The other day, I had a funny memory from my college years that I can’t believe I haven’t told here before.

One afternoon, I saw a female friend of mine walking across CollegeCampus and thought it would be funny if I surprised her.  I snuck up behind her, put my arm around both of her shoulders and said, “Don’t try anything stupid, and no one will get hurt.”  She stopped walking, turned around, and gave me a gentle but penetrating stare that let me know that this was not an okay thing to do.  That’s the moment in which I realized it wasn’t my friend at all.

You see, there was a student at our school who could have been my friend’s absolute doppelganger.  Both of them were the same height and build, had the same color/length/style of hair, and both wore the same kind of classy, neo-hippie clothing.  From the front, they looked like they could be long-lost sisters, but from behind, they looked exactly the same, which I had to find out the hard way.

The Doppelganger stood and stared at me as I removed my arm from her shoulders and apologized profusely.  “I’m SO sorry,” I told her.  “You look exactly like a friend of mine.  Don’t worry,  no one’s going to get hurt.”  I stepped back a pace.

To my amazement and relief, she gave me a little smile and said, “Yeah, I know.  I’ve seen her around, actually.”

“Thank God,” I said.  “You could’ve easily elbowed me in the ribs, or the groin, and you’d have totally been within your rights to do that.  I’m glad you didn’t, but you certainly could have.  Sorry, again.”

“That’s okay.”  She smiled and turned back in the direction she’d been walking before I accosted her.