Standing in front of the mirror, a boy was slightly combing his hair. He was wearing a white shirt over a blue-black T-shirt, which matched his trousers and shoes. His shoes were plain, just ordinary ones. He then began wrapping a bandage around his head and looked at his reflection for a moment, saying to himself, "Wow, I look beautiful! How come I never realized this?"
He thought about how he loved his appearance and then started walking downstairs. He glanced into the open kitchen to see his aunt cooking. She smiled lightly at him, handing him his lunchbox. "Don't be late," she said. He smiled back, waved goodbye, and opened the door, letting out a sigh. "I really don't want to go to school," he muttered as he walked down the street.
He began seeing students coming from different directions, all wearing the same uniform and sporting the TZO tag. He looked at his own clothes and sighed. At least they were better than his last ones, which were tattered and ill-fitting, and that weird, bright yellow shirt that made him look like he had escaped from an asylum.
When he reached school, he saw groups of people playing, and club members trying to recruit others for the news team by the main entrance. They were distributing flyers about all the latest happenings at the school. He thought to himself, "Nothing new can happen here; it's the same old scene." As he looked around, he noticed people staring at him, particularly girls. The moment he caught their gaze, they started chatting, then looked away, leaving him confused about what that meant.
He continued to class and sat down in a spot most people avoided because it was close to the teacher. He began thinking about what to do after school, planning to ask a certain guy for more information. His mind was still preoccupied with the fact that he had been caught as a "Rifter."
When the teacher entered, he informed the class that after two months, they would start preparing for the festival. "Oh yes, the festival!" Ray thought to himself—it was the only time he could just sit in class and sleep since no one seemed to care. Students started raising their hands, brainstorming ideas for the festival, while he simply nodded or shook his head at their comments, unsure about what they were discussing.
Then the teacher looked at him and said, "Hey, Ray, why don't you be the one to monitor this festival?" Ray's face twitched as he looked around and saw everyone nodding. He hadn't expected to be chosen as a leader, especially since he had never been good at communication. He asked his teacher, "Shouldn't you choose someone who's not a loner and actually has better social skills than me?"
The teacher coughed lightly, responding, "Oh, come on! You're smart, you get good grades, and most importantly, you're the most reliable person. So, don't worry about it." Most of the girls nodded in agreement, ready to support him. Unable to escape the situation, he reluctantly accepted the responsibility of helping with the preparations.
After class, the teacher began taking attendance, and surprisingly, no one was absent that day. Ray found this unusual since he had never seen his entire class show up at once. Shortly after, their PE teacher entered to announce, "Today we're taking a test, kids." Some boys were excited, while most girls chatted, saying, "This is going to be worrying; we know who the better athletes are in our class."
The boys pumped each other up, competing and calling each other out, while Ray quietly changed clothes without paying attention to their conversations. All the boys stood outside, waiting for the girls to finish changing. The girls, however, went to the restroom to change. Once they emerged, the girls were shocked and screaming, while the boys were filled with anger and jealousy.
As they were about to share PE class with their rival class, they were greeted by the most handsome boy they had ever seen. He had golden hair, brown eyes, and a striking face. His height was slightly above average, and his voice was elegant and deep. Known as the "king of the academy," he had an incredible reputation in both academics and athletics. Even Ray, who usually didn't care about others, knew of him because everyone talked about him, and he was a nag. This boy was named Ivory.
Ray's class looked at each other and said, "Alright, guys, we're going to score the highest in every class!" All of them shouted in agreement because they were fired up. Ray, however, wasn't as happy as the others.
The teacher called each student by name and arranged them in a straight line. He announced, "Since both classes have PE today, we're going to make it a competition between the two classes." The students in Ivory's class looked at Ray's class and taunted them, saying, "Look at them, they think they can beat us. Don't they know we have the king with us? We never lose!" Ray's class responded with insults, shouting things like, "You wish! You boomers never get a girl, just chree ilke the girls do."
A fight was about to break out when the teacher clapped his hands and said in a stern tone, "If you two classes continue this way, I'll have no choice but to give all of you a zero." Hearing his warning, everyone fell silent. Ray saw this as a chance to prove how much he had grown. He wasn't ready to show all his capabilities, but he pushed himself just enough to improve some of his marks.
