"Who are you?" he asked with the same expressionless face and deep eyes. I felt obliged to tell him who I was, except that I myself didn't have that piece of information then.
"Umm…sir, I won't lie to you. Actually…" I told him everything. Why wouldn't I? He was the only person to be able to see the problem here. And I was way too confused and bewildered about this whole situation that I didn't want to suffer alone. Let one more person be as confused as I am. This, to me, seemed fair.
So I told him about how I woke up in the cafeteria without any memory and that I can't seem to recall anything before it. I just told him everything. It was a huge relief-I wasn't crazy and that I am not from here. I could feel a great burden lifting off my chest.
Mr. Mark was silent the entire time. His deafening silence was getting uncomfortable. I wondered if he was making some physics theory out of it or what, considering that it took ages for him to find his voice again. "Don't think too much about it right now and just mingle in as if nothing happened. Pretend like you have been studying here for years. In the meantime, I'll find out what's wrong."
"What do you mean? Why can't we just tell everyone that they're mistaken and that I am not a student here?" things were getting complicated so I couldn't help, but ask.
"Listen, Arya, what has happened is not normal and these are things you can't understand yet. I'm sure you are confused, but you're not the only one. I any case don't let anyone find you suspicious. The Vox is getting very unstable with time." His face looked so grave that it was giving me goosebumps. He would actually do a great job in horror movies.
Still I nodded in approval and left the room, even more disturbed that I was before. What did he mean by 'Vox'? Why won't I understand? And why everyone here knows about me when I myself don't? These questions barely left my mind after that.
I went downstairs. Don't ask where I was headed to, I was just going…anywhere. Giving a few smiles time and again to girls who seemed to recognize me. "Who are these girls?" I whispered to myself. Finally I saw a familiar face-Chester. He was trying to talk to that girl from the cafeteria from before. However, she paid him no notice. I walked towards him.
"What are you doing?" I asked from behind and he turned to look at me. "Hi, you're back." He replied, his eyes never leaving the girl. At last, it was only after I dragged him out of the room that we were able to talk.
"Sorry about that. You know how I am around Becky. I just can't seem to control myself whenever I'm around her."
"Do you have a crush on her?"
"That's the entire problem! All this weird stuff happens only when I'm around her. When we are so far away from her, like we're right now, nothing happens and I'm normal. It's so freakin' weird."
I couldn't understand what he was talking about. To me it definitely seemed like he was head over heels for her. "Okay, but leave all that 'cause I have some important work for you."
"What is it?" he asked and I told him to tell me everything about…well, me. If I wanted to look normal, then I had to make sure I'm behaving the way people remember. Right now, the last thing I want is to gather everyone's attention.
"Well…you are not smart and are average at studies." He started. "You are not popular with boys and your personality is the exact opposite of Becky." By his description, it definitely looked like I was pretty much non-existent. If I had been living here and one day if I were to disappear suddenly, no one would even notice.
"Is this a boarding school?" I asked
"Why the hell are you asking such questions?" he complained and knowing he won't believe me no matter how much I cry out, I replied, "I'm just checking your general knowledge, go on tell me how smart you are." I said, half-jokingly
"What is wrong with you? Okay, this is not a boarding school."
"So where do I live?" I asked, I was really curious to if I also had a family here. If I had, things would just go out of hand.
"Well, now that you have asked…to be honest I've never met your parents and I don't know your address. But, that's weird. I…" He seemed lost. There was a problem. Something really was wrong.
"Leave it, what else do you remember?" I tried to change the topic, fishing for more useful information, but he couldn't recall anything in detail. I told him it was alright and that I had things to take care of and walked away. I looked back and Chester was still scratching his head with confusion.
Mr. Mark told me to blend in…but how do I do that? It seemed impossible to me. How could I behave normal when nothing around me was or even close to normal? I wondered where I will be staying today after school. I did not have a home, nor do I know anything about this world.
Time flew with the speed of light and soon it was time to head back home. "Where do I go?" I murmured to myself. I left school in search of a place to go. I just had my school bag with me filled with books...it was a bag that I didn't purchase and in it were the books that didn't belong to me. I wanted to cry out loud, but that, too, seemed meaningless.
Finally I stopped in front of an old building. The hanging board on top of it read, 'Dr. Xavier's Orphanage'. I wanted to go inside and ask them if they would be willing to take me in. I was partly hesitant 'cause I was somehow a student of an international school and if I told someone I had no place to go, no one would believe me. You tell me- how many people would believe that a girl from such an expensive school was a homeless broke? I, for one, wouldn't.
I was contemplating whether to enter or not, but just then I saw that a very old lady was walking towards the orphanage. She stopped in front of me and looked intently at me with her old yet joyous eyes.
I stared back at her and then I noticed the baggage in her hands and understood why she was staring at me. I immediately took the baggage from her and offered to carry it for her. "Where are you headed to ?" I asked and she pointed towards the building that I was so hesitant in entering into.
She walked in and gestured me to follow her and I gladly did. We passed the main hallway followed by a huge living room to the office of administration. We entered the room and she asked me to put her belongings on the sofa and she mounted the chair of the head of this orphanage. 'Does she run this place?' But isn't she a bit too old?' And believe me, when I say old I meant really old. I couldn't guess her exact age, but she seemed like she could die at any following second and all anyone would be able to do is watch.
"Why did you come so late?" she spoke at last. Her voice was slow, rusty and old like her, but there was authority in her voice.
I couldn't quite understand what she was talking about. However, I had to be careful. I decided not to make it obvious that I don't have a home.
"I'm sorry, but why would you say that?" I asked, curious as to what her answer will be.
"What are you talking about, Arya? You know you promised to help me with the paperwork today, remember? Look I'm as old as I can be and yet this old lady remembers more that you young people do nowadays." She said and I wondered if just like at school, she too had memory of knowing me.
"I remember now, but could you tell me why do I visit this place?"
Her face became a little confused. "Arya, don't try to mess with me. I know you don't like it here, but like it or not it's your home now and no one can do anything about it unless you have a secret treasure hidden somewhere with which you can buy yourself a house." she said with a grave tone and finally asked me to leave.
What? Home? Wow! I really wanted to kill myself now. I turned to leave the room and on the wall in front to me, I saw a photograph. It was a family photo of four members. They all looked happy and cheerful. There was man who stood at the back and three women in front of him-his wife at left, his mother at right and daughter in the middle. It was my family photo. The girl in the middle was me.