When I came to my senses, I was in the corridor of my school. For some reason, I just understood this was where I was supposed to be.
There was an unarguable sense of trust in that information. How I got to know that, I had no idea. As if someone forced that info into my head without my consent.
Holding a stack of unknown files in my chest, I kept walking with nothing in my head. I checked the content of the files. On the inside of the hardcover, there was nothing written. The papers were blank without a doubt. Then why was I even bringing those things?
In addition, around me, the people, or rather shadows, kept passing by. I could only hear unintelligible murmurs throughout their conversations, even though it was lively in the corridor.
I felt alienated like I did not belong there. The shadow people kept doing their things, only I was stuck in my track.
Somehow, there was no fear in my chest. Put into such an abnormal situation, one would be expected to be scared. Terrified, even. However, as if that scene was ordinary, I paid it not so much attention.
What did exist, though, was just bitter loneliness.
I pitied the one who ever had to endure such a thing.
But probably, it was just me.
Despite me not knowing the direction, the destination was clear. My feet showed me the way on their own without my knowing.
I was heading toward a classroom.
My classroom, in particular.
While walking, I started to have a weird conversation inside my head.
[ Who am I?
I am Laura. That is my name.
Who is Laura?
The class representative.
What am I doing?
Going to class.
Whose class am I in?
Han Som.
...and Classmate C.
Why do I know about him? Who is this Classmate C? Why did I take a while to remember that?
Han is a male student in my class. He is special.
What is so special about him?
He is my destiny.
Destiny? As in love?
He is no...my destiny. ]
I could not get anything else after that about Han. But I was eager to know the Classmate C person. Why is their name so strange? Who would have such a ridiculous name?
There was no answer. So I should be looking for it myself.
I was similar to a baby right after birth, curious about the world surrounding me. In my head, there was some kind of force pulling me to this person named Han. I must be there with him. I must get to know him.
But...
In my heart...
It was another face.
Blurry and distorted beyond recognition. I could not remember the details of that face.
Why?
Why was the face of that Han Som person clear, but the Classmate C person was not? What was the difference between them?
And those things in my head, I could not describe well because they were very abstract.
Still, I understood two things.
Firstly, I was supposed to be an elegant, collected, and dignified class representative. A role model for others, if you would. My job would be to correct those students with wrong behaviors, so they could have a better future.
Secondly, Han's related information was clear as night and day. Everything about his face, his outfit, and his personality was defined. This was information that seemed to be given to me.
C's face was nothing like that. Calling it information was just incorrect. The fragments of that person were closer to memories than anything else.
Only broken memories came from a time when no one could remember could have that kind of vagueness.
Then, another question would arise.
Since when did I have these memories? If I could go down memory lane, I could figure out the reasons. Probably.
I tried to remember this morning or the day before. Any additional memories would be beneficial to me at that point.
Quickly, I realized that I had nothing. It was fine. I was human, after all. A little bit of memory loss was expected of people like us. I just had to try a bit harder.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried again, searching all the corners of my head, but still nothing.
There was no recollection of the time before walking in the school's corridor in my head.
My whole body felt cold all of a sudden. I nearly dropped the files in my chest. Even without a mirror, I could swear my face was a pale blue color. The blood in my body seemed to have disappeared all of a sudden.
[ What did I have for breakfast?
How did I go to school? Bus or bike? ]
Nothing.
[ Where do I live?
Who are my parents?
What is my last name? ]
Again, nothing.
I was terrified. I wanted to scream because of my amnesia.
All I knew was not about myself.
All I knew was about a guy named Han alongside some fragments of a guy called C.
I was petrified so much that I could not move at all.
[ Where are my families?
Who am I really?
And the most crucial question: Why do I have no memories? ]
No one could answer those questions for me.
The terrible realization attacked me like a knife in my windpipe. I tried calling and then hitting the shadow people around me to get their attention but to no avail. Nothing I did make them turn toward me.
I wanted to get to a hospital. My amnesia was a massive problem, so I had to have it checked immediately.
[ Maybe it is a brain tumor. ] I thought. If so, I would be close to death already.
Sadness overwhelmed my entire being instantly.
I did not want to die. I was still young. My future was still a long way ahead of me. And I had to finally say goodbye to everything?
My knees went weak as I fell to the cold floor, and my whole body shook violently. I was on the verge of bursting out tears. I had a phone in my pocket but no numbers on it. There was no way for me to call for help.
Never could I imagined that I was living inside of an eroge. That never came to my head. The possibility of something like that happening would be near zero.
Now, I know. Back then, I did not.
It was at that moment that I heard a small voice.
[ Why don't you fuck my ass too, Rachel? ]
It was vulgar and disgusting, but it was the first foreign voice I could hear in this strange world.
[ Is anyone there? Can you hear me? I need to get to the hospital! Could you please show me the way? ]
I desperately called for help from the stranger. Maybe they could show me the way. If I tried, I could live a bit longer.
No. It was not even about my life.
I wanted to know who I really was. I would gladly do the brain surgery if it meant I could get my memories back.
My life, my experience, I needed them. Otherwise, I would be just a clueless class representative.
Clutching to that last sliver of hope, I ran forward with the files in my chest.
Even when the voice kept talking about ridiculous things, I ran. The direction of the voice somehow is where my feet had been leading me.
My classroom.
[ And good luck getting laid! The first time always hurts, so remember to lube it up, girl. ]
Then, after a few meaningless sentences, the voice gave me a hint.
[ I swear to God I have delivered more lines than even Han himself today! ]
Han was involved. The person whom I knew a lot was in the monologue.
And the voice. I felt like the owner of that voice understood his surroundings differently.
Delivering more lines? Who would be talking like that?
They were not treating the people called Rachel and Kurokawa as people but as mere characters.
[ Remember, we are still at the beginning of the game.]
I was dead on my track, right in front of the door to my classroom.
Beginning of the game?
Not 'a' game.
'The' game.
I asked myself what it meant. A small and utterly ridiculous possibility slowly formed in my head.
The voice was the loudest in the classroom. The owner should be inside.
That person should know what was going on. At least they could help me get to a hospital.
[ I will be an idiot if I keep thinking about the story fixing itself. ]
[ It is already hard to gain consciousness, and mind-reading abilities, too? C, you are getting it way over your head. ]
C.
C...
That person was C.
*Ba-dump!!!*
I felt a sharp pain in my heart. No, not physical pain.
*Tap. Tap. Tap*
Tears streamed down my cheeks and fell onto the floor.
I could not help myself but cry. There was not a clue why I would do such a thing.
But deep down inside of me...
There was a relief.
Already, I knew what had to be done. No matter what, I needed to talk to Classmate C.
I wiped my face off and started to act solely on instinct.
My body was both my own and not at the same time. I knew that already.
Nevertheless, I would get it back. My future was for me to decide.
My hand reached for the handle.
*Rattle*
"Please submit your Math homework!"