Imposter Syndrome: Chapter 2, Part 4
Imposter Syndrome: Chapter 2, Part 4
Welcome to Shady Springs
Imposter Syndrome is my fourth novel. It’s a spooky young adult mystery set in the weird town of Shady Springs, where nothing’s ever quite what it seems. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing serialised instalments of the story exclusively on Substack. If you like it, consider upgrading to a paid subscription to help support my fiction writing. Annual subscribers will get a free physical copy of the novel when it’s published in full.
Previously…
“Mr Morgenstein!” Alex practically shouted, causing Theo to jump like he’d just been electrocuted; one of the strawberries leapt from the box and sailed into the shadows. “Mr Morgenstein, we’re coming into the kitchen now!”
“What’re you doing?” Theo hissed, but she was already pushing open the swing door.
We’re going to get eaten alive, he thought, and hurried after her.
Mr Morgenstein’s kitchen was much like his living room: silent and musty, and by the looks of things, recently abandoned. A half-filled mug of cold coffee sat next to the sink, which was piled high with used plates, bowls and cutlery. There were still breadcrumbs on a big wooden chopping board by the toaster and a line of ants was busy transporting them across the formica counter to a crack in the wall. A wasp bumped groggily up and down the window on the other side of the partially-closed shutters.
The swing door wafted cool air past Theo’s ankles as his eyes trailed across the room, searching for signs of life beyond the invading insects and his slightly-younger cousin, who was now poking around the sink. A small kitchen table sat in the corner, draped with a checkered tablecloth; there were only two chairs, one tucked in, the other pulled out. Next to the table was a set of narrow double doors, presumably leading to a larder, with a brush propped next to them. Another door along the sink wall seemed to open into the garden. The creaky floorboards beneath their feet were hidden under gaudy yellow linoleum.
“He’s not here,” Theo said. When Alex didn’t reply, he set the box of strawberries on the table and said it again. Behind him, the door finally stopped swinging. “Alex!”
In response, she pulled a plate from the sink, causing the others to clatter together. Theo winced at the sound. She held the plate up in the intermittent light coming through the shutters.
“Look at this,” she said.
“I see it,” said Theo. “It’s a dirty plate. So what?”
“It’s only just been used,” Alex replied. She shook it and food particles tumbled off. “The other things in the sink are dirty too, but it’s caked on. Someone used this today.”
“Mr Morgenstein…”
“... likes coffee,” Alex finished, pointing at the mug by the sink, “but that’s been there for a while. I know, I’ve seen the mugs Tiffany leaves in her room - she’s filthy - but why would Mr Morgenstein leave that mug and the other plates unwashed for days, but use a clean one this morning?”
Theo, who’d only ever loaded and unloaded a dishwasher, shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t have time to clean them?”
“No, that’s not it,” Alex said, her eyes brightly blue. “I don’t think Mr Morgenstein’s been here for days, but I think someone else has. I think they were just here. And look…” She pointed at the back door. “The key’s sitting there on the counter, so the door hasn’t been opened. So whoever was here - whoever we heard a few seconds ago - didn’t go out the back door. And if they didn’t leave the house, and they didn’t slip past us somehow, then they can only be…”
Theo followed her pointing finger towards the larder and was about to speak when the doors suddenly flew open. Alex screamed. The plate dropped from her grasp and smashed on the floor. If Theo had still been holding the box, the strawberries would have been splattered all over the ceiling in the same instant.
Someone - no, two someones - stumbled out of the larder, waving their arms.
“We’re not burglars!” cried one.
“We’re just kids!” cried the other.
“You scared the life out of us!” cried Alex.
Only Theo said nothing right away. He’d frozen on the spot when the two boys burst from the larder, one hand gripping the top of the nearest dining chair, the other jammed in the pocket of his shorts. He always stuck his hands in his pockets when he was startled, as though there might be a weapon in there. Right now, there was nothing there but an empty candy wrapper from back home.
“We’re not burglars!” the first boy said again. Both boys were black; the one who’d just spoken was shorter and younger-looking than the other. “We’re just kids.”
“Wait,” said the taller, older-looking one. “They’re just kids, too.”
“They are?” The shorter boy blinked at them, looking from Alex to Theo and back to Alex again. Then he sighed in relief, his shoulders slumping. “Oh man, we thought you were adults.”
“Who are you?” said Alex, gathering herself. “What the heck are you doing in Mr Morgenstein’s larder?”
“And why were you hiding?” Theo added, his fingers scrunching up the candy wrapper in his pocket.
