Another Point of View - 1

1

As I walked to the table, tray of food in hand, I saw a large, bluish tentacle emerge from the ceiling and lift Twen several feet off the ground.

I was so tired that I did not even bother to look up to see what he was doing, but I already knew it was something to help the people of the Novadía dining center in some way.

Zena: Lani! You're finally here!

Noe: You seem to have had a rough week. Are you okay?

I sat down in the empty space next to Zena, and the others quickly noticed my lack of energy.

Since I didn't want to waste what little time I had left by being late (or waste my remaining energy thinking of coherent things to say), I simply nodded and mumbled.

Lani: Mhm (yes).

Zena: And since you arrived so late, you're gonna have to gobble all that up in record time.

Lani: Mhm… (yes…)

Zena: Oh, sorry…

Many: Hey, I heard from a friend that they had to kick an annoying customer out of X-Café the other day… Is everything alright?

Lani: Mhm (yes).

???: What?! Really? You work there, right?

Lani: Mhm (yes).

???: No way! Who would act like that in front of such a pretty girl…?

Noe: Right? He must be out of his mind.

Sitting across from me were Many, who sometimes went to X-Café for coffee or drinks with friends, and a girl I did not know, but who seemed quite outgoing.

That kind of person varies across a wide spectrum, ranging from cheerful and energetic people like Zena to shameless people who want attention any way they can.

I could not judge this girl so quickly, but I also did not want to spend too much time analyzing her. I still had to finish my meal.

…

With nothing else worth mentioning, time passed until we left the cafeteria.

Many and the girl sitting next to her did not leave right away, so we said goodbye to them as we got up from the table. And as for Twen… Well, he was talking to someone who worked in the cafeteria, so I could not say goodbye directly.

But we did make eye contact before leaving, so we both waved goodbye.

Then, when we were all outside, we went our separate ways as usual. That meant I had to continue on my own until I got to the CIN.

With so many things that had happened to me lately, I had a lot to think about during the walk, but what ended up swirling around in my head was the most recent stuff.

Watching Twen work (even though he said it was just helping out a little) while I sat eating my meal felt strange, because it was always the other way around… Except for that one time I stayed at his house, but that was different.

Helping others, even knowing it requires extra effort, is admirable in a way. But you have to know where to draw the line, so you do not end up being the one who needs help immediately afterward.

I still did not quite understand why Twen had started offering his help in the dining room, but he had done it a few times already. And if it was an attempt to combat a feeling of uselessness, then he might have trouble setting a limit.

That had also been a problem for me on more than one occasion, so I worried that it might be the case for someone else.

So much so, that I could have delved deeper into the topic all the way to CIN, but I was interrupted mid-thought.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder, so I stopped and turned around to see who wanted to tell me something, only to find a smile directed at me.

Prince: Excuse me, is this the right way to get to CIN…?

Just like that, without any warning, he appeared in front of me…

Unfortunately, I could not answer his question immediately. Not because I did not know the answer, but because I felt physically incapable of doing so.

In any case, he did not stop to wait for me and continued talking, giving me a few seconds to regain control of my own body.

Prince: I'm looking for a friend of mine… She works at the X-Café, she's blonde, and she's like this tall…

Lani: Prince…

Prince: Oh, Lani! It's you!

Feigning sarcastic surprise, Prince widened his eyes dramatically and brought his gloves to his head.

I was confused, and I could not maintain eye contact with him. Instead, my eyes followed the people beside us. Initially, they were all still, but soon they began to move.

Prince had stopped me right before a traffic light, and it turned green, so I could have crossed if I had just kept walking… But I did not, because I was talking to him now.

Meanwhile, my hand kept digging through my things searching for that round object that was supposed to help me. And, after a few seconds, I finally found it.

Prince: Oh, were you crossing? Sorry, I didn't mean to hold you up—

Lani: It's okay… But seeing you here is a surprise. How are you?

I just needed something to help me overcome the tension building in my body, so once I managed to reach my red sphere, I was able to continue the conversation.

Prince seemed a little taken aback by my response, but his smile only grew stronger. He clapped his gloves together and then continued speaking.

Prince: Well, after a few months away from Novadía, I was starting to miss home, but now that I'm back, I feel like luck has been on my side! In fact, I didn't even have to use my powers to find you quickly.

I found it hard to look him in the eyes while he spoke, waving his gloves around so cheerfully as if he had already forgotten a certain part of his past, although he always looked unaware of it.

Lani: I didn't expect to see you here so soon, but I think it's good to have you back.

Prince: Really? Thanks, Lani! So, what have you been up to? How's work and everything?

Lani: A lot has been happening… Studies, new classmates, work, annoying clients, masks… I'm tired now, but everything else hasn't been too bad.

Prince: Wow, I hope it gets better… Huh… Masks, you say? That's strange… Anyway! I imagine you don't have much time right now, though I'd like to talk to you sometime. What do you think?

Lani: Yes, you're right. I'll text you when I have some time.

Prince: Perfect! Then, see you another day, Lani. Take care!

With that, Prince took a few steps backward while gesturing with his gloves, until he turned around just before crashing into man who was looking at his cell phone.

He looked cheerful, carefree, as if nothing in the world was bothering him… And in my case, although the common thing would be to say the opposite, it really was not.

My head simply was not working. My thoughts were not thinking, and my brain was not braining.

I looked in Prince's direction until the rest of the people waiting at the traffic light started crossing the street, and then I crossed with them.

I found myself walking through the streets of Novadía staring at the ground, though without really knowing what I was looking at, trying to get the gears in my head turning again, and little by little they managed to start running.

That is when feelings of confusion, surprise, and disorientation began to creep in… The sun was shining more brightly than ever before, and from all directions. Not to mention the noise of people and vehicles around.

As the cherry on top, my foot met a small hole in the middle of the sidewalk and I almost fell to the ground.

Nonetheless, I managed to stay on my feet, but I immediately felt my heart begin to beat faster and faster as my skin became damp with an icy sweat.

I stood still, clutching and squeezing my red sphere tightly in an attempt to cope with these strange feelings, but I was unsuccessful.

The whole situation was like a sick joke, something orchestrated with the sole purpose of making me angry. And, certainly, it had succeeded.

What a load of crap!

I threw my sphere to the ground with all my might, without even thinking about where it might end up… And then it bounced, rolled a few meters, and finally fell, splashing a bit of water as if I had thrown a stone into the river.

I soon realized that the connection between the two situations was, in fact, very close.

For some reason, I was not walking in the direction of my university, but rather heading directly toward the river of Novadía.

I quickly ran to retrieve my red sphere, which was being swept away by the current, and luckily (at least this time, I guess) there was a small slope leading down to the river not far away, and the sphere was drifting close to the bank.

I managed to retrieve it by stretching out my right arm, so I got it back without getting too wet.

After that, I simply lay down on the ground by the river with the red sphere on my chest.

I tried to look at the sky, but the sun was shining too brightly in my eyes, so I covered them with my arm and ended up spending a few minutes with my eyes closed.

At some point, I wondered how late I was going to be for class, or if I would even make it back that day… But, in the end, my only response was to empty my lungs, letting out a long, drawn-out sound.

However, something made me change my mind.

Zena: “Lani! Did you make it to class yet???”

A message from my best friend, which I did not usually receive unless something made her think something might have happened to me during my fifteen-minute walk.

Of course, that was not usually the case, so I deemed it unnecessary for her to feel worried. For that reason, I acted as if everything was perfectly fine.

I got up, dusted off my white sweater (slightly dirty now), and started walking once again.

Lani: “I’m on my waaayyy”