Chapter Two

“Good morning, Tatsuya,” Gina said, forcing Tatsuya to wake up and begin to get ready for school. He was exhausted, and the last thing he wanted to do today was walk around to classes and listen to boring lectures, or do worksheets, or homework problems, or any of that other crap school throws at you all the time.
At school, it was a typical morning. Everyone ignored him, and he ignored everyone else. Nothing new.
He discussed about Lord of the Flies, he did some math problems, he got lectured on Chemistry, and took notes in History. It was a perfectly normal academic day.
At lunch, Tatsuya took his usual seat at the corner of the room by a window, and gazed outside at the football field where he knew no one was ever truly successful on, including the football team and the cheerleaders.
“Hi,” said a voice.
Tatsuya jumped in his seat and looked around at the person who startled him. There was a boy—he was either his age or older, but standing in front of him was another boy. The boy sat down, and Tatsuya continued to stare at him as if he had never seen a person in his life before.
“Hello,” Tatsuya hesitated. “Can I help you?”
The boy shrugged and grinned. “Not really. I’m new to the school, and you were all alone here, so I thought I would just sit here. Is that okay with you?”
Tatsuya glared at the boy. For some reason, he didn’t like him so much. He was too friendly and peppy. He simply shrugged and let him be.
“Cool. My name is Darren Morris. And you are?”
“Tatsuya Gray.”
“That’s a cool name! What is that, like, Asian?”
“Japanese.”
“Oh, are you Japanese?”
“Half.”
“That’s cool. I’m Irish.”
Of course you are, Mr. Red-Hair-and-Green-Eyes, Tatsuya thought. “Okay.”
Darren smiled awkwardly. “Heh heh… yeah. There were like two other people in the office enrolling while I was. The other two were girls, though. I thought it was so weird how people are randomly deciding to join this school. Is it really good?”
“Fine.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard,” he said, chuckling nervously before. “You’re a very unapproachable person aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I figured. Since you’re really only talking to me in single-word answers.”
“Sorry.”
“No, it’s not a problem. Honestly, you’re much more approachable than one of the other new girls that are here. She’s like on the other end of this cafeteria. Her stare sends chills down my spine. It’s really scary.”
Though Tatsuya wasn’t really curious about this girl, he felt compelled see who she was. He craned his neck, and looked over to the other side of the cafeteria. It was hard to see her face, because she was looking down at the table and her bangs had covered her eyes, but she had a nice body and the most perfect, luscious black hair. She looked up, and her sharp black eyes surveyed the people who weren’t looking at her, until her gaze finally caught Tatsuya’s.
“Oh, God,” Tatsuya said, burying his now red face in his hands.
“What? Do you think she’s hot or something? She is Asian, so maybe you two will hook up.”
“She’s Japanese,” Tatsuya said. “And it’s not that, it’s just… something weird when I looked at her.”
“Aw, someone’s in love at first sight.”
“Stop that, it’s not funny. I don’t love her.”
“Tatsuya, bro,” Darren said, going on a weird gigglefit. “I’m going to try to hook you guys up. Hang on, I’m going to grab some pudding before it’s all gone. You want anything?”
“No, thanks.”
“All right,” he said, standing up. “I’ll be right back, okay? Try not to stare at the chick for too long.”
I looked over to find that girl again, but she wasn’t there. I tried to find her around the cafeteria, but didn’t see her until I looked at the seat right next to me.
“Hello,” she said with a perfect smile.
“Oh, hi,” Tatsuya said nervously. “I didn’t even notice you come over here.”
“You’re Tatsuya Gray, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Y-yes, I am. But how did you—?”
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said, smiling again. “You can call me Kaida.”
“Okay,” Tatsuya answered, trying not to let his tongue fluster again.
“Hey, Tatsuya,” Darren said, sitting down across the table with a pudding cup in his hand. He winked at him. “And who’s your new friend?”
“Kaida,” she said to Darren, though it wasn’t with that mysterious smile.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Darren. We were both in the office when we enrolled.”
“Yes, I remember you,” she said to him promptly before turning back to me. “It was nice talking to you, Tatsuya.” She stood up, and gave a small bow. “I’ll see you around.”
“Whoa!” Darren cheered once Kaida was out of earshot. “What did you guys talk about when I was gone?”
“Nothing at all. We just introduced ourselves.”
“How did you get her to come here?”
“She came on her own.”
“That’s insane, dude!”
“Yeah, sure.”
“She is, like, totally into you, okay?”
“Of course.”
“I’m not a big fan of your sarcasm.”
“I’m not a big fan of your annoying face.”
“Ouch,” Darren said. He laughed, though, as if it was a joke, but in reality, Tatsuya did kind of wish that the boy would just leave him alone to his peace and quiet.
And then the bell rang, and Tatsuya’s somewhat quiet and peaceful lunch was over. He didn’t get a chance to think about the growing mold on the outside of the window, nor did he get a chance to watch the cheerleaders fall off of their pyramids outside, and he didn’t get to see the clouds moving over the sun and then away again, all because Mr. And Mrs. New-but-Strange decided to come up and talk to him.
“Who was that girl anyway?” Tatsuya mumbled to himself as he walked off to class.
More worksheets, lectures, problems galore—it seemed like the work to be done was never going to end, being a teenager, and it seemed that Tatsuya would have to pull an all-nighter again to get all of this homework done.
