It was the 29th of February. Sei knew this fact better than he knew anything else. He had been staring at the calendar on his wall since he got up, and now that he had to leave his room, he was staring at the app on his phone. No matter how much he stared, it still read that same date.
February 29th, 2012. He repeated over and over in his head. February 29th, 2012. Oh, how he wished he could change the date, make it a different year so that he would be in a time that didn't exist.
What would that be like? He started to wonder. It was the first time all day his mind had drifted away from the date. Would it be better?
Then he blinked in surprise. "Distress!" He called out, shaking his head.
The car pulled over and came to a stop. Mr. Penson turned around in his seat to look at him. "Talk to me, Sei." He said, in the same serious voice he had used every time Sei had heard him speak.
"Would another dimension be better than this one?" He spoke exactly what was on his mind.
That was the deal he had with the Organization. If ever he had thoughts of leaving the life he lived, he used the codeword and explained exactly what he was thinking. In exchange for not keeping his thoughts a secret, the Organization gave Sei the freedom to leave the compound when he wanted.
Mr. Penson almost smirked. "You can't improve perfection." He said, turning around and pulling out onto the road again.
Sei sunk back into the back seat and went back to staring at the calendar on his phone. This was why he had no problem sharing his thoughts with the people from the Organization. They never really cared what he was thinking. With a simple comment that was supposed to sound profound, they always returned to what they were doing.
One day, Sei thought to himself. One day they'll see that I need them to do something. One day meaningless words won't be enough to distract me/ One day I really will be gone.
His mouth twitched slightly as the car pulled up in front of the school. He waited where he sat, with the calendar still open on his phone. When the shadow of Mr. Penson moved across the door, he quickly punched something in, saved it, and put the phone on lock. Then he smoothly stepped out of the car and stared up at the new school.
One day… Or today.
The first class on Sei's schedule was English. When he walked into the classroom, the first thing he noticed was the wall of windows across from the door. The second thing he noticed was more of a memory, it was the fact that the classroom was on the third floor of the school. Wide windows, three floors up, that made for a pretty easy last jump.
Only after that thought did he actually notice the other people in the class. They were all gathered around different desks, as if they had been chatting. Everyone was silent now, and they were all staring at him.
Let them stare. He thought, shrugging. The motion caused his bag to fall from his shoulder. It landed on the ground beside him, and he didn't bother to pick it up. If he did make a run for the window, it would be too easy for someone to pull him back by the strap on the bag.
"Sei Gea?" A man behind a desk asked, looking at Sei.
Sei turned to him just long enough to nod. Then he went back to staring blankly at the windows. He had learned not to give anything away on his face while he thought. When you live with a bunch of people whose job it is to record your every thought, you learned to face thoughtlessness.
"You can sit in the back row, beside the window." The man behind the desk, who Sei assumed was the teacher, Mr. German, directed him.
Reluctantly, Sei picked up his bag and made his way to the assigned seat. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, but he ignored them. He didn't need people thinking they could become his friends.
When he reached his seat and sunk into it, Sei turned to the window. He felt the weight of his phone in his pocket, a reminder of the date.
He was still thinking about the date, and what it meant, when the class bell went.
Mr. German stood in front of the board and called the class' attention to what he wanted to teach them. "Today I would like to look at the use of other worlds in literature." He said. He turned and drew a circle on the board, labeling it 'Earth'. "Does anyone have any thoughts on the topic before we begin the lesson?"
"Isn't using another world just an excuse to make up anything, and just say that it's possible in another world?" A girl in the front of the room said. Sei thought she sounded full of herself.
"Not necessarily." Mr. German answered her. "Sometimes things happen in other worlds that wouldn't happen here, but they happen to illustrate something from our own world."
"Other worlds are easier to write about than the real world." The boy beside Sei said.
Mr. German raised an eyebrow at him. "Why do you say that?" He asked.
"Well…" The boy tried to think of some reasoning. "If you get to make everything up, then you don't have to do research."
"Would you rather do research, or have to explain a fictional land to the point where it feels real?" Mr. German challenged. The boy had no response to that.
"Today feels like a portal to another world." Sei breathed.
Unfortunately, the class was so quiet that everyone heard him. He groaned as everyone turned to stare at him. He should have just kept his thoughts sealed within his mind. He was at school, it wasn't like there was anyone to record his thoughts even if he expressed them.
"That's an interesting thought, Mr. Gea." Mr. German said, a half smile spreading on his face. He picked up a stack of papers on his desk and started to hand them out. "Yes, many authors use an event that differs from the norm in order to send their protagonist to another world."
"Like a transfer student?" Someone on the other side of the room asked. Sei heard the group around her start to snicker.
Mr. German didn't notice the snickering. "Yes, Natasha. Something like that." Then he paused. He looked at Sei for a few moments before a look of realization crossed his face. "Um, yes, well, we may all get sent on an adventure in another world now that Mr. Gea has joined us."
"I'm glad I could give you all something to look forward too." Sei grumbled. He glanced at the paper that Mr. German placed in front of him. It looked boring, so he turned to the window. It had started to rain.
Mr. German went on to explain the assignment to the class. It was a report on the author's use of his other world. Without even reading the story, Sei answered one of the questions. Did the author use the other world successfully? Yes, because he got the protagonist out of this one.
By the time the class ended, Sei hadn't looked away from the window once. He also hadn't moved closer to it, which was disappointing.
With everyone else, Sei got out of his seat and left the room.
