If I could blame a person responsible for this current predicament of mine, it would be chiefly Sir Isaac Newton, followed by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, then my calculus teacher, and finally a hypothetical random time traveller who never bothered erasing them all in the time axis.
And this was the least of all my problems. Having fifty repetitive derivation and integration problems to solve for a seatwork was bad enough, but having the same number of those for homework? Intolerable! Imagine spending an hour or so solving fifty of these: ∫ 4x⁶ - 2x³ + 7x - 4dx.... such time wasted on menial mathematics makes me want to crawl in a hole and stay there for eternity. Don't get me wrong, I love calculus as much as any guy but when they become so repeated that a cliché could be a better term for them, I lose interest and focus. I didn't have any clerical skills, but judging from their renewed vigor after the siren songs of literature earlier, my classmates had those and in droves.
Toying with the idea of having a time traveller to kill Newton in the past was a bit entertaining compared to currently solving the onslaught of integrals, so I decided to give it some thought. Let us posit that you have successfully travelled back in time in the 17th-century England. You grab Newton himself and give him a very lovely cruise towards the Caribbean inside a rickety, smelly and barely seaworthy vessel that might take up to months to cross the puddle that the modern aviators call the 'Atlantic Ocean'. Brace yourselves against the threats of storms, doldrums, mutinies, starvation, scurvies, and pirates who haven't been yet hunted down by the Spanish Armada. And if you guys managed to survive all of those, a summer paradise of sapphire waters, white sands and verdant jungle awaits. Have Newton take his well-deserved rest underneath one of those tropical trees and this time, instead of an apple giving him the inspiration for gravity, a coconut shall do the honors and directly crush his head.
Bam! Just like that, Philosphiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica and Opticks were no more. Like they never existed. He didn't get to invent calculus too while on quarantine and although he died in this way without being knighted, he was still a wizard. You get back to the present and perhaps a very different future awaits... or the entire laws of causality collapsed with your actions which leads to the premature death of the Universe.
The latter outcome was unlikely but with time travel, no one is really a hundred percent sure. Or even certain that it could be possible or not. And there are several problems regarding killing Newton and those aren't just ethical ones. These are called temporal paradoxes, and just hearing them meant another reason to time travel to kill those who coined them. Killing Newton in the past meant that your motivation to time travel back in time to kill him was removed and thus it indirectly becomes a grandfather paradox — without the grandpa as the middleman. There was also the Chronology Protection Conjecture proposed by Stephen Hawking, stating that the laws of causality are protected by quantum mechanics. This meant a big fuck you for any attempts at time travel. Continuing with the grandfather paradox, it allows a time traveller to do what happened in the past... but not with things that didn't happen so maybe you can't kill Newton, after all.
TL; DR: according to those, you can't change the past that was observed by the present.
And if that wasn't confusing enough, having a time traveller from the future perform plausible events in the past that would lead to that future where the time traveller came from meant creating a stable causal loop: where the future is the cause of a past event which causes that future. Both events exist at the time axis but their origin is unknown... like the chicken and its egg question.
Another TL;DR: it will become a mindfuck.
Without bothering those paradoxes, the only safe ground where you could be successful with your temporal assassination was having a multiple worlds interpretation where causality branches off in infinite directions. The only problem you might encounter is the infamous butterfly effect which having said butterfly of death whisking Newton off to an early grave and causing untold amounts of changes in the present. It was possible that it could mean other historical events gets derailed in the process which absolutely messes up everything. Your existence might be erased, and worse, the existence of visual novels were at stake!
Another outcome was that the present isn't changed at the macro scale, even though you changed the past. Killing Newton was a big factor, but then causality said 'Fuck it' and went with other people to supply his ideas to the world. This could meant googling up the father of calculus and having Leibniz as the sole progenitor of it. It also is amusing to have Leibnizian physics and Leibniz's Laws of Motion, which revolutionized science the same way Newton did. These were micro changes but on the macro scale... I am still lamenting about the fact that I have to solve calculus problems at class. So much for time travel mechanics. No doubt that they would use calculus too.