The shorter boy opened his mouth, closed it again. He looked up at the taller boy, who was staring at the debris on the floor. Both of them were dressed in shorts and t-shirts, and both were sweating in the warm kitchen. “Oh man,” said the taller boy, “you broke a plate.”
“You scared us!” Alex exclaimed. “We thought you were, like, monsters, or something.”
“We didn’t think you were actual monsters,” added Theo.
Alex shot him a look. “You’d have dropped it too, scaredy pants.”
Theo felt his face grow warm in the dull kitchen light. Before he could reply, the taller boy said, “You shouldn’t be here, you know.”
“Should you?” Alex replied right away.
“No,” said the shorter boy. “But you really shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”
“Why not?” said Theo.
The boys looked at each other. Theo noticed how similar their faces were when they frowned, exchanging unspoken words. Brothers, he thought.
“It’s just… not safe,” the shorter boy repeated.
Suddenly, Alex stepped forward and extended her hand. Both boys flinched back, startled.
“I’m Alex,” she said, “and this is my cousin Theo. I’m from here but he’s just visiting. Pleased to meet you. What’re your names?”
The boys stared at her. She kept her hand outstretched, waiting.
Finally, the taller one reached out and grasped it. “I’m Bryan.”
“Bryan!” cried the shorter one.
Bryan shrugged, gave Alex’s hand two quick shakes and added, “This is my little brother, Joe. He’s twelve, I’m fourteen.”
“Bryan, shut up!” Joe insisted.
“I’m thirteen,” Alex announced. “So’s Theo.”
“I’m nearly fourteen as well,” Theo clarified.
Bryan released Alex’s hand. “I suppose you’re wondering why we’re here, in this house. Why we were hiding.”
“Bryan, if you say one more word…” Joe threatened angrily. Theo noticed how he screwed up his fists like Alex when she was mad.
“They’re not adults, man,” said Bryan. “They’re kids, like us. It’s ok.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Listen,” said Alex, holding up her hands. “Why don’t you just tell us why you’re here, and then we’ll be on our way.”
“Oh,” said Bryan, shifting his sneakers on the linoleum. “We’re, um… just visiting.”
“We visit sometimes,” Joe chimed in.
“And we were hiding because…”
“We were playing a game,” finished Joe. “Hide and seek, you know?”
“Right,” said Alex slowly, crossing her arms. “And how do you know Mr Morgenstein?”
Bryan hesitated. “He’s our, um… uncle.”
“Yeah,” said Joe. “We were visiting our uncle. And playing hide and seek.”
“Is he playing too?” asked Theo, smirking a little.
“Yes,” said both boys eagerly, nodding in unison.
“Mr Morgenstein’s in his eighties,” said Alex, “and he’s white.”
Bryan and Joe stopped nodding. Busted! thought Theo.
“He’s not your uncle, is he?” said Alex, arms still folded. “You broke in here and we caught you, didn’t we?”
There was a long pause. Over by the window, the wasp continued buzzing against the glass. The woodpecker had stopped tapping on the trees outside.
Finally, Bryan sighed and turned to Joe. “We should just tell them.”
“No!”
“I’m telling them.”
“Don’t!”
“Tell us what?” said Alex.
“Why isn’t it safe here?” said Theo.
Bryan turned back to them and drew in a breath to speak.
Just then, there was a sharp clack of wood on wood from somewhere outside, followed by a metallic creak. The sound of a rusty gate opening.
“He’s back!” Joe hissed, dropping to a squat.
“Who?” said Alex. “Mr Morgenstein?”
“You have to go,” said Bryan hurriedly. “Right now.”
“What about you?” said Theo. His heart was suddenly pounding inside his chest. Just an old man, he thought. But what if he finds us here? Four kids in his house and a smashed plate on the floor.
“Don’t worry about us,” said Bryan. “Just go back out the front door and go home. Don’t come back here.”
He was shepherding them towards the living room now. Theo could hear heavy footsteps out back, approaching the door.
“But - ” Alex started.
“Just go!”
Bryan and Joe practically shoved them through the swing door and across the living room towards the front porch. As they pulled open the screen door and sunlight spilled inside, Theo heard the faint sound of a key turning in a lock.
“Go straight home,” Bryan said, pushing on Theo’s shoulder. “Don’t tell anyone we’re here.”
“No-one,” Joe insisted.
“And whatever you do, don’t sleep with your window open at night,” said Bryan. “That’s how they get in.”
“What?” Alex yelped.
They heard the back door open. Bryan shoved them out onto the porch.
“Get out of here!” he hissed. He pulled the screen door closed.
Theo and Alex stared at each other, then bolted for their bikes.