Parallels
Chapter II
Star and Marco talked as they ran through the neighborhood. "What if that other you and me aren't as identical to us as we think?"
"I don't know Marco, it really seems like they were."
"But what if the difference is so small, we don't realize it's there. Remember the Butterfly Effect? Small changes can lead to big consequences."
"Oh Marco! You worry too much"
"Oh no! We lost them!" said Marco as they approached an intersection.
They looked around and their doubles were nowhere to be seen.
"Ha! We haven't lost anyone! If you were Marco, 'cause you are, and I was Star, 'cause I am, where would we head to?"
"If we were exploring an alternate dimension looking for differences in the world, I'd go someplace familiar..."
School was out, but there was a high school football game tonight. People gathered at the field to watch, including the visiting pair. They were currently under the bleachers.
"Marco? Why are we hiding?" Star whispered.
"We are trying to observe, Star. We can watch what is going on from here. See if anyone behaves differently.
"Not that I mind, but why can't we just walk around to do that?"
"What if we're seen?"
"Uh, nothing happens? We're from here remember? We could walk right up to everyone, talk to them, and they wouldn't suspect a thing."
duh moment /ˈdə ˈmōmənt/ n. 1 This.
Marco felt a little silly now for being so cautious. "Right." He paused. "But let's stay here a little longer."
Star smiled at him.
"See Star? Just as I thought. They're here. If they were going to look for differences in people they know, they were going to come someplace with as many people they know as possible. Tonight that's here."
"Why are they hiding under the bleachers?"
"Maybe they didn't want to be seen?"
"Why not? It's not like they would have been out of place."
"Hmm." Marco sounded realizing the logic of Star's statement. "Well, let's ask them if they found anything."
Marco and Star approached the rear of the bleachers. The visiting pair had been seen. They could see them talking to Ferguson in his possum mascot costume. They had to wait until he left before they could join the pair under the bleachers.
Ferguson left before long. He passed right by Marco and Star who were covering their faces with a newspaper. They watched him leave through eye holes they cut out in the large mugshots featured on the front page. It appeared that he didn't notice them.
"Armed robbers at large? We should find them!" exclaimed Star as they disposed of the newspapers. They then stealthily ducked underneath the bleachers to join their guests.
The other Star greeted them. "Oh hey! You're here! We were wondering when you'd find us!"
"Yeah, we kind of figured out that you'd come here. Have you noticed anything?" Marco asked.
The other Marco responded. "Not yet. But we haven't really gone out to talk to anyone. Although, Ferguson was just here."
"Yeah we saw. We had to wait until he left. Did you notice anything about him?" Marco asked.
"No. But, he was surprised that we were under here." The other Star responded.
"Still dressed as a possum." The other Marco added, "We can't all stay under here. If we've been spotted by Ferguson, then we could be spotted by anyone. It would be hard to explain away two of each of us together."
Star said, "I don't know about that. Everyone here knows that I can use magic."
Marco responded, "No, he's... I'm... um... he's right. I'm not sure I want to explain the implications of a Multiverse to anyone that asks."
They remembered the NOVA episode. They all thought about the coin flip, probabilities, other dimensions, higher dimensions, possible worlds, subatomic particles, antimatter, and the philosophical aspects of free choice. They agreed that it was too much.
The other Marco suggested, "You two stay here and watch. We'll go out and interact. Maybe you can see something. Meet us at the convenience store after the game."
Marco agreed. The other Marco took his Star's hand and led them out from the cover of the bleachers.
The other Star waved, "'Bye, us!"
Just as they left, Marco had a thought. He wanted to stop the departing pair. He saw his counterpart's face. He knew that he was thinking the same thing. But it was too late. The visiting pair had already been spotted. Too late to change the plan now.
"What's wrong?" Star asked.
"It would have been better if we went out, and they stayed behind. How would we know what to look for? Everyone is going to act around us how they always have."
"Well, we can find out if they noticed anything later."
Marco and Star observed the guests and everyone around them for the duration of the game. Nothing was very obviously different.