But to confirm the plausibility of time travel wasn't by my grasp. It could be that somebody already changed the past and we just couldn't perceive it since the changed past becomes our perceived past and thus any new changes to the present isn't a change at all to our perspective. It only becomes a change to those who time travelled in the first place to change their subjective past. It was futile. This was a mystery better pursued by a time traveller or an entity outside the realm of time, something that can move through time the way we do when moving in space. Might it be that the being responsible for the Phenomenon was one such? Or was I just having a bad case of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses? It went back to my inquiry earlier: was this impossible reality real, or just my delusion?
While I was thinking these useless thoughts, I finally solved the last integral equation on my notebook page. There we go! I was already done answering them all in one sitting. The best part? Due to my autopilot taking over, somehow the homework part was solved as well. I was done with calculus and I wouldn't let it interfere with my private time later. Let's admit it. Most people (I'm most people) will prefer the arithmetic simplicity of calculating route flags and points compared to the higher mysteries of calculus.
The school chime marked the pause of the gruelling struggles of the prisoners of this concerete box called a classroom and their collective efforts of mental drudgery. The warden, our calculus teacher bid us farewell as it swaggered off after retrieving our seatworks and reminding us about our assignements. What followed was the daily scramble of my fellow classmates going outside the room, inviting others with them, or simply plopping down to eat in the reprieve of our daily class struggles known as lunch break.
I spotted Eliza heading out with some girls whom I presumed to be her friends and was reminded of what transpired earlier. I hadn't a got a clue about the Phenomenon even by talking to her, and although it wasn't like a person would magically reveal everything to me, I was still hoping to break this through. It was clear to me now that I wasn't making any headway alone. Time for me to up the ante and ask for help in an unorthodox way.
Gene was a good place to start. We used to have lunch together but it wasn't that frequent. He had other groups of friends to hang out with, and I respect him for our differences, yet he still makes some time for me. In his perspective maybe, it was better than trying to live up to his namesake's supposed musical genius. Sonder-filled, I was already packing my things into my bag as someone approached my zone.
"A-chan, konnichiwa..."
I looked up. It was Chizuru, with her hands behind her back, and eagerly looking at me. I paused with what I was doing and faced her. I gave her my politest grunt. Now she appeared nervous and I, too, was a bit nervous as well. Regardless, she pressed on.
"Are you having canteen-bought food for lunch today?"
"Yeah. Perhaps I'll go with a fried chicken set this time."
"Do you prefer it over homemade cooking?"
Her voice sounded strange, like it was an octave higher than usual. But to answer her question, home cooking definitely hits my right spot.
"Certainly, cafeteria food can be convenient at times, but I would choose home delicacies if there are any."
"Hontou?!"
I already noticed that she was nervous by the fact that she was averting her eyes from me and that she was holding something behind her back. What was this event? Did I trigger a flag? Let's see. Childhood friend. Lunch. I haven't got food yet. Is this perhaps... the legendary....
"Yeah, espe-----"
"Douzou!"
Before I could finish my sentence, Chizuru thrusted something at me, nearly hitting at my chest. She kept her head down while her eyes were closed in heavy anticipation and it seemed that her nervousness had reached its peak: I could almost see her shivering from head to toe like a frightened animal. The object that she was presenting to me was...
...the legendary bento box which was wrapped with a plain handkerchief, appearing as a blue bundle.
I wordlessly took the package from her with great care, as if she was giving me her family's heirloom katana. With slow, deliberate movements, I undid the bundle like untying an obi, and behold the black, utilitarian lunchbox that serves as the bento.
It was a double-layered box, which meant the rice and viand was in separate containers. I hurriedly opened the first box and a waft of assorted and savory fried foodstuffs greeted my olfactory senses. There were chicken cordon bleu, tempura, stir-fried veggies, karaage, and lumpia inside, complete with a special dip for them. Each one was partitioned neatly with custom made dividers from plastic and I could see the elaborate care dedicated for this. My eyes were already feasting upon this, and the Pavlovian triggers inside me almost made me pounce as I salivate. But I held my ground.
"What.... what do you think of it, A-chan?"
Anticipation replaced her nervousness and Chizuru was excitedly waiting for my opinion. The only thing missing from her was a cute wagging tail.
"Amazing... did you make all of these for me?"
"Hai! I mean, no! Not really. I just happened to have some leftovers and I thought 'Maybe A-chan would love to take a bite of m-mmmy cooking! Not me! Silly me..." Her voice abruptly trailed off in a gentle denouement, as she heatedly looked at me.
