Time Looped

“Alex.” Will pulled his friend to the side before the goofball could start talking about muffins again. “What do you know about Helen?”

“Huh?” Alex blinked. Having his routine interrupted was unexpected, putting his mind in a feedback loop. It took several seconds for him to snap out of it. “Helen who?”

“Kracow,” Will whispered.

“Miss Perfect?” Alex sounded impressed. “Bro! Mad rizz! You into her?”

“What can you tell me about her?”

“Err. Well, her family’s rich and Asian…” he paused.

That was only partially true. Having Kracow for a family name had posed some questions on the first day of high school. From what Helen herself had explained at the time, her father had been adopted by a family of Polish immigrants who’d given him the name. It was one of those interesting stories that a person remembered even years later. It was also not what Will was interested in.

“Other than that?” he asked.

“What do you want to know, bro? She’s good in class, got money and three brothers… I heard they beat up the last guy that tried to get close to her.”

That was a rather good question. What exactly did Will want to know? Even with Alex, who was a walking Wikipedia of gossip, some clarifications were necessary. Should he start with her interests? Her family? Her friends?

“Who does she hang out with?”

“Some of the queen bees, some of the other class reps… She’s a regular at the public speaking club. She hasn’t hooked up with anyone.” He gave Will a sly smile. “Oh, she hates geek stuff, so don’t bring up any manga, or games, or—”

“Has she been acting weirdly lately?”

“Miss Perfect? No way, bro,” Alex said confidently. “What you hear?” he added in a whisper.

“I don’t know. It’s just that she always arrives first, and other stuff.”

“Yep. First to go, last to leave."

The conversation quickly devolved into tangentially related trivial gossip. It seemed that Helen was one topic Alex didn’t know much about. If the girl had any secrets, they were well hidden. Interestingly enough, the goofball was more than happy to spill the secrets of half a dozen people who’d tried to date her and had gotten shot down. Helen didn’t seem to be in any relations, or even be remotely interested in anyone. Her grades were exemplary, but she hadn’t discussed any plans for college. As far as anyone could tell, she was just the name on top of the grades leaderboard.

With five minutes left until the end of the loop, Will decided to wait it out. There wasn’t much he could do with the remaining time. Also, he preferred to be with Helen alone when he confronted her. That was one of the good things about loops: he could do anything, no matter how crazy, and there wouldn’t be consequences.

People continued arriving in droves. Younger students got dropped off by parents, even if they preferred to walk the last hundred feet alone to not be the target of ridicule. Will had done the same in his last year of middle school. Of course, he was luckier than most—he had an older brother who had returned from college. Being dropped off by an older, cooler, brother wasn’t a cause of shame, but a source of positive school cred.

“Don’t forget to buy lunch,” a mother shouted, to the horror of her son. The unfortunate boy looked down, as if avoiding eye contact with the world could act as a protective shield.

I feel you, Will thought.

That one yell from the parent had broken two of the coolness rules in one go: be seen being dropped off by a parent, and flaunt your money. All that was missing was for him to go get a “boujie muffin” that Alex was talking about for breakfast.

Restarting eternity.

Will broke out in a sprint.

“What’s the hurry, weirdo?” the pair of girls shouted behind him.

Corridor, mirrors, classroom, the boy said to himself. He was starting to see the difference of speed between his normal state and after finding the rogue. It was far more than double—more like quadruple, at least. And best of all, Will didn’t feel tired from the sprint one bit.

Helen was the only one in the room, just as he knew she would be. This was perfect.

“Hey,” he said, casually making his way to Daniel’s desk.

“Hey,” the girl replied. “Help me open the windows.”

“Sure.” Will tossed his backpack on his new desk. “No idea why they use industrial solvent to clean,” he cracked a joke.

“Someone has to.”

This loop, Helen didn’t seem particularly impressed. In fact, she was outright distant. Will choosing to change desks had clearly affected her in some way.