Tatsuya left his final period’s classroom and started to go to his locker before he walked home. He always walked home. He hated the thought of giving his mother any trouble of picking up, and there was no way that he was riding a bike to school—he absolutely hated bicycles.
Tumbling across the floor by his locker, a piece of paper flittered along the concrete. Tatsuya locked his locker and picked it up, and folded it. “This must belong to someone,” he said to himself. “And I shouldn’t read it.”
The sound of high heel shoes clacking on concrete suddenly filled the air, and Tatsuya searched for the source of the sound. There was a girl h hadn’t seen before. She was very blond, and her hair was tied up in a preppy, yet elegant ponytail. She wore a white tank top and a pink skirt, with a tote bag to match with several polka dots. It was obvious that her heels were making most of the noise, considering they must’ve been four inches high. She also had a peculiar scar on her forehead, which she tried to cover up with her bangs.
But there was something weird about this girl, too. The way her crystal blue eyes sparkled in the light seemed just too familiar, and the way her head moved as she looked around at her surroundings—Tatsuya was sure he had seen it before.
He knew this girl. He knew her from somewhere, and Tatsuya knew exactly where. This girl was Madison Anabel Fisher, ten years later.
Tatsuya’s eyes widened, and his heart began to beat fast as he realized who the girl walking towards him was. This girl used to be his best friend. There was no doubt about who she was anymore. Her misty expression was exactly like it used to be ten years ago. He ran up to her and the clacking of her heels stopped.
“Madison Anabel Fisher,” he said quietly to the girl. “Are you Madison Anabel Fisher?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “Creepy,” she said. “I’m not going to ask how you know my full name.”
“But you’re Madison Anabel Fisher, right?” Tatsuya asked again.
“Please, you don’t have to say my whole name like that,” she said, inching away from him. “I’m just Maddy.”
“Maddy?” Tatsuya almost yelled. “You go by Maddy?”
“Okay, who the hell are you?” she yelled back.
“You don’t remember me? Y-you really don’t remember me? Tatsuya Gray?”
“How can I remember you? I only just met you!”
“Wh-what? No, how is this—?”
“Oh, this explains so much!” she cut him off.
“You remember me now?” Tatsuya asked, his eyes full of hope.
She pulled the piece of paper that Tatsuya had found on the ground out of his hand. “This is my schedule. I must’ve dropped it. You see, I’m new here, so no one really knows me, so it was a bit weird when you knew my full name, but you just saw my schedule.”
“O-oh,” Tatsuya stuttered. How could she not remember me? he asked himself.
“Thanks so much for picking it up, that was really sweet,” she said.
“No problem, Madison Anabel Fisher,” Tatsuya said, still unable to remove his gaze from her sparkling eyes.
“Seriously, don’t do that,” she said. “It’s kind of creepy. Just Maddy, okay?”
“O-okay,” Tatsuya agreed.
“All righty, then! I’ll see you around, Tatsuya!” She skipped away, and Tatsuya still didn’t know how what just happened was possible.
Tatsuya began his way home, and began to mumble to himself under his breath. “That was Madison Anabel Fisher,” he said. “But she told me to call her ‘Maddy’… that’s so not like her. She’s not supposed to be called Maddy. What happened to her?”
When he arrived home, he opened the door with his keys, and walked in. “Hey, Kimi, you home?” he called.
“Yes, Tatsuya! And I’ve already eaten and finished my homework!”
“That’s a good girl,” he yelled. He ran upstairs to his room, and turned on his computer. “Gina! You’ll never guess whom I met today!”
“Finally make some real friends?” Gina said bitterly.
“Hey, what’s your problem?”
“Is this person you met a girl?”
“Yes.”
“Is she pretty?”
“Gina, stop that! I will never fall in love with you!”
“Of course, Tatsuya…”
“So anyway, I met the girl who used to be my best friend ten years ago, and then mom said she moved away, but I thought she died, but I SAW HER TODAY!”
“Where did you see her?”
“At school! She’s a new student!”
“Exciting.”
“It is, Gina. At least pretend.”
“Did she say hi to you?”
“No. She didn’t even recognize me.”
“Sad.”
“Yeah…” an awkward pause of silence filled the gap between the words. Was it possible to have an awkward pause between a human and a computer? “Hey, Gina, will you do me a favor?”
“Of course, Tatsuya.”
“Will you do some research on amnesia and tell me what you find?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks.” Tatsuya dropped his backpack by his desk and then sat down so he could look straight and what windows Gina was pulling up.
“I’ll read the wikipedia entry,” Gina said. “‘Amnesia (from Greek Ἀμνησία) is a memory condition in which memory is disturbed. In simple terms it is the loss of memory. The causes of amnesia are organic or functional. Organic causes include damage to the brain, through trauma or disease, or use of certain (generally sedative) drugs.’”
“That explains so much,” Tatsuya said. “She was hit by a bicycle, and she was hit in the head. She lost her memory. And now that I think about it, she does have a scar on her forehead which you can’t really see. So that’s why she doesn’t remember me!”
“It’s a theory.”
“Well, it makes sense. I’d better start my homework now, but this is just too exciting.”
“Would you like me to do the math?”
“Could you?”
“I’d be delighted.”