“She wouldn’t say.”
Avery pondered over a thought for a moment with a worried expression across his face before he told Tiffany, “Let Mrs. Jones know that I’ll be a few minutes.”
Tiffany stood up and said, “Yes, Doctor.”
Avery turned and walked into his office. After sitting down at his desk, he picked up the phone and dialed it.
At the hospital, Beverly was just about ready to scrub in when her cell phone rang. After looking at the number, she answered, “Hey, Honey, this isn’t a good time to talk. I’m about ready to scrub in for surgery.”
“Did you tell Alex about Nicholas O’Brien?”
Beverly said in a confused tone, “Of course not. Why would you ask that?”
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to her, but she just called here and asked Tiffany about him. Beverly, before we got married we agreed not to say anything about Nicholas.”
“And I didn’t. Honey, I don’t know how Alex heard the name, and I will deal with it later, but right now, there’s a man on a table who needs a surgeon.”
“All right; goodbye,” Avery said before hanging up. He then stood up and walked out of his office.
On the road to go find Randy, Alex was reading the diary. Alex had read a few pages before saying, “Guess who Alex of this reality dated.”
Doug thought for a second before saying, “Myron Bennett.”
“You can’t be serious. Myron in our reality is a nerd and is in desperate need of help with clearing up his acne.”
“Who is it then?”
“Stephen Keith.”
Doug slightly grinned before questioning, “You dated Harvard’s first string quarterback?”
“No, the Alex of this reality dated the quarterback. Stephen broke up with Alex on September 15th and started dating Becky Steward.”
“I don’t know Becky Steward.”
“I don’t know her either, but Becky and the Alex of this reality used to be good friends before September 15th. There is also another woman who I don’t know. Her named is Catherine Weis. She’s a friend to Alex and Becky. Catherine is even remaining a friend to both of them in spite that Alex and Becky are no longer friends.”
“Interesting; what else did you learn from that?”
“Not too much, but I’m still reading,” Alex said before flipping to the next page.
A short time later, Doug parked in front of the house. After Alex and Doug stepped up to the front door, Alex knocked. Seconds later, Alex was stunned to see a ten-year-old girl answering the door.
“Hi; are you here to see my mom?” the girl asked.
“I’m sorry,” Alex was the one to say. “I believe I have the wrong house. I was looking for a man named Randy Miller.”
Before the girl was able to respond, the girl’s mom stepped up behind the girl and asked, “Hi, may I help you?”
“I’m sorry to trouble you, Ma’am,” Alex said. “My friend Randy Miller was supposed to have moved into this neighborhood just recently, and when he told me the address, I must have gotten it wrong. Again I apologize for troubling you.”
“If this helps, I did see a moving van and two men three weeks ago two blocks up the street,” the woman said while gesturing in the direction.
“Thank you for the information,” Doug said. “Bye.”
The woman and the girl just waved. Alex and Doug waved back before they turned and walked back towards the Jeep.
Before reaching the Jeep Alex questioned, “Doug, what are we going to do if Randy isn’t attending Harvard?”
“Randy is the one who had talked you and me into applying to Harvard, so if we’re here then he has to be here.”
“I hope you’re right,” Alex said as they were approaching the Jeep.
“Of course I’m right. So do you still want me to drive?”
“Yeah, I want to read more of the diary.”
As Alex was opening the passenger’s door, Doug was walking towards the driver’s door.
Alex and Doug didn’t speak to one another while Alex read the diary. After Doug parked the Jeep in Harvard’s parking lot and turned off the engine Alex looked up. When she saw where she was she put the diary in her purse.
Just before Alex was able to reach for the door-latch to get out, Doug asked, “So have you learned anything else from that diary?”
“I have. My roommate’s name is Trudy Appleby. Apparently she and I became best friends after Stephen broke up with me to go out with Becky.”
“Is that all you learned?”
“That’s all I learned that I’m willing to share with you. There is a lot of private and personal stuff in here that I don’t want to share.”
