"Not helping much here, Jon," Zoe said.
"Sorry," Jon said, "It's just been...rough," he said, honestly. He truly was glad she was back. But...this was Zoe...but not exactly. There had been a time in his life when he and his sister had gotten along. And this sort of reminded him of it.
Bethany poked her head in. "If you two are done talking...Jon, would you like something to eat before you go to school?"
"I guess I would, Mrs. Black."
His conversation with Zoe turned more informal...It was like the conversations he had with Karyn, only...Zoe didn't have the same opinions or preferences. But he overlapped with her in other areas. Things he liked that Karyn seemed to dislike, Zoe liked. Generally some of the darker themed ones.
"We'd better get to school," Zoe said.
"It was so nice having you, Jon. My regards to your family."
Jon paused. He'd almost forgotten about his mother, focused on Zoe and wondering about where Karyn was. As soon as they were outside and walking, he looked at Zoe. "They took my Mom last night?"
"What?" Zoe said.
"My mom...like they took you the night before."
"Didn't your brother and sister notice she was missing?"
He paused. "Well....I guess not...I mean...I ran out before I could see...I guess I got distracted by finding you. Do you even remember my Mom?"
"Of course. She's..." Zoe paused, trailing off. "Your mom."
"Her name?"
Zoe thought about it. "Umm....no....drawing a blank there. But I never use it. My mom probably knows."
Mrs. Black isn't your mom. Jon thought. "So, we have a missing head cheerleader no one remembers...I bet her family doesn't notice...my missing mom...."
"But, she'll be back tomorrow, right?" Zoe said. "I mean, if it happened once."
"But what if she's different?" Jon said.
"Different how?" Zoe paused. "Jon, are you saying I'm different?"
Jon froze. "Not...exactly. I mean...a little. I mean....You actually seem calmer. You used to be angry all the time."
Zoe glared at him. "You mean like now? Honestly, Jon, if I didn't care about you and I wasn't worried, I'd be so pissed at you for not being honest with me. Now spill it."
"I wasn't expecting you to be there...because you disappeared yesterday. I was expecting someone else," he said.
"You mean...someone else is missing? And I don't remember them either?"
"Well...I'm guessing...not having a daughter or a sister..."
"Are you saying I'm not an only child?" Zoe said.
"I was looking for Karyn. I thought you were missing," he said, honestly. He was trying not to tell her she hadn't been a Black. He was worried it would freak her out even more right now.
Zoe paused to take this in. "Fuck..."
"Does the name ring a bell?"
Zoe shook her head. "I mean...I've met people named Karen, but not really."
"See? It's like whoever they take is erased. I mean...I told Karyn about you being missing yesterday, and she said she didn't know anyone named Zoe."
Zoe looked at him, dead serious. "Do we get along?"
"You and Karyn? Well....I think you secretly like her more than you admit. I mean...you give her a hard time a lot."
"What do we do now?"
"Go to school, I guess. I mean...I tried everything I can think of. We have to act like everything is normal." He had tried wishes yesterday to find out what was going on...but none of them worked.
"But so far, you are the only one who believes anything isn't normal," Zoe reminded him.
"Exactly....I don't think I'll get any answers...at least if you're right and my mom comes back tomorrow...I might be able to figure out what's going on."
"What about the weird guys?"
"They acted like robots or zombies or something. They were all dressed in work clothes...but they were blue. And they drove a black van. They didn't speak but they seemed in perfect sync...like worker ants." He paused. "They didn't just take my mom...they took every personal thing she had. Her clothes. Photos of her...Like she never existed."
"Did you try following them?"
"They had a car...I was on foot...I can't run that fast."
"Bike? Borrow the car?"
"The car? I don't even have a learner's permit." Jon said.
"This is kind of an emergency, isn't it?" Zoe insisted. "So, take the bike. Or wish yourself up something."
"Maybe...but if they were at my house taking my mom...and they were here leaving you...how do I know they weren't somewhere else?"
"Well, I won't know...maybe you'll notice someone no one else notices is missing."
Great...I have to spend the whole day looking for missing or different people.
"I really wish you remembered," Jon said honestly.
"Did you try that wish?"
"Yesterday. On Karyn. It didn't work. I'll try again."
There were a lot of other questions, but they arrived at school. Jon would have to get through the day somehow.