“What do you think happened to Danny?” Will asked as he opened the window at the back of the room. “Alex heard that he was into some pharma drug test group.”

“Alex doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” The reaction was reserved.

“So, what do you think happened?”

Choosing not to answer, the girl went to the next window and started opening it. Will did the same. They were only a few steps away from one another. In his mind, the boy considered how to continue the conversation. The fact that there was no right or wrong approach only made him more hesitant. Despite all logic, and for no reason, he wanted to nail it on his first go, as if that was going to grant him some sort of life achievement.

“You know,” he began. “I saw you at the nurse’s office. Everything ok?”

“Why should I go there?” She avoided his glance, opening the window, far slower than she was supposed to.

That had to be it—the proof that Will was searching for. Miss Perfect wasn’t the type of person to look away, not for someone like him. She had to know what he was hinting about.

“To look in the mir—”

Without warning, Helen twisted around like a martial artist in a video game. The action was so fast and surprising that anyone would have received a kick in the waist. Thanks to the rogue, Will wasn’t anyone. His body moved on its own, pulling back to avoid the attack.

Helen’s foot past swooshed less than an inch from him, landing on the window frame.

KNIGHT’s BASH

Damage increased by 500%

Frame shattered.

A message appeared in the air.

“Knight?” Will thought. This was the first time Will saw messages triggered by someone other than himself. The good news was that he had been right, and she was another time looped. The bad news—she had started their conversation in a very violent fashion.

Not giving him a moment to catch his breath, the girl grabbed the nearest desk and threw it at him, as if it were a toy.

Holy shit! Will rolled on the ground, avoiding the hit again by inches.

A second desk flew towards the classroom door, blocking any means of escape. It also prevented others from coming in. Helen was either very good at strategic thinking, or she had planned this in advance… just like him.

“You’re time looped!” Will jumped onto Daniel’s desk. “Aren’t you?”

For three full seconds, the girl didn’t respond. His hunch was correct—she wouldn’t risk damaging it.

“Just like Daniel.”

“Don’t talk to me about Daniel, murderer!” Anger flashed through her eyes. Whatever kept her from going all out was gone. The girl grabbed several chairs and threw them at him in immediate succession.

Reacting on instinct, Will evaded one while kicking the other in what he perceived to be his weak spot. The chair shattered in two, but so did the boy’s leg.

You gotta be kidding! A wave of pain shot up from his leg, making him puke on the spot. There was no way this was an accident—Will had become a lot more fragile. Any moderate hit was able, if not to break his bones, at least cause enough pain for it to seem it had.

The boy fell to the floor, knocking down the desk he had been standing on. More waves of pain based through him, partially numbed down by the first.

Before he was in a state to act, Helen had made her way above him, pinning him down with the back of a chair.

“Why did you kill him?” she asked, pressing the chair into his chest with such strength that he could barely breathe.

“I…” Will wanted to say that he didn’t, that he had no idea what she was talking about. The agony he was in prevented him from uttering anything remotely intelligible.

“I won’t forgive you.”

Suddenly all pain subsided, as the girl pushed onto the chair, snapping Will in two.

Restarting eternity.

Will gasped for air as he stood in front of the school. Not only the pair of girls, but everyone in the area looked at him as if he’d come to school naked.

This was the first time a loop had been triggered by his death, and he definitely didn’t like it. The crippling pain was gone, replaced by crippling mental anxiety. Was he the same person now that he’d died once? Or had the loop created a clone with his memories?

“Hey, dude, need a doctor?” someone asked.

Will didn’t have the capacity to tell whether that was a genuine offer for help or a sarcastic comment. All he knew was that he had to get away from here.

Going against the flow of the crowd, he ran out of the school gates in the first direction he could see. It didn’t matter where he went as long as Helen wasn’t there. Soon enough, he found himself in front of a coffee shop. Looking around twice, to make sure he was safe, Will then went inside.

The place was small and mostly empty. A fragrant smell of coffee, cocoa, and sugar filled the space, giving it a homey feeling of coziness.

