Chapter 4 - -CHAPTER 3: RECESS-

I grabbed another piece of paper and then continued drawing. This place feels real, but the things I touch don't feel real. I must admit, here everyone looks… Off. But it doesn't matter. Right now, I wonder, "How are my parents doing? Did they notice that I was gone?" Well, I hope they didn't. It hurts to see my parents grieving and becoming inconsolable, as if it were their fault. Sometimes, you have to let things go even when it hurts. Do I really want to leave…? No, I don't want to leave. I'm already happy, why should I? But do I still care for my parents? Yes… I surely do, but am I going to become a burning memory to them? I don't know, but I'm their only kid. How can they forget about me? Ms. C's classroom was full of joy and laughter, which I haven't seen in a classroom for a long time. The silhouette students were happy while they drew and talked to each other. Ms. C was interacting with all of her students. I was still drawing, lost in my little paper world again. Until later, Ms. C clapped her hands, which got my attention. "Alright, Class," Ms. C announced, "It's that time of day again. Recess time!" The class erupted in excitement. They gathered their things and left the classroom. Ms. C's eye glimmers as the kids leave the classroom. Then Ms. C turns to me and says with a soft voice, "Go with them, Tim. Have fun during recess." I stood up from my chair and was about to leave the classroom, "Okay, Ms. C, you're the best!" I left the classroom and went outside. Outside was beautiful, the trees and grass had a light green to their leaves. The sky was blue, and the puffy clouds moved slightly. The sun, though, was very weird for some reason. The sun was yellow, which was normal, but it had an eyeball in the center. It creeped me out a bit. "Hmm… Spooky," I said to myself. The kids were playing outside, either on the jungle playground, swings, or the slides. As I was staring into the sky, something tugged at my sleeve, which made me jump. It was one of the silhouette kids. "Hey, you're the new kid, right?" the boy silhouette asked. "Oh… yeah, I'm new here," I replied, "My name is Tim." "Tim, hm? Nice to meet you, Tim. I'm Max." He introduced himself as he held out his thumb, pointing at himself, "So, ya like it here so far?" Max asked. I nodded and answered, "I sure do love it here, except that eye staring at us." I pointed at the sun, which still stared down at me. "Oh! That's normal here," Max replied, "This happens during spring." Spring? Did I just miss the entire school year? Oh, wait, dreams don't follow the rules of reality. "So, like once a year?" I asked. "Mhm," Max affirmed with a nod, and then he gestured for me to walk with him. "Come on, let's talk for a bit," Max called out to me. So, I followed Max, and we started to talk. We talked about our hobbies, our favorite things, and such. "My favorite game? Like running around, or you mean video games?" I asked Max. "Running around, of course!" Max answered, "Tag, Hide and Seek, soccer, and a ton more! What about you?" "Oh, I don't run around often, but I could pick tag if it was up to me," I replied. "Obviously," Max told me with a playful, "Everyone here loves tag." It seems that the game of tag is popular here. Seeing the children play around in the park just gave me a pang of melancholy. "Is tag all you guys play?" I asked. "No," Max answered, "If we play only one game, then it would be too boring, wouldn't it?" I simply nodded back and responded, "Yeah, I'd get tired of tag too." Max smiled. I think… I couldn't tell. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I could feel that warm smile even if it's behind a shadow. "If you're bored, we can play tag. I got some friends who would want to play tag too!" Max suggested. "Yeah…" I replied, "Maybe a game of tag." "Alright! Follow me, I know some friends who could play with us," Max told me. Max led me to a group of kids who were also silhouettes like him. But I realized something. Among all these kids and people that were silhouettes, I was the only one with human skin and flesh. They didn't mind it, though, and neither did I. "Hey, guys!" Max called out. The silhouettes turned around and saw Max and me. They seemed interested and a bit curious. "Meet the new kid! His name is Tim," Max introduced. "Um.. Hello," I greeted them with a wave of my hand. The kids waved back at me. "Hello, Tim!" One of the kids called out and waved. "Is he going to play tag with us?" Another kid asked again, and Max replied, "Yeah, he is. So, you want to be the first to be IT, Tim?" I nodded and replied, "I don't know. Can we do whoever is last gets to be IT?" Max and the kids nodded in agreement. "Alright. One, Two, Three… NOT IT!" Max called out. Max and the kids all touched where their noses are supposed to be, but I was last to touch my nose. So, it meant that I had to be IT. "Welp.. you have to be IT," Max giggled. "No, really..?" I said jokingly, "Alright, Alright.. I'll give you a head start!" Max and the kids ran while I counted down from 5. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1! And off I ran. I tagged a few of the kids, but some of them were oddly too fast. They got better speed than me, I guess. Eventually, I had gotten tired of chasing, so I walked slowly and sat under a light green tree. Max, however, still had enough energy to run and tag some more. Max ran to me and circled. "Come on, you're tired already?" Max taunted jokingly. I took deep breaths and sighed, "Yeah… You guys are fast." I rubbed the sweat off my forehead. "I could really go for some water," I chuckled. "Me too," Max replied. "I'll sit here for a bit, and then I'll go back to play," I told Max in a mumble, but it was good enough to understand. "You sure?" Max asked. "Yeah, I'm sure," I confirmed with a small smile. Max shrugged, "Alright.. If you say so." Max ran off to his friends to play some more. I sat under the tree for a few minutes and looked at the sky. "Life…" I mumbled. Not the horrendous reality, but something beautiful. I never see the day when I can finally relax under a tree, under the blue sky with puffy clouds, even if the sun is shining. But then, I felt something… a presence. I looked around, and I saw a forest nearby. There stood a figure. Its limbs and body were dark stone grey. It doesn't have a face. Its face was covered by a 2D white static-shaped circle with a red question mark on it. It stared down into my soul, which didn't let me think or move. Then, it vanished. That felt off and a shake to my core… It was creepy. It felt like I was actually staring into myself. What if that was me? No, don't think of that. That can't be me. If that's me, then… Why is it here even though I'm right here?  I walked to the playground, sitting on the staircase of a slide, away from that tree. It was almost time for the end of recess, but I was still creeped out by that encounter. Some of the silhouette kids noticed me just sitting there, but didn't bother to ask me anything. I was still wondering who that was. Could it be me? Or someone else entirely? I could not tell. I kept looking up at the sky, then at the forest, over and over again, until it was time to head inside. But I hope that figure won't bother me. Will it, though?