"Fried food are my favorite. I will enjoy eating these, Chi-chan."
"A-arigatou..."
I closed the lid of the first box to seal its warmth. The next box would be rice yet I couldn't help but feel that there was more to this. I opened the second box, and for a moment I felt like I was Pandora, only if she had a delicious bento box with her instead of box of sins and curses.
That faded when a most surprising yet welcome sight greeted me.
Ornate Japanese characters leapt out to me as I opened the bento box. Whether they were kanji, hiragana or katakana, I could not say, but with such artistry, all I could say is that they were done with love. The red calligraphy that could be only be made with a ketchup spelled: 愛してるよ, which was vaguely familiar. It was done over a yellow omelette which I was sure wrapping around some fried rice.
There it was. The legendary omurice with the ketchup on top spelling a message. I sucked in my breath in awe... Wasn't this...?
"Did you like it, A-chan?"
"Y-yeah... Chi-chan, what do the characters mean? You know that my understanding of the Japanese script sucks."
"W-well... thats... a secret. Himitsu!"
I wasn't gonna eat something written with words that I couldn't understand. But I felt that with Chizuru, this was a harmless act, maybe it was a goodluck charm or something. Still, I was curious on what it said.
"Awww, please! Can you tell me? Just a clue is enough..."
"Shouganai, then... it means that I care... f-for you."
Whoa. That was a brazen declaration, even for Chizuru. But I couldn't help but to feel my heart swelling for her... truly, it must be that nice to have her as my childhood friend. I closed the box carefully, as to prevent the ruination of her handiwork, and rebundled the two bento back again in the hanky. I imagined myself simply eating these everyday... man, I am going to enjoy lunch a lot. That's why... in for a centavo, in for a peso.
"Chi-chan, would you mind making me some lunch for me everyday from now on?"
"Fueeh?!!!"
She looked poleaxed, as if I was proposing something outrageous to her, like asking her to help me raise the Fourth Reich. Well, come to think of it, it may be unreasonable of me to ask so and this was a just a one-off thing, so I might as well enjoy this as much as I could.
"Well, I'd understand if you won't. Ahahaha, don't mind it, it was just a joke..."
"That's not it, y-you make it s-sound like you were p-proposing to me..."
"That's why if it's a bo----"
"I would do it... just for you, A-chan..."
Huh? Have I misheard her? Well, that's a great help if it was! I would save some lunch money and it would go a long way towards my VN trust fund.
"Thanks a lot, Chi-chan. I swear I'll find a way to repay you. Hmm, but for now, shall we have lunch together?"
"Ehh? Really? Is it okay?"
"Yeah. You brought me lunch so we might as well eat together."
"Yatta! Aishiteru yo, A-chan!" She said this in a merry voice, while jumping in a victory pose, her pink-ribboned twintails bouncing along in joy with her. I remembered a light novel where the childhood friend also said this to articulate a cloud-9 level of gratitude to the protagonist. Feeling it during one of my reading sessions was good, but having a girl say that to you out loud IRL was an irreplaceable treasure. Jeez, I should be the one thankful, Chizuru.
"Then, let's head towards Gene and form a lunch party with him."
Her smile turned a shade tremulous, but she quickly recovered the previous intensity in an instant. If I was more preoccupied with anything else, I might have not noticed her sudden shift, but I was watching Chizuru. Was there something wrong, I wanted to ask, but she went on talking as if nothing happened.
"Gene-kun is still hard at work. Look, A-chan..."
That cropped head of his was hunched down in work while the others were already starting to eat. Is he doing calculus problems instead? That's a crime against humanity, Gene! Peter's time should be for Peter and it also went that lunchtime was for lunch. I told Chizuru to wait for me as I would have to convince Gene to stop this academic madness. She then happily trotted back to her seat to fetch her own bento: a pink bundle that was a perfect pair to my blue. I made my way towards my comrade in arms busy in his own self-penitence.
"Gene. What the hell are you doing? Writing down some musical compositions?"
He didn't even look up at me, but he replied with: "Not now, man. I'm busy. And knock off with the music jokes for now please."
He was busy concentrating. I sneaked a peek at what he was writing and it was the calculus homework that we have.
I see.
