"So what are you going to do now Cale?"
Catrina asked Cale(?) his plans after school
"I will go back to my house"
"Really?"
Gabriel chimed in and asked
"Well yeah, today my sister is returning from her business trip, so I kind of have to be there"
"Ah that makes sense"
Cale's sister was a businesswoman, she was part of a very prestigious and meritocratic company and she was very capable in that regard, so much so that people called her the undisputed workaholic genius of the company.
"Your sister is so nice~"
"Yeah she really cares for you Cale"
Cale narrowed his eyes
"Why wouldn't she care about me?"
"True..."
"Ehem"
Gabriel cleared his throat
"Well anyway we should go on our way, your sister is coming back really soon right?"
"Yeah she is..."
Cale stood outside the school building for a little while, waiting until Catrina and Gabriel went their separate ways before moving
The doppelganger then went to a secluded spot where no one could see him and then vanished in the cool breeze
***
Rustle
Someone came out of a dumpster, they softly landed on their feet and patted themselves of any dust that may have stuck to them, they fixed their hair slightly but still left it as a mess
It was the doppelganger
In detention, you cannot die. In other words, Cale's body had to stay in detention no matter what may occur, the doppelganger knew this rule well
Which also meant there was a void in the real world due to Cale being sent to detention
A void the doppelganger had to fill no matter what because that is the sole reason it exists
The doppelganger walked towards Cale's house
It was relatively close so it didn't take long to enter the apartment
It opened the door and zoomed to the elevator
"..."
The doppelganger didn't have any particular thoughts, while it didn't like working overtime, it wasn't like it had any choice
The doppelganger pushed the mint scented elevator door and in a instant appeared before a door as if it had always stood before it
"...?"
It tilted its head, confused of the presence behind the door
It narrowed its eyes, for a few moments it hesitated opening the door
But it was only for a few moments, Its hands moved to insert the key in the keyhole, It then twisted it open
Click!
The door opened wide, wide enough for the doppelganger to see someone's reflection on the mirror bolted to the wall
The mirror reflected the scene of a living room, someone was sitting on the sofa drinking something
"..."
The doppelganger stopped for a few moments realizing who it was that was drinking leisurely in the living room
Walking inside, it closed the door, locking it and then taking off its shoes It moved to the living room
Slurp
She took a sip from her cup, steam came out of the cup, It hadn't been long before she made the drink
"Didn't you say you were coming back around 5 pm?"
The doppelganger questioned her, putting Cale's backpack on the sofa opposite to the woman, It stared at her with a questioning gaze
"Nephyl"
Nephyl Dice, this was Cale's sister and the so called workaholic genius, capable of flawlessly handling up to 30 people's work all alone on a good day
"I just happened to come earlier than what I expected"
Nephyl took a sip of her coffee
"Anyway enough about me, tell me more about yourself, how was school?"
"..It was fine..."
"I bet it was"
Nephyl took another sip of her coffee
"What time did you come?"
"I've been here for about... half an hour maybe?"
The doppelganger sat on the sofa
"..."
"..."
Both Nephyl and the doppelganger stayed silent, it stayed that way for a few minutes before Nephyl broke the silence
"Did you know that the school you go to now used to be a college?"
"Why are you forcing conversation?"
"I'm your sister, now answer my question"
The doppelganger wanted to retort, after all her reasoning didn't make any sense, right?
"I didn't know"
It answered her, she seemed satisfied, her expression also lightened slightly at the doppelganger's words
"Do you know when mom is coming?"
Nephyl asked her brother
"She might come back in the evening"
Nephyl was going to take another sip but was stopped by her brother's words
"Really?"
She put her coffee on the table and took off the tightly knotted red ribbon that was on her right temple
"Well she told there were a lot of customers, so many that it could fill the Café completely or so I heard from mom"
The doppelganger was speaking the words Cale's mother had told him word for word
"Really? that's strange..."
The doppelganger asked Nephyl who was in deep thought
"Is it really surprising for a Café to be full?"
