Chapter 77– Same Classroom, Different Worlds
Classroom 304 felt unbearably quiet.
Not because people weren't talking.
Because Section E had stopped hearing anything properly.
---
Students slowly filled the room.
Laptops opening.
Chairs moving.
First-day introductions everywhere.
Normal university life beginning.
---
But for them—
nothing was normal anymore.
---
Because JJ sat inside the same classroom now.
Just three rows ahead.
Alive.
Breathing.
Existing.
---
And avoiding every single one of them.
---
JJ
JJ kept her eyes mostly on the desk.
Notebook open.
Pen moving occasionally.
Black hoodie sleeves covering part of her hands.
---
But her heartbeat refused to calm down.
---
She could feel them behind her.
Those boys.
Those girls.
The way they looked at her.
Like she mattered too much.
Like she belonged to them somehow.
---
Especially him.
---
The quiet one.
Keifer.
---
Every time she accidentally glanced back—
his eyes were already on her.
Not creepy.
Not forceful.
Just…
heartbroken.
---
And she didn't understand why that hurt her chest so much.
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Section E
Nobody in Section E behaved normally anymore.
Not even Percy.
Which itself was terrifying.
---
Percy sat slouched in his chair unusually silent.
No jokes.
No chaos.
Nothing.
---
Yuri kept staring at JJ like he was trying to force memories back into her through eye contact.
Felix and David weren't talking much either.
Endrix kept tapping his fingers restlessly.
Rory looked emotionally destroyed.
Eman wasn't even sleeping.
---
That's how serious this was.
---
In 305,
The girls looked worse.
Ella's eyes were still swollen slightly.
Freya couldn't stop glancing toward JJ.
Rakhi kept biting her lip anxiously.
Mica looked like she wanted to hug her and cry at the same time.
---
And Keifer—
he looked the calmest.
Which made him the scariest.
---
Because everyone there knew—
Keifer Watson only became this quiet when he was breaking internally.
---
The Professor
The professor entered eventually.
Introductions began.
Basic orientation.
Corporate management structure.
Class expectations.
---
Nobody from Section E processed even half of it.
---
Because every few seconds—
their eyes drifted back toward JJ unconsciously.
---
And every single time—
JJ quietly avoided eye contact again.
---
Not rude.
Not cold.
Just uncomfortable.
---
Like she could sense emotions she didn't understand.
---
Roll Call
Then the professor opened the attendance sheet.
---
"Keifer Watson."
"Present."
Low voice.
Controlled.
---
"Percy Mariano."
"Unfortunately present."
A few students laughed.
But even Percy's humor sounded weaker than usual.
---
Names continued.
---
Then finally—
"Jasper Jean Mariano."
---
JJ looked up slightly.
"Present."
---
Silence hit Section E instantly.
---
That voice.
God.
That same voice.
---
Keifer's grip tightened slightly around his pen.
---
Because for one second—
it felt like the past returned.
---
But then JJ looked away again.
And reality came crashing back.
---
She still didn't know them.
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Small Interactions
Midway through class—
Percy finally couldn't take it anymore.
He leaned slightly forward.
Careful.
Gentle.
---
"JJ—"
---
She froze instantly at the nickname.
Then turned slowly toward him.
---
"…please don't call me that."
---
That sentence hit like physical pain.
---
Percy blinked once.
"…what?"
---
JJ looked uncomfortable now.
"My name is Jasper. Only my close friends and family can call me JJ"
Polite.
Formal.
Distant.
---
Not JJ.
Never "JJ."
---
And suddenly Percy understood something horrifying.
---
That nickname belonged to a life she no longer remembered.
A life that died inside her memories.
---
"…right," he whispered quietly.
Then leaned back again.
Completely silent afterward.
---
Even Yuri stopped trying to joke after hearing that.
---
Keifer
Keifer hadn't spoken to her again.
Not once.
---
But his eyes followed her unconsciously anyway.
Every movement.
Every expression.
Every tiny habit that still remained the same.
---
The way she tapped the pen twice while thinking.
The way she slightly tilted her head while reading.
The way she pushed sleeves over her fingers absentmindedly.
---
Her soul was still there.
Completely there.
---
But the memories connected to them were gone.
---
And somehow—
that hurt more than her disappearance ever did.
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End Scene
Class eventually ended.
Students started leaving.
Noise returning.
Movement beginning again.
---
JJ packed her bag quickly.
Almost too quickly.
Like she wanted escape.
---
Then while standing—
her notebook slipped from the desk suddenly.
Pages scattering near Keifer's side.
---
Instinctively—
both bent down at the same time to pick it up.
---
Their hands touched briefly.
---
And JJ froze again.
That same strange feeling.
That same ache.
That same impossible familiarity.
---
Meanwhile—
Keifer looked at her like he was holding himself together with bare hands.
---
JJ left immediately after classes ended.