Doug amusingly grinned before saying, “Okay.” He then opened his door to get out. Alex followed suit.
As Alex and Doug were walking away from the Jeep, Kenny, Brandy and Cindy were approaching them. Alex and Doug watched them with uncertain expressions on their faces.
Kenny was leading and when he stepped up he stared at Alex while saying, “Doug, we need to talk to you for a minute in private.”
“What about?” Doug asked.
“This is a private matter and I don’t want to discuss this in front of your friend,” Kenny said.
Before Doug was able to respond, Alex blurted out, “Does it have anything to do with reality being changed?”
Kenny gave Alex a curious look before saying, “That’s right. How do you know about it?”
“Kenny; Brandy; Cindy, let me introduce you to my twin sister Alexandra.”
Brandy stared incredulously at Alex while asking, “Alex?”
Alex grinned before saying, “It’s me. How do you like my makeover?”
“Doug, what’s going on?” Kenny asked.
“I’ll give you one hint; Randy Miller,” Doug said.
“What about him?” Cindy asked.
“He was working on the idea of traveling into different realities,” Doug said.
“You can’t be serious,” Brandy said.
“Brandy, look at me,” Alex said with her arms spread out wide. “This makeover wasn’t my doing.”
“So what do we do to correct this?” Cindy asked.
“We find Randy,” Doug said. “Since all of us had traveled… jumped… or whatever the hell we did, I’m going to say that he did too. Alex and I were on our way to the admission office to find out what dorm he’s in.”
“He wasn’t living in the dorm in our reality,” Brandy pointed out.
“We just came from where he lived in our reality and he doesn’t live there,” Alex said.
“Okay, let’s go to the admission office,” Kenny said. “Oh and when we get there, we need to ask about Benjamin also.”
Doug sighed before saying sarcastically, “Of course we do.”
Minutes later, the group walked into the admissions office. The worker at the desk gave the group a confused look as they stepped up. In an uncertain tone, the worker asked, “May I help you?”
Doug pulled out his student ID before saying, “I’m looking for a fellow student. His name is Randy Miller and I want to know what his dorm number is.”
The worker typed for a second at the computer. When the search showed, ‘No match found’ the worker said, “There is no one at this university by the name of Randy Miller.”
“Are you certain?” Doug quickly asked.
“I’m positive,” the worker said.
“What about Benjamin Bell?” Kenny asked.
The worker typed again on the computer. Again the message, ‘No match found’ came up. “He’s not here either.”
“Thanks,” Alex said. “We’re sorry to trouble you.”
“No problem,” the worker said.
Alex and the group turned and walked away. When they stepped into the hallway Cindy asked, “What now?”
Alex pulled out her cell phone from her purse and said, “I’m going to call Randy’s mom. Perhaps she can tell me where to find him.” Alex
then dialed the number. A woman’s voice answered the phone on the third ring. “Hello, Ms. Miller.”
“I’m sorry, but you must’ve called the wrong number,” the woman said.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am, to have bothered you,” Alex said. Alex then put her phone back into her purse. “Well, that number doesn’t belong to Randy’s mom in this reality.”
“So what now?” Cindy asked.
“I think Doug and I should talk to Randy’s mom in person,” Alex said.
“You can’t be serious,” Doug quickly said.
“Randy is the only person who can return us to our reality, so we have to find him,” Alex said.
“Doug, I think Alex is right,” Kenny said. “You and Alex are the only two who know where his mom lives… unless Randy’s mom doesn’t live in the same place.”
“Doug, since I’m a woman in this reality, it might be better if you came with me, but if you don’t want to, I’ll go alone,” Alex said.
“And how are you going to get there?” Doug asked. “Neither one of us can afford a plane trip to St. Louis.”
“Doug, let me check my bank account and make sure I still have the same amount of money in this reality. And if I do, I’ll give you and Alex the money to go to St. Louis,” Brandy said.
“Brandy, are you sure about that?” Alex asked.
