ALL NOVEL Chapter 11: Some alterable history.
I was stunned as I looked at the letters scribbled on the calendar in my desk planner. This had to be a joke or a typo. But as I returned my gaze to the calendar, the ink seemed to mock me with its certainty. With trembling hands, I quickly placed the assignment calendar on my desk and rummaged through my backpack, this time pulling out all the books rather than just looking at the top of them.
I ignored Peyton and Kevin's perplexed looks and concentrated on my goal. I picked up the first book with trembling hands, terrified of what I might discover if I looked at the cover.
Waiting wouldn't help, so I gathered my courage and took a quick glance at the cover. As I read the title of the book, I couldn't help but sigh in relief because there was a drawing of some ancient ruins and some women with weapons in black and white painting. "History."
Okay, okay, easy. I opened the book to a random page, ready to read a bit and enjoy a good dose of alterable and boring history... that plan was quickly discarded when I started reading the first few lines of the book.
“Over three thousand years ago, a war known as the War of Division took place, which led to the domination of much of the population of Eurasia by the Ameriland and Euronia coalition. The cause of this altercation was the growing tensions between these continents. However, the confrontation was quickly brought to an end when the vampire queen surrendered. As punishment, she was hanged on the gallows, sacrificing her life for the sake of her people and seeking forgiveness for her offenses. This event marked a significant turning point in the history of Eurasia, leading to a period of stability and cooperation between the previously warring factions.”
I resisted the urge to burst out laughing in disbelief. When I said alterable history I was not saying it literally! Well yes, but not in this way.
This was getting ridiculous; after all, with a simple introductory paragraph, it was basically refuting my history knowledge and rendering it obsolete. Sure, if I had time to study, it wouldn't be so bad, but I needed good grades to get a good job or even get into college. I wanted to be better in this life, but it seemed like destiny was mocking me.
I turned to another page, having a wish that what I was reading was nothing more than an illusion or a joke. "In the aftermath of the Great War, it is certain that the human population suffered significant losses. However, it was not until the Second Great War that the semi-humans of Ameriland extended their protection to the remaining human population due to the increasing exploitation towards their race. This marked a significant turning point in the relationship between humans and semi-humans, leading to the eventual formation of United Humans, a country founded by those who had lost much of their population during the wars. The following will explore the lives of the founders of this nation and their impact on the history of the world."
As I read the last line, I noticed a bead of sweat fall from my brow onto the page, staining it and making it a little more difficult to read where it fell. Around me, my time seemed to slow down. The words seemed to blur in front of my eyes, but I couldn't take my gaze away.
United Humans. That... Was it the United States? Did the name of the country change? No, more than that, from what I read all the names changed, was it just the names or the geography as well?
All this shit is putting me in a bad mood
This was fucked up. But I was already in this mess, so I decided to look for the geography book, at the risk of fainting due to information overload.
However, before I could carry out my plan, I was jolted in my seat by a light tap on the side. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I turned to see Peyton's worried expression. "Yes?" I inquired.
"Hey Alex, you look really pale. Is everything okay? Do you need some water or something?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." I said dryly, wiping the sweat from my brow with the back of my hand.
I was curious about the other books, so when Peyton asked again, I quickly dismissed his concerns. However, before I could satisfy my curiosity, the classroom door creaked open.
The rhythmic tapping of shoes caused me to pause and sigh. I looked around.
A gray-haired woman entered through the doorway, but not because of her age; rather, she appeared to be naturally so. Her face was attractive, and her purple eyes scanned the room, instantly quieting it down. I felt a shiver run down my spine as her penetrating gaze seemed to take in every detail of my appearance when she looked in my direction. Her lab coat billowed slightly behind her as she moved, revealing the unmistakable curves of her body.
I didn't recognize her, so I assumed it was just another change in this reality or my poor memory of school matters. Either one.
She approached the podium, turned her body, and took control of the projector, finally turning it on. The pale blue light reflected a little on the wall until the woman lowered the projection screen and began to write in the air near the board with her hand, as if she were wielding some kind of invisible pen. This time, I didn't even blink as the letters began to appear magically; I simply classified it as another technology that was ahead of its time due to the changes and filed it away in my brain.
"My name is Edith Smith for anyone who doesn't know me." She introduced herself, leaving a silence for people to see her name written on the screen.
A hand rose from behind the class "And Mrs. Parker?" a male voice sounded from the back.
"Mrs. Parker was invited to the university of Polarica. So unfortunately for both of us I will be teaching today's class." She replied monotonously.
"I don't think I'll be able to concentrate with someone so ugly as a teacher" Sounded the male voice again, this time in a mocking tone.
A chorus of muffled laughter echoed throughout the room, confirming my theory that the actuality in this reality was not so ugly, if someone as beautiful as she was considered ugly. At the same time, I sympathized with and understood teacher Smith. After all, such teasing was usually directed at me in class, but this time it was directed at a teacher
Looking over my shoulder at the boy who was covering his mouth and laughing, he looked vaguely familiar. I knew these were my classmates, but some of them were so dissimilar that I couldn't tell them apart, and to be fair, their faces had been relegated to the dustbin of my memory a long time ago.
Although I didn't recognize him, it was clear that he was new to this sort of thing. Because it is best to inform the person in this type of situation discreetly. He could have insulted her with a ball of paper or taken a picture of her and posted it on the school forum with a witty phrase. Instead, he chose this stupidly direct approach.
Knowing that, I waited with morbid curiosity to see what the punishment would be for this guy, because a part of my brain wanted to see him suffer for some reason.
Mrs. Smith, to my disappointment, simply stared at the boy, waiting for the laughter to die down and an awkward silence to break before speaking. "Can someone tell me what was the last topic you discussed?" She asked after a while, ignoring the boy completely.
But when no one responded, she sighed and then looked around the room.
Our eyes met.
Shit.
This could not be true, my body froze. I begged with my eyes to ask someone else, but she only gave me a sadistic smile. "Alex Quill." She called out to me. "Can you please enlighten us by letting us know the last topic seen in class?".
Double shit.