My comrade had the same agenda as me. His desire was to have a free night so that he could indulge with one of my recommended eroges to him later tonight. Not bad, namebearer of Mozart, for in the field of visual novels, you too shall be lauded as a genius. I did the same earlier at class but I do not share your base desires. What I shall be playing tonight shall be kamige, and our actions shall reap what we sow.
But, this was inexcusable! Our lunch time was supposedly inviolable! I tried to tell him my inner monologue but...
"Let me get this clear, , you are gonna tell me that this is our lunch break, and lunch is the only acceptable activity, right? Well, according to the student handbook... you still have your student handbook, I suppose?... lunch break is a legitimate break time for both faculty and students that happens at lunch: specifically, at 1130 to 1300. It is a break, and such, we are free to do whatever we want, as long as it remains reasonable and guided by the school rules. Nowhere is it stated that lunch should be the only activity to be done. It just so happens that lunch is one of the customary activities of everyone during lunchtime, due to biological needs, and it is reasonable and guided by the school rules. Doing my calculus homework is one such, too. I believe I am doing nothing wrong to provoke any reprimanding action. Is my answer to your satisfaction?"
He didn't even pause writing as he delivered his smooth counterargument to my complaint that I haven't even launched yet. I could only silently nod to his seriousness and be amazed that this was one of my kindred souls which meant he had the brain management of a dolphin. Nevertheless, his kaichou-like response, which was something Eliza was supposed to say, only that it didn't have her diplomacy, blew my arrogance away. This prick once joined the disciplinary committee for the student council some time ago as a stand-in for one of the assistants in there when they got sick, and afterwards he became a changed man. Well, some parts, at least. He started spouting off annoying legal crap cobbled off from the sacred student's handbook and from the 1987 Constitution which was supposedly to make him sound smart at one of our arguments, but they mostly ended up as mix-and-match failures. He learned from that, and his barrister side was repressed, only to resurface at random times with less frequency and with even fewer amounts of success. This was one of those lucky times where the two conditions were met and passed with a full regalia.
I was about to leave him be, when he softened his tone and said, "Sorry about that, man. It's just that I'm stressed out with this calculus stuff. What's the deal with this anyways? I will never use this in my entire life, much less in a visual novel."
Gene once told me he aspired to be lawyer after that affair with the student council. Before that, he wanted to become a civil engineer, which I was pretty sure they used calculus in solving irregular areas to be tackled at constructions. But who knows where the river of life would take us, Gene? It had twisted me into being a visual novel protagonist, while it can twist you into the field of acoustics, where you have two nightmares combined as one: calculus and music. I took pity on him with his plight, and for the sake of lunch and visual novels, I decided to lend him a hand.
"I'm done with mine. If you like I could send you my work later. As a reference point."
"No thanks, man. Homeworks only have merit when you do them yourself."
"I don't quite seem to recall you saying that when you copied mine last time. Anyway, that merit is supposed to be the process of learning, and menial repetition of that to the point where it becomes a chore actually reduces our learning capacity for that. To spend too much time in studies is sloth, to quote Francis Bacon. That's why I'm allowing you to copy my homework."
"It really felt persuasive until I heard the last line! .... well, might as well take up on your offer. This integration is killing me. By the way you sounded really smart, man. Not that I'm saying you are stupid, well you have those times too, but you know what I mean."
As if I do, you musical idiot! I kept silent however instead of uttering that riposte, and lamented that for a moment, I sounded like a self-righteous bastard like Gene, minus the student handbook. He started to put away his things and bring up his lunchbox, when he finally noticed what I was carrying.
"Is that... the legendary bento box given by a childhood friend?!"
"Hmm? Ah, yeah. Chi-chan's really nice to give me this."
He looked hurt for a moment and pulled out his own lunchbox: a utilitarian aluminum box that spoke well of austerity and plainness.
"Look at this. You could see how barren my life is. I would trade my ability to cook for having a cute childhood friend to support me in my uselessness instead."
"I feel insulted for that one, Gene, but if you don't have anymore complaints, let's go. I'm already starving."
"You should value people who care about you more, ."
I am, Gene. We headed over to Chizuru's seat, and just like that our lunch party was formed. Cafeteria was our destination, because it was one of the last two options we could choose, aside from the classroom. As we crossed the threshold that separated the hallway from the room, we were accosted a sharp, yet feminine voice, and I was already half expecting to be extorted for lunch money.
