I rushed into the office and saw Cole sitting there with a swollen lip.
“Are you okay?”
He didn’t answer.
He simply pointed behind me.
I turned.
Another boy was sitting beside a filing cabinet.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
He had Cole’s gray eyes.
The same narrow chin.
The same small birthmark near one eyebrow.
His hair was slightly darker, but otherwise it looked as though someone had copied my son and placed the second version across the room.
The principal explained that Stefan had tried to sit beside Cole during lunch.
Cole told him to leave.
Stefan refused.
“You can be mad at me,” he had said, “but I’m still your brother.”
Cole hit him.
Stefan hit back.
Both boys eventually ended up crying.
I stared between them.
“How is this possible?”
The principal folded her hands.
“We’re waiting for Stefan’s parent. Once she arrives, I think things will make more sense.”
