THE IMPOSTER

They say that if you saw your clone, you wouldn't recognize them.

That wasn't true in my case; I recognized myself instantly. The girl standing next to me and Nell had to be me. She was the same height and had the same light brown hair. Clearly she was Sadie, but she shouldn't be. I was right here, so she was an imposter.

She was Imposter Sadie.

I stared at her with my mouth wide open. I just couldn't believe it; I wasn't gone because I had never left.

During everything I'd been through, there was some girl in my place the entire time. Was she me on auto-pilot? How could the Universe possibly explain that?

"What are you doing here?" she asked Nell. "I thought you didn't want to come to my games anymore."

Nell crossed her arms. "This girl showed up at my house, Sadie."

"So...you brought her here?"

"She showed up at my house, claiming that she's you, so what choice did I have? You have something to do with this, I know you do."

"But I didn't do anything! I was here!"

The two stared at each other without speaking, looking like they wanted to murder each other.

A moment later, Imposter Sadie turned to me. "So, who are you?"

"I-I-"

She snapped her head back over to Nell. "It sure doesn't sound like she's claiming to be me."

"Well, I know she isn't you. She just kept bothering me about it. I know she's just some freak that-"

"No! I am Sadie!" I exclaimed.

Imposter Sadie's eyes danced between me, Nell, and the gym. "I don't have time for this," she said. "Put this girl you found back where you found her, and leave me alone."

She stomped back toward the gym, her ponytail swishing back and forth with each step she took.

"Are you still mad at Nell?" I asked her as she left. "Because I've forgiven her, so you should have, too."

A groan escaped from her before she twisted back around to face me. "I don't care what you said you did, because you're not me, I don't know you, and I don't care to know you."

"But...how could I hold a grudge for so long? I forgave Nell."

"This is stupid," Nell mumbled. "I'm leaving." She dug out her car keys from her pants pocket and started to head back toward the parking lot.

"Way ahead of you," Imposter Sadie said, already one foot inside the gym.

"No, don't!" I shouted.

I couldn't let them leave like this. Nell had forgiven me for dumb mistakes I'd made in the past, and I had done the same for her. But it had been nearly two weeks since our argument on the Last Day of Sadie. That was much longer than any our previous fallouts had been. If I didn't salvage our relationship, then...I didn't know what I'd do.

"Please," I continued. "You need to talk this out and forgive each other."

They both stopped at my words.

"Please, I'll...buy you lunch, how does that sound?" I dug through the pocket of the jeans I was wearing and pulled out a crumpled twenty.

"Fine," I heard them mumble.

At that, I couldn't help but pump my fist in the air.

• • • •

Our lunch destination was the Crimson Cafe, at Imposter Sadie's (and mine if I was asked) suggestion.

Nell and Imposter Sadie slid onto one side of the booth, leaving me alone on the other.  I tried to remember episodes of Couple's Therapy I'd seen when the waitress came by to take our order. Still in the zone, I ordered the first item on the menu that came to mind, not even making eye contact with the waitress.

"That was fast," Nell said to me. "How did you know what you wanted without looking at the menu?"

"I've eaten here so many times," I replied. "I've lived in Harmony my whole life."

"If that were true, then I'd know who you were," Imposter Sadie said. "So just tell me."

I clicked my tongue. "I guess we're the same person."

Damn, I felt like a badass for delivering that line the way I did. On the outside, I showed no sign of emotion, but on the inside, I was celebrating gleefully.

Imposter Sadie grimaced at my remark but didn't respond. She took a sip of her water and stared at the table.

"But that's not the point," I continued. "I only offered lunch so you guys could make up."

No one responded.

"Now, it looks like Nell didn't make me —you — us quit basketball," I said, acknowledging her basketball getup. "How do you feel about that, Nell?"

She snapped her head to Imposter Sadie. "That was a private matter," she muttered. "Don't go around telling everyone our business."

"I didn't!" Imposter Sadie shook her head. "I don't know how she knows!"

"Well, she knows a lot more than just that."

"What else does she know?"

"Everything," I answered.

"How though?" Imposter Sadie asked. "I've never seen you before."

"I don't know. One day I was in your — my — body and the next I wasn't. It was the day Nell told us to quit basketball."

Nell sighed. "Enough. Don't make me the antagonist. Sadie's the one who acted like a brat and flipped me off."

"You were being a bitch," Imposter Sadie said.

Nell leaped from her seat fast enough to hit her thighs on the bottom of the table. "Don't call me a bitch," she said, pointing her finger into her face.

"Nell, relax," I said. "You can handle a few mean names. You're better than this."

Nell looked at both me and my imposter self and narrowed her eyes. "I have to go to the bathroom," she muttered. She brushed past Imposter Sadie in the booth and disappeared to the back of the restaurant.

With Nell gone, the silence between me and Imposter Sadie was deafening. I killed time by staring at the rings the water glasses left on the table until I heard the unmistakable sound of Nell's minivan starting up.

My head picked up and I fled to the front entrance, just in time to see Nell drive off and strand Imposter Sadie and me at the cafe together.

"Dammit," I mumbled and kicked the glass of the door.

I could hear Imposter Sadie approaching from behind. "Guess I have a reason to leave now." She elbowed her way by me to pry the front door open.

"No, don't!" I said, slamming the door closed right before she could slip out. "I need to talk to you some more."

Still facing the door, she craned her neck to look at me. "Why? I thought you knew everything about me."

"Well...I do. But I don't know anything that happened after The Last Day of Sadie."

Her eyebrows raised.

"When Nell told me to quit the team," I explained.

"You really think you're me, don't you?" she mumbled.

I nodded my head.

She sighed. "Fine. Let's talk."

By the time we made it back to our booth, our waitress was sliding our plates of sandwiches to us.

"How long is this going to take?" Imposter Sadie picked at her tuna sandwich. "I have plans with someone after basketball practice, and I apparently now have to walk back to school."

"Who are you meeting? Natalie?"

"Yeah," she mumbled into her sandwich.

"You started hanging out with her more, huh?"

"Yeah." Her head was completely down.

"Can I ask you why you haven't forgiven Nell yet? Because we're the same person, and I've already forgiven her."

She shrugged. "What do you want me to say?"

"Is it because of Natalie?"

My imposter self didn't answer.

"Are you starting to like Natalie more than Nell?"

Imposter Sadie, once again, did not reply.

I felt my heart stop for a full second. "Oh my god. You're actually hesitating on this."

She chewed in silence, still staring at the table rather than me.

"Please just say something."

"You're the one who asked," she said after what felt like an hour. "So you already know the answer."

"But that can't be true," I interjected, desperately trying to scramble words together. "We love Nell so much! All I wanted was to see her again, that's why I'm here."

"Obviously you don't know everything," she mumbled. "Because you're not Sadie."