As Aiden opened the classroom door, I found myself on the receiving end of a classroom full of stares, all directed at both me and my brother.
It felt somewhat suffocating...
I was never really one to enjoy being the center of attention, but I had to get used to it soon. The entertainment industry would bring that very same attention on me.
I wanted to groan in frustration, but there was nothing I could do. I had to test the limits of my system... and the possible errors.
Wait, where should I sit?
I didn't remember if we had usual seats or just sat wherever we could.
"…Aiden?"
I tried to whisper to him, but he didn't seem to hear me.
"…Aiden."
He still couldn't hear me. It was starting to become uncomfortable.
"…Aiden!"
"What?"
He finally heard me.
"Where is my usual seat?"
He just stared at me dumbfoundedly in the doorway while everyone kept staring at us. It was starting to get even worse for me; their gazes were all latched onto me and Aiden.
My brother didn't seem to care, but I wouldn't say I liked the feeling.
"You don't remember?"
"Just where is that damn seat?"
"Second to last row, third seat by the window. What's up with you these days? You make fusses like a girl on—"
I almost growled.
"Thanks…"
After that, I almost audibly heaved a sigh of relief.
At least I knew my seat, and I walked up to it while remaining in the crossfire of countless stares from the other students. The class would soon start.
As I took my seat beside the window, I noticed a pair of yellow eyes gazing at me from behind thick, round glasses, which were hidden behind long and messy black hair.
Her eyes seemed curious when she looked at me, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't remember her.
"Yes?"
"Nothing."
"…"
She is strange.
I sighed and decided to lay my head on my desk, using my arms as a pillow while waiting for the class to start.
As I supported my head with my hands and looked around the classroom, I saw my brother walk to the end of the room and take his seat on the rightmost seat of the last row.
His expression just screamed 'Leave me alone' to everyone who tried to get close to him. He had few friends in school.
My brother was the same, my father was the same... I had not met my mother yet, but I had a feeling she was the same as well.
But that gnawing feeling did not leave me. Everything around me looked different—not by much, but enough for me to notice.
Maybe my memories were playing tricks on me, or it was just needless paranoia from this whole situation, but that feeling... it was still present, eating me away from the inside.
After Aiden did the same as me, burying his face in his hands and lying on the table, the rest of the pressure seemed to lift from the room.
The others no longer seemed to mind my brother and just went back to chatting like nothing had happened.
They were loud... and obnoxious.
Bothersome.
It was just bothersome.
I should have skipped…
Well, it was probably too late for that, I just had to endure it.
While the others seemed to endlessly chat with each other wile increasingly become louder, I decided to take a look at my system window one more time.
I need to know the time of the implementation, how much will that be?
The window appeared in front of me with the same main menu, together with the loading process of the rest of the main menu…
[User: Liam White]
[Current Quest: The Door]
[Main Menu(s) window is not yet fully implemented.]
[1.2%]
Good, at least it's loading in a steady manner, if it continues like this, I will be able to access it by the end of the day, or at the very least at night.
Should have been happy, but I wasn't.
The same gnawing feeling continued to eat away at me.
Call it paranoia, or just unease, but it only began to get worse.
I was looking around aimlessly in the room, but just my eyes, I tried to not stick out like a sore thumb, even if it was impossible to achieve.
If I remember correctly, I wasn't an outcast, I had friends in school, but I can barely remember them, and even if I could… hmm, maybe I'm just paranoid because of this whole fiasco.
As I dismissed the system window, I gazed outside of the window.
It was early and I saw a couple of people walk in front of the school, all of them dressed warmly to get ready for the early winter chill.
But the longer I stared at the city…. The more the unease grasped me.
Something was up, and I couldn't quite put my hands on it.
This whole place seemed the same… but at the same time, different.
Maybe I'm crazy.
I held back the need to burst out laughing, maybe I'm really growing crazy.
Then, I heard the bell ring, school was just about to start.
I looked at the door, waiting for the teacher to walk in… and just then, I knew where the feeling of unease came from.
My palms grew sweaty and I felt my throat dry up.
This is… impossible.
Such a small thing, but that was the reason for my fears…
What the hell is going on?
My deskmate was currently playing a game on her phone…
I wouldn't question that in normal circumstances…
But these were anything but normal.
I opened the system once again.
[User: Liam White]
[Current Quest: The Door]
[Main Menu(s) window is not yet fully implemented.]
[12%]
[15%]
[19%]
[27%]
[34%]
[41%]
The implementation began to grow rapidly.
Squeak—
The classroom door slowly creaked open, and a balding middle-aged man walked in, carrying a bunch of books and a laptop.
How had I not noticed this before?
I reached into my pocket and retrieved my own phone. It was a touchscreen as well.
I looked around. Everyone had phones with them. Some were playing games, while others were hurriedly reading exam questions on their screens.
This world...
This wasn't the one I was born into.
When I was a student, the internet had only just started. Yet here everyone was, with technology that wasn't supposed to exist at this point in time.
I opened my phone in a hurry...
I froze.
My phone wallpaper...
It was a picture of me and my family...
From a time that hadn't happened yet.