Just Like My Favorite Novels

The sliding door opened with a bang. I marched into the bustling classroom, breathing in the aromas of numerous lunch boxes. My dramatic entry made the surrounding students stare in my direction with narrowed eyes for interrupting their meal. They radiated sneers and whispers that mocked as I made my way to the desks by the windows.

“Ishigaya’s up to something again.”

“He shows up now? School started hours ago.”

“Talk about lazy, right”

But no matter how many deprecating murmurs that came, they were deflected like flies to a swatter, for all that dominated my thoughts were the plans I cooked up the night before. Hours of restlessness lead to this moment where I reveal them to the boy who sat before my seat.

I dropped the shoulder bag that weighed me down, producing a loud thud that startled Jun. He jerked back at the noise and glared with annoyance flaring in his eyes. “Loud much?”

“Sorry, it’s just that I’m finally gonna do it.” I swung an arm out and pointed at the blue sky outside, “I’m gonna send myself to another world!”

There was a pause that lasted for a couple seconds, but felt like minutes as I awaited Jun’s response. He stared with eyes half-open and a mouth ajar before breaking the silence. “You mean studying abroad? I’m proud of you, man. Where at, America?”

I shook my head, “No no no! I mean send myself to a fantasy or sci-fi world. Like the ones in fiction!”

Another moment of silence, lasting longer this time. Jun sighed and scratched his head, “Ahh, of course.” He leaned forward and looked me dead in the eye, “Come on, what’ve you been reading to give you this idea?”

“These.” I pulled out a pile of books from my shoulder bag and spread them out like cards dealt in a poker game. Their covers contained illustrations of cute girls in skimpy outfits with vast, fantasy backdrops behind them; ancient castles, sprawling fields, and medieval towns drawn in vibrant colors. Other covers had the girls standing by an average looking guy drawn with the same black hair and school uniform. But one similarity shared between each novel were these specific words in their titles: Another World, Reborn, Reincarnated.

Jun scanned each cover from right to left. “So, you want to wake up in another world because you like books about it?” He snickered, trying to hold in a laugh. “Not even a week into second year and you already want out.”

I lifted my glasses, “Doubt me all you want, but why do you think so many of these books are about being reincarnated?”

“Because it’s a popular genre and its writers are appealing to the masses?”

“Because it’s possible!” I rose and bumped a fist to my chest. “And I, Kaito Ishigaya, am going to be the first in Okayama North High School to do it. Maybe even the first in Japan!”

“Fine, fine, I get it,” Jun waved his hand, indirectly telling me to sit down. His face reddened at the stares from two girls sitting beside us. “So, tell me, Mr. Other World, how will you do it?”

“There are many ways, my friend…” I removed the pile of books and replaced them with a folded sheet of paper. Written on it were near-indistinguishable notes and crudely drawn sketches, each with a stick figure representing myself. One had me exiting a convenience shop, another getting struck by lightning bolts, and lastly playing a video game. Surrounding the sketches were lists of convenience shops within Okayama, particular fantasy online games I believed would help accomplish my goal, and days with rain and thunder taken from the weather forecast.

While Jun spent a minute skimming through the notes, he let out a few uh-huh’s and hmm’s before flipping the paper. Here, a low “huuuh?” escaped him upon viewing the sketch of a truck. In front of the truck was my stick figure lying down with a BAM beside it. He looked up at me, eyebrows wrinkled, “I don’t know, man. I can get behind playing a game, but throwing yourself at a truck?”

“Haha, thinking about it now, that might be a bit much.” I swiped the paper and scribbled all over the truck’s sketch. “Gotta guarantee surviving a failed attempt, after all.”

“So, let’s say it works and you’re off in some distant land. Aren’t you afraid of getting stuck?”

Crossing my arms, silence looming over us once again, I searched for an answer only to come up blank. “I’ll just have to figure out how to return. Maybe save the world, find a magic portal...” Wanting to continue my explanation, I planted a finger at the sketch of me playing a video game. “Anyways, if I were to do it, I’m gonna start easy by first playing a game for an unhealthy period of time.”

I then pointed to the convenient shop. “Moving my way up in difficulty, I’ll enter and exit every convenient shop in Okayama late at night.”

Jun snickered, “Are you saying if I’m finished with my part-time job, there’s a chance I’ll end up in another world one night?”

“It happened to the main character in one of my books. Wouldn’t hurt to try it in real life.” To conclude my explanation, I pointed at the sketch of lightning bolts. “Which leaves getting struck by lightning.”

“Which is a one in two million chance.”

“Right.” I put my hands together, “So, I only have one thing to ask of you… Free to game after your archery club?”