No lingering.
No conversations.
No looking back.
---
She walked out of Classroom 304 with her bag held close and heartbeat still strangely unstable.
---
That entire class felt wrong.
Too emotional.
Too heavy.
---
And those people—
those strangers—
looked at her like she once belonged to them.
Especially Keifer.
---
God.
The way he looked at her hurt for some reason.
---
So she left.
Fast.
---
Meanwhile – Section E Dorm
That night—
Section E gathered in one dorm room again.
Only this time—
the silence felt heavier than grief itself.
---
Nobody joked properly.
Nobody argued.
Nobody caused chaos.
---
Even Percy sat quietly on the floor near the bed.
Which alone felt unnatural enough to concern civilization.
---
Yuri paced around restlessly.
Felix leaned against the wall with folded arms.
David sat near the study table staring blankly.
Calix remained unusually silent.
Endrix had his laptop open but untouched.
Rory looked emotionally exhausted already.
Eman sat awake.
Actually awake.
---
The girls were there too.
Ella.
Freya.
Rakhi.
Mica.
---
And Keifer—
sat near the window.
Again.
Silent.
Still.
Destroyed in ways nobody could fully describe.
---
The Questions Begin
Finally—
Yuri broke first.
---
"…how is she alive?"
Silence.
---
Nobody answered because nobody knew.
---
"She had CJD," Freya whispered.
Her voice shook slightly.
"Dr. Ria literally said it was terminal."
---
Rakhi looked down instantly.
"That disease doesn't just disappear…"
---
Percy rubbed his face harshly.
"…we watched her die slowly."
That sentence nearly shattered the room again.
---
Because they did.
They watched the strongest girl they knew slowly lose herself.
They watched her prepare for death before adulthood even began.
---
And now—
she was alive.
Healthy.
Walking.
Studying.
Breathing normally.
---
Like a miracle no one understood.
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Ahmedabad
Endrix finally spoke quietly.
"She said Ahmedabad."
Everyone looked toward him.
---
"She lost memories before Ahmedabad."
---
Calix frowned slightly.
"But why Ahmedabad specifically?"
---
"That's what I don't understand," Aries replied.
"She disappeared from Manila secretly."
"No phone."
"No trace."
"No contacts."
---
"Then somehow she ends up in India?"
Yuri added.
"Specifically Ahmedabad?"
---
David looked up slowly.
"…maybe someone helped her."
---
Silence followed that thought immediately.
Because if someone did help her—
who?
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The Bigger Question
Then came the question nobody wanted to say.
---
"…did she recover?" Ella whispered softly.
---
The room went still again.
---
Because CJD wasn't supposed to have recovery stories.
It wasn't supposed to have survival arcs.
---
Keifer finally spoke after remaining silent for almost fifteen minutes.
Low voice.
Controlled.
---
"She looked healthy."
---
Everyone looked toward him instantly.
---
"She wasn't weak anymore," he continued quietly.
"No dizziness."
"No nosebleeds."
"She looked…"
His voice nearly broke there.
"…alive."
---
And hearing him say that hurt everyone somehow.
Because for one year—
they prepared themselves for JJ being dead somewhere.
---
Not alive and forgetting them instead.
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Percy Breaks Slightly
Percy suddenly laughed quietly.
A terrible broken laugh.
---
"She called me 'do I know you.'"
Silence.
---
"She looked right at me and asked if she knew me."
---
His eyes reddened instantly again.
---
"That idiot used to steal my food daily."
"She literally bit me once during an argument."
Yuri muttered automatically:
"You deserved it."
"No one asked you."
---
But nobody actually smiled afterward.
---
Because the pain underneath it remained.
---
Keifer
Aries looked toward Keifer carefully.
---
Keifer hadn't moved much.
Still sitting near the window.
Still staring outside into Bangalore lights.
---
But now—
his hand rested over his eyes briefly.
Like he was exhausted beyond repair.
---
"She kissed me," he suddenly said quietly.
The room froze.
---
Every head snapped toward him.
---
"What?" Yuri whispered aggressively.
---
Keifer lowered his hand slowly.
"At the club."
Silence became suffocating instantly.
---
"She didn't know who I was."
"She thought I was drunk."
Pause.
"…but she kissed me back."
---
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Because somehow—
that made this worse.
And better.
And heartbreaking all at once.
---
Because even without memories—
some part of JJ still responded to him.
Still found him instinctively.
Still belonged to him somewhere deep inside herself.
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Final Question
Then Mica finally whispered the thing everyone feared most.
---
"…does she live alone?"
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No answer.
---
Because nobody knew anything anymore.
---
Where she stayed.
Who took care of her.
How she survived.
How she recovered.
Why fate brought her here.
---
Nothing.
---
All they knew—
was that the girl they mourned for one entire year was now sleeping somewhere in the same city.
Alive.