"That little assembly of yours took at least fifteen minutes to gather. That meant I was standing here in the hallway for the same length of time, and people kept looking at me like I was a weirdo. That doesn't matter much, now."
It was C4 and she was appraising us all with her left eye, yellow but perhaps the angle made it look like gold, instead. She was standing by the right side of the door like some delinquent, as if she was waiting for a likely prey to be grasped by her talons. She's that quite of an ambush predator and she snagged us in the bag. No one dared to answer her back, as if an unspoken rule was in place.
This predator could not see immobile prey. If we do not respond then perhaps it might think that we never existed.
It was a stretched silence that varied from one second to an eternity. Chizuru was the first to recover from the shock, and was about to greet her, but then Gene had to ruin it all by opening his mouth.
"Yo, C4! A-already had lunch?" He tried a faux-cheerful voice in an attempt to be diplomatic, but even so, a single stutter was produced. This was the intimidating aura exuded by C4; even Gene, a relaxed person when around with girls, was still pressured by her stare.
That pressure was exceeding the barometer when C4 popped a vein in mute anger. Oh, shit. She didn't like to be called C4 and it showed. If she was telepathic, I was also a goner with how many times I called her C4 in my mind. Gene was also regretting what he said and before he could make ammends, C4 controlled her anger.
"Call me C4 again, and I'll punch you so hard that a 10 cm cavity will appear at your chest. I'll pack it full of shaped charges, sew it up then detonate that whole meatbag body of yours into pieces. Would you like that huh, Mozart?"
That was already controlled, for this time she unleashed a threat instead of direct violence. Gene turned pale and squeaked out his words like a cornered rat.
"...no."
"Mouuuu, Onee-chan that's bad!" Chizuru finally found her voice and raised it against C4. I kept quiet, for I fear my actions would be petrol quenching C4's fire. But Onee-chan? Chizuru had a weird sense of nicknames.
"I wasn't doing anything bad! Hahahaha. I'm just joking, isn't that right, Gene?" Her eyes looking at Gene weren't anything but a joke.
"Aaah, that's right... she's just joking, Chizuru, so no need to worry."
"Souka... then, its all good."
Thanks to Chizuru, C4's 'teasing' of Gene was considerably curbed. Gene, the good-natured idiot that he was, often sparred against me verbally but against C4 he stood no chance and can neither offer offence nor defense. So his relief was palpable when C4 didn't go any further. She's normally like this though; and if we were already bothered she'd soon stop. Then her eyes turned towards me and I felt like chuckling. I'm in danger.
"Hmm? Ah, , you received Chizuru's care package then? Way to go, you riajuu!" She referred to the bento in my hand and she lightly slugged me in the shoulders as congratulations. It didn't hurt but I felt like punching her back too for gender equality. But knowing C4, she would not hesitate to block my punch and redirect a cross-counter.
"Are you all heading towards the cafeteria?" With that question of hers, it felt like she was being serious and meant business.
"Y-yeah... we are.... having lunch." I tried speaking to C4, but the stutter still followed me...
"Then it's too late for that. The cafeteria's already crowded."
"Ohh... then what should we do, A-chan? Shall we eat in the classroom then?"
"Don't worry about that, Chizuru-chan. Follow me, I found a place so that we could eat in peace. You too, ."
She strided away with quick measure and it was clear that she expected all of us to follow her. Chizuru looked at me and I nodded at her, and she soon trotted towards C4. Gene and I followed her, as we chatted along the way.
"Where are we going, Cassie?" Gene was curious about this as I was too, but only he got the guts to ask C4 about it.
"Oh so you're following too, Mozart? I don't recall allowing you to join us."
"I-is that so..."
He was slashed down just as quick, but Chizuru admonishing her 'Onee-chan' did the trick.
"I'm kidding Gene. You may come with us. If you played the entire twelve variations of Ah, vous dirais je, Maman for us, that is."
It was a lively walk upstairs. Chizuru and C4 were amiably talking to each other, followed by quiet whispers and giggles. I've never seen C4 act so... feminine.
"Man, Cassandra really never lets up huh? Well that's part of who she is. And as for who I am, I really have to stop using that explosive nickname of hers."
