Body Double

They say everybody in the world has a double, someone who looks just like them. My friend Bob, for example, met his when he spent time in Germany while in high school. He came back with a picture of a guy who looked just like him, white-man afro and all, the only difference was the doppelganger Bob spoke German. It was an amazing resemblance, right down to the smile and the way German Bob cocked his head to the side. Seeing the photograph was kind of freaky, yet kind of fun too, especially since it happened to Bob and not me.
   Then I saw my double and it wasn't so funny any longer.
   I was about seventeen, and seeing a movie with my friends. We were waiting for the movie to start, joking around and probably making nuisances of ourselves - we were seventeen after all - when I saw this guy about six rows down, easing his way past the people already sitting, facing my way. It was like one of those movie moments, where the camera zooms in and the background goes out of focus and the music gets all dramatic. He looked exactly like me. He saw me at the same time I saw him, and I could tell he was thinking the same thing: 'Holy crap, there's a dude that looks just like me. What do I do?' I tried to find the guy after the movie, I even sent my friends out to look for him, but he slipped the net, got away. I never saw him again.
   Sometimes I wonder what my double has been doing all these years, but then I realize I don't really want to know. If he turned out to be a criminal or an abject failure I'd just be embarrassed for both of us, and if he was more successful than I am I might be tempted to do away with him and take over his identity.