Unlimited Chances

|2| Amnesia

{} Aria's POV {}

"Ultimate? Ultimate what?" I frowned, not really understanding what he's getting at. Makoto looked surprised at my lack of knowledge.

"You know, your talent." Hina pointed out as her blue orbs gazed at me uncertainly. Alerting me to the fact that everyone finished socializing and is just watching us.

"I don't know." I replied simply, putting a hand to a my silver flame pendent.

"What?! How don't you know?!" Exclaimed Hiro, throwing up his arms in shock. His green jacket almost falling off his shoulders.

"I just don't. I wish I did, though," I respond simply. Gazing around at my fellow students as all attention fell on me. I fidgeted in place under all the stares. I guess I'm not a crowd person then.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked me with a curious look in his eye. I rub my arm as I bite my lip again, avoiding eye contact as I did so.

"Please, do enlighten us." Byakuya stepped forward, looking down at me with a demanding glare.

Now, not only did I feel lost and utterly confused about everything, but now I also felt pressured. I don't understand the situation. I'm overwhelmed by too many people and attention. I have no clue where I am other than the name Hope's Peak located somewhere in Japan. And to be honest, I'm a bit scared. While under all this stress, I fess up. "I... I have amnesia." I spoke softly as I stared at the ground.

Several shocked gasps echoed throughout the room.

"WHAAAAAA!?!?!?!" Exclaimed a shocked Hifumi, leaning back aghast.

"Amnesia!?" Repeated Sayaka, her arms crossed in front of her with one hand covering her mouth in shock.

"How do you know?!" Hina exclaimed, leaning forward towards me a bit too close for comfort as surprise glistened in her eyes.

"I kinda just... woke up without memories. Only my name and age seemed to stick." I admitted as I leaned away from the girl.

"No way! That's awful!" Hina responded, now standing beside me in pity.

"Hmpf, you really going to believe her like that?" Byakuya's voice caused the female teen to look in his direction. Byakuya looked over at me with suspicion written all over his face. I couldn't help but feel like I should shrink away from his gaze. He had accused me of lying, and all I could do is stand there and look taken aback.

"W-What do you mean?" Makoto looked confused by his comment, sweat forming on his forehead.

"She has no proof to backup her claims, and amnesia on that scale is highly unlikely." Byakuya reasoned, putting a finger to the side of his glasses. Proof? What proof could I offer when I can't remember anything?! I thought, feeling a little more than stressed out.

"H-He's got a point! She c-could be hiding s-something!" Toko accused as she glared daggers at me. She went as far as to take a couple steps away from me, as if I couldn't be trusted.

I clutched my necklace as nervousness set in. "N-No! I'm not hiding anything I swear! I really can't remember anything! I don't even know what's going on!" I defended myself, looking around for someone to come to my aid. Someone then let out a loud sigh, effectively turning eyes to them.

"Arguing about this will get us no where." Spoke up Celeste, calmly resting her hands on the top of the skirt half of her dress. I let out a breath of relief, and my tense shoulders slump back down. I give her a grateful smile for stepping in, which she responds to with a curt nod.

Celeste then turned her attention to the other students. "Right now we have a bigger problem to discuss." I tilted my head at her words. Bigger problem? Makoto repeated my words aloud, just as lost.

Sayaka nervously raised a hand to her mouth as she looked to the side. "Well, you see... Makoto, you said a bunch of stuff happened and then you were 'just asleep,' right?" Sayaka brought up, looking over at him. "Well... the same thing is true for all of us."

"What? Seriously!?" Exclaimed Makoto, disbelief within his gaze.

I just, sorta stood off to the side next to Hina as everyone talked. I have no clue what they're talking about, but I wasn't going to speak up about my confusion. So I simply listened with the rest of them with the hopes that it will explain itself.

"Just after each of us got to the main hall, we lost consciousness." Leon added onto Sayaka's claim. "And when we came to, we were somewhere here in the school! That's what happened to you right?"

"B-But that's just... weird! That every one of us would get knocked out like that..." Makoto said as he placed index finger and thumb to his chin in thought.

"Exactly! That's why we're all freakin' out!" Yelled Mondo, throwing his hands up for exaggeration.

"Perhaps something happened to Aria when she fell asleep, causing her amnesia." Kyoko theorized, casting a blank yet scrutinizing gaze on me.

"That might be true." Sakura commented, also glancing over in my direction. I looked at the ground. Why only me though? Everyone else turned out alright. Maybe when I was knocked out, I hit my head? Yes, that might be it...

"And that's not the only thing. You two saw where all the windows in the classes and hallways were, right?" Taka pointed out with a concerned look, breaking me from my thoughts. "But instead of normal glass windows, it was a bunch of big metal plates! What's that about!?"

"Plus, all my stuff's missing! Even my cellphone..." Junko complained with a frown, looking a bit depressed. Did I have a phone? I found myself thinking. I searched my jean pockets as others frantically searched their own. If I did have a phone, it's gone now.

Chihiro held her hands together towards her chest as she stated her own troubles. "Yeah, you're right. I haven't seen my PDA anywhere, either..."

"And then there's the main hall here. The front exit is completely blocked by some giant metal hatch. But there wasn't anything like that when I first got here..! What the heck!? What's it doing there!?" Shouted out Taka with raised clenched fists. I looked over and noticed the huge sci-fi door that Junko had pointed out earlier. That looks so out of place compared to everything else. I'm pretty sure schools aren't supposed to have vault doors like that. ...Or any public building for that matter.

"Maybe we got caught up in some kinda, like, you know... crime or something?" Junko's uneasy voice pulled my attention from the door.

"What, like..." Leon gulped and a strained a smile stretched his features. "A kidnapping?" My blood ran cold at the thought. "You think maybe someone grabbed us and hauled us off and we're not actually at school?"

"Come on, don't think like that. Cheer up! I bet this is all just part of the school's orientation procedure." Hiro held a fist to his chest with a hopeful expression on his face. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it! So I'm just gonna take it easy for a little bit."

Chihiro sighed in relief, putting a hand to her heart. "Oh... So you think they wanted to do something to surprise us?"

"Huh. Well if that's all it is, it's nap time for me." Leon said as he ran a hand through his hair, not looking too amused. "I was up way too late last night, so I could use a little shuteye." He smiled, his hand now rubbing the back of his head.

I couldn't help but smile too, it feels like everything was perfectly normal. Us just being teenagers and chatting with each other despite the unfamiliar surroundings. I actually relaxed in the chatter of my fellow students. For once not feeling like I've been dropped in some other world. Instead feeling like a teen listening to conversations of others within a school environment.

         Suddenly a sound pierced the air, ruining the wonderful moment.

Ding dong, bing bong