A Friend No More
I found myself running through the hallways of my old school. I opened door after door looking for someone I didn't know. At least, I didn't know anymore. He had changed. Maybe I had changed as well. I was no longer the little child dependent on everyone around me. I was no longer dependent on him either.
At some point after what felt like hours of exhaustive searching, I slumped onto the wall in the hallway next to my old locker. I don't know why, but I heard something at that time – a voice from my old friend, asking if I wanted to hang out that afternoon. I then knew immediately where to go and what to do.
I took a breath and slowly made my way to the old chemistry lab, where there was a small hatch leading to an attic space we used to use as a unofficial club room. The teachers all knew about it, but it still felt like our own little secret. A hideaway from the rest of the world. We would spend hours there every day, just being kids. Maybe playing games. Maybe throwing rocks off the roof. Maybe just chatting. There's always so much to talk about when you allow your imagination to run freely.
I put my hand on the doorknob and paused for a brief second. I couldn't quite place the emotions I was feeling in that moment, but I felt my heart beating through my chest. Why would he be here after all this time? Why would he come back? He left me, right?
I had changed. I was older. I had a job to do.
I opened the door and saw a little child sitting on the chair next to the window. He had jet-black hair that was a little too ruffled, green eyes, and a book in his hand. I knew the book. It was the The Adventures of Ponyboy and Robin. More importantly, it was my copy. He looked to me and said, "I was waiting for you to come."
In that moment, I heard someone rushing behind me. A familiar set of footsteps carrying a familiar figure through the doorway. He was wearing a bright-red cape with a blue suit that vaguely matched. It was Dr. Illusion. The hero here to save the day. He boldly laughed and said, "Miss. Terry! I knew you could do it! To think he was hiding away at your old school. What a good find!"
I then looked to the kid sitting next to the window. He had transformed into someone else entirely and was now wearing a purple trench coat with glasses and a mask obscuring his face. It was Mr. Plum, the villain currently terrorizing the town that needed to be stopped. Mr. Plum said nothing. He just continued reading my book next to the window.
Dr. Illusion then placed a hand on the villain and said, "You are coming with me."
In that moment, I blinked and the world changed. I was no longer in the school with my old friend. We were back to reality where Dr. Illusion was handcuffing Mr. Plum and pushing him into a police car.
Dr. Illusion has the power to dive into the subconscious minds of anyone, and I, as his sidekick, can come along for the ride. We've been on many adventures before. And certainly plan to go on many more.
But what happened next stuck with me for a long time. Mr. Plum, my old friend, looked to me and said, "I'll get you next time, Dr. Illusion and Miss Terry!" On it's surface, this should have sounded normal. It's what villains say to superheroes when they are apprehended.
But this wasn't just any villain. It was my friend. The person I had spent so much time with in the attic. The person who I relied on for emotional support. The person I shared all my books and hobbies with. He looked at me as if he had no idea who I was.
I tried to shrug it off and act like it didn't matter, but it did. No matter how much time passed, I couldn't forget the way he looked at me that day. So a year later, I visited him in the detention center.
We spoke, separated by a thick glass window, which somehow felt fitting for the situation at hand. I came as me. Not Miss. Terry. Me.
He came as him. He wasn't allowed to wear his super-villain garb in prison.
I asked him about his life. About what happened after school. About why he became a villain. About anything I could think of. He always gave vague responses – completely different than the kid I used to know.
Near the end of the conversation, I said, "I know it's been a long time, but I appreciate being able to speak with you like this again."
He then looked directly at me and asked, "Who are you?"
It was then that I realized something that I had been missing until now. Dr. Illusion doesn't just dive into the subconscious of the villains he is fighting, he actually directly attacks their brain. That day, when we fought Mr. Plum, we had stolen something dear from him. Core memories from his youth. In particular, all the memories related to the attic and related to me.
It wasn't just that we had drifted apart. I had stolen myself from him.