The Beginning

I suppose I should start from the very beginning of my supernatural encounters. This is the story of my first brush with the supernatural as well as the first time I got to know the existence of the girl known as Li Jun Ling.

(...)

It’s over. My high school days are over. No more. All of that is going to be left behind now.

What do I do now? ... Well I never did complete that graduating student survey form. Although I don’t think the teacher would be pleased with my late submission, it wouldn't hurt just to give it a look.

Further education. Nope.

3 Colleges of Choice. None.

3 Future Aspirations. Non- Actually… Artist.

God, my parents are gonna kill me if they see this form.

Your youngest child is going to pursue a life of mediocrity and little pay! That’s what this form basically says.

I let out a huge sigh. And that’s when I see it.

Despite it being a 100 meters away with people walking by almost obstructing my vision. Dodging through numerous pillars, iron bars, glazed glass whilst fighting off bad eyesight, I see it.

The girl’s changing room.

I’m sorry but really what were you expecting?

This is a completely normal world, with nothing at all abnormal about it. The most abnormal thing to have happened was me actually graduating. On the dot, with 50 in my Math, I barely grazed the finish line. By passing Math, albeit in not so flying colours, I barely secured 2 A’s, 1B and 2 C’s and barely caught the minimum requirement train to the local universities.

According to the plan, I am now supposed to attend university, pass with not so flying colours again for another 4 years and then I’ll become a run of the mill accountant to fit into my family’s image… Wait a second, this isn’t my plan! That is the plan set out for me by my family!

Well enough of loitering around my old school. Time to go home and hit the sack. But… Maybe just for a bit longer, I’ll loiter for the last time.

So, I walk from my peeping spot inspiring, female form appreciating location and go towards the court in the back of the school. It’s almost evening so the wind is cool and the sun is hidden behind several buildings. Perfect temperature. Huh. I won’t be able to play basketball here anymore. It’s kind of sad. Sad that I’ll have to pay entrance fees to have to play in basketball gymnasiums now, that is.

What? No I don’t have any emotional attachment to this place. I will merely miss the ease of access and location.

Ah. Someone left their basketball in the hedges. What the heck. That’s pretty careless, treating their ball this roughly.

It’s been there for quite a while it seems. It’s bruised, beaten and weathered. The leather is peeling off and the colour which I guess was once orange, was now a mud brown. This ball won't ever return to pristine condition.

Well if he’s treating his ball that badly now, he won’t be missing it, it seems… I guess I’ll be borrowing it indefinitely.

And so I played for a solid three hours. The sun was completely down now but here I was still. Hammering out my last shots, just because from tomorrow onwards, I will never get another chance.

Ah. This place at night. I’ve never seen it before like this. To be honest it’s a little unnerving.

Urgh. Now that I’ve slowed down to rest and think, I realize just how badly my body’s aching. I can barely move anything. Why have I even stayed here this long? Ah… don’t close your eyes, idiot. You’re gonna fall asleep out here, it’s a death sentence with how many mosquitoes there are. But… I can’t fight it anymore. Just for a little bit…

(…)

Hmm? Who’s shaking me? What the hell, I’m finally graduated there’s no more school. Let me sleep in…

I lazily open one eye to see the red, angry face of my teacher. Oh. I stayed overnight in the school. Yeah he’s probably pissed. Wait I’m not in the basketball court. This is the classroom- And everyone’s looking at me. Everyone? Eh? Everyone is wearing their uniforms… Is this a prank?

“Hahaha, good joke everyone.”

I go back to sleep.

“As if I’d let you sleep!”

My head is smacked with a book.

Ah. I can’t wake up. This is a nightmare, please let me wake up now. Please, please, please you can’t force me to go through exams a second time. I was just lucky the first time! This is pure torture! My sanity is at stake here!

I know this is a dream! Let me wake up! Lucid dreaming save me! Let me start to fly! Laser beams! Pew pew pew!

...

No? Okay then. My conclusion is…

This is one tough nightmare!

(…)

So after gathering myself, it seems that I’ve time traveled. Or that I’ve wandered into another reality. Or I’m just really damn stubborn at waking up and this is all a dream.

Anyways I ignore all the stares and rude looks from the teachers, as I think and think. The date on the whiteboard is February XXXX. 7 months before graduation. Everyone’s worked up and studying hard, except yours truly. I’m actually pretty relaxed.

Or could the real dream have been me graduating? Hmm that seems plausible. Me graduating, kind of impossible when you think about it. So maybe that is the answer. And it was all a dream. The end.

