[Music Recommendation: "A Sweet Smile" by Yu-Peng Chen (Genshin Impact OST) - available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

Hours passed by with me enjoying the afternoon classes. I was expecting a few bullying here and there today but luckily, I didn't experience any. The textbooks under my desk were all there, neat and tidy. Marie was also there, much earlier than I was. She was probably one of those people who could eat fast.

Then, I went to the comfort room after the second afternoon class and expected to hear some gossip or like those scenes in dramas where someone suddenly splashes water on me or something along those lines, but none of them happened. I was even prepared with spare clothes in my bag. Instead, I saw Marie wiping some spilled water on the bathroom floor with a mop. She probably spilled some when she washed her hands.

And so, the rest of the afternoon passed by peacefully until it was time to go home. We all gathered at the parking lot as usual and Kaiden drove us home. On our way home, I told Hora about Silky.

"Hmmm…" Hora brooded over it after hearing my retelling of what happened earlier. "Knowing Silky's personality, it is not impossible for her to just fly off to another country or do things on a whim. But she'll need money. And besides, transferring school is not that easy. She transferred late, too. And this is the RDIU we're talking about. She needs some parental consent on some of the papers. Maybe Aunt Vora just forgot to tell me? Or she told me but through an email? I never check my email."

Hora held both of her cheeks in horror. She immediately went over her emails on her phone to check if there really was any email from Aunt Vora. After a few minutes of checking, she wiped the sweat on her forehead—that must mean there was no email from her. And that would also mean that either Aunt Vora forgot to tell her, or she didn't know as well. Maybe Silky's father gave the permission instead?

"Why don't we just ask your Aunt Vora? It's useless trying to think it over in my opinion." Crystal suggested.

"But what if Silky really did sneak out? She'll be reprimanded for sure," I answered her. "I, personally, don't want to be the cause of that. I'd rather talk to Silky and convince her to tell her parents instead of me snitching on her."

"Yes. And it's useless to ask Silky. She'll just lie to us if we confront her."

"Hmmm…" and now, the three of us were brooding over the matter.

"I can investigate it if you're okay with that," Kaiden offered.

Hora's eyes lit up and her lips stretched into a big smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. It shouldn't be too hard. We just need to check if she received parental consent during her transfer and check with your aunt's family if they know about it, right?"

"The consent can be forged. Silky's great with that. She even managed to copy my signature before," Hora blinked her eyes as she suddenly remembered that horrible fact, much to her worry. Her voice crackled at the thought of it. "M-Maybe it's best to check with my aunt and uncle."

"Okay. Send me their names and some details later."

"Thank you so much. That's three brownie points for you."

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha!" I laughed hearing Hora giving scores to Kaiden. "You're counting scores of Kaiden now?"

"Ha-ha-ha! Yes. It seems fun," Hora waggled her eyebrows. She's back to her happy self.

"Good job. For once, my stupid brother has some use," Crystal scoffed.

"Why do you keep calling him stupid when he's a genius?" I asked, curious as to why.

"It's an inside joke. He can't be too perfect, you know."

"Pft! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"

A few moments later, we finally arrived home. We all went back to our respective rooms. Once back, I let myself relax on the tub for a few minutes then went to my desk to do my homework and get some writing done. But first, I checked my emails for anything new and to my delight, I did get one important email—from Ms. Qian Yu and Rae! It was the schedule of our next meetings so we could work on that script. I felt so excited reading it and made sure to block my calendar for the time and place.

After that, I proceeded with my homework and once done, I tried to continue my new book. It was weird how I wasn't getting any ideas in my head. Well, actually, no. The idea was there floating in my head but it was more on how I wanted the scene to appear to the reader that was a bit jumbled up. Hmmm…

While I pondered on how to do it, I didn't notice that I dozed off from my seat. Yup. That was one of my weaknesses. Whenever I closed my eyes, sooner or later I would doze off. And it was such a huge disadvantage for me since whenever I write and try to imagine things, I would need to close my eyes! But then when I do, I always end up falling asleep. Ugh. What a tragedy. How I wished I could imagine with my eyes wide open.

[Music Recommendation: "Dreamy Shards" by Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Cross OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~

Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock…

It had been a long time since I went to this place again…

The place where I was surrounded by numerous ticking clocks…

But this time, I wasn't lying down. I was standing up… or was I floating?

I looked down to see nothingness beneath me, and the whole galaxy around me. But I knew I wasn't really outside the galaxy or I would have died since I couldn't possibly breathe there, or even stood there unharmed without any protection on my skin. Of course, this had to be a dream.

Nonetheless, it was a nice dream. I could still remember it vividly in my memories. After all, it was that time that I… went back in time. Back to my high school days, giving me another opportunity to live my life for a second time.

As I stood amazed by the sight around me, I wondered why I was dreaming this specific dream. Then, I realized that earlier that day, I was feeling thankful and grateful to whoever or whatever caused me to come back. Maybe that was why. I wondered too if… I could meet "her" again.

Yes. That kind and loving woman who spoke to me before I time travelled. The one whose warm hands caressed my face gently. I could still clearly remember the words she told me that time.

"You've suffered so much," she said. "This time, please make sure to be happy."

I smiled warmly remembering those words. My heart felt fuzzy and warm and truly, very grateful… from the bottom of my heart. I held my chest in my joy and the warmth I was feeling right at that moment.

Suddenly, my whole surroundings changed.

From the endless clocks that looked like the stars of the universe, the scenery changed into that of a city… and I was floating above it! It was night time and all the buildings stood tall and their beautiful lights illuminated the whole place. What a beautiful sight. I felt like a bird flying high in the sky and was given the wonderful opportunity to see such magnificence.

What I didn't expect was what happened after.

The lights of the city suddenly turned off one after another.

A giant tornado formed from far away, and got bigger as it approached the city.

On the other side, a volcano was suddenly erupting and the course of its magma was also the city!

And if that wasn't enough, the ocean from the southern direction also went wild and a huge tsunami roared fast towards the city…

Watching all of that danger coming fast, with no signs of stopping, my heart sank and my body froze in my position. What in the world was I supposed to do? And why was that suddenly happening?

I tried to tell myself that it was all just a dream… a nightmare of some sort. But then again, they all looked so real. Too real in fact, that I got goosebumps despite being asleep. Or was I really asleep? Did I somehow time travel again? In the future perhaps? Hopefully not! My whole body trembled just by the thought of it. What's more… The city looked exactly like the capital of the Land of the Red Dragon.

"Please… NO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

One second… just one more second and the entire city would have been utterly destroyed. And all I could do was shout and plead. How powerless of me… How useless…

Suddenly, an enormous clock appeared before me, with its hands both pointed at twelve.

Then… a sudden rumbling.

The hands of the giant clock turned backwards.

And the whole surroundings… moved backwards.

My eyes widened in shock.

The next thing I knew, I was gasping for breath, wide awake from my dreams.