It wasn't the doppelganger's curiosity that spoke but Cale's
"You don't know much do you"
The doppelganger grew irritated by those words, it wasn't trying to imitate Cale this time
"Instead of insulting me, you should be answering my question, don't you think so?"
Tsk
"Did you just-"
"Think of it like this"
Nephyl cut her brother's words, making him even more irritated than before but he intently listened keeping his patience in check
"Imagine the Café our mom works at"
"Yes"
"That Café has a lot of customers every day, but it is not nearly enough to fill the whole Café"
Nephyl put her ribbon on the table, picking up her coffee again
"So ask yourself this, 'Why does the Café suddenly have so many customers that it is completely full? When the other day it wasn't anywhere near full?'"
"I see..."
The doppelganger understood but then asked Nephyl another question
"But isn't that a good thing? I mean more customers means more money doesn't it?"
"You are right"
Nephyl agreed with what her brother said
"Under normal circumstances that is"
"..?"
"Isn't it disturbing not knowing why there is a sudden spike in customers?"
"I wouldn't know..."
Nephyl downed her cup in one single gulp and laid it on the table
"Well I guess I'm the only one then"
The doppelganger sat up from the sofa, taking Cale's backpack as well
"Oh? where are you going?"
Nephyl asked Cale, but then she remembered something
"Ah now that I think about it, I have a gift for you"
"?"
Nephyl took something out from the purse next to her
"Here"
"What's this?"
The doppelganger looked perplexed looking at the gift
"It's a pen"
"No I can see that"
What he was referring to wasn't the pen itself, but the packaging itself
[DISCOUNT 25% GET THE NEW SPY PEN INSTALLED WITH A 1080p CAMERA FOR ONLY 23 DOLLARS]
"...."
The doppelganger stood there flabbergasted, eyes wide open, If it hadn't been for the packaging, the doppelganger wouldn't have found out
It may have seemed trivial at first, but if Nephyl checked the camera after a few days of the doppelganger not noticing, it would have been disastrous
Worst case scenario, she would have found out that 'Cale' was teleporting from school to his house
'Dangerous...'
That is the only way for the doppelganger to describe Cale's sister
'She already suspects I am not Cale but a mere Imitation'
It was impressive instincts on Nephyl's part, however that was further from the truth
'I wonder how my cute little teddy bear's school life is going, does he maybe have a crush on someone already? he is at that ripe age after all'
Nephyl was melting at the fantasies she was having, she could only imagine how spicy Cale's school life really was
However that was not all
Cale had a tendency to not tell her what's happening at school, she was doing it to see if Cale really was having fun at school and if no one is bullying her little brother
She felt responsible for him as her Big Sister after, plus she could get a good laugh or too watching how Cale's school life unfolds
"Make sure you put the pen in your breast pocket Cale"
"Here"
"..?"
Cale gave her the gift back
'Ah he wants me to open it for him'
She wanted to puff out her chest in excitement hearing Cale needing her help for something as simple as this
'Leave it to your sister Cale'
She took the pen and started to tear the packaging apart, but as she was ready to tear it apart at lightning speed, she glimpsed at it, the writing on the packaging
"...."
Tearrrr
She tore it slowly and took the pen carefully and gave it to Cale
Her hand was trembling, beads of sweat sweat started to form on her forehead
"Thanks"
Cale took the pen and went into his room
'He didn't realize, did he?'
She hoped he hadn't, but she knew it was delusional to think that way
"C-Crap..."
That is the only word her voice could let out
Her face reddened like a ripen apple
She felt ashamed of herself for letting something like this happen, if she just wasn't so excited and actually removed the packaging beforehand she could have succeeded
"What a lost opportunity..."
Her head drooped in sadness, she knew that next time she gave Cale something, he'd be suspicious of her
'In that case'
Nephyl took something out of her pocket
"Cale when you're done, come get the Ice cream I bought for you on my way back home!"
If Cale had his guard up, Nephyl simply had to wait and make Cale forget about her blunder and there was nothing more effective for that goal than Ice cream, was there?