AS IF THAT'S THE CASE!

Ah who cares? I can’t find out anything by just thinking. It’s physical education next. I’ll get in some fun now.

Ah the physical education teacher is giving a long, drawn out speech in the beginning as usual. I just want to play before I nod off… Zzz.

“Gasp!”

That was close. Nearly fell asleep standing up.

Alright today we have free time. Let’s play some basketball.

Form teams. Inbound ball. Lob pass to (*%^$).

Me on defense.

Dribble move, my stance is ruined but I recover quickly to get back on defense.

I jump to block the shot. Successful block.

I land slightly awkwardly. Krak. Krak? What kind of sound is that supposed to be? Oh it’s the sound of my ankle.

My ankle. It hits me.

Ah now I remember what today was. XX February XXXX. The day I broke my ankle. The day I ruined my dream and career.

“Ahhh…AHHHHHHHH!”

A dream should not be allowed to hurt this much! If this was a virtual reality game, the pain tolerance must be set all the way to zero! Was it really this bad the first time?

(…)

In the infirmary now. Just chilling. And hurting.

Thank goodness I’m underweight. Made it super easy for my classmates to carry me.

But seriously, is there any meaning to me going through this pain for a second time? Was the first time supposed to be a rehearsal? And this is the now the real performance?

Ah. I’ll just go to sleep now. Maybe that will make me wake up? Or will I just fall deeper into the dream? I don’t know but it’s better than sitting around and doing nothing.

…

Damn. It’s pretty hard to sleep.

The bed’s comfy, my foot’s warm and wrapped up and the air conditioning is cooling.

And yet.

Trying to purposefully sleep is so stressful. I can’t relax at all. Thinking of what will happen when I wake up. It’s like a child trying to sleep after you tell him stories of Santa going down the chimney. Of course he won’t be able to sleep when he’s that hyper. Guess I’ll drown my consciousness with lots of thoughts as usual.

You know. When I graduated, I was feeling pretty lost but being back here… It’s oddly comforting. To have the usual. Getting teachers to shout at me. Playing basketball in teams. Trying to sleep during classes. Actually aren't 2 of the 3 things I just said, really bad things to do?...

Oh. I'm feeling groggy. This is it.

(…)

Gasp!

“...and so today we will be having free time. Go and play whatever games you like.”

We’re back to physical education class? It seems this is an important part. I mean of course it’s important. It’s the period I ruined any hopes of being a pro athlete.

It’s also how I got into art. With a ruined ankle, I couldn’t play my beloved sport. So during art class, for the first time, I seriously tried to draw a basketball.

It turned out better than expected.

Maybe I have some talent for this, I thought. From then on, basketball become a secondary hobby while art became my foremost important.

So I’m guessing this dream won’t end unless I change something huh. Hmph but I’m not like most protagonists. Going to play basketball again is a mistake. Repeating the same activities will be setting myself up for failure. But… then again I kind of need to test basketball again huh?

No… No. It’s not that I enjoy playing basketball at my full strength once again. I just need to make sure it’s basketball which is causing the dream to repeat.

Form teams. Pass. Lob. Dribble. Shot block. Krak.

Okay so basketball does cause the dream to repeat. I even tried to change things up but I still got hurt. Ouch ouch. It’s as if the dream forces me to repeat the same movements each time.

My classmates are deciding who to carry me to the infirmary. Hmm. You’d think friends would immediately carry me without discussing about it, huh? Well that’s because they aren’t friends. They are merely people I share a class with. And that’s perfectly fine with me. I didn’t need it then and I certainly don’t need it now.

So I look at their direction, waiting for someone to carry me. That was when I noticed it.

A small girl, what was her name again, went up to the group. Then they all came to carry me to the infirmary. Ah so she was the one that convinced them to carry me? I should thank her. I never noticed it the first time or second time, I was injured. The pain had me unable to focus on anything else. But by the third time, I'm just kind of nonchalantly used to it.

She came to help carry me too. Her hands were like marshmallows, soft. In fact her not helping to carry me probably would have had the same result.

When they set me down and left, she lingered a little and I found my chance.

“Thank you, umm…”

I forgot her name.

“Y-You’re welcome!”

She ran off. The sight of her running out the infirmary and down the corridor. That was undeniably cute. Like a shy stray cat, who runs off with a slight pat?

Ah... I can’t wait to drift off and meet her again. Please don't let this dream end yet... Let me get the girl and reach the happy ending first at least.