Now That You're Here (Duplexity, Part I) Read Online Free Page B

back. “Don’t touch anything, okay?” I nod. And with that, she’s gone.

    Don’t touch anything? There isn’t much in here to touch. The place hardly looks lived in. The bed takes up most of the space. Gray comforter and pillows. Black dresser in the corner. Matching nightstand and silver lamp. A poster of Einstein, which seems unusual for a teenage girl, but whatever. The closet is pretty much empty inside. A couple of shirts on hangers. Jeans folded on a shelf. There’s nothing really
her
about the room.
    I peel off the jacket and toss it on the bed. Kick off the shoes and my feet feel ten pounds lighter. I stretch. Sit on the edge of the mattress and rub my banged-up knee.
    What now? If I were home, I’d play some Carnage or hang out with Germ.
    Germ. Where was he when all that happened? Did he get hurt, or worse, caught? Is he lost somewhere in this crazy place like me?
    I jump to my feet, keyed up all of a sudden, and pace around the room. Feels like the walls are closing in. What if Germ needs help and I’m stuck here? Wherever here is. I can’t just sit around. I need answers.
    The nightstand beside the bed has a single drawer. I pull it open. Inside, there’s a journal and a pencil.
    Einstein’s eyes are on my back.
Don’t touch anything.
    The cover has that drawing of a naked guy in a circle with his arms stretched out. What do they call him? Venturian Man? The art makes me think of Eevee. Her red dress and killer heels. Hair up off her shoulders. The way she smiled. The way her body felt against mine.
    It’s like she doesn’t remember.
    Just as my fingers touch the journal, there’s a knock at the door. The pencil rattles as I slam the drawer shut and I’m off the bed, standing at attention.
    “Danny?” Mr. Solomon—Sid—calls through the door. “Would you like something to eat?”
    I shake out my hands. Clear my throat. “Yeah. That’d be great.”

    Sid and I sit at the kitchen table, eating pita chips with hummus and working on a crossword.
    “Five-letter word for ‘meticulous.’ ”
    I shove a loaded chip in my mouth and make a thinking face. “Meticulous…meticulous…” Maybe three brain cells are working on the clues. The rest are working out how I got here. Either way, I’m coming up with zilch.
    “Fussy.” Sid pencils in the boxes. “F-U-S-S-Y.” Takes a swig of his kale juice. He’s an oddball. Nice. But weird.
    “So you have Ms. Fischbach, too?” he asks.
    “What?”
    “For English. Eve is always complaining about that class.”
    I fake it. “Yeah. It’s pretty awful.”
    “Well, I’m glad to know she has a friend in there.” He doesn’t sound glad. “Are you good at English?” He looks at me over his glasses.
    “Pretty good.” I don’t have to lie this time.
    “Maybe you can help her. English isn’t her strongest subject. I assist as I can, but we usually end up arguing. She can be…” He points to the crossword. “Fussy.”
    I think of her hand slinking up the back of my neck. She didn’t even know my name. Not my idea of fussy. “When did she start painting?”
    “Painting?” He shakes his head. “Eve doesn’t have time for frivolous distractions.”
    “But she’s apprenticed to that famous guy. Bosca?” I load hummus onto a chip and pop it in my mouth.
    “You must be mistaken,” Sid says slowly, like I don’t speak the same language. “Eve’s focus is academics. She’s on target for Ivy League. Perhaps even overseas study. I’d be thrilled either way, of course.”
    “Well, the Education Panels will make that call, won’t they?”
    “Is that how they do things in the remedial track?”
    My laugh catches in my throat and I choke. He thinks I’m an idiot. When I finally stop coughing, I open my mouth to argue, but decide to switch subjects instead. “Do you have a city map I can borrow?”
    Surprised, he sets down the crossword. “Yes. Just a moment.”
    He disappears to another room while I slam a few more hummus chips, a