Meeting Them

Chapter 1

Hey, I'm Jacob. So, before I get into the story, I want to tell you readers about me. I am in eigth grade, and I love to read, solve math problems, anything that makes me use my brain. I am not the most physically fit, but I can hold a run for a while.  I have blonde hair and hazel eyes. I stand five feet seven inches tall.

I walked into the library, breathing in the scent of paper and worn carpet. I loved the library, it was my one quiet place in the entire school. Of course, our library was so big, it had two floors, and doubled as the town library. I walked in and found my favorite spot clear on the second floor, which was much quieter than ground level.

The teacher let me come here to study for my physics test. I opened my textbook and began studying. I didn't need to study much, since I remember most everything, so I would have some time left over. I pulled out my iPod and played my favorite song from the show, Pinkie's Smile Song. I quietly hummed the tune as I worked, and very soon, I had studied to my satisfaction. I put away my IPod, and as I got up,

I looked over the balcony down to the first floor, and I saw a girl with soft pink dyed hair wearing a yellow sweater and a skirt. She was wearing slip-on shoes. She seemed to cringe at every noise, every passing of a car outside, every slam of a book cover.

Why does she...? I thought to myself. She looked like she needs a friend. I gathered up my things and quickly descended the stairs to the ground floor. She was still there, and I now noticed she had green eyes as I approached, and she was hugging a book of animals to her chest.

The resemblance is uncanny....

I sat down at the table she was sitting at. I whispered "Hey."

She looked at me, and quickly tried to hide behind her hair.

I smiled and whispered "You know, the second floor is much quieter."

She looked at me again and whispered "N-no thank you. I... I'm afraid of heights."

My mind was reeling at all the similarities, and I just had to check. I whispered "What's your name? I'm Jacob."

She seemed to have to work herself to whisper "F-Fiona."

I put my face in my hands and said simply "Wow. Just.... Wow."

That's when I heard behind me "Is this boy givin' you trouble, Sugarcube?"

I turned in my seat to see another teenage girl of about the same age as Fiona standing there. She was wearing a white tee shirt, jeans, leather boots and a Stetson hat. She had blonde hair, and green eyes that were a bit brighter than Fiona's. She was very muscular, and her hands seemed calloused from years of hard work.

She looked me hard in the eyes and asked with a Southern drawl "An' jus' what do ya think YER doin'-"

Fiona spoke up "Oh, Ashley, he's not bothering me. He was just talking to me."

Ashley?! This was bordering from uncanny to downright freaky-deaky. My logical brain concluded that they were role-playing. I sighed, pulled out my IPod and played Get Out Alive by Three Days Grace. Just as the intro guitar started playing, a girl with short, multi-colored dyed hair ran in to our area and stopped when she saw me. I stopped the song. She was wearing a cyan tank top and cyan jogging shorts, cyan sneakers, and she had magenta eyes.

She asked "Who's he?"

Ashley stated "Fiona seems to like him, so Ah guess he's fine. And Rebecca?"

Rebecca asked "Yes?"

Ashley tipped her hat and pointed at the 'No Running' sign above the librarian's desk.

Rebecca crossed her arms and pouted "Such a stupid rule..."

I heard a British voice from behind a bookshelf state "Rebecca, darling, you know each place has it's own rules, and we have to abide them."

I decided to test them and see if the name trend would continue. I asked back "Would your name happen to start with an R?"

She peeked out to see who asked, and she had crystal blue eyes, and she had dark blue, almost violet dyed hair. She was wearing a white formal dress shirt and a skirt. She was wearing about two-inch heels.

She said with uncertainty "Yes, dear, it does. I'm Rachael. How did you...?" She trailed off.

I heard from behind another bookcase in an American accent "Come on, Rachael. It was just a lucky guess. It's not like he can do it twice."

I asked "Does your name start with T?"

I heard some books being dropped. The girl walked over and firmly asked "How are you doing that?"

She was wearing a purple sweater and a skirt with leggings, and purple sneakers. She had purple eyes, and black hair with pink and purple highlights.

Rebecca got in my face and asked "Are you a spy?"

I chuckled. I had been thinking it was innocent role-play up to this point, but now... I decide to try something. I said the word "Discord", and Fiona went 'eep', and the other four cringed.

I asked aloud "Well, we seem to be missing one of you. Where is that pink one?"

I heard footsteps, and turned around to have my eyes assaulted by pink. Everything, from her tee shirt and sneakers, her sweatpants, her curly hair. ALL PINK. Only her blue eyes seemed unaffected.

She began talking at a-mile-a-minute. "Hi, I'm Paulina! Sorry I couldn't join you earlier, I was in the cookbook section, looking for tasty baking recipes! You won't believe what I found! Hey, Tiffany, Ashley, Rachael, anyone?" She waved her hands in front of the shell-shocked girls, who remained blank and unflinching.

I remained calm and stated "This was fun. I'm Jacob, by the way." As I got up, I asked "Same time tomorrow?"

Rachael snapped out of her state and walked up to me. "Now, hold on, darling. How did you you know all those things? You act as if we have met before."

I smiled knowingly and stated "Perhaps I have seen you before. At least, that's my theory."

Tiffany broke out of her state and joined Rachael. They looked at each other and nodded. Tiffany thought aloud, though I could tell she wanted me to hear it. She wanted to get information out of me. "What did the teacher call it, a being having knowledge it technically shouldn't?"

I offered "Paradox? Pareidolia?"

Tiffany went along with it and nodded. "One of those two." The others had already broken out as well and were just listening at this point.

I smiled and explained "I can tell when someone is trying to make me slip up and tell them something, but for you, I'll go along with it. A paradox is like circular reasoning, a statement, idea, or action that denies it's own existence and effect. For instance, if I said 'This statement is false', then it's own effect would make it false. But since it is supposed to be false, that would make the statement true."

Ashley grabbed her head and mumbled "Ah'm not following. It's true, but it's false, but..."

I continued "A pareidolia is a sort of mind trick, you could call it. It is when our mind perceives shapes and patterns where they don't actually exist. For example, clouds don't really take the shapes of animals or objects, yet we think they do anyway every time we look up at them."

All six seemed to come to their own levels of understanding. I wanted to give the ultimate test. If they were roleplaying, then they would just laugh and have fun with it. If not.... I said "My knowledge of you guys comes from a television show, a cartoon to be exact. I guess you guys are interdimensional celebrities. Well, I hope at least some of this is interesting enough to put in your letter, Twilight."

Rebecca pointed a finger at me and exclaimed "He's blown our cover! Grab him!"

Whoops, I may have said too much. I bolted as fast as I could all the way back to class. I caught my breath before entering. My teacher welcomed me back, and I sat down and class continued. Thankfully, only students were allowed into the school through the library.