Short story - Untitled Part 1

 

Untitled

 

10: 30 AM November 19, 2020

What’s happened? What’s going on? Why is everybody acting like this? Oh god! What’s happening to me? What’s happening to everyone? They act like I’m a stranger!

7:00 AM November 19, 2020

Ring… ring… ring… click.

God! I hate this alarm clock’s sound. I want to throw it away so badly, even though my reason tells me that the fact that one hates the sound of an alarm clock is what an alarm clock is made for. Never mind, it’s done its duty and I’ve got to do mine too. I get out of bed, brush my teeth, and then take a shower. I’ve got to be at the office early because I have an important meeting this morning. That’s a reason why I set up the alarm clock nearly an hour earlier than I do normally yesterday.

7:44 AM November 19, 2020

The traffic is surprisingly light today. I don’t know if it is because of the route I take, or it is still early for the morning rush hour. The digital clock in my car says 7:45 AM as I turn on the radio. There’s not much to listen to except for some financial news. For your information, financial is my expertise.

8:00 AM November 19, 2020

I steer my car to the usual spot in the underground parking lot which hasn’t been much packed yet. I park my car near a black SUV whose owner is my colleague, Dan. He’s a pretty nice guy and has a great sense of humor, who will make anybody laugh in a few minutes.

8:10 AM November 19, 2020

I step out of the elevator on the 10th floor, turn right and walk to my office at the end of the hall. To my surprise, the lights in my office have already been turned on. I wonder who is in my office so early this morning. Is it Dan? As I open the door, a man turns to the sound behind him. Standing in front of me is a man whose face that I’ve never seen before. “Hello,” I ask, “can I help you?” The man with bewilderment on his face keeps looking at me without responding to my greeting. I repeat the question. The man finally responds unexpectedly: “can I help you? Pardon my rudeness but I’ve never seen you before? Are you our company’s new hiring?”

“What!?” I say, “I’m not the new guy. I’ve been working here for a decade. And actually, this is my office.” Jesus! What’s this guy thinking? Do I look like a rookie?

The man chuckles saying, “you are a very funny guy. I do appreciate your joke. Now, would you mind telling me what your nature of a visit to MY office is?”

“Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of prank? And who are you, anyway?” I ask.

“My name is John Wellington, I’m the head of the Financial department.” The man says.

“ha ha ha… that is funny. Oh, now I get it. Are you some sort of comedian hired by our company to perform at the anniversary next week?” I say.

“No, I’m not a comedian or anything like that. I said that I’m this company’s employee. My name is John Wellington, the head of the Financial department.”

Something’s odd here. “You said you’re not a comedian, then what are you doing in my office?” I say.

“My office!?” the man says, “why are you keep insisting that this is your office? And who are you?”

“My name is John Wellington. I’m the head of the Financial Department and this is MY OFFICE.” I continue, “look, if you’re not a comedian and you don’t have anything to do with me, then leave here now, please. I’ve got an important meeting to prepare.” What a weird guy.

The man keeps standing there and staring at me for a while, and then as if he realizes something giving me a sympathizing look in the eyes which makes me feel uncomfortable. He says, “are you alright? Do you want me to call someone? Or do you remember your doctor’s number?”

“What! Do you think I’m crazy! The one who needs a doctor is you not me” damn it! Who’s this guy coming from? He cracks my nerve.

“What’s happening?” a man stands at the office door and asks, “Is everything ok?” It’s from Dan.

“Morning, Dan.” I turn and talk to him, “this ridiculous guy here shows up in my office and claims that he is ME, John Wellington. What a joke! Do you know this guy?”

“Excuse me, who are you?” Dan looks at me suspiciously, “I’ve never seen you before. do you work here?”

“Enough with this prank, Dan.” I yell at him, “I’ve got a lot of work to do today. So, please stop it. Ok.”

“Do you know this guy?” the man asks Dan. “He comes in here and insists that he’s me, John Wellington.”

“I have no idea who he is,” Dan speaks with the man while he’s throwing a confusing look at me. He’s acting weird today. Why does he look at me like that? Why does he pretend not to know me?

“What’s going on here, Dan? If this’s some kind of prank that you set up, then you’ve got me. I’m very entertaining. Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate that. And I think it’s time to wrap it up, Dan. We’ve got a lot of work to do today.” I walk past them toward my desk and turn on my computer.