Breathing.
Existing.
---
And remembering none of them.
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Other's Reactions.
The dorm room still felt heavy.
Nobody had moved on from the shock yet.
Nobody even knew how to begin processing it.
---
Then Percy suddenly looked up.
"…Cin."
---
Everyone froze slightly.
Right.
Cin didn't know yet.
---
Aries immediately grabbed his phone and started the video call.
The ringing sound alone somehow made everyone more nervous.
---
Then—
Cin appeared on screen.
Still in AIIMS hoodie.
Hair messy.
Looking tired after practical rounds.
---
"…why are all of you looking like divorced parents at a school meeting?"
No one answered.
---
Cin frowned instantly.
"…okay now I'm concerned."
---
Silence.
Then Keifer quietly turned the phone camera toward himself.
---
And softly said:
"We found JJ."
---
Everything froze on the other side of the screen.
---
Cin blinked once.
Twice.
Then laughed.
A short confused laugh.
---
"…not funny."
Nobody smiled.
---
Slowly—
the color drained from his face.
---
"…wait."
His voice lowered.
"…wait."
---
Percy's eyes reddened again.
"She's alive."
---
Cin stood up so fast the camera shook violently.
"What?"
---
"She's here," Aries answered quietly.
"In Bangalore."
---
Cin stared at the screen like his brain stopped functioning.
---
"No."
Pause.
"…no, you're lying."
---
Keifer finally spoke again.
"She's alive."
Another pause.
"…but she doesn't remember us."
---
And that sentence completely shattered Cin.
---
The phone camera moved suddenly as he sat down heavily somewhere.
His breathing uneven now.
---
"…my ate?"
His voice cracked badly.
"…my ate is alive?"
---
Nobody in the room could answer properly anymore.
Because hearing him say that hurt too much.
---
Cin covered his eyes for a second.
Then suddenly laughed while crying at the same time.
---
"That idiot…"
"She seriously disappeared for one year just to traumatize everyone?"
---
Yuri wiped his face aggressively.
"She forgot us, bro."
---
Cin immediately looked back up.
"What do you mean forgot?"
---
Aries explained quietly.
Memory loss.
Ahmedabad.
No recognition.
Nothing.
---
And with every word—
Cin looked more destroyed.
---
"She looked at me," Percy whispered quietly, "like she never met me before."
---
Cin's eyes instantly filled again.
Because JJ wasn't just his friend.
She was his ate.
His elder sister by heart.
The one who scolded him.
Fed him.
Protected him.
Bullied him lovingly.
---
And now—
she remembered none of it.
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Manila Call
Then suddenly Cin spoke again.
"Call Manila."
Everyone looked up instantly.
---
"Now."
---
Within minutes—
another video call connected.
---
The screen split.
And suddenly—
Kuya Angelo appeared.
Tita Gemma beside him.
Keiren and Keigan squeezing into frame sleepily from behind.
---
"Why are all of you awake?" Angelo asked immediately.
Then paused.
"…what happened?"
---
Nobody knew how to say it.
---
Finally—
Keifer spoke.
Quietly.
Carefully.
Like saying it too loudly would make it disappear.
---
"We found JJ."
---
The silence afterward felt endless.
---
Tita Gemma's hand flew to her mouth instantly.
---
Keiren froze completely.
Keigan blinked rapidly.
---
And Angelo—
Angelo stopped breathing for a second.
---
"…what?"
---
"She's alive," Aries whispered.
"In Bangalore."
---
Tita Gemma immediately started crying.
Not softly.
Not quietly.
Like a mother finally hearing her child survived after mourning them for a year.
---
"My baby…"
Her voice broke completely.
"My baby is alive?"
---
Keigan suddenly grabbed the phone closer desperately.
"Where is ate?!"
Keiren's eyes were already red.
"Is she okay?"
---
Then Percy answered quietly:
"She forgot us."
---
And just like that—
the happiness shattered again.
---
Silence.
Painful silence.
---
Angelo slowly sat down.
One hand over his face.
---
"…she forgot everything?"
Aries nodded slowly.
"Before Ahmedabad."
---
Keiren looked completely heartbroken.
"…she forgot us too?"
Nobody answered.
Because yes.
She did.
---
Even Keigan—
usually loud, energetic—
went silent.
---
Tita Gemma cried harder hearing it.
Because surviving was supposed to be the miracle.
But fate somehow still found a way to make it hurt.
---
Then suddenly—
Angelo looked up again.
Serious now.
Sharp.
Protective.
---
"Find out where she lives."
Everyone looked toward him.
---
"But don't pressure her."
His voice softened slightly.
"She already suffered enough."
---
Keifer lowered his gaze briefly.
Because more than anyone—
he knew that.
---
And somewhere else in Bangalore—
JJ slept peacefully tonight.
Unaware—
that people across countries were crying because she was finally alive again.