"I have a feeling there won't be a next time. By the way, since when did C4 and Chizuru get so close?"
"Oh, you didn't know? Weird. I thought that it was obvious since the first time they talked. Perhaps they really clicked when you gathered all of us for the first visual novel niche meeting. The two were glad that they weren't alone in a group of boys. You know the deal with C4, right?"
Too well. We were the only boys that C4 tolerated. It was maybe because I was harmless and Gene was well... easy to tease? Regardless, the rest of our species she treated coldy.
We soon approached the door to the rooftop and it was locked to stop unauthorized entry. "To contraposit, if I unlocked it then it means I am authorized." C4 chuckled as she deftly produced a key (not a lockpick) and unlocked the door. We were still nervous in following her to the rooftop, despite her claims of having authorized access. Regardless, we pressed on; it was probably a waste of time to turn back to the classroom.
The sky was overcast, and it was neither too hot nor too cold, even at this time of the day, whereas it usually meant that a sweltering midday was upon us. Perfect for a little picnic at one of those benches. C4 had other plans though. She led us to a small, concrete building near the edge of the rooftop. It appeared to be a small storehouse but when she opened the door and a cool, humid breeze wafted out, I knew that I was wrong.
It was like a small complete apartment inside the school. There were several furnitures, which was good; a working electricity, which was better; and the best of all it had a small airconditioning unit. Man, now I know where C4 hangs out whenever class gets too stuffy... I would do the same if --------
Then I noticed that we weren't alone inside. As we all get comfortable at C4's bidding, a bisque-like doll peered from the cot and moved. I was the only one alarmed, but everyone else was creeped out as well when they noticed her too.
"Claire. Are these humans apt to bully me?" It was a cold, almost inorganic voice. The type which you would hear at karaoke machines and electronic assistants, yet it was unmistakeably feminine.
Only C4 addressed her in a gentle way reserved for females like her. "No, Catherine. These are friends of mine, and I hope, soon to be yours as well."
We all relaxed a bit when C4 gave us a motion to calm down, as she dealt with the strange girl.
"Understood. Nourishment. Those glucose and other nutrient rich cuts of edible materials. If you may."
"... you mean more sandwiches? I have more at the fridge. You have to use the oven toaster to warm them up, though."
"Acknowledged. If you please. I require more."
"Okay." C4 bid us to already start eating as we processed this weird scenario, while she proceeded to warm up some club sandwiches. I asked both Chizuru and Gene who the heck the gynoid was and they were both strangely quiet as the former daintily fed upon a traditional Japanese meal of rice, sides, miso soup and fried fish while the latter dined on caldereta and rice. I too opened my bento, and with looks of anticipation from Chizuru while envy from Gene, I started digging in. And boy, oh boy, was it good! I effusively praised Chizuru while she fidgeted with her chopsticks and Gene was faux-coughing in order to ruin the moment.
I glanced at the doll-like girl as she fixatedly stared at the oven toaster, with the same intensity C4 once had whenever we went to the vending machine. The strange girl with the stranger style of speaking wore monocle-like glasses, our school's uniform and a black irised, blank stare. Her wavy, lazy ringlets of black hair flowed downwards and it was something you could get lost into for days. She was just as fragile looking as Chizuru was but however, she lacked the latter's joie de vivre. And for some reason, she was splayed out on C4's bed with a sea of opened books surrounding her.
"Gouchisou-sama."
We were soon finished eating when C4 headed towards us with cans of soda cradled in her arm, and a slice of sandwich being held in her free hand. She slid downwards the low reclining table in a Japanese seiza. We accepted the aftermeal drink without complaints and as if on cue, we unanimously looked at her.
"I guess I owe you guys an explanation. As you are all well aware, the girl is Catherine Aquilegia. I found her reading near the dumpster behind school this morning, when I skipped literature class. She told me she found it far more comfortable reading there than the library. I didn't pry but I offered her a far more comfortable place instead, to which she agreed. And the rest was history. Regarding this place, this was formerly a storeroom of various school equipment. I got permission from the faculty to access this and over time I placed stuff here to give it a more homelier feeling."
Wait. That's too little information. I looked around me, and it seemed like everybody else was satisfied with this explanation. It's up to me then to inquire.