Jun ruffled his hair, breathing out an exhausted sigh. “Honestly, I still can’t wrap my head around your idea. But I also can’t resist seeing you embarrass yourself. Let’s do it.”

---

I exited the school grounds, waving goodbye to Jun who headed for the archery field. “Remember, we meet online at six o’clock!” I hollered once we went our separate ways.

“Yeah, yeah, six o’clock”

On the way home, I stopped at an intersection and waited for the walk signal. Lightly bouncing on my toes, feeling the breeze of passing vehicles, I imagined the outcomes of my upcoming efforts like movies on fast-forward. The possibility of an unknown force pulling me through my TV screen in the middle of a game. Shutting my eyes, then suddenly greeted by a medieval town upon opening then whilst stepping out of a shop. Feeling the rare shock of lightning from the heavens and waking up to a beautiful goddess who will send me to the other world.

These fantasies continued, leading me to a trance that shut out the world around me. But not long after, my daydream was broken by a barking before me. On the other side of the street, I spotted an orange dog, with its leash trailing behind, running towards the crosswalk. Chasing after it was a girl who I assumed was its owner. “Pan…! Slow down!” she yelled in between pants. She drew close, her hand about to latch onto the leash’s hoop, but the dog immediately sped up.

Watching the dog run, an aching feeling in me feared it may continue along the crosswalk with cars passing. I looked up at the walk signal which still hadn't blinked, ordering pedestrians to stay put.

I planted my feet and leaned forward while waiting for two more vehicles to go. Once the street was empty, I leapt off the curb. As I predicted, the dog landed on the crosswalk at the same time.

Watching the dog close its distance before me, I lowered myself with arms out. Once it drew closer, I clasped my arms around its body and picked it up. The dog squirmed and growled, wanting so desperately to free itself from my grasp.

I continued to the other side, but as if on cue, a horn to my left blared. Turning to the sound, I faced the front of a white semi-truck about six feet away. Time slowed down, and I distinctly remembered a scene from a comic of a heroic protagonist meeting his doom in a similar way; saving someone in distress only for his breath to be taken by a monstrous vehicle.

Returning from my flashback, I turned to the girl and tossed her dog like a rugby player passing the ball. Following my throw, I dove away from the truck’s path, but was too late as its force struck my side.

My limbs flailed like a thrown ragdoll. The world tossed and tumbled before I landed on my side. Oddly enough, I felt no pain, but a calming blackness slowly overtook my vision.

The last thing I heard before the dark, silent void swallowed me was the girl’s screaming echoing away.

---

Within the darkness, a white light faded into view along with various colors that mixed together in undecipherable ways. Afterwards, feeling across my body returned, and a soft, continuous humming grew in volume. I rubbed my eyes, which were weighed down from drowsiness, and looked around my blurred surroundings.

From what I could make out, I sat at a table in a tiny room. Standing in front of me was a tall, greyish block about five feet high. A monolith? Did I wake up in a fantasy world? I made a mental note to investigate it once I regained my energy.

Next to the grey monolith stood a slender figure wearing a dark-green gown. Maybe it’s the goddess of this world ready to prepare me for this new life.

I reached out and picked up a pair of glasses. My fuzzy sight cleared up after putting them on, transforming my vision to show everything in full detail. But just like the truck, reality hit every part of me when I remembered my current whereabouts.

Here, I sat in the small, white break room of the grocery shop I’m employed at. The bright ceiling lights above revealed faded, yellow stains and tiny cracks that marked the walls. Producing a continuous humming above me was the ventilation blowing cool air.

As for the grey monolith that stood before me, it was the stainless-steel refrigerator with a map of Oklahoma, USA stuck to its top door using magnets.

Finally, I looked up at the slender figure that towered over me. She was not a goddess, but my aging manager glaring down at me with crossed arms. I think her annoyed appearance added another wrinkle to her forehead. She donned an unkempt, dark-green apron with a crooked name tag. “Kyle, your break was over five minutes ago.” The roughness in her tone from the dozens of cigarettes emphasized her frustration. “Go relieve Mike from the register so he can go on his break.”

“Sorry, my bad.” I got up with my head slumped forward and dragged my feet out the breakroom, still in the process of waking up from my temporary slumber.

Yellowish fluorescent lights lit up the store, and the bustle of shoppers filled it with a cacophony of noise. They waited in lines that extended from the cash register desks. I walked up to the register I was assigned and began scanning the next customer’s items. While I performed my monotonous task, I grinned at another realization that hit me upon waking up: I, Kyle Baker, have successfully awoken in another world. The real world.