Part 2
“Oii, wake up! It’s already 7:30! Don’t you wanna go to school!?”
I heard a childish voice yell at me. In response, I just groaned.
“Dad! She’s not waking up!”
I opened my eyes slightly and saw my brother walking out of my room.
Eh… Zane came? Wasn’t he in Crestwick…? He arrived so soon? Without any phone call?
Wait—Dad’s here too? Didn’t he say he wasn’t interested in meeting Mom…?
I sat up on the bed and rubbed my eyes. Just then, my dad walked in.
“Zoey, are you sick?” he asked while checking my forehead.
“Your temperature is normal. Is this another one of your tactics to miss school?”
I stared at my dad in awe.
“Woah—Dad! You dyed your hair! Finally! Oh wait—didn’t you say you weren’t interested in meeting Mom?”
“What are you babbling about? It’s nearly 8! Don’t you wanna go to school?”
“I’m on my vacation, Dad! You’re so forgetful these days, you should get it checked.”
He raised an eyebrow at me as if to say ‘Are you serious right now?’
But of course, I never take the hint.
“Oh, and you know Kai! You know what happened to him—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Zane walked in and my jaw dropped.
“YOU’VE SHRUNK!”
“Huh?” He looked at me like I was a patient from an asylum.
“Dad! Do you see?? He looks like he’s 12!”
“Because I am 12!”
“EHH!? YOUR VOICE! It sounds childish!”
“Because I am a child!”
“Zoey, what kind of act are you putting up to skip classes?” my dad asked sternly.
“She’s probably been bitten by a mad dog,” my brother commented.
“It’s supposed to be my vacation…!”
“What kind of school gives a vacation in the middle of the academic year?” Dad asked, giving me a ‘you’re a lost cause’ look.
I sat on the bed, holding my head.
“You’ve probably seen some weird dream. Now get ready. You’re getting late.”
I sighed and asked,
“What’s the date today…?”
“It’s 7th August,” Zane said.
“Year??”
“2017.”
I’ve gone back five years in time…
Is this a dream? Or is this real...? It seems too real to be a dream.
“Zoey, you’re still sitting?? Get ready!”
I got off the bed and finally put in the effort to get ready. I was brushing my hair when I heard him… yelling my name.
“ZOEY!”
Wait—he’s alive! He’s actually alive!
Act normal! Act normal! Act normal!
“Are you deaf?? Reply to him!” my brother yelled, and the hairbrush I was holding slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.
Can’t you stay quiet for a moment!? I’m here trying to process things!
“ZOEY! ARE YOU READY?!”
Kai yelled again. His voice was enough to send chills down my spine.
“Yeah! Coming!”
I immediately walked out with my school bag.
I finally looked at him.
He was looking at me as if I had just escaped from a zoo.
“Um… are you gonna come to school without your shoes and socks?
Oh, and one side of your hair is brushed and the other is… not.”
My face immediately burned with embarrassment.
I didn’t say a word—I just ran back inside.
