Chapter 1: The Revelation Came Crashing

"Unless this World were to somehow change…." Was what I heard before the seats behind me erupted in laughter. I didn't know why they were laughing, what he said made sense. Yet, I wonder what kind of thought process had created such a statement.

"BWAHAHAHA! A poem! Akira recited a poem!" Arita Kohei; probably the most popular guy in our school. Definitely not the brightest, but he does command the most attention and respect. Apparently, from the unadulterated gossip, he was the most attractive man.

"Wha? N-no…" I heard Sengoku protest. He was more of a scrawny kid.

"Y-You shouldn't laugh, Akira...teehehehe." Rion Akagami; the ace of gymnastics and is considered one of the cutest girls in the school.

"Y-you're wrong, I'm telling you!"

The noise was escalating quiet a lot. Looking back at my work, I realized several words of their conversation had ended up in my computer program. I was getting to drawn in to their antics. I would have to put an end to it. "Hey…Keep it down."

"Sorry, sorry." Sengoku's voice was much closer than before. I attempted to reconstruct the data that was destroyed. I heard the hitch in his breath. He must have realized who had spoken-up against him.

"Mariya!" He continued. It shocked me that he correctly remembered my name. "That's amazing! You're programming, right?" This comment also shocked me. I willed myself to calm down, to appear and sound like a normal teenage 'know-it-all'. "As expected from the top student for three years in a row."

"It's nine years in a row," There, that sounded almost convincing. Perhaps I should push it a bit further. Secretly, I wanted to know how Sengoku would respond. "Even though it's just a trivial thing, please say it correctly. When you don't, it's unpleasant." Silence ensued from the seat behind me.

I held my breath, slowed my typing, and waited until they moved onto a quieter discussion. Several minutes later, I was sure they had forgotten me. Even though I had left a dull and annoyed impression on them, they would move on in their lives and forget about me. Perhaps their minds would wander back to me when they see my name or something similar to it somewhere, and scoff at the subtle atrocious memories.

To be completely honest, I had no idea why I pushed people away. I had always wanted a close friend, but whenever the opportunity presented itself, or when someone actually showed interest in my hobbies or my life, they always ran away whenever I allowed them to see the real me. The one who is not dulled by facts, unfit by books. It had stoned me up and built a façade around my heart.

I just wanted to change. I wanted someone to need me; to want me; to love me for who I am. Was that so much to ask?

I saved my program and turned off my laptop. Resting the machine on my lap, I looked out the window. It was pretty dark outside, which was strange. Had I been working longer than I had originally thought?

"Excuse me ma'am?" I turned to a passing stewardess.

"Yes sir?" She seemed to be recovering from a slight emotional experience. Her eyes were slightly puffy, and her hair was a bit disarrayed.

"What time is it?"

She looked towards the front of the cabin and turned back to me. "Around 1 o'clock in the afternoon, sir."

I froze. Glancing back outside I could see it was still dark. This couldn't be right. Nowhere in the world does it become night in the middle of the day. Unless it was an eclipse. I threw the thought away. It wasn't possible. It would have been on the news and the students would have been gossiping about it throughout the entire trip. No, there was no chance that it was an eclipse.

"Excuse me sir," The stewardess interrupted my train of thought. "Would that be all?"

Abruptly, the plane jolted! Packages were thrown from the overhead compartments. Screams from the entire cabin erupted from the mouths of everyone. I clutched my computer to my chest in fright. Several moments later, the shaking stopped and the plane leveled out. For a few minutes, the people around me groaned in slight agony.

"Was it an air pocket?" The boys in front of me had decided to try and figure out what happened. No, there was no way that was an air pocket. The altitude was too low for something like that. The lower you are, the more pressure there is against you. My heart clenched. For some reason I knew it wasn't over yet.

"Oi!" Someone yelled.

"The outside."

"Wha? What?"

"Isn't it noon?"

Everything was silent for a few seconds. Jolt! We began to lose altitude quickly. My butt rose from my seat. I fought to keep my glasses and computer close to me. I was yelling, shouting profanity. For all I knew, and I pride myself in how much really did know, we were going to die.

XXX

"Mariya?" Someone, a male, called for me.

'Yes?' I felt good. My mind was fuzzy, like I could think straight. A hand was pressed against my belly. I didn't understand how such a feeble type of contact was enough to feel this way. Yet, I couldn't really bring myself to care at the moment.

The hand traveled down, making my back arch in this strange need. The man chuckled. 'What's so humorous' I wanted to ask, but my mouth wouldn't form the words. I cracked my eyes open a bit. I knew the person who was giving me the unimaginable feeling to me. I knew that I loved him, more than life itself. I just couldn't remember who it was. I sought for my lover. All I saw was darkness.

"Mariya," The voice was so husky and smooth. It entered my brain and jumbled up everything inside of it. I felt him moved his hand down to my hip. His chest was now against mine, pressing my body to the ground. The hand that was not on my hip attached itself to my head. His breath blew against my face. "I love you." I shuddered as he closed the distance between our lips.

XXX