the heck are you talking about.

  “Beneath all that hair and glasses and facial stubble and your slightly odd manner of dressing there’s an attractive person there,” Clarissa said biting her lip as she observed him. She made it sound like everything in the world was aesthetically wrong about him.

  Jeremy glanced over at me and then back at Clarissa. “Uh, thanks, I think,” he replied unsure if he should take what she said as an insult or compliment. He put his glasses back on and looked down at his plate.

  “Don’t mind Clarissa,” I said in case his feelings were hurt. “We’re discovering she has trouble controlling her mouth.”

  Jeremy looked over at me and shrugged with one shoulder. Maybe he liked being called a secret stud. After dinner Jeremy had to go. He said he had to go and practice because they had a show the next week. I kissed him goodbye. We opened the front door not realizing that Ms. Dunderfeltz had set the alarm. I figured it was her way of letting our father know we had what she considered to be an unwelcome guest. Jeremy looked at me like oh crap what did I do? I told him to go on, that it would be okay. After a couple minutes of convincing him he left. With the alarm still screeching, the phone then rang. It was kind of surprising because our house phone never rang. It was our so called father.