“I’m positive,” Brandy said. “If our only chance to correct reality is to find Randy then helping you get to Randy is no problem for me.”
“Okay, thanks,” Alex said before gesturing towards her purse. “So check your bank book.”
“Let’s go to my dorm. I’ll check my bank account from the Internet,” Brandy said. Brandy turned and walked away. Everyone walked along side her.
A few minutes later, Brandy was logging onto her laptop while Alex and the others were standing nearby.
Once Brandy logged onto the Internet, Brandy saw a message from Ben. When a curious expression crept across Brandy’s face, Alex asked, “Brandy, what is it?”
“Ben sent me a message.” While everyone was gathering around Brandy’s laptop, Brandy opened the message and read it aloud, “Brandy, I’m hoping what happened to me has happened to you as well, otherwise you will see this e-mail as a prank. Fifteen minutes ago, I was at Harvard while studying with you, Kenny, Cindy and Alex. I don’t know what happened; I blacked out and when I woke up, I was at a tire and auto shop while wearing the shop’s uniform. According to the people who know me, I didn’t get the scholarship and I took a job here. If you understand what I’m talking about then please respond; otherwise, I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
“Well, we know what happened to Ben,” Kenny said.
“Brandy, reply to Ben first, so he knows that he’s not alone,” Alex suggested.
“I was thinking the same thing,” Brandy said before clicking on the reply icon. She then typed out a message explaining what had happened. After sending her message, she checked her bank account. “Good news. Every cent I had is still there and not a penny more. Now while I’m on the computer, I’ll book you two a flight to St. Louis. When do you two want to leave?”
“The sooner the better,” Alex said.
“Okay, I’ll book you and Doug on the first available flight,” Brandy said before logging onto the site to book a flight. After a short time Brandy was looking over the flight schedules. “And the first available flight to St. Louis is at 3:00 P.M.”
“Book it,” Doug said.
“Okay, I’ll book it and both of your tickets will be waiting at the airport when you get there,” Brandy said before pressing a few buttons.
“Oh, Brandy, our last name in this reality is Larson,” Alex said. “So book the flight using that last name.”
“Okay,” Brandy said.
“Why is your last name Larson?” Cindy asked.
“We haven’t found that out yet, but I am working on knowing why,” Alex said.
Doug pointed to the computer clock while saying, “Alex, we need to get going if we’re going to make it to the airport by three.”
“Brandy, thanks a lot for doing this,” Alex said.
“You can thank me by finding Randy,” Brandy said.
“I’ll do my best,” Alex said. “Oh; before Doug and I leave, I should give you the number to my cell phone.” Brandy got out her cell phone and put in Alex’s number. Brandy then gave everyone her number. “Bye, everyone.”
“Bye,” everyone said.
“And good luck,” Cindy added.
Alex and Doug left Brandy’s dorm.
Minutes later, as Alex and Doug were walking up to Alex’s Jeep liberty, Doug said, “I’ll let you drive this time.”
“Fine,” Alex said. Alex walked up to the driver’s door. “We still need to find your Jeep at some point.”
“As long as we have yours, we should be all right,” Doug said before he and Alex climbed into the Jeep.
Several minutes later, as Alex and Doug waited at the airport for their flight, Alex read more of the diary. Alex was only able to read for a few minutes before she and Doug had to board the plane. After getting comfortable on the plane Alex again pulled out the diary to read.
Chapter Three
Minutes after Alex and Doug’s plane landed they were walking into Lambert Airport. Melissa, Avery’s sister and a worker at the airport saw them and briskly walked towards them.
When Melissa was a short distance away, she called out, “Alex! Doug!”
Alex and Doug stopped and turned around. As Melissa walked up to them, they gazed at Melissa as if she was a stranger.
Alex read her name tag before saying, “Hi… Melissa Hartman.”
Melissa gave Alex a curious look while asking, “Are you okay?”
“Of course, Melissa. Why would you ask me if I’m okay?”
