Self-help

  “Microwave it.”

  Chaii gasped at the other’s words and clung to the blanket-wrapped egg he held. Microwaving a reptile egg for incubation didn’t seem like a good idea. Chaii stepped away from the crazed boy before him, avoiding eye contact with the attentive other. He was having seconds thoughts on what he was doing at the moment… the zombie boy had asked the wrong person to help him with his assignment. Although requesting help from someone would have probably been considered cheating, Chaii thought otherwise, for the person he had asked… was really himself. At least that’s what he thought.

  “I don’t think… I should do that,” Chaii breathed. He scanned the area surrounding the alternate room with a troubled expression painted on his face. No one was around for the time being, which was good. Chaii was afraid of being questioned or scolded for being there… with his reflection. Chaii had only encountered his alternate self a few times, so he couldn’t understand why everyone had such a problem with him. As far as Chaii knew, his reflection was a creep. Nothing more.

  Chaii’s reflection crossed his arms and frowned at his paranoid counterpart.

  “Well? You came to me for ideas… and I’m giving them to you.” Chaii’s reflection, also known as mChaii, wasn’t the best person to ask for advice. “How else are you going to… um… incubate it? Sit on it?”

  “I don’t… know…” Chaii whined. mChaii was losing his patience. He broke the bond between Chaii and the wrapped egg in a swift movement, leaving an empty space in Chaii’s arms, and now filling his own. “Hey! Be careful! Give… give it to me!” Chaii tugged on the other pair of arms that handled the reptile egg.

  “Stop that. Be quiet.” mChaii placed his hand on his counterpart’s face, pushing him an arm’s length away. “I have an idea.” He pointed to the door of the alternate room beside him, sending a smirk towards his puzzled counterpart. “Take my place in there… and I’ll take care of your… egg for the time being.”

  “What? No!” Chaii poked his reflection’s cheek and pouted. “You’ll kill my egg!”

  “No, I won’t. I promise.” mChaii slapped Chaii’s finger away from his face. “I won’t do anything to it… as long as you take my place. You don’t know how to take care of this thing… and I, being considerate, can help you hatch it.” mChaii didn’t have to sound convincing, for he knew that his counterpart was naïve enough to believe him. “If something does happen to it… you can blame me.”

  Chaii rubbed his cheeks and sighed into his hands. He would still get in trouble with the Shadowmancy professor if he knew Chaii had given the egg to his reflection, but he knew that the egg would probably never hatch if it were in his own care. He could always say that mChaii had stolen his egg… but at the same time he would feel guilty for lying. He wasn’t much of a great liar either. No one would notice the real Chaii’s disappearance. He was never the subject of a conversation, and no one bothered to visit him in his room once in a while. Maybe he would have fun in the alternate world, but a full month in there felt like a long time. Chaii took a few deep breaths and rubbed the back of his neck. ‘It’s not like… I’ll be missed,’ he thought.

  “As long… as I take your place, you won’t kill my egg or… eat it?” He looked his reflection in the face, not being able to believe he couldn’t trust himself. It was weird to see himself, or really his alternate self, acting this way. mChaii nodded to his question.

  “I already said I wouldn’t do anything to it.” He rolled his lone eye at his puppy-eyed counterpart.

  Chaii cleared his throat. “Okay… I’ll do it.”

  mChaii patted his counterpart’s head at those words and smiled innocently, bringing him into a hug. “When do I go?” Chaii asked as his face buried into the other’s collar while his own arms remained limp in the hug. Hugging his reflection felt weird. He hugged himself almost all the time, usually in defense, or for comfort, but not like this. Although the atmosphere was a little awkward, Chaii liked the feeling of getting hugged by arms that didn’t exactly belong to him.

  “You should go now. I’ll… bring you anything you need later.” mChaii’s voice lightened up at the fact that he would be leaving the alternate room, serving in Chaii’s place. ‘Oh… what fun.’ mChaii chuckled in amusement and pushed Chaii off of him. “Try not to talk to anyone,” He warned. “They’ll go crazy if… they know I’m… at large.” mChaii gave out a sick laugh. It sounded unusual, and kind of twisted. He smiled and closed his eye, thinking of all the attention he would get if anyone were to notice his absence. They would probably think he was attacking Casper, and hopefully, they wouldn’t try to look for him.

  Chaii stared at mChaii. He was very confused. His reflection noticed this and strode his way to the door of the alternate room.

  “Well? In you go… Come on.” mChaii gestured to Chaii, wanting him to go into the room. Chaii obediently ambled towards the open room and gave one last hug to his reflection, causing mChaii to flinch. He wasn’t expecting a hug from him, considering that he didn’t hug him the last time. That zombie boy was confusing, but mChaii tried not to mind it, for he had some other plans in mind. mChaii excitedly babbled on about how adorable his counterpart was being before saying a quick goodbye. He then shoved the other into the room and closed the door, now focusing on the egg that he held in one arm.

  mChaii unwrapped part of the blanket that covered the egg to see what it looked like- pretty strange. The black egg looked really shiny, slimy almost. Who would wrap something so disgusting in such a nice, soft blanket? That clueless imbecile of a being, Chaii of course. mChaii sighed and rewrapped the egg. He didn’t want to look at it much longer, the sight of that thing was making him feel sick.

  “Hm…” mChaii rocked himself back and forth on his heels with the wrapped egg in both arms. “-better get started.”