Chapter 4: A Classroom Full of Memories

2:30 PM. Theo was just in time for the last period of the day.

If he recalled correctly, then his last class should be a history class, although he did not remember which history. As for the classroom, he had a vague impression of its general location, but other than that, everything else was hazy.

Still, he moved forward like a snowplow in the middle of a blizzard. Walking towards the place should jog back some of his old memories, at least, that’s what he was hoping for.

Five minutes flew by, and he eventually found his old classroom. It was located somewhere near the front of the school, almost entirely in the opposite direction of the locker rooms. The fact that he was still able to find it spoke wonders of his own luck and perseverance.

Theo stood a few feet away from the door. He leaned against a glass display case and took this opportunity to briefly observe his surroundings.

The crowd was thinning. By now, most of the students had already made it back to their classrooms. The ones still out consisted of the stragglers, slackers, and trouble-makers. If he wanted to sneak into class, now was as good of a time as any.

Still, he hesitated.

He inwardly debated whether or not it was a good idea to walk in so abruptly. No, that wasn’t quite right. Rather than if it was good or not (he clearly knew it wasn’t), Theo wondered whether he really wanted to go through with all of this just to satiate that little bit of sentimental longing in his heart.

It’s been seven months since I went missing. How will they react when I walk in? How much attention will my actions draw? Would they even still remember me?

Just as the last few students trickled into the classroom, the bell suddenly rang, waking him up from his self-induced stupor. In that split instant, his actions were driven not by rational thought, but by emotion. Theo gritted his teeth and took one step forward.

To hell with it all!

He walked into the room alongside two female students.

The girls in question were loud and kind of obnoxious. Right now, they were in the middle of a very animated conversation involving the best foreign-owned designer brand of leopard printed underwear. It was a rather specific topic, and it goes without saying, but Theo took no part in their discussion. In fact, the two were so self-absorbed, that they completely ignored his presence, although not that he minded. In fact, he actually felt grateful.

The energetic duo possessed a kind of manic energy that attracted a fair bit of attention from the nearby surroundings.

After looking around the room, he noticed that considerably more guys than girls were staring. Greedy, lustful gazes filled with heat. They were like a pack of hungry hyenas eyeing their prey. Even Theo felt uncomfortable just being there.

Unlike him, the two girls were completely unfazed. They took all the attention in stride, neither outright rejecting it or flat-out accepting it. Theo somewhat admired their bloated confidence. He thought that if he possessed even a portion of their boldness, then he might not have suffered so much in the past.

Still, he did not find their attitude all that surprising. After all, attractive people were more often than not confident. In fact, it was a lot harder to find an attractive unconfident person, not that they didn’t exist. Theo was overgeneralizing a bit, but it was how he viewed the world; life was unfair from the very start.

The two before him were definitely attractive. Hoop earrings, golden bracelets, and glossy fingernails. One had dyed her hair platinum blonde, while the other sported a golden tan. They were a bit gaudy for his tastes, but they were undeniably beautiful.

If they were like twin stars glimmering in the night, then Theo was the quiet shadow hiding in the dark. In the midst of their brilliance, he snuck into the classroom undetected.

After he separated himself from the duo, he breathed out a sigh and casually looked around the room. His eyes took in every detail with rapt attention. To his delight, his old desk was still vacant. Theo inwardly rejoiced, before he quickly walked over and sat down.

The instant his butt touched the seat, he felt a weird sense of accomplishment. A crooked smile appeared on his lips.

Although he had painstakingly maintained his calm and coolheaded poker face, there still existed a nervous giddiness deep within his heart. Years of memories flooded back. A vivid kaleidoscope of disjointed clips and fragmented images. He remembered his bitter youth. The hours upon hours of endless school work. He recalled the sleepless nights. He had a lot of sleepless nights. Granted, a majority of those nights were due to him staying up late and playing video games, but the fatigue he felt in the morning after was real. It was what stuck to his memory the most.

Strangely, most of the things he recalled were negative memories. Was it because he lacked any of the good ones? Theo did not think so. He had plenty of good moments, he was sure of it. He just couldn’t quite recall any of them right now.

He blamed his disposition. Theo was the type of person to brood and worry, a man who nitpicked and worried about the smallest detail. A pessimist and an idealist, the worst combination known to man. His favorite color was grey. It wasn’t a problem of his experiences, but his personality.

He liked to think that the twenty-five years in Mistelhan had changed him. If he did not believe this, then he could only imagine what sort of bleak future awaited him.

Theo shook his head and looked around his surroundings.

The room was enveloped in a fog of noise. Although the bell had rung, the teacher still wasn’t here yet. Theo had long forgotten what he looked like, so he did not actually care all that much. In fact, the chaos of the room felt somewhat endearing to him.