“Hey, hey. What’re you doing?” The man grabs my shoulder and speaks straight into my face, “don’t touch anything on my desk or anything in my office. And I want you to leave here before I call the security.”

“You’re the one that needs to get the hell out here, not me!” a surge of rage explodes in me, “get your hand off me and get out of my office now, or I WILL GET THE SECURITY TO THROW YOU OUT!” I literally yell those last words right into the stupid impostor.

The impostor gets his hand off me, backs further away, and stares at me. At last, he turns to Dan who’s holding his mobile phone and talking with someone over the phone, “get the security here, Dan.”

Dan hangs up the phone and warns me, “the security officers will come up here in a few minutes. I suggest you leave here immediately.”

I can’t believe what I’ve just heard. “For God’s sake, Dan! Did I do something wrong to you? “He” I point at the impostor bastard, “should be the one who gets out of here. This is my place. My office. I AM JOHN WELLINGTON!”

“You’re not John Wellington.” Dan replies, “He’s John Wellington. He’s been working here for 10 years. Everybody in this company knows it.” He continues, “look around you, there are tons of evidence proving John’s identity.”

I throw my eyes at my surrounding. On the left side walls where I hung all of my certificates, I see they’re still there but the faces on the photos of those certificates are not me anymore. This is impossible! I hurry back to my desk where the framed picture of my family is. It’s still there. I grab it up and see. There are five figures in the picture: my grandfather standing in the middle, mother and father on his right side, my younger sister on his left side, and the one who is standing next to her is supposed to be me – it should be me – turns out to be another person. I stare at this person’s face then look up at the impostor bastard in front of me. It’s him. How can it be possible? I pick up another framed picture. It’s the picture of my girlfriend, Jane, and me, but now, the one who’s holding her isn’t me anymore. It’s the man in front of me.

“NO!” like a beast I hurl myself at him, “who are you? Why are you and Dan doing this to me? What do you want?”

“I don’t want anything from you,” the man gasps, “we don’t even know you. My name is John Wellington. It’s the truth.”

“Get off him, now” Dan grab my shoulder and order, “if you keep harassing us, I’ll call the police.”

“We’re here.” Two men in security uniform show up outside the office, one man in front of another turns to Dan and asks: “Mr. Kimmel, what’s going on here?”

“There you are, Sean.” Dan replies while pointing at me and says, “this man comes in Mr. Wellington’s office and keeps insisting that he is Mr. Wellington. Can you get escort him out of here?”

“Sure.” Sean and the other one hurry into the office and get me away from the impostor. Then, they grab my arms and turn them backward behind my back and start to push me out of my office.

“What’re you doing? It’s me, Sean. We’ve known each other. I’m the real John Wellington. He’s the fake one, the impostor. Believe me. Hey, listen to me. My name is John Wellington, the head of the Financial Department. I’ve been working here for ten years, for God's sake. WHY DON’T YOU GUYS BELIEVE ME?”

The majority of employees have already come to work and are bewildered when they see me being escorted to the elevator.

I shout to them: “Good morning everybody. It’s good to see you. Could you guys tell these two idiots who I am?” For a moment, nobody utters a word and gives me a puzzling and odd look. At last, Mike, a senior officer of the Marketing Department says: “Who are you? You’re not John Wellington. I’ve never seen you before.”

I see Sasha, my secretary just getting out of the elevator. Excitedly, I manage to escape my arms out of the steel-like pincer and runs to Sasha and say: “Sasha, I’ve never been happier to see you here today. Tell them, tell every single one of them who I am. Please, tell them that I’m John Wellington and you’re my secretary.” To my surprise, she backs further away from me and vigilantly asks me: “who are you? You’re not my boss. I’m not your secretary, and my boss is Mr. Wellington.”

“I’m John Wellington. It’s me, Sasha. You’ve been my secretary for three years. You have a younger brother; your mother passed away two years ago, and you are living in an apartment four blocks from here.”

“How do you know?” Asked Sasha who’s getting more further away from me, “only a few people include Mr. Wellington knows about these. Who are you?”

“I told you that I’m John Wellington. Why do you act like you don’t know me?”

“No, you’re not Mr. Wellington.” Sasha angrily responds, “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t care. I suggest you leave here at once.”

“You heard her, Sean the security says and grabs me, “Nobody here knows you. Now, let’s get you out of here.”