Spotting an empty table in the car corner, Will rushed to it and sat down. His hands were still trembling. It was only now that his mind started to go past the fact that he had died, focusing on other, almost as serious, issues. Key among them was the realization that Helen was also looped. As such, she would remember what happened in previous loops, not to mention there was every chance that she would react just as aggressively each time they came across each other. The only way to avoid that was to avoid her altogether, which meant not entering the classroom.

Second, Will really had to find a solution to his fragile state. That meant that activating the rogue mirror was no longer a matter of choice. The fast reflexes were the only thing that gave him a chance. Had Daniel gone through the same? Likely. Why was Helen so convinced Will had murdered him, though?

“Here.” The barista placed a mug of cocoa at the boy’s table.

“I didn’t order that,” the boy said, confused.

“Your hands did.”

Will looked down at his hands. They were still trembling.

“Don’t worry about it.” The barista said. Tall, skinny, with orange hair, he seemed somewhere between his late twenties to early thirties, emanating an air of chill that would make even Alex envious. “It’s not the first time someone has come here to hide. Also,” he leaned closer. “Since cocoa is brewed by the jug, there’s no way of keeping track of it,” he whispered.

The absurdity of the statement made Will quickly forget his recent death experience.

“If you want something with it, though, you’ll have to pay for it.”

“What do you have?” The boy looked around, actually seeing the coffee shop for the first time.

Barely large enough to hold six tables in total, it gave “home cooking” vibes. Dark wooden paneling covered the lower half of the walls, complemented by the beige wallpaper. Paintings of cakes, doughnuts, and coffee were all over the place, providing a hint of what could be found at the glass counter. On closer inspection, one would see plates of sandwiches—made with homemade bread, as was chalked down on the board behind. A large wooden board with the phrase “No TV! No Wi-Fi! Just talk to each other” hung near the window onlooking the street.

“Do you have muffins?” Will asked, the phrase engraved into his mind after so many loops.

“Muffins?” The barista laughed. “That would be the day. Ever since Spencer got those things, everyone’s been asking.”

“Who’s Spencer?”

“The owner of the place near your school. You are from Enigma High?”

“Yeah. Well, what do you suggest?”

“Mousse.” The answer came without hesitation. “Most of our older customers avoid it, but I’m sure you can handle a bit of sweetness. Fifteen bucks, but it’s worth it.”

“Okay.” Money didn’t matter. By the time it came to pay, a new loop would have started. Besides, Will was slightly curious. “I’ll have that.”

“Right. Be right back.”

As the barista went to get a cup of mousse, Will took a sip of his cocoa. The taste was nice, although it could have used a bit more sugar.

“Who’s chasing you?” The barista asked. “If you want to share.”

“It’s complicated.”

“You want to know a secret?” The orange-haired said, looking over his shoulder. “When someone says that, it never is. The reasons are always simple. It’s the solutions that are often tricky, but even then, not as much as most people think.”

“There’s a classmate that can beat me up anytime,” the boy said. As long as advice was offered, he might as well take advantage.

“Just like that?” The barista returned, placing the cup of moose on the table along with a laughably small spoon. “You don’t seem like the type to get easily beaten up.”

“You haven’t seen the other guy.” Or girl, as the case was.

“I know this might sound cringe, but have you tried talking? I don’t mean bonding and all that. Everyone has some sort of motivation. As long as you find out what it is, you could convince your classmate that beating you up won’t help him fulfill it. And if that doesn’t work, you can always redirect their focus on another target.”

Will stared.

“Psychology graduate.” The other smiled. “It’s helped me a lot in real life.”

Will laughed as well. Come to think of it, that wasn’t a bad idea. Helen was set to kill him because she believed him to be responsible for Daniel’s death. If he managed to convince her otherwise, maybe there wouldn’t be any more prematurely ended loops.

The boy scooped a spoonful of chocolate mousse and put it in his mouth. It really was sweet.

Restarting eternity.