Matt and I had been best friends for as long as either of us could remember. We had everything in common, and when I say everything, I literally mean everything. We had the same full name, Matthew Adam Smith. We were both 5 foot 9 inches. We had the same light brown hair, green eyes, thin body, long legs, and freckles. We had the same thoughts, ideas, intelligence, even our parents had the same names! We couldn't be told apart from one another no matter how hard one tried.
Our friends actually had to call us Matt 1 and Matt 2, and none of them were really sure who would answer whichever name they said. Every day Matt and I would meet in our clubhouse at six in the evening. Our hideout was an abandoned little building whose original entrance was blocked off. It was a tall, red brick building with very few windows, and a rundown appearance.
To get into the building you had to climb up the black fire escape stairs of the building next to it, and cross a thin, rusted metal beam about 20 feet above the ground. The beam led into the shattered window of our hideout. In our hideout we would play games, discuss matters we felt important, and sometimes just relax. Our hideout was a safe place where we could get away from the rest of the world.
Every day Matt and I would go to school, then walk back home. Matt would then go to his music lesson while I waited for him to return and meet me at our clubhouse at six. The next day it would be just the opposite. Since we couldn't be distinguished from one another, we would play tricks on our friends and teachers. One day our friends decided to have a race around the school. The winner would get $20 from a pool of cash made from each contestant's contributed entrance fee. I knew I couldn't win alone, and so did Matt, so we fixed up a plan to win.
Matt pretended to sit out the race. When we started I fell behind immediately, but Matt was waiting near the end of the race to emerge from nowhere and win the race. No one could tell us apart and we won, splitting the money 50-50. Another day we had to study for two finals on the same day. We had our classes at different times, so I studied for the math final, and Matt studied for the history final. On the day of the final I attended math class twice, taking the final for myself and then for Matt. Matt did the same in history. Matt and I might as well have been twins.
Today, March 3, 2021, Matt had music lessons, and I waited for his return at the clubhouse. Having nothing to do, I decided to head there early. On my way, I noticed something had changed in my routine walk to the clubhouse. On the grass where an empty space had been, a few stands were set up. A large sign hanging above them all read “Traveling Library.”
Who ever heard of a traveling library? Who would ever think to make a traveling library? But, having nothing better to do, I walked over to the stands and gazed at the immense collection of books. I found myself over in the biographical section looking at the names on the bindings of the many books. I carelessly glanced over the hundreds of names until I reached a name I was all too familiar with, my own.
“Matt Smith,” the binding read. Smith was such a common name, I thought to myself. I wonder how many Smiths there are in the world. I picked up the book and opened it up to the first page; I began to read.
“Matt Smith was born in New York, New York,” read the book.
“That's weird.” I said to myself aloud. “That's where Matt and I were born.” I picked up the book and flipped to another page.
“Matt Smith was quite the prankster, often switching places with his best friend, who had the same name and appearance. He and his friend, Matt, would switch places in school to fool teachers. They would switch places to trick their friends, and even their parents.”
How could this be? It's as if this book was written about me. I read page after page, only to find that every page was about my life! It's not possible! This book tells everything I've ever done. From Matt and I switching places at school, to tricking our parents into thinking we were home when one of us was really out having fun. It told of secrets Matt and I had vowed never to tell, as well as countless other memories Matt and I shared. This had to be the weirdest thing that had ever happened to me. I picked up the book and brought it to the cashier.