The teacher began calling students from both classes to compete against each other. The girls were also busy training for their own competitions. When the teacher called out with a loud voice, "Ray and Rosen, you two will compete in the 100-meter dash," both stood in parallel. Rosen smirked and said, "Well, Mr. Handsome, do you think you can do anything good for your class?" Ray ignored the remark and focused on the track.
When the teacher signaled the start, both boys ran as fast as they could. Rosen took the lead for a moment, but then Ray started gaining on him. Before long, Ray crossed the finish line first. The PE teacher smiled at Ray and said, "Wow, you really improved compared to your last record." Ray caught his breath, not because he needed to, but to avoid suspicion; running 100 meters is tough, but he made it look easy. He pretended to be out of breath, especially since it was a hot day.
Despite the intensity, both classes maintained equal scores and had to compete in other events. The teacher, thrilled with the enthusiasm, decided to up the ante: instead of a 100-meter dash, they would now have a 300-meter dash. The students groaned, exhausted and unable to move. Some even questioned whether the teacher cared about their well-being.
The teacher called out the first name: "Ivory." Ray's class shouted, "Me! Me! Me!" The teacher then called Ray's name. Everyone turned to look at him as he stood behind the others, shocked that he would be chosen. Both boys lined up at the starting track; the other boys remarked, "Looks like the handsome ones are racing each other. Who do you think is more handsome, Ray or Ivory?"
Some said Ray was more handsome, but he had a cold personality, so no one really approached him. The boys were curious how the girls would react, and when they saw them, the girls were screaming in excitement for the race. Ray had never expected to gain popularity, especially with the girls.
As the race began, Ray thought, "This won't be hard, considering I run three miles every day to warm up. If I show all my skills today, it might raise suspicion, so I'll lose on purpose." The boys were ready, and at the teacher's command, they took off. They both sprinted and reached the 100-meter mark almost simultaneously. With only 150 meters left, they were moving incredibly fast, prompting cheers from students in both classes.
Then, unexpectedly, Ivory tripped, and they collided. Both boys fell to the ground. After the crash, Ivory quickly stood up, shocked, despite his injuries, and continued. But when he looked around, he saw Ray lying on the ground with his eyes closed, having lost consciousness. Ivory thought to himself, "I can't believe this!" as other students rushed over to help.
The teacher swiftly intervened and, with the help of some students, took Ray to the nurse's office.
Some of the people were worried; others even said they felt dispersed as they left. The nurse examined him and saw the bandage on his head. She did not remove it, but instead left the room. Once she left for a walk, he reopened his eyes and said to himself, "Well, everyone's gone. That turned out to be a good thing because I faked my unconsciousness. Now I can skip class and feel normal again."
After returning from the time void, a lot of things had changed. I found it easier to show emotion, but my personality felt different. Perhaps that was why many people were comfortable talking to me casually; they sensed a distance from me. I didn't want to engage in conversations or feel the pressure of expectations from others, which often made me feel embarrassed or even scared. Having a social life, I realized, could be quite challenging.
And then there was Ivory, who was odd. There was no way a human could keep up with me, especially in my current state. It was strange; they weren't even sweating after waiting that long to save. The way he moved wasn't normal either. Reflecting on everything that happened today, especially during the race, I thought to myself, "Wait a minute. Throughout the competition, he had completed almost half of the events without showing any signs of fatigue. He didn't even break a sweat."
This realization felt almost surreal, as if he was operating on a whole other level. I touched my fingers to my cheeks and pondered, "This might be a strange guess, or even a big one. We could be wrong, or maybe he's just trained to the point of perfection. Could it be that he is a Rifter?" My mind raced with questions, especially now that I was back in the world where everything felt off.
I changed into my black T-shirt that the nurse had left for me and then walked back to class. Some people greeted me, while others asked about my health. I assured them that I was fine and continued with my learning, finishing the day at school.
After school, I started heading to the district. I approached a bar and knocked on the door. When it opened, I saw a small group of people inside—some were drinking, while others were asleep. I walked to the front of the bar and sat down in front of the bartender. "I would like to ask you some questions," I said. The bartender smiled and replied, "Okay, what do you want?"