Out of Character:
They say you can only think about seven things at once, so that's why I stopped at seven lives.
It all started one morning when I didn't want to go to school. I always keep a thermometer nearby for when I legitimately get sick and can use the excuse to stay home for the day. I felt a fever coming on and like a charm, I found that I was a degree hotter than normal. Maybe not enough to be concerned with, but enough to convince mom to stay home.
Sometimes this isn't the greatest thing, like if there's a test that day, or something actually fun was happening. In middle school there's a period that rotates every couple months, going from wood shop, home ec, music, to one that's all about playing games and building teamwork, like a class that mixed sports, puzzles, and game shows. I was finally in that one, so missing a day meant missing some legitimate fun. On the other hand, I could stay home and play games all day. I still had dial up, which meant my online gaming time was limited to when my mom didn't need the phone, but when she was out it was fair game.
It was a tougher decision than I thought. Sometimes when I can't decide, my mind just goes blank, unable to choose one road or the other, but other times I sit there weighing my options. In this case, it wasn't a terribly important choice, but still one I had a strangely hard time deciding. I thought harder and harder about it, nearly giving myself a headache, until it finally came to me, smoothly subsiding my tension. I felt like a new person, like the thought of staying home was a ridiculous notion I could never possibly consider.
I went to school.
Unsurprisingly, it was just a normal day. By the time lunch rolled around, I started thinking that maybe I should've just stayed home anyway. The fun class wasn't as fun as I thought today. As I stared into my tuna wrap, I started imaging the games I was playing at home. Maybe I would've started with some console games, then moved on to PC for a bit of online stuff. As the thoughts crossed my mind, the scene in my head abruptly shifted around me. I was in a dark expanse, the only light emanating off a glowing white door. It was infinite in every direction, and a thick purple mist floated up to my knees. It was the most vivid daydream I ever had.
The only thing I could do was turn the doorknob. The door opened, revealing what looked like a view of my room at home. The TV was on, showing some cartoons. Once the door was opened, I felt compelled to pass through it, and when I did, the scene became real. I was there, not just dreaming, standing in my room. It was such a jarring experience, I started to wonder if I even went to school at all this morning, or maybe that was the actual daydream? Still in my pajamas, I turned my head and looked at the clock. It was the same time as when I was at school. Or imagining that I was at school. It was easy to rationalize away what just happened, so I turned on my computer. As it booted up, I thought about that strange void in my mind, and that shining door. I felt myself standing in front of it once more and opening the door. The view in front of me was a half-eaten tuna wrap, the vision moving around the other faces at the lunch table. Was this a first person view? Was I looking through my own eyes? I stepped through the door once more, and there I was again, back where I started in school.
At this point, I started freaking out internally. I swallowed hard and pinched my cheek, making sure I wasn't caught in some sort of dream. Nobody was as alarmed as I was, so my first realization was that this was not teleportation. I didn't disappear and reappear at home. I looked at my watch and lunch time was approaching its end, so I threw away my half-eaten meal and went to the bathroom. I had to get away from the crowd, from all the sounds drowning out my thoughts. There must have been some way to make sense of this. While I was scared, I decided to do it again. I opened the door in my mind and was back home. The computer was booted up and I was already browsing the internet. Time had passed, but also things had happened. As in, the me that I left behind was continuing on with his day.
I stayed in the version of me that stayed home for the rest of the day. What was the other me doing? He was going to arrive home soon. The thought of him terrified me, a bona fide doppelganger! Middle school was fairly far from my house, so I knew it would take him half an hour to get home. What do I do? Maybe he wasn't some sort of evil demon, and scared just like me of whatever waited at home. I had seen too many scary movies to think that, however. I looked through the internet for some answers, but there was nothing helpful. I just imagined this being with black holes for eyes and sharp teeth running up the stairs and tackling me, stealing my... soul? I didn't believe in such things, but with what was happening today, anything is possible. Maybe the cat that was lounging on my bed could actually talk. Turn fiction into reality and you'll have a kid believing in Santa again.
Around the time my other self was coming home, I took a chance and used the mind-door to get into his body, or rather, my body. So, what? Was this me now? What about the body I left behind? Is the doppelganger in there now? I hesitantly entered my house and yelled upstairs, asking if anyone was home. There was no reply. That wasn't good, if I was me, and I am, I would answer back right away to make friendly relations. I mind-doored over to my pajama self and yelled down as well, again receiving no answer. Another round of mind-dooring brought me to my 'went to school' self, who had already taken off his shoes by the time I jumped in. I was at an impasse, far too scared to go upstairs. That's when I noticed my cat, who was clawing at the door from the outside. How did she get out there, did I just let her out? I would've noticed her going down the stairs just a second ago.
Wait.
I mind-doored over to my 'stay at home' self and there she was, still on the bed. Opening up a game on my computer that I'm sure I would wait to finish, I mind-doored back to my 'went to school' self and went upstairs. I entered my room and no one was there. Neither the computer nor TV was on, no cat on bed, nothing. I mind-doored back and, of course, there was no intruder in my room. That's when I confirmed my suspicions:
I didn't multiply.
The universe did.
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