Looking back, I would consider myself lucky to have spent the whole Saturday undisturbed by the irregularities of my unusual trip through time. I was able to settle back down into my old routines, idling away the first day of the weekend in mindless online chatter. I half-expected Karl to pass by my bedroom window or to reappear somewhere in our living room anytime, but thankfully that didn't happen.
When Sunday came, however, reality hit me again. I woke up at 11AM to half a dozen text messages asking me if I was awake yet, and if I was already on my way. Wait... what?
/Sry, jst got up. What's today?
/Are u serious? -_- U promised to meet us 2day!
I don't... wait. Was it that dreadful shopping trip? In my original timeline -- and it still pains me to think that there's an original timeline -- today was the day I promised to accompany a few female friends to the mall. The main agenda was to buy a few items needed for a school project. Of course, it quickly devolved into a department store detour... and that was not an experience I'd like to relive again.
Nevertheless, I rushed to the local mall as fast as I could, meeting their disapproving faces less than half an hour later. They were huddled around a restaurant table, paper bags squeezed in between them. Looks like they already took care of the shopping list.
"Save sleeping in for summer vacation, will you?", Cath greeted me with arms akimbo.
"Sorry, I for--" My heart suddenly skipped a beat. Cath, Annie, Jam, and Monique were present. That much I remembered, exactly the same as six months ago. But today, Hannah was also here. Ren's sister. My personal kryptonite. And I'm sure as heck she wasn't there when the original version of this day happened.
"I meant, I forgot I had to do something last night, and I had to finish it this morning." Right. Real smooth, Erik.
"You said you just got up." Cath wasn't going to let my lie pass.
"I literally just got up," I said as I motioned for the waiter to bring in the menu. "I was scrubbing the bathroom floor!" I regretted it as soon as I said it. But hey, at least Cath wasn't asking anymore, as blatantly dumb my answer was.
"So, as your punishment, you're going to accompany us to shopping later." It was Hannah who spoke up, a teasing smile on her lips. My brain screeched to a stop, wondering what kind of trap lay before me. Why was she the one proposing? Cath and the rest were all smirking at me, knowing I can't say no.
The waiter beside me clicked his pen, and I tried evading Hannah's question by letting him take my order. As soon as he left, though, I had to face the music.
"What?" I asked the tabletop, unable to look at Hannah directly. I can still feel their leering smiles.
"Shopping? Later?" Hannah spoke up again. Her nonchalant tone was unsettling.
"Okay," I answered in a voice an octave higher than normal. The unsolicited pounding of my heart drowned out the muffled giggles that followed. Now I'm not sure which version of today is better or worse. But hey, at least it's... more bearable, I guess.
I thought the day couldn't get more awkward, when I heard a tap on the restaurant window beside me. I looked, and came really close to dropping the glass of water I was sipping. It was the boy, grinning at me from the other side, wearing the same ragged outfit he had on since last Friday.
"Hey, isn't that the little orphan kid that hangs around school?" Jam stared at me. "You know him?"
"Yes, he's been bugging me for two days, and I have no idea why." I tried to shoo him off, and he responded by making a face. I made a motion to stand up, and he scooted off. Just what the hell is wrong with him?
I sighed and sat back down, just as the waiter brought in our food. That was when I noticed Hannah staring at me.
"So you know him too, huh?" she asked after a few seconds.
"Huh? I can't say I know him. I just met him around the park, and he's been showing up randomly ever since."
"I bumped into him yesterday." She cradled her chin in her hand as she spoke, the fluorescent lights of the restaurant illuminating her charming face in full. "He said some really weird things, too."
"Like?", Monique intoned.
"Like, I should get out of the house more often, and that I should hang out with friends some more." My ears piqued as she said it. Was that why she's here? Has that kid been meddling in her affairs, too?
"Erik, don't you think he acts a little too unusual for his age?"
"That face? Oh, heck no."
"But you heard him speak, right?" She was correct, of course. There was something really crazy about him. I was sorely tempted to tell her the story of my Friday.
"Maybe he's smoking something," Cath smirked. Yeah, I wish it were that simple...
The next three hours passed by quickly. For some reason, the day wasn't as bad as I remembered from before. Maybe because Hannah was present, and we had been talking all the while. Like most chit-chat, this one quickly jumped from that little brat to our own childhood memories. I think we even talked about how our kids should be raised in the future, but maybe that was just me daydreaming.
When night fell, I was on bed massaging my fingers that were still slightly sore from carrying the girls' shopping bags. I can't feel much of the pain, however, as I stared at my phone in anticipation. The LED notification blipped once, and I immediately reached for it to reply. Hannah and I had been exchanging messages for half the night, continuing on from our afternoon banter. Today was definitely the better version, and it appears I have that brat Karl to thank. Maybe.
Just as I thought that, I heard a call outside my window. It was the kid, standing under a lamppost, waving at me from the street. Pretty much the mood killer, and I had more than half a mind to ignore him, but... I got out of bed and went out anyway.
I was still several feet away from him when he started backing away. He had been standing in the middle of the road, and was now moving to the opposite sidewalk. When I was close enough, a strong ray of light illuminated his face directly. He was smiling.
But there was something off with his smile... it was a little too calm, a little too steady. Not mischievous in any way, which seemed unusual. My steps slowed... and it was too late when I realized how stupid that move was.
That ray of light was too convenient. It came from the headlights of a huge truck that was barreling its way through the street, and I was squarely in its path. Panic froze my limbs on the spot, and I looked to Karl... for help? For an explanation? I don't know.
But the last thing I remembered that night was a broad grin that carved up his thin, mask-like face.