Still, rather than a part of the class, he felt like an outsider watching from the sidelines. This sense of alienation welled up in his heart. Even though his old life was right here in front of him, it felt farther than ever. Again, he blamed his gloomy disposition.

Theo was not completely invisible though. A few people did look in his direction. They wore their hearts on their sleeves, their curiosity readily apparent at a glance. Who was this guy? Why was he here? He heard those questions rattling around in his skull, yet he lacked the will to respond.

The attention did not last very long. After a few seconds of probing, the curious students quickly turned around and tended to their own issues. It was the indifference in their eyes that Theo took note of. They did not bother voicing out any of their curiosity, but rather, simply waited for it to die amidst the myriad chaos of the room.

They simply did not care.

He bitterly smiled.

In all honesty, he was not surprised. He was used to this sort of treatment. By nature, Theo was quiet and isolated; a wallflower among wallflowers. It wasn’t anything strange, he had always been like that, even before he was summoned to another world. In plainer terms, Theodore Harp was not popular.

Before he was the Hero of Mistelhan, Theo saw himself as no more than a side character. No, not even that. A side character received way too much attention. He was a background character, the type not even worth giving dialogue to.

His existence did not add anything to the class, nor did his absence take anything away, and he was okay with that. Theo actually liked this feeling. Rather than be put on the spotlight for everyone to stare and ogle at, he preferred the quiet, unimportant atmosphere. The life of a background character wasn’t all that bad.

A few minutes later, the teacher finally walked in. It was a balding old man dressed in a weathered suit. He wore a pair of rectangular spectacles, which complimented his wrinkled face quite nicely. Theo vaguely remembered this man.

Mr. Hong. A European History Teacher. An old man infinitely close to retirement.

Ah, that’s right, this class should be European History.

Just as this thought came to mind, Mr. Hong hobbled to the front of the room. He placed an old book on the podium and slowly turned to the blackboard. Watching all this, Theo felt his heart clench. He was worried. Mr. Hong was a veteran instructor. Would he notice an additional student in his classroom? What should he do if he gets singled out? Explaining his disappearance was something he was not quite prepared to do just yet.

Luckily, none of his fears came to life. In fact, Mr. Hong did not even bother to take attendance, before he began prepping the board for today’s lesson.

As the old man quietly worked, the door suddenly slammed open.

A female student walked into the room. She gripped on tightly to the door frame, her pale knuckles sticking out from the sleeves of her green sweater. Sweat gathered on her brow and slid down the side of her face. Her cheeks flushed pink.

“That’s…” Theo mumbled to himself as he turned to stare at the newcomer.

The girl was panting. She was bent over with her arm pressed against her chest. A wheezing sputter leaked out from her lips. She struggled to catch her breath.

By this point, the whole class was staring. Other than him, none of them seemed all that surprised by the new arrival. In fact, their gazes carried with it a hint of expectation and schadenfreude. As for Theo, he stared fixedly at the girl. For some reason, he could not take his eyes off of her. They were locked onto her cherry red hair.

Something inside him clicked.

Mr. Hong looked over at the new student and amicably smiled, “You’re later than me, Miss Polaris. That makes this the third time this week.”

The girl looked up. The first thing she noticed were the students, followed by Mr. Hong’s beaming smile. She panicked. Once again, she had become the center of attention. The girl reflexively hid her face with the sleeves of her sweater. A muffled, “sorry,” leaked out from the gaps of her fingers.

“Never mind, just take a seat. Class has already started.” Mr. Hong shook his head, as he turned back towards the board.

The girl’s already flushed cheeks turned even brighter, as she hurriedly scrambled to her desk. With her shoulders drawn into herself and her head lowered, she resembled a meek mouse. Theo kept his gaze focused on her retreating figure for a few more seconds, before he absentmindedly turned back towards Mr. Hong.

The lesson quickly started, but his head was lost in a cloud of murky thoughts.

****

He did not know how much time passed before he eventually came to again.

For the first time, Theo looked up at the board.

Today’s topic was the dark ages. Of course, Theo was completely lost, but he didn’t really care. Even as an endless stream of words flowed in one ear and came out the other, he couldn’t help but smile. It was the sort of background music that he had come to miss back on Mistelhan.

He looked around the room. As the lesson progressed, the few curious gazes from before had vanished. Right now, he really was a ghost. Invisible and unassuming, a shadow amidst the shade. The teacher, the students, everyone ignored him. Well, almost everyone.

There was one person who kept staring at him as if he was an actual ghost that only she could see. Theo noticed almost immediately. Upon seeing her, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

Vivid blue eyes, and a sweater two sizes too big for her. She wore a pair of rounded spectacles that looked just as oversized as her sweater. The girl who arrived late to class, the one with the cherry red hair.

He recognized her. How could he not? The instant he laid eyes on her, all the memories came flooding back.

Within the small subset of people that he could call a friend, she was the one he missed the most. Shirley Polaris, Theo’s old childhood friend.