A faint light shines through my eyelids...
"AAAAAAAH!" I let out a desperate scream, suddenly expelling all the air left in my lungs.
I was soaked in sweat, freezing cold, and tremors ran through my entire body, as if a bucket of ice water had been suddenly thrown over me.
"I..."
What happened?
Did I die? Was it a bad dream?
No...
It was too real...
Pain.
Desperation.
Fear.
Anger.
All those feelings...
They were too real.
Just remembering it sent more shivers down my spine… and nausea.
I looked around.
It was my room.
I was lying in bed.
——
It took me about twenty minutes to cool down my confused mind.
This was all too much.
Elin's disappearance…
How nobody seemed to remember her…
My own death…
And now…
I'm here, in my bed, as if nothing had happened. A bad and unpleasant dream.
Despite everything, I wanted to keep clinging to the idea that this wasn't happening.
I didn't want to believe it.
My brain refused to validate this absurd situation.
Did I die and then revive?
How is that possible?
«LOVE»
I opened the system window.
I want this damn piece of crap to clear it up for me once and for all.
When the interface appeared, I threw out the question, full of contained rage:
"Hey... What the hell did you do?"
The window didn't flinch.
Not a reaction.
As if it simply ignored my question.
As if I didn't matter.
Getting even more frustrated, I yelled:
"ANSWER ME, DAMN IT!"
…
Silence.
Absolute. Unbearable.
Nothing appeared on the screen. No sound, not a single line of text.
As if it were mocking me.
As if it enjoyed watching me crumble bit by bit.
"Tsk, this is crap," I spat through gritted teeth.
Blind with anger, I grabbed my phone and turned it on. I had nothing else.
No human being, no system, no miserable god wanted to give me answers.
…
But then... I saw it.
Monday, March 5th.
The first day of classes.
I...
Had...
Gone back in time.
…
I opened the system window again, fingers trembling.
I slid straight to the missions section.
And there it was, as if nothing had happened:
[MISSION]
[CONDITIONS]
>TRY TO BE HER FRIEND FROM DAY 2
[TIME LIMIT: 10 DAYS]
…
Yes.
I definitely went back in time.
Perplexed by the situation, my thoughts froze.
I didn't know what to say.
I stood dumbfounded, trapped between fear and confusion.
As if the world itself were mocking me... repeating the same nightmare.
——
I got out of bed and started getting dressed.
But this time...
I made a decision, an even more important one...
I'm going to leave my normalcy behind.
I'm going to throw my routine in the trash if it means saving my own skin.
It's a difficult path, yes.
I'm scared... Hell, of course I am!
Even though my entire non-existent life has revolved around a single way of living...
I need this change.
I DON'T WANT TO GO THROUGH THE DAMN EXPERIENCE OF DYING AGAIN!
My new life motto is:
"Survive, regardless of the cost."
I took a step forward and left my beloved refuge.
Now I'm a new guy.
I'm no longer Eiran, the "normal" one.
I'm Eiran, the "survivor."
——
After a good breakfast, I left home, renewed. A new me.
I took out my phone to check the time and then...
It was 7:51 in the morning.
And guess what:
Classes start at 8:00.
Meaning...
I'M SUPER LATE!
Doing some quick math, it takes me about twenty minutes to walk...
BUT THIS IS NO TIME FOR DAMN CALCULATIONS!
I ran like crazy! As if my life depended on it.
(And maybe… it does).
——
I was in front of the school.
I checked my phone again.
8:07 in the morning.
HOW IS IT POSSIBLE I ONLY MADE UP 2 DAMN MINUTES?!
I ran as if the devil himself were nipping at my heels... and I only gained two miserable minutes!?
The temporal injustice was real.
Well... as the saying goes: "Better late than never."
I was about to take the first step into hell—sorry, into school—when suddenly:
WHAM!
I felt a dull blow on my back.
As if a full-speed truck had hit me without warning or apology.
The air was knocked out of my lungs.
I took a clumsy step forward, stumbling like a drunk.
I turned around, ready to curse inwardly at the idiot who had pushed me…
But then I saw her.
Her.
Elin Mora.
As beautiful as the last time I saw her…
Just before she disappeared.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going! Are you okay?" —her voice was just as I remembered it, soft and lively, as if nothing had happened.
"Ah, yes… I'm fine" —I responded automatically, more out of reflex than actually being present—. My brain was still trying to process that she was in front of me. Alive. Conscious. Smiling.
As if she had never disappeared.
As if that nightmare had never occurred.
"Hah~ that's good, I'm really sorry about that... Oh, right, I have to go, I'm running late for class!" —she said hurriedly as she helped me up from the ground.
"S-sure, don't worry" —I replied, still somewhat stunned, feeling the warmth of her hand for an instant longer than necessary.
And just like that, as quickly as she arrived, she disappeared, running towards the building.
…
It was her… Right?
I'm confused. I don't know how to explain it.
It's like seeing a dead person walking in front of you, smiling as if nothing happened.
It's a strange feeling… unreal… as if the world were playing with my memories.
——
I was one step away from the classroom door.
That damn threshold I hated crossing at the start of every year.
I was mentally preparing myself for that social torture disguised as an introductory activity: the presentation in front of everyone.
I still think it's hell. Having to pretend, smile, say your name and something "interesting" about yourself while they judge you with their eyes.
But well…
After all, I decided to change.
And if I want to survive this madness, I'll have to swallow the fear, the shame, and even the pride.
Because it's no longer about fitting in.
It's about living.
I gave a few soft knocks on the classroom door, hoping the teacher would attend to me.
Every second that passed with my hand still raised felt like an eternity.
Finally, a deep, somewhat hoarse voice answered from the other side:
"Come in."
I swallowed hard.
«Come on Eiran, you can... survive.»
I opened the door cautiously, as if entering that room were the same as passing through the very gates of hell.
And there they were.
All those pairs of eyes.
Looking at me.
Judging me.
Classifying me in their minds in less than three seconds.
And as if that weren't enough...
"Oh, the new kid. Introduce yourself, please," the teacher said without looking up from his book.
There it was. Fucking hell version 2.0.
Hell doesn't always smell like sulfur. Sometimes, it just smells like cheap disinfectant and bored teenagers.