The next morning, I stood in front of the mirror longer than usual.
Not because I was checking my hair.
I was checking… myself.
"Okay," I said softly.
"Let's see what's so interesting."
I smiled.
It looked normal.
I frowned.
Still normal.
"Great test," I muttered.
"Very helpful."
At school, things felt slightly off.
Not wrong.
Just… tilted.
In history class, the teacher was talking about something serious.
I noticed how everyone nodded like they understood, even though they clearly didn't.
I almost laughed.
Was I like that too?
My phone vibrated.
I didn't rush this time.
Unknown Number:
What did you notice?
I blinked.
About what? I typed.
Unknown Number:
About yourself.
I thought.
Then typed honestly.
I copy people a lot.
The reply came fast.
Unknown Number:
Good.
I raised an eyebrow.
That's good?
Unknown Number:
You noticed.
During break, I bumped into the other boy again.
Literally.
"Sorry," we said at the same time.
He laughed.
"Seems like we're always in the same places."
"Yeah," I said.
"Bad luck."
Or maybe not.
He looked at me for a second longer than normal.
"Do you ever feel like school is just… practice?" he asked.
"Practice for what?"
He shrugged.
"No idea."
Then he walked away.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown Number:
That conversation mattered.
I stopped walking.
Why?
A pause.
Unknown Number:
Because you listened instead of replying.
I smiled slightly.
That was new.
At home, I wrote in my notebook.
Not homework.
Just thoughts.
Things I noticed.
Things I copied.
Things I never chose.
For the first time, writing felt easy.
Before sleeping, my phone buzzed one last time.
Unknown Number:
Tomorrow, you will fail on purpose.
I stared at the message.
"Excuse me?"
No reply.
I lay back, confused.
But also… curious.