Stanley skipped back to his room and laid down on the bed. He thought about how fantastic the day had gone and wondered what the future would hold for him. He never thought he’d felt like that before, as far as he could remember. Stanley took out his phone to call someone, but nobody picked up from the other line. Thinking they were busy, he shrugged and went over to change into his pajamas and crawled into bed.

As his eyes drifted away, the surrounding area grew darker. The lights in the room illuminated into an ominous red ambiance. An enormous shadow grew out of the bed as it lurched over toward Stanley, who still slept soundly. The darkness lingered closer to the man’s neck as a glow formulated around its long, dainty hands. The cold eyes and rough atmosphere made the intensity grow higher.

Stanley soon shot open his eyes and jolted out of bed in a panic. When he looked around the room, he found nobody else there beside him. The lighting didn’t change in any form, either.

“Was that a nightmare I just had?” Stanley questioned while rubbing his head. “My head hurts, I need to calm down and wash my face.”

Stanley went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face from the sink. He looked at himself in the mirror again and sighed heavily.

“That must’ve been a part of my imagination, right?” He asked his reflection. Much to his surprise, it didn’t respond; Stanley’s eyes narrowed at the reflection. “Oh, now you won’t talk to me? Are you just going to leave me alone like this? I see how it is. And considering how my...”

Stanley shook his head in disbelief. “I’m talking to myself and am overthinking things, aren’t I?” He marched over to the door in a huff shortly after. “Fine, I don’t need your sympathy, you hear me?! I’m going back to bed!”

The reflection looked back at him with a small smile as his eyes changed color before disappearing from the mirror into oblivion.

Days went by as things went well at his job. One day, Stanley woke up before his alarm went off. Pumping his fists in the air, feeling accomplished, he got ready for the day. While on his way to work, Stanley ended up getting breakfast by ordering a granola bar and a fresh drink of orange juice at a small shop beside the coffee shop before heading to work.

Along the way, he came across an older woman standing on the sidewalk. Feeling generous, he helped her cross the street, to which she was more than grateful for the help. After doing so, Stanley heard some people nearby whispering behind his back. Something about another person around town that looked just like him, almost like a clone. Stanley rolled his eyes.

Rumors. How typical, he thought.

Once he finished his duty, he strolled back to work.

.-.-.-.

As Stanley opened the doors to The Purple Spoon, he came across every employee crowded and huddled in one area. Stanley tilted his head, trying to get a marvelous view of what was going on. He didn’t know what happened, and couldn’t find Hilary anywhere to explain the situation to him. The door opened as the boss walked out of his room to count all the employees in the area.

“Oh good, everyone seems to be here.” He said, clapping his hands. “Now, before we get started on work today, I’d like to make a major announcement.” He turned as another figure walked over next to him. “We have a new recruit working with us today. So, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Sure thing,” The man replied. “My name is Jordan; it’s an honor to meet all of you; I hope to get along with every one of you.” He greeted them with confidence.

Stanley tried to get a good view of the unknown figure, but everyone gathered around in awe, unintentionally blocking his view. When Stanley finally got in the front and checked out the newcomer, something about the guy left him speechless.

This Jordan fellow looked familiar. He had black hair and wore a similar outfit to—

Wait, he looks just like me! The only two differences are his personality and his eye color.

Jordan stared at him with his crimson red eyes as opposed to Stanley’s sapphire blue.

Stanley looked around, wondering if anyone else noticed the similarities between the two. However, nobody reacted, much less said a word.

Stanley’s eyes widened as his body froze. It was like everybody stared at him, including the newcomer. Stanley’s heart continued to pound across his chest.

“Um, hello, I’m Stanley.” Stanley greeted, twiddling his thumbs.

“Hi,” Jordan grabbed his clammy hand and shook it. “Hope we get along ok, Mr. Stanley.”

“Uh, the ‘Mr’ part is unnecessary, but sure, same here...”

The boss walked over to impede the two as they pulled their hands apart. “Ok, so Stanley should be able to give you some basics here.”

“Me?” Stanley took a step back in confusion. “But, I can’t—”

“That’s great,” Jordan interrupted, as he gave the man a nudge and a wink. “I look forward to it!”

Before the people separated and went their different ways, Stanley tested this guy’s knowledge and picked up a can from the stack on the rack next to the shelves.

“Ok, so do you know about the—?”

“Of course, I do. Everybody knows that.”

“Oh, sorry, I just wanted to know if...”

“That’s fine.” Jordan walked over to the same stack of cans and picked up a bunch. “Say, do you want to see a trick?” He turned to face Stanley and asked.

“No.”

But Jordan ignored the response and showed off the trick, anyway. He threw some cans in the air and juggled them. He caught two with his hands; just as Jordan was about to finish, another two stumbled and landed on his head, causing him to drop the rest as they tumbled to the floor and surrounded his feet.

“Uh, my bad.” Jordan rubbed the back of his head and laughed sheepishly.

Everyone else laughed alongside him, except for Hilary and Stanley.

Stanley wrinkled his nose. He only knew him for a couple of seconds and already hated the guy. Something about Jordan rubbed him the wrong way.

The boss didn’t seem pleased with the guy either, but since he was new, the man would let him off the hook for a bit. “Look, I know you’re new here, but please take this seriously.”

“You’re right; I’m sorry, sir, I’ll go pick them up.” Jordan bowed and bent down to pick up and put the cans back to its original spot.

“Would you like some help?” Hilary offered, resting her hands on her lap.

“No, thank you, I got this,” Jordan replied, waving it off. “You should go back to your shift and not worry about me.”

After a while, Jordan followed Stanley to some emptier aisles containing many cans. Jordan skipped along while Stanley did a more comfortable stroll.

“So, Sensei Stanley,” Jordan started.

“Please don’t call me that,” Stanley murmured, looking away and hunching his shoulders.

“Where do we go next on our perilous journey?”

“This is our stop; we must rearrange more cans over at—”

“Hold on; my help senses are tingling...”

“Your... what?”

“I’ll be right back!” Jordan exclaimed as he rushed off in another direction.