Where am I?
Hmm…
This place... it's huge, and packed with people. It's a huge building. How do they even clean it? But clean, they sure as hell do. No dirt, no stains in any corner, any space—at least that's visible to me. The height of the roof is around 30 meters from the ground. Waste of material, I say. Now, about the length... I would say 200 meters, with a width of 150 meters. But I must say, this place is more beautiful than huge. A stage in front, a little elevated from the ground, with stairs and a slope both available to use.
And so many people. More like students, as they have the same clothes. It would be better if I said their uniform. Though the clothes—or rather, uniforms—are stylish, good quality, and somehow unnaturally pleasing. Not like the ones I wore during school days: rough on skin, unpleasant to the eyes, and with a lifespan shorter than the maturing period of a mosquito. Though I forgot the maturing period of mosquitoes, I have bigger issues.
But what am I doing here? I am wearing same uniform.Standing like a tree in a forest but not knowing what's happening. Totally ignorant about the situation, state, or any other word that physically describes my circumstances. But still—standing among the students. I stood at the back. Only a few behind me. And many, many in front. Middle from left and right, in whatever point of view you prefer.
I remember I was at home, in front of the fridge, thinking about what to eat. There weren't a lot of options to begin with, but indecisiveness is my defining quality. But then... a little blur, a little shake—not enough to call it dizziness—and I stand here. No earth slipping, no heaven falling, or some other otherworldly sensation to explain this. But this situation is otherworldly, that's for sure, so it's difficult to ignore.
Now about my physical state. My heart is beating like I just conquered Mt. Everest. So I am at least alive. But what's this feeling? Is it fear? Or some other emotion I can't tell. It's not happiness, excitement, sadness, love, or despair. Nothing I've felt before. But still, my body condition says it shouldn't be normal. Not an everyday occurrence.
Alright, let's observe first.
A pool of students, stationary, not too much noise. How can students be in such numbers and not make noise? Skip this question for now. And then, on stage, someone saying something—which I don't plan on understanding when there is already too much to comprehend. A few moments ago, it was someone else. Maybe teachers or someone important. And people are changing; everyone wants to be part of this situation, whatever it is. I am not in the right state to judge what they are saying, as I said already, but where should I start to make sense of this?
Suddenly, my head buzzed. Not the ears, but the brain. No pain, just some foreign sensation. It wasn't good or bad, just a feeling I can't ignore even if I want to. Then came memories—as if I were living them. But they weren't mine. They weren't organized, with some blurs here and there, some blanks—and so this moment stretched long, yet short. I think, in real time, only a second passed. Can't say for sure, and no one I needed to report to, so I don't care.
Finally, the memories settled a little. They weren't complete—still a little blur here and there—but nothing a little time can't solve. My emotions fluctuated more, but the current situation made a little more sense. Now, at least, I know I wasn't kidnapped by some alien and placed in a virtual reality to be experimented on.
Alright, let's pay attention to the current situation and think about the overall picture later. According to my memory—or rather, memory infusion—the current person on stage is the principal of the academy. Looks like his speech is ending. Let's act totally normal. Finally, it ended. Now, with the flow like I belong here, trying not to grab any attention.
CLAP
CLAP
CLAP
After three claps, I stopped because my claps alone echoed in this huge space like a lone warrior ready to fight against thousands. No one clapped. Is respecting illegal here? Clap a little?
Now let me tell you my current situation. Have you seen a movie where the hero holds someone's head and then snaps it to kill? Well, if you haven't, just look at me right now. All the students' heads snapped toward me. Teachers, the principal—everyone looked.
Students close to me started backing away.
Before, we stood in neat lines—uniform shapes, looking like squares or rectangles depending on your view—but around me, distortion began. They would risk looking out of place just to create distance. Any association with me was a death sentence. At least, that's what it looked like.
Now that you understand the situation, I feel like I also need to explain my mental state. But for that, you need to know my outlook on life.
I've never spoken in public scenarios, because I don't like attention. And I never had many friends, so even birthday attention was minimal.
So now, with everyone looking at me, I feel embarrassed and a little overwhelmed.
So what do I feel now?
WHY AM I ALIVE?
Let's see what their reactions are… as soon as I get a grip on myself, that is.
Breathe in, breathe out… not working.
Alright, forget it. Now that I look, I notice everyone has a different reaction. Some were confused, some afraid, some angry, some sad, and some at a loss.
On stage, the Principal was looking at me with no reaction—completely neutral. Maybe he's thinking something, or maybe not. I can't tell with that unreadable expression.
Then came the teachers. Some had their brows raised, some were trying to identify me—maybe matching me with their memory database.
Now, after the initial shock, the students have started murmuring among themselves. What they're saying is a mystery to me. The teachers are talking too.