Oh shit. I wasn't just in another world.
I was in a novel.
What was it called? Damn past me, why did you skim it while reading forty other novels? Think Lloyd think.
I must have been making some pretty weird faces during my internal crisis because Dad's worried voice cut through my spiral of panic.
"Lloyd you okay?"
I looked up to meet his concerned gaze. "Yeah dad, I'm fine just thinking?"
"What about?"
"I'm not sure yet," I mumbled, already heading for the stairs. "I'm going to my room for now."
Dad nodded, probably chalking it up to typical teenage weirdness. I made my way back to the room where I'd had my little cardiac adventure less than an hour ago.
I collapsed onto my bed, nearly disappearing into what felt like a cloud made solid. Seriously, future mattress technology was no joke.
"Okay Lloyd think," I said aloud, because talking to yourself is totally normal when you're having an existential crisis. What was the name? Extra something? No, that wasn't it. I wracked both sets of memories until finally - bam! War Across the Galaxy.
That was it! I remembered barely anything else except that the protagonist had the most ridiculous surname ever - Bonner. Yeah, that guy. He had some souped-up version of the System, complete with quests and a shop and all sorts of other video game nonsense. Basically, he was what TV Tropes would file under "stupidly overpowered protagonist."
The first arcs were pretty standard power fantasy stuff - he went to some academy in the combat section and collected his harem there like they were pet monster cards. But that wasn't what I cared about though I was a fervent harem hater, maybe that's why I just speedread it, anyway it didn't matter.
What mattered was that this academy - this exact same academy I was supposed to go to - got attacked more often than a pizza at a frat party.
Seriously, how did the best human academy in existence get jumped so frequently? Though calling it an "academy" was pretty inaccurate. From what little I could remember, both from the novel and Lloyd's memories, the place was an entire planet. We're talking billions of registered humans most of which were students, though the details were fuzzy.
So I did what any sensible person would do when they needed facts - I asked space internet.
I practically launched myself from the bed to my desk. "Minerva open up a new tab find anything you can on Alexandria Academy."
[Alexandria Academy is the foremost academy for talented humans in the Alliance, it was begun over 2,100,000 years ago by the first SS rank human being, and is now being run by the latest principal who is also one of the 18 SS rank humans, Hazel Laventi.]
[She was born in the year 2165743 of the Alliance. Has been principal of Alexandria Academy for over 200 years. Alexandria Academy is the biggest academy in the human alliance housing over 12 billion students divided into five grades, and more than 300 distinct majors, it is also one of thew few moving planets in existence. Anything else which sir wishes to ask?]
"No thank you Minerva," I replied, grabbing a few strands of my hair as I processed this. Okay, Hazel Laventi - that matched up with the novel's principal.
Thank whatever deity handled pattern recognition in brains. But I had no clue if this was the same year our protagonist extraordinaire would make his grand entrance or maybe he had already gone to the academy. Though if the latter was the case, there'd probably be news headlines about the "prestigious academy's weekly alien attack" or whatever.
Even if I dodged the protagonist before he came to said academy, I'd still have to spend five years on that death trap of a planet. Five years of "surprise" invasions and "unexpected" catastrophes that would somehow make Mr. Bonner level up and 'grow' as a character.
I was seriously reconsidering this whole academy thing. Who knew if my mere existence had already butterfly-effected the plot into something completely different? For all I knew, instead of the usual disasters, we'd get something way worse. Best to throw what little I remembered from the novel into the mental recycling bin since everything was subject to change anyway.
So I had two options, risk it and go to the academy, maybe end up as collateral damage in someone else's power fantasy, or bail and find another school. Now you might be thinking, "Hey Lloyd, what are the chances you'd even be in the same year as him?"
But why risk it? For the prestige of attending the best human academy in the galaxy? Hell no. I liked living, thank you very much.
Decision made, I headed back downstairs. Dad was lounging on the couch, sipping coffee and watching something on the TV that probably involved either medical procedures or explosions - his two great loves after me and science.
"Dad?"
"Yes Lloyd."
"I'm not going to Alexandria Academy."
"Pfft."
Coffee went everywhere. A helper bot zoomed in cleaning up the spray in milliseconds. Another bot swooped in to rescue Dad's mug before he could create more work for its buddy.
"Why?" He looked like I'd just told him I had killed someone. "Do you know how many people would want to enter into that academy? You're one of the few billions who actually get to go."
"Yeah dad, but I just feel that without having gained access to the system it's a bad idea."
He studied me for a few long seconds. I had no idea what was going through his head, but finally he let out this deep, tired sigh.
"Look Lloyd, I know you don't like school, but I promise that Alexandria won't discriminate on you for being mixed."
I was about to protest that it wasn't about that at all, when a lightbulb went off in my head. Wait a minute - this was perfect. I could use this angle. Sorry, social justice warriors of the future, but I was about to weaponize racism for my own survival.
Maybe being genre-savvy would keep me alive long enough to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do in this universe. Step one, avoid the protagonist and his plot armor at all costs. If that meant playing the discrimination card, well... desperate times call for desperate measures.
I brought forward my most tear-eyed expression and started. "Dad, I know that you want me to but."
Sniffle
"I don't want to be bullied, I don't want to be yelled at, I don't want to go to the Academy."
A single tear fell down my cheek, staining it. Oh yeah, Lloyd Armstrong you're an actor extraordinaire.
Dad soon came forward, hugging me. I hugged him back. Yet as I stood there, wrapped in a parent's love, the truth really sank in - more than any wormhole, futuristic city or hoverboard, this moment truly drove it home. I was never going back. But maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.
I would make the most of this life. The more I thought about it, the clearer it became - Lloyd hadn't died when I took over. I was just continuing his story. Hell, even the fact that my name in my previous life was Lloyd seemed like the universe's way of saying "hey buddy, this isn't a mistake."
Lloyd Armstrong hadn't died, and I hadn't taken over. We were one person now, two sets of memories melded into something new, something more. And we would live our life as best as we could - hopefully far away from any protagonists and their world-ending adventures.