"I don't get it. Who is this girl, anyways?" I addressed Gene, instead of C4 who was bound to tell me to 'Why don't you ask her yourself, then?'.
"That joke about not knowing who the flowers are, man, is starting to get old. Well, if you insist, though. She's Catherine the Great! She is the smartest person here at school and it's evident that she doesn't need to attend lessons at all."
"Incorrect. Catherine the Great was a Russian Empress that helped usher her empire into a new golden age with her aggressive foreign policies and welcoming the Age of Enlightenment. I am not her."
The girl----- Catherine interjected with a flat voice at which Gene looked at me with an 'I told you so' look. I still have the attention of Gene so it was the perfect time to seek help. Chizuru was chatting with C4 but I suspect that they were discreetly listening to Gene and me talking.
"Come to think of it, a friend of mine wanted to ask some advice."
"Friend of yours? Who, exactly? All of your friends are in this room. So which one of us asked?"
"Alright! It's me. I want to ask some advice on ah... a hypothetical situation."
"My favorite kind. Okay shoot, man. This is rare... you asking for advice."
And in a condensed, brief manner, quite unlike my erratic thoughts, I lined my entire predicament with the Phenemenon to him. He gave me a serious look when I was done.
"What's the sauce for this visual novel?"
"It's not a visual novel! It's a hypothetical situation. Look..." I pulled the folded piece of paper from my pants pocket. The class roster which Eliza had given to me earlier had been crumpled beyond belief. Shit, I should have placed this in a folder earlier. C4 took a pitying glance towards me, and muttered 'Jeez, whatever would you do without me' and brought me a fresh piece of paper. It was the class roster.
"B-but you said e-earlier that..."
"I didn't have it earlier. I printed it after I brought Catherine here." She gestured over her printer near the bed. "But I must say, this level of paper folding to cause this decay defies science. How many times have you folded this? 103 times?"
I ignored her sally and I continued my hypothetical scenario towards them, with this brand new set of information. Gene gave me a grave look, C4 was unreadable and Chizuru avoided looking at me.
C4 was the first to speak.
"Hmmm. You are saying that today is your first time meeting Chizuru, Eliza and Catherine? And you haven't seen Marie or Asteria-sama as of yet?"
"L-like I said... it's o-only hy-hypothetical."
She got up towards the building's windows and moved the curtains to get a better view. There was a good view towards the school's track and field which were untouched by the sudden overnight overgrowth of sakura trees. There was a lone figure running at the circuit at this time of the day.
"That person is Marie Ann Guinto. As her name depicts she's a golden girl, especially in the athletics division. Rings any bells?"
"N-no... not really." She looked at me with increasing negativity; something I noticed when I brought up the Phenomenon to light even if I said it was hypothetical.
"Yeah, sure. Plus the fact that you have a weird set of choices that stops time and forces you to choose a potential sexual harassment choice over the total death of your dignity... I have a prognosis now."
"R-r-really?"
"You, sir... are quite insane. And a lecherous pervert as well. I thought you were better than this. I advise heading to the nearest psychiatric facility, immediately."
"Whoa calm down Cassandra, said it was just a hypothetical scenario, right?"
C4 twisted her mouth in a silent fury, and she was enraged... not in a mock-anger way that she showed when teasing us, but a legitimate anger that showed I may have touched a line.
"It's obvious that he's making that part up, you fool! Are you stupid as well as tone deaf? And you, . I expected better of you. Is that your pathetic excuse to grope Chizuru?"
"That's not it, Onee-chan! A-chan's lack of memory and being controlled by something is true! It's true! What A-chan said is true. He-he isn't lying, and I believe him! Even if you guys won't!"
Chizuru suddenly shouted against Gene and C4, which surprised us all. Even me. I thought that they would take what I said with a grain of salt, but this was worse than I thought. The moment I told C4 about the hugging incident even with the disclaimer of being hypothetical, she shifted her stance and tone into something that resembled hostility. She showed that now to Chizuru.
"Then where's your evidence, huh? Where is it? None, right?"
"You just have to look at A-chan's eyes. It's him but it's also not him. My intuition of him facing a deep problem that somehow changed him has been proven! A-chan's words made it clear now."
