Project Eliora

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-WAKE UP-

I jolted out of bed, but I was too close to the edge and lost my balance as I tumbled off the side and landed heavily on the floor.

"Damn,"

Reuben. I did not expect him to kill me, but he did so without any hesitation.

Just like before, my fake memories were flooding my mind. It had something to do with this being exam week, but that did not matter as I got ready for my meeting with Reuben.

Downstairs, I saw my dad on the couch watching some news programme, while my mom and brother were nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning, Dad."

"Elisa, how are you doing?"

He said this as he reduced the volume and turned towards me.

"Pretty good."

"And your exams?"

"They have been pretty easy so far; well, my only difficulty was with physics."

I told him to satisfy his curiosity.

"Well, I am off,"

I said this as I approached the door.

"No breakfast?"

"Yep, I have some early morning study sessions."

"Anyways, try not to overdo it, bookworm."

I stopped in my tracks and turned back to him.

"Bookworm? Seriously? I thought we had moved past that."

"Never."

I rolled my eyes as I opened the door and left the house. It was almost 8, so I needed to hurry.

—

I was about 5 minutes early once I got onto the school grounds.

"Elisa!"

I looked behind me to see both Briana and Louis arriving.

"Did you run here?"

Louis asked as I wiped the beads of sweat across my temples.

"Basically, I have a meeting with someone."

"So, a hookup?"

Briana said it out of the blue, and I could see the mischievous smile that had formed across her face as she scooted over to me.

"No, it is not; calm your horses."

"Then tell me who you are meeting."

"I will tell you both about it later, alright. I have to go now."

I walked off and left them behind as I walked to my destination, the boys' locker room. Since most people had not arrived at school yet, there was little effort made to sneak in without anybody seeing me. As I entered, I noticed the lights were switched on and assumed that someone was inside, unless they always left the light on without turning it off.

I recoiled in disgust when an intolerable odour hit my senses. I covered my nose with my hand, hoping to block out the foul odour.

Both sides of the room were lined with rows of lockers, with benches in between. At the end of the room was a doorway that presumably led to the showers, and behind me was a door that probably led to the urinals. I moved down the aisle, looking at each set of lockers as I went. While some were orderly and tidy, others were cluttered with clothes and miscellaneous items. As I approached the last block of lockers, I noticed someone sitting on one of the benches. He looked up at me, and our eyes met.