My second chance in a strange reverse world!

I smiled as I walked out of the computer club. Surprisingly, the day was improving. I'd never actually had days that improved. They usually only got worse and worse.

To say the least, that was a pleasant surprise. It was this kind of surprise that I wish I had had before, in the days when the best thing that ever happened to me was falling asleep. Because nothing happened while I was sleeping, I thought nothing, and I had no regrets.

It's pretty lame, but it was a trick that worked. I once read it on a forum. It was stated that stray dogs sleep so they don't feel hungry, and I had just been smacked in the face rather severely by “accident” while we were playing dodgeball, plus they had taken some pictures of myself in the locker room, which were then anonymously placed on the school forum. To say the least, I was humiliated, so I figured why not?, and it's since become a method that helps me forget the particularly horrible days.

That reminded me... I was sure the boy who bullied me was in that class. I recalled him. I was certain. But I couldn't place him. They were all present, without a doubt, but my brain couldn't recognize them. In this reality, though, exacting revenge would be simple. I could simply play with the girls, make them think I liked them, and shatter their hearts, like they had done to me numerous times. I could snap pictures of the guys and post them on the boards, just as they did to me so many times.

It was plausible, and I was mean and spiteful enough to do it, or at least I thought I was, but now thinking about things in my past, it all played out like a movie, and didn't provoke the kind of feelings I thought it would. Before coming here, I hadn't thought about school in a long time, maybe I was more mature than I imagined. Or maybe I was just desensitized, but it seemed plain to me that merely becoming one of them in this reality was foolish.

I was going to be better damn it! I'll enjoy watching them from above, instead of just slumming it at their level.

After losing in my thoughts about how my future in this reality was going to be bright. I examined my phone in my hand. I didn't mind that the screen was off because I now had a new password. However, something Ada said piqued my interest. This model is unlocked with essence.

So taking a deep breath and concentrating. —but still aware enough of my surroundings not to crash on my way to the classroom— I proceeded to try to unlock the cell phone.

My brow furrowed as I struggled to figure out what I needed to do. I tried forcing it first, but nothing happened, therefore I attempted feeling something inside myself, but nothing happened either. After a lengthy period of trying, something came to me. I just wanted it. Like when I tried to use force to move an object to see if I had powers.

To my surprise, after a few seconds, the screen lit up. I expectantly brought the cell phone to my face and looked at the screen.

"No essence signature recognized?"

That message made me squint. How could it not recognize me? It was me, or rather, I was in the body of the me who possessed the cell phone. So why? I tried again, but received the same response. I tried numerous times more, and after a while, the message added a warning that if I attempted again, the phone would lock for 15 minutes.

I pondered a possible explanation for this for a while, but nothing came to mind. As a result, I shook my head. I needed to do more research on this thing called essence if I was going to be able to construct a theory. Or I could also ask Ada on Monday, maybe it was a simple defect of the cell phone.

I saved what I had uncovered in a secure place within my head and scribbled down the new password I had substituted for the old one, and the cell phone unlocked this time. So I set out to continue checking messages to find out more about the personality of the old me.

This time, instead of going into Slowgram, I went into WhyApp, which was another familiar chat app, and sighed again at the number of group messages I had. I didn't want to start with those, so I scrolled down the message feed until I reached the ones with fewer than four digits of unread messages. It was the family chat, so I went in and checked with curiosity.

There wasn't much to research, in contrast to my chatty sisters and mom, my me of this reality had been limited to being observant most of the time or simply answering "Ok" when necessary, even when they tried to engage in casual conversation, I didn't seem to participate much.

I considered sending a message, but I didn't want to appear reckless by texting while at school, so I determined that if they wrote again, I would respond right this time.

I returned to the message feed and, after some more checking, frowned with irritation at the continuous notifications from one specific group. Just by looking at the name of the group I could feel that my sanity would be severely affected after checking it.

I swallowed hard and tapped… The Cupcake Cuties group to see what they were talking about.

[Thomas: OMG!!! I’m shook! Sophia just confessed she has a crush on me!!! What should I do next?? ]

[Frederick: Be careful, boy. She has some shady rumors about her]

[Thomas: That she’s a Manizer? Nuh-uh! She promised me I’m the only one!]

What type of conversation was that? They changed the subject every three sentences, but what attracted my attention was that as the talk progressed, they began to include me in whatever they were planned to do.

[Jake: Sophia is a 6/10 you’re an 8/10, u deserve better, right @Alex?]

[Jake: Btw, we still on for the sleepover??]

[Jake: Get some stuff to have fun!]

A sleepover... How are sleepovers? Now I was intrigued. But, in any case, I wasn't planning on going out this week because doing so would be counterproductive. So I didn't respond to my mention, and left it on hold, hoping they would take the hint.

And when I looked up from my phone, I realized that I had already arrived at my class again. Well, it was time to learn about everything, again.