"A-chan this and A-chan that. Can't you see that's a pathetic lie? More of his subversive delusions? And yet you still believe his bullshit? Really. You and your devotion, Chizuru." It was an admonishment and yet I could see it was like a slap against Chizuru. Gene was at an awkward quiet.
I was still too numb from this turn of events. One moment had been almost like a party... a 3D get together that I have to yet to savor... only to fall to this. Last time I asked advice from others that's for sure. I almost started my escape when...
"And those dancing were called insane by those who cannot hear the music. Friedrich Nietzsche. Claire. I do not understand. Why are you not believing what your friend said? He is your friend, right?"
C4 looked chastened by this girl smaller than her. "He is but... it's obvious that what he said wasn't real, right?"
"Question. Doubt. Incompatibility. Let us say he is lying. What does he serve to gain?"
"That would be a free card to harass Chizuru, wouldn't it?"
"Miss Argoncillo, otherwise known as Chizuru, I presume?"
"H-hai!"
"Did Mr. , harass you in any way?"
"It's true that he hugged me and held my hand... but I don't want to believe that he did that without being forced. A-and... he didn't do anything I didn't want to."
"Consideration. Reversal. What if what he is saying is true? Then, Claire, let us posit that what he is experiencing is a subjective reality."
"A delusion? That means he's crazy, right?"
"Denial. Are you familiar with the Multiple Worlds Interpretation, Claire? You are. My intellectual equal. You should know."
"What about it? Everett or Wheeler won't interpret his dumbass scenarios."
"Error. That's where you err, Claire. Prejudice. Human prerogative. I thought you were better than them. Let us give. Him the benefit of the doubt."
Catherine, small as she was, held the entire room in a rapture as she turned her attention towards me.
"There are infinite branching worlds out there that correspond to quantum possibilities. The infinite versions of the observer perceiving the infinite amounts of probabalistic worlds isn't exempt from the probability itself. You of World A is currently observing World B. With regards to your choice system, I do not hold the explanation for that."
I do not get a whiff of what she was saying but I was slightly familiar with the Multiple Worlds Interpretation, but I thought that only corresponds with quantum mechanics. Alongside with the Copenhagen Interpretation, the Multiple-Worlds Interpretation was one of the mainstream theories for the waveform collapse upon observation. Due to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, things in the quantum scale get a little fucked up in the form of waves of probability.
Let us say that the particle that you are observing was a cat, and that you are going put it inside a box with elaborate hiding places of up to five positions. You hide the cat inside the box and and the cat had an equal caprice to hide at one of the positions. This is an obvious ripoff to Schrödinger's cat, but still just as fitting.
You reckoned that the cat was at one of the five positions but before the moment of observation, the cat was simultaneously at the five spots. When you successfully observed that the cat was at location 1, its probabalistic presences at other places disappears as it becomes real and in quantum physics, this was called as a waveform collapse. All these comprised the Copenhagen Intepretation.
The Multiple Worlds Interpretation or the Everett-Wheeler Model named after Hugh Everett and John Wheeler asserted that there was no waveform collapse. The probabalistic possibilities of where the cat could be were all real, and if the observer could only perceive one possibility, then the others were present at other worlds instead. The probability scale also included the observer themselves, which places them on the same position as the observed particle. Was this what was happening to me? Something that I was supposedly accustomed at observing at suddenly changed one day? The cat suddenly disappeared? That didn't answer my question; only added more scientific mumbo jumbo. My question is how the fuck did this all happen and why? Who the fuck was responsible for this?
"Then who does?"
"Imperative. Unknown. Observer. Someone who has no doubt transferred you into this world. The Multiple Worlds Interpretation is one of my solutions. I have twelve more. Each is more implausible than the last. The most probable cause is that. You are either lying. Or having a mental illness. Apologies. Diagnoses aren't favorable for you."
An eerie silence filled the room. Nobody was looking at nobody. C4 tried to look at me and say something... but failed. I felt Chizuru's hand reached underneath the table to squeeze mine but otherwise, I haven't felt anything. Gene was like an itching hare to bail out.
As if to settle this homeostasis into motion, it came at the worst possible time.
Choices
1.) Change into change gym clothes inside the girl's locker room, immediately.
2.) Change into change gym clothes inside the principal's office, immediately.
Fuck.
I forgot we had PE classes today.
Was there a world where all this fuckery never happened? I want to observe it all, immediately.