Imposter Syndrome: Chapter 1, Part 1
The Red Light in the Night.
Imposter Syndrome is a spooky young adult mystery set in the weird town of Shady Springs, where nothing’s ever quite what it seems. Paid subscribers can read full segments of the story as they’re released (and help support my fiction writing in the process). Annual subscribers will also get a free physical copy of the novel when it’s published in full.
Chapter One: The Red Light in the Night
Theo couldn’t believe where the bus left him.
This can’t be right, he thought, squinting up the deserted stretch of road towards the bend. The bus had been there a second ago and now it was gone, vanished beyond the trees; he could still hear the engine, fading fast.
“This can’t be right,” he repeated, aloud this time. The tall pines behind him rustled in reply.
He jimmied his phone from his pocket and scrolled to his Mom’s cell. Her face, round and bespectacled and rosy-cheeked, flashed up on the screen as the number dialed. Somewhere overhead, a bird squawked and it sounded like laughter.
“Come on, come on,” he muttered as the dial tone buzzed in his ear.
Brrrrrrr. Brrrrrrr.
“Come on!”
Brrrrr-click. “Theo? What’s wrong?”
“Mom!” He hadn’t meant to sound desperate but it came out anyway. “The stupid bus dumped me in the middle of nowhere!”
“Oh, so you’re there now?”
“There?” he exclaimed, his voice echoing up and down the empty road between the lines of trees. “I’m not there, Mom. I’m… I’m nowhere at all!”
He heard her sigh. “You must be somewhere, son.”
“I’m - ”
“What did the driver say?”
“He, um…”
Theo had been asleep when the bus hissed to a stop. The old woman sitting next to him had tapped his shoulder and said “I think this is you, dear”, and pointed at the paper ticket still clutched loosely in his hand. She’d smiled in a kind way but her teeth were mustard-colored and she smelled like mothballs mixed with cinnamon, and Theo was glad to get up from his seat. He’d staggered to the front of the bus on stiff legs, grabbing his bag from the overhead bin along the way. It’d landed on his head when he pulled it down and someone further back in the bus snickered.
“Your stop, kid,” said the driver. The door swooshed open.
Theo peered out through the window and saw nothing but forest. “Here?”
“Yup.”
“But - ”
“Off you go.”
Ten seconds later, he found himself standing next to a wonky wooden sign reading ‘Bus Stop’ as his only mode of transport for the last three hours rumbled away, kicking up dust from the verge. And just like that, he was alone. Just him, the trees and the bag at his feet.
“He said this was my stop,” Theo said into the phone.
“There you go, then.”
“Mom, this is bogus.”
“Theo…”
“This is bogus, Mom! I didn’t want to come here, you know. I didn’t need to come here.”
“It’ll be good for you, sweetie.”
“No it won’t.” He kicked at a pebble, sent it skittering across the asphalt.
“We talked about this,” his mom continued brightly, as though she didn’t hear him. “It’ll be good for you to see your Aunt and Uncle, and your cousins. They haven’t seen you in years.”
“I don’t care.”
“Theo.” There was a warning tone in her voice now; he kicked at another pebble, scuffing the dirt next to it instead. “Your father and I agreed this was best for you, and you agreed with us.”
“I know, but - ”
“No buts.”
She stopped, waiting. Theo tried to resist but couldn’t help himself. “You said butts.” He practically heard her smile on the other end of the line. It was an old joke, but it was theirs.
“Do this for us, Theo, ok?” she said, the edge gone now. “Your father and I won’t get a real family vacation this year, with work and everything. And your little brother’s still too young to travel much. One of us may as well have a holiday.”
“You couldn’t have sent me to Disney World or something?”
“Theo.”
He sighed, feigning exasperation. “Fiiiiine. I’ll go see them. But I still think the bus driver left me here to get eaten by bears.”
“Just play dead when they come, ok?”
“Funny, Mom.” Wait, are there bears? “What am I supposed to do now, though?”
“Someone will be along soon.”
“Who…?” he started.
Before he could finish, the biggest station wagon he’d ever seen came roaring round the bend, tires squealing and music blaring.
“Never mind,” said Theo.