Sonder ~ #JustWriteIt #AltEnding ~

Rina Snow - Day 1

(Authors Note: This chapter is quite long so buckle up.)

I wake up once again, this time in my own bed. I take a glance at the outside world from my bedroom window and it looks to be just on the crack of dawn. Was that... No. You know what? I'm not even going to bother trying to convince myself with that "maybe it was all just a dream?" crap. It felt all too real to be a dream. No, I'm pretty sure that it was real. I remember everything that happened in that white room down to the smallest detail. Well, maybe not that precise. I don't exactly pride myself in having good memory, but I remember it well enough.

I have seven days, huh? Seven days to complete my "task", or else... That final rule, the "catch" of the game, still fresh in my mind. Despite the way he went about explaining everything, I don't think he was joking about any of it, especially that last part. And even if I have any doubts about all of this, I don't think it'd be worth risking my own life just to see if my suspicions are correct. Looks like I have no choice but to just go along with it.

But that doesn't change the fact that I still have so many questions in my mind. Who really was that guy? How did he do all that? And why me? I'd love to find out, however, I don't believe that I have the luxury of taking the time to think about any of them now, do I? I only have a week, after all. And if I don't make the most of it I might actually...

Die? Heh. What am I saying? To hell with that! So he wants me to play his little game, does he? Alright, I'll play along. But if that over-eccentric psychopath thinks even for one second that I'm going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me lose then he really must be crazy. I'll show him. I'll finish this first task in just three days and leave him speechless! Bring it on, you bastard! Hahahaha!

As I was about to give my most triumphant pose while holding a smirk, I realize that I'm still sitting on my bed at 5 a.m. in yesterday's casual clothes. Sigh. I guess I'll have to show him up after I take a bath. I feel all sticky. My clothes are sticking to my skin from all the dried up sweat. I don't think it would be such a bad idea to start getting ready to head out to school right now if it means getting a change of clothes. It's not like I have anything better to do anyway. I walk out of my room and into the hallway, approaching the bathroom door at the far end.

Rina Snow... is there actually a girl with that name in our school? It sounds too... nice, if that makes any sense. I don't know anyone there who goes by either that first or last name. But then again, he never said that she or the two other girls are schoolmates of mine, I'm the only one assuming that they are. Or am I? Actually, it's not like I don't have a basis for that assumption. Although I only noticed it now, but when he showed me their pictures back then, all three of them were definitely wearing our school's uniform. No doubt about it.

My morning routine flew by in a flash. By the time I was finished with my thoughts, I was already standing outside the front door in my uniform. It's not even six 'clock yet. The sun is still barely peeking over the horizon to my right. Maybe it is too early. But it's not like I can just go back right now. I think I'll just stop by the 7-Eleven down on 12th Street for a while since it's the nearest one to the school after all. I bury my hands into my pockets and start my early morning trek.

I was able to get there in no time. I head to the counter and bought myself a cup of coffee. From the position of the sun, which is pretty much still the same as from when I left the house, I can tell that only around ten or fifteen minutes have passed. I check my watch anyway just to be sure; 6:17 a.m. I still have a little more than an hour before classes start. I take a sip of my still hot coffee and flinched from the sensation of my tongue getting burned. Maybe I should just wait for it to cool. Having nothing else to do, I take out my phone and start up a game of Asphalt Xtreme to pass the time.