School Premises, Grade 8.
The bell rang, indicating the beginning of class. Students were walking about as they headed to their respective classes. James walked into the class silently to be as inconspicuous as possible as he headed to his seat.
He clearly remembered the event that happened in school at this exact time. Ana walked in as she chatted with a girl, Henry's friend stormed to the board and scribbled unintelligible words, a short boy almost tripped on his shoes.
Then, the first-period teacher came in. "Alright students, settle down, settle down. Today is your lucky day. The…" "…principal called me to his office and informed me that you are going to write a test today, and before you groan, this test would be added as a plus to your general grade in your exams, isn't that great?"
James mouthed the remaining words with the teacher. He clearly remembered the exact words his male English teacher said, so saying them wasn't that difficult for him.
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The rest of the period made James bored. His mind wandered as the teacher mumbled words he couldn't fully discern. The unanswered questions resurfaced in his mind.
For the first time, James felt despair and trepidation that moment he was almost killed. The feeling was so traumatizing, he preferred not to experience it again. Now that he thought of it, he began to remember the words the mysterious woman said to her.
James could not help but feel that that woman has a distinct resemblance with Sophia, but he wasn't sure. She appeared so elegant even though the man slashed her cheek, causing it to bleed.
'Fix your time continuum', James remembered the woman's word, but he was not able to understand what she meant. How he had gone off course of his timeline was still a mystery for him.
Following what she said later, she mentioned that she was sent by his alternate self. 'Alternate self', James wondered in his mind. Although he had read about the theory of the multiverse, according to experts, they haven't found solid proof to verify that it existed. It only remained a theory.
But right now, James thought otherwise. If there were infinite versions of him, then maybe, just maybe, there was a version of him that still had his parents. This thought made him sad.
However, there was one thing that bothered him. How was his 'alternate' version of himself able to make a breakthrough regarding multiverse travel? The thought of his version of himself able to do something that was deemed impossible by current technology marvelled him.
This thought steeled his heart. If another clone of him was able to achieve a breakthrough, so can he. 'I would make sure I invent time travel before I turned seventeen', he promised himself.
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The bell rang indicating the end of class, so James routinely packed his books into his backpack and made his way to the exit.
While James approached the car, the back door automatically flung open. Mixed emotions welled in his heart on seeing this. Maribel has been doing this for almost one year, and James got used to it, but right now, his heart warmed as he felt the need to cry.
Sitting on the chair, Maribel turned around and smiled at James. "Tell, me, how was your day?" James felt a bit awkward. He slowly explained how his day went, delighting Maribel. The love James felt for Maribel swelled even further. He had this strong urge to hug her.
Even a blind person would see that Maribel was doing her best to make James comfortable and happy. It was more than two years, but she has never tried to treat James as one of her children. This was something he hasn't noticed from her, but after the hostility, they would show to him in the future, James began to appreciate her efforts.
James chatted happily with Maribel until Angel opened the door and climbed the back seat. Moments later, Josh entered the car and dropped his bag. He took a glance at James and his expression changed. "Afternoon mum", he kissed his mom cheek as he smiled.
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An hour later after they arrived home, James turned on his computer and began working. Since he went back to the past, the customers he worked with got reset. He had to accept their request again. Luckily James always kept his work on the cloud, so retrieving them back wasn't too difficult.
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01:02am.
James climbed on his bed and closed his eyes. This was the moment he was waiting for, the moment that probably changed his life. Maybe it was this time that caused him to veer off his timeline, according to the attractive woman.
Josh did not disappoint, because after a minute passed, the door creaked slowly, revealing a figure that was not discernable, but James knew it was him.
He watched him as Josh looked at James, displayed a face of disgust, mumbled a word, then approached his computer, but James was prepared for him.
Earlier, James created an account that linked his computer to Maribel's MacBook, making it so that whatever files were added on his computer through that account, would automatically appear on her MacBook, then it would automatically delete the account from his PC.
James even further made it that whatever he transferred to his computer, it would automatically create a folder named "Josh Secret Stuffs" on her desktop screen.
With a sneer in his face, he watched as Josh plugged the drive into his computer and transferred the contents to his computer. "You are not getting out of this, this time."