Angelo sat on the couch, eyes locked on the blank TV screen, his mind replaying that strange moment from the night before. He had seen someone—he was sure of it. Yet, as soon as he turned back, they had disappeared like they were never there.
"Earth to Angelo," Annabel said, waving a hand in front of his face.
He blinked. "Huh?"
She sighed dramatically. "I said, stop spacing out. You're creeping me out."
"Not my fault I have a lot on my mind."
"Yeah? Like what?"
He hesitated. He couldn't exactly tell her, Hey, I think I saw a ghost or something last night, and also, I feel like there's a missing piece in my life that I can't explain.
"Just… school stuff," he lied.
Annabel smirked. "Wow. Angelo Zayne, actually worried about school? What a historic moment!"
"Shut up," he grumbled, grabbing the TV remote and turning it on.
She plopped onto the couch beside him. "Seriously, what's up? You're acting weirder than usual."
"Nothing," he said quickly. "And I'm always weird, so what's new?"
Annabel squinted at him but didn't push further. Instead, she grabbed a bag of chips and started munching.
Emmanuel walked in, took one look at them, and asked, "Who died?"
Angelo and Annabel both threw pillows at him.
---
At the tutorial center, Angelo found himself zoning out again.
Jade, who had been explaining something about fabric patterns, sighed and poked his forehead. "Are you even listening?"
"Huh? Yeah. You were talking about… uh…" He blanked.
"Wow," Jade said flatly. "Unbelievable."
"Hey, I have a lot on my mind, okay?"
JJ leaned back in his chair. "Angelo? Thinking? That's new."
Eli chuckled. "The world must be ending."
Angelo groaned. "You guys suck."
"But seriously," Jade said, her teasing tone shifting to concern. "What's up with you? You've been acting weird all day."
He hesitated again. What was he supposed to say?
"Hey, guys, do you ever feel like you've forgotten something important, but you don't even know what you forgot?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. Just tired, I guess."
Jade narrowed her eyes. "If you keep being this vague, I will make you my practice dummy for sewing."
Angelo raised his hands. "Alright, alright, I'll be honest. I just…" He trailed off, struggling to find the right words. "You ever feel like… you forgot something important? Like, something big, but you don't know what it is?"
Jade frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "It's just… I feel like there's this gap in my head, like there should be memories there, but they're just… gone."
JJ and Eli exchanged glances.
"That's kinda creepy," JJ muttered.
Eli nodded. "You sure you're not just overthinking?"
Angelo sighed. "Maybe."
Jade patted his shoulder. "Maybe you just need sleep."
"That's what everyone keeps saying," he muttered.
"Because it's true," JJ said.
"Look, if you keep ignoring your health, you'll collapse, and then I'll have to be the responsible one," Jade added. "And I really don't want that job."
Angelo smirked slightly. "Wow. Such a caring friend."
"You know it."
---
That night, Angelo couldn't sleep.
No matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept looping back to that strange moment. The blurry figure. The missing pieces in his memories.
He turned over in bed, sighing.
"Why can't I remember? What did I forget?"
A cold breeze drifted through the room.
Wait.
His window was closed.
Angelo sat up immediately.
There, standing at the foot of his bed, was someone.
A person, their features blurred, shifting like mist.
His body froze.
His mind screamed at him to move, to say something, to do something—
But the figure simply tilted their head, as if studying him.
Then, in a voice that was barely a whisper, they said, "You're not supposed to remember."
And just like that, they were gone.
Vanished.
Like they were never there.
Angelo sat there in the dark, his heart pounding.
What the hell was happening to him?