"This shouldn't be happening... it shouldn't..." I kept muttering to myself as I walked towards the campus gates. I was still in my school uniform -- albeit grimy after my adventure -- so the guard let me pass without question.
I must also be smelling of sweat, I realized, suddenly conscious about my appearance. Several minutes ago I had tried chasing the boy again as he darted into town. Without success, of course.
Truth is, he's starting to scare me now. Heck, I don't even know his name! But leading (okay, tricking) me into The Well, and knowing I'll end up at this moment in time... and knowing the significance of that moment... something was definitely off.
"Hey, Erik!"
Uh oh. I turned towards the voice, and saw a tall, chubby guy walking up to me. His white polo was unbuttoned at the front, obscuring the blue-and-white school logo stitched on his pocket. His red backpack was slung carelessly over one shoulder. He walked with a heavy limp, but was grinning as he reached me.
"Heya Ren, how's the foot?"
Ren looked confused for a moment. "What, you don't think this will heal in one afternoon, do you?"
Right, I forgot. This was around the time he injured his foot in PE class, chasing after a rogue basketball. He would still have a bit of that limp six months later.
This whole time travel thing is confusing, I grumbled internally as I reached for my phone in my pocket. The home screen displayed 7:24 PM. It failed to adjust itself to this alien timezone.
Ren was mumbling a bit about some homework I can no longer remember, then asked me if I was ready.
"For what?" I replied absentmindedly. Ren waved a mocking hand in front of my face.
"Uhm, Student's Night? You know, the one my sister's been organizing for the past few weeks?"
"Dang, of course I'm ready!" I feigned excitement. I guess my voice reached such a high note that he was convinced. Actually, what I was feeling was panic. I hadn't made any plans as I strolled through the school gates, and it must be around half past five by now.
"Say, has Gian texted you in the past hour?", I asked.
Ren didn't ask why, but he pulled out his phone to check. "Yeah, I think I remember him saying he's getting ready. About five minutes ago."
"Oh, that's good. Say, I gotta jet for now, 'kay? I just remembered something dad asked me to do," I don't make a good liar, but Ren was half-busy tapping away at his phone that he didn't really care.
"Just don't bail out on us later, 'kay?", he shouted as I sprinted towards the back of the school.
It happens past six, I recalled. I made a beeline for the school's back gate, and ran down the thin asphalted road that led to the shuttle stop. Thankfully, the mini-bus was right there, idling in wait for passengers.
As I got in, I glanced at the clock on the dashboard. It was 5:37. Dear God, I prayed as I took my seat, I hope there's no traffic!
Gian's house was a three-minute walk from the shuttle's second stop, and I arrived there a few minutes before six. I jogged towards it, and saw Gian in his front yard, straddling his motorcycle, his key in the ignition.
He saw me approach, and raised both a hand and an eyebrow in greeting. As soon as I got past the habitually unlatched gate, he spoke up. "Don't tell me you're going in that pile of rags!"
Dammit, think! I struggled as I laughed in response. He had already revved up the engine. "You know, I think it's better to take the shuttle to school today," I said on impulse.
"Eh? Why?"
"There's been a robbery just an hour ago in Central. Checkpoints all around. Driving without a license wouldn't be a good idea," I lied, the second time this afternoon. Please, please believe, I thought hard.
"Aw, not cool," Gian said, as he got off the bike and rolled it back towards their shed. I breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We took the shuttle to school, and I spent half the night hiding from everyone when I realized I forgot to go home and change clothes. Still, tonight was much, much happier than this same night, around six months ago.
At around 2AM, the party was starting to break up. I decided it was time to rest, and walked towards the back of the school again. Outside the gate, a most interesting person was waiting for me.
"Did you make it?", the orphan boy asked me, his beaming face slightly annoying me despite my good mood.
I stopped just outside the wrought iron, facing him squarely. "Who are you?" I asked as dramatically as I can.
"My name is Karl," he answered nonchalantly. I'm not sure whether to be surprised or annoyed. I was half-expecting him to evade the question.
"And?"
"I've been observing you for some time."
"How did you know about tonight?"
He only smiled. "You have a lot of questions, don't you?"
Indeed I did. How he did know The Well would dump me here? How did he know I will survive the drop? That he will survive the drop? What does he mean by "observing"? Why me? What does he get out of this? The questions spilled one after the other, choking me.
"But I can't answer any of that," his smile grew wider.
"Why?" I blurted out.
"Because it will ruin the fun!" Karl thrust his hands up to the evening air, looking like there was nothing he enjoyed more in the world than tormenting my mind. The night wind fluttered his thin, purple-striped sando and his faded blue shorts, ruffling his unkempt black hair.
With once last smile at me, the boy took off into the dark, his worn flip-flops pattering on the asphalt. I shook my head. I had given up looking for sense in what's happening right now.
Six months ago, this very same night, Gian suffered a near-fatal crash riding his motorcycle to the Student's Night. How the orphan boy knew it, I did not know. And, tired as I was, I don't really care. At least for now. I just have the feeling that I will meet the boy again, and I will slowly, slowly unravel this mystery.