Melissa continued to give Alex a curious look while asking, “Since when have I become Melissa and not Aunt Melissa?”
Alex thought for a second before saying, “Oh that. I figured since I’m twenty-one now and was legally an adult, it would be okay to call you Melissa. But now as I say it, it really doesn’t sound right, so I’ll go back to Aunt Melissa.”
“I prefer that you call me Aunt Melissa anyway. So why are you two here and not at Harvard where you two belong?”
Alex was trying to think of an answer when Doug said, “A friend of ours is turning twenty-one today and he really wants us here for his party. He even bought our plane tickets.”
“Do your parents know that you two are here?” Melissa asked.
“It was really a last minute thing, so we didn’t get the chance to say anything to them,” Alex said.
“Our tickets are round trip, so we were only going to stay long enough to make an appearance; stay for a short time and then catch the next flight back to Boston,” Doug added. “So I was thinking that telling our parents would be a waste of time anyway.”
“Your parents are going to want to know that you two are in town.”
“Since we aren’t going to be here long enough to visit them, could you turn a blind eye to our visit?” Doug asked.
“No, sir!” Melissa quickly told him. “I want you or Alex to call your parents right this instant and let them know that you two are in town.”
Alex pulled out her phone from her purse and said, “I’ll call mom.”
“Good,” Melissa told her.
After calling her mom’s cell phone, the phone went to voicemail. Alex left the message, “Mom, call me after you get this message. Doug and I are in St. Louis. We just got off the plane. We came home to wish a friend ‘Happy Birthday’, and then we’re returning to Harvard. Bye.” Alex hung up before facing Melissa again. “Mom’s phone went straight to voicemail, and as you witnessed, I left a message explaining everything.”
Melissa gave Alex a skeptical look before saying, “Just to be safe, call your dad.”
“Fine,” Alex said before dialing Avery’s office. Within a few rings Tiffany answered the
phone. “Tiffany, is my dad busy?”
“He’s again with a patient,” Tiffany said.
“Well, tell my dad that Doug and I are in St. Louis. We just got off the plane. We came home to wish a friend ‘Happy Birthday’, and then we’re returning to Harvard.”
“Okay, I’ll give him the message, but he’s going to flip when he gets it,” Tiffany said.
“Okay thanks,” Alex said.
“Is there anything else?” Tiffany asked.
“That’s it for… ” Alex was able to get out.
“Alex, I want to talk to Tiffany,” Melissa interrupted with.
“Tiffany, Aunt Melissa is with me and she wants to talk to you.” Alex then held out the phone for Melissa to take.
After taking the phone Melissa asked, “Tiffany, are you there?”
“I’m here. What’s going on?”
“I’m not quite sure myself, but make sure my brother gets Alex’s message,” Melissa said.
“I will,” Tiffany said.
“Bye.” After Melissa hung up the phone she handed the phone back to Alex.
As Alex was putting her phone away, Doug asked, “So are we free to go and wish our friend ‘Happy Birthday’?”
“Go,” Melissa said.
Alex and Doug waved bye to Melissa before walking away. Melissa returned the wave and then skeptically watched as Alex and Doug walked away.
Alex and Doug walked up to the cab stop and stepped up to the first available cab. After getting in they told the cab driver the address.
Minutes later, the cab driver was pulling up in front of a house on Victoria Place. Once Doug paid the cab driver he and Alex got out.
As the cab driver was driving away Alex watched for a moment before saying, “Maybe we should have told him to wait.”
Doug looked towards the cab before saying, “It’s too late now.” He and Alex then turned and walked towards the house.
Once Doug and Alex stepped up to the door, Doug pressed the doorbell.
After Randy’s mother, Phyllis, opened the door, she saw Doug first and then Alex. As she looked at Doug again she asked, “Yes? May I help you?”
“Hi, Ms. Miller, you may not remember me, but my sister Alex and I are friends of Randy’s.”
A Crossed Reality Page 3