Among the crowds, Marco said "hi" to some friends, but Star greeted everyone with an enthusiastic "Hello, friends!"
The game started and the pair sat close together in the bleachers above them to watch.
Halftime came and went. The visiting duo watched Brittney and the cheerleaders perform. Ferguson ran along the sidelines dressed as an opossum.
After the second half ended, the crowds thinned and began to leave. Echo Creek's team had been defeated, as they normally are without Star's field booby traps.
Marco and Star had remained under the bleachers the entire time. Marco couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was... off.
The visiting pair subtly signaled that they were leaving. Star and Marco watched the backs of the pair as they walked away toward the street. Jackie skated by them and waved goodbye.
"'Bye, Star Butterfly. 'Bye, Marco."
"'Bye, Jackie!" Star waved her right hand vigorously. Marco smiled, and waved his left hand.
Almost everyone had left when Star and Marco had decided the coast was clear and emerged from hiding. They immediately ran into Alfonso.
"Oh hey guys! I thought you left. Ferguson said he saw you under here earlier."
Thinking fast, Marco replied. "Oh, uh, I dropped my keys. We came back to find them."
"Relax guys! It's cool, it's cool." Alfonso said as he smiled. "I'll see you later." He quickly departed.
"Star, did that seem odd to you?"
"Yeah! You didn't tell me you dropped your keys. I'll help find them!"
Star pulled out her wand and cast a spell.
"MASTERA KWIKSETTY SCHLAGERINO!"
The now empty bleachers were obliterated in a colorful blast of light. Pieces of wood and metal landed on the field. Up from of the ground floated three sets of keys. The remaining spectators fled the scene.
"Hehe. Oops."
"Star, I didn't lose my keys! I just said that so we would have a reason for being under there!" Marco scolded. Calming down, he continued. "I meant, did it seem like Alfonso was nervous? Seemed like he was in a hurry to leave."
"Maybe he just had somewhere to be. Like us! We should go meet up with us!"
"Okay. But grab those keys. I'll drop them at lost and found. Someone might still be looking for them."
When Star and Marco arrived at the convenience store it was dark and late. The other Star and Marco were waiting outside. They did not worry about being seen together since it was fairly deserted. Only the clerk was there and he had long ago learned not to ask questions.
"Hi, us!" the other Star greeted them as they approached.
"Hi guys." Marco responded. "I'm not sure we noticed anything, but there was something. I just can't say for sure what."
"I'm glad you said something. I got the same feeling." the other Marco said.
"You were talking to Ferguson when we arrived. Was it him?" Marco asked.
"It was actually spooky. Even the patches on the possum costume were the same. No, it wasn't anything you could see." the other Marco said.
"Did he do something weird?" Star asked. "Did he draw a face on his belly to talk to you?"
"Nah. But even if he did, that would have been normal." the other Star responded.
Marco thought of a question. "Star?"
"Yes?" both Stars responded in unison.
"Other Star."
"Yes?" responded the other Star.
"I didn't think anything of it at the time, but you mentioned that Ferguson was surprised. Why would he be surprised?"
"I don't know. Like he was surprised to see us. Which is weird. He sees us all the time." the other Star thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, lots of people were surprised to see us. Are you guys homebodies?"
"Us? Homebodies? Nah. We're always out doing stuff. And we see people all the time." Star responded.
"There was something going on. It's like people could somehow tell that we weren't you, um, us." the other Marco said.
"That's it! It's not anyone else that's different. It's you two!" Marco realized. "It's us."
"All right! Now to get some answers!" other Star exclaimed. "Time for some deep, dark, and extremely intrusive personal questions."
Suddenly, Star and Marco felt very exposed.
Suddenly, a sharp blade cut the air in the parking lot. A dimensional portal opened. Monsters emerged from it.
"Ludo really has the impeccable timing of a broken fake Rolex." thought Marco.
The clerk in the store put on a hard hat. "Not again..." he muttered as he ducked behind the register.
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