Memory Chapter 1: I know Him

After speaking about school Kenneth regained a memory he had forgotten about when he became a DT.

It was in the middle of December just like how it was now, we were all in class wearing our puffy little coats, from what I could see, Sam was most likely asleep, I sat in front so I couldn't tell, but it was a habit that she often had, so I didn't really need to see, even the teacher got used to it and just let her be. There was a kid that Sam kept talking about over and over again, saying she recognized him, yet the kid seemed so introverted, it didn't really seem like the type of friend that Sam would make, and yet, without missing a beat, even when sleeping, the minute that bell rang and school or even just the class was over, she'd try to get him to talk day after day, honestly, he must be so annoyed.

"Come on, you don't have to be silent all the time, I'm sure of it, we've met before, just say your name and I bet I can remember"

"Is Sam still trying to talk with him?" My twin sister Nicholai asked me a question

"I guess so, she keeps saying she knows him, but...I dunno, it feels off" I laid my face on my hand

"Well, we're all odd, adults keep saying we act way too mature for our age" She looked over at Sam "Well, most of us"

"Green hair...that's odd as well, who would dye their kid's hair that young?" The more I talked I only agreed with Nicholai's point that she made back then, we were oddly mature for our age, I wonder why that is, it must've been another locked memory when I became a DT.

"Well, Sam will probably get over it eventually, it's probably just some weird doppelgounger"

"Doppelganger" I corrected her saying, only proving her point more.

"Sure, whatever"

Day 2 of Sam's attempts

We were walking along the sidewalk, it was the day after Friday (Saturday for people who somehow don't know) so we had free time, soon we came across the kid again who was sitting down

"You!" Sam ran up to him, he seem startled "I'm not giving up I'll remember your name no matter what!" She didn't take a single breath, saying it all in one go. The snow became colder, and yet the guy was out here all alone "Hey! How about you join us?" The kid stood up slowly and stood beside me, I guess that was a yes "Now, let's do some karaoke!" Even I knew Sam was being harsh, yet it was a good strategy, get the kid to sing and you'll hear his voice and maybe remember him.

"Closed" My past self said "The snow hit something of their's, cut the power or something along those lines"

"ohh...Well how about we go relax at my place, this cold is killing me anyways" She also forgot how late it was getting, regardless, we all agreed, well, if you could count the kid's silence as a yes then...yes.

We made it to her front door and pressed the doorbell button, it soon opened with Sam's parents...it made me realize, during the apocalypse, what happened to them? They were such caring people, I didn't want to think about what hardships they went through, being alone just the two of them, without their daughter.

"S- Cold ain't it?" I could tell by being here many times that Sam's dad was about to speak Japanese but then saw us and spoke in English.

"Hehe, yeah" After Sam said that her dad looked behind her and saw the kid

"Oh? Who's the new member of the crew?" He knelt to get to the kid's level

"I dunno, I feel like I know him from somewhere yet I can't remember, and he doesn't really talk much" Sam said it with such a smile that you think this was normal behavior around here

"Well, he looks cold, how about it? You wanna warm up inside?" Even though we were complete strangers to him, he still nodded and joined us inside. "You kids can sit by the fire, just don't burn something"

"Hey!" I don't know if this was written down once already, but Sam had a tendency to burn things, either on purpose or by accident. We all started talking about random things, the only time the kid would respond is when it could be answered in a yes or no format, over time I too wanted to know more about the kid, more importantly, why he didn't talk, or at least, why he didn't want too.

"Here you four go" Sam's father gave us all hot cocoa, just holding the cup felt warm, and gave this sense and feeling of safety, maybe I'm gaining that feeling due to the situation in the real world, regardless and continuing, we all sat there talking again, me and the kid were on chairs while Sam and Nicholai sat on the floor near the fire, I didn't expect much to happen, that was until I saw the kid smile for the first time, and it wasn't an anxious smile, it was a true and genuine smile that he was expressing, but I didn't want him to be harassed by Sam twice in a row, so I decided to not say anything, only shooting a wink at the guy to let him know he's fine, the kid only smiled more.

"I can't wait for winter break, it's gonna be so much fun!" Sam had recently bought many games and shows for us to binge during the break, hehe, I can only imagine how tiring it must've been for the guy, dealing with Sam like this.

"It's gonna be tiring" Nicholai said, sipping on her cocoa

"Hmm, pessi pessi"

"What does that even mean?" Nicholai was getting mad at Sam.

"Alright Sam, your mom isn't gonna be home for a bit, so" Sam's dad sat with us "What do you all wanna eat?"

"Pizza!" Sam raised her hand with enthusiasm, the guy nodded with her

"I don't mind" Nicholai kept taking small drinks every now and again, while she didn't say it, I knew it was because it burned her lip, to be fair when I drank it back then it really did burn, but Sam had a father who made some good hot cocoa, it mainly only tasted amazing when hot, it did taste great when just normally warm

"What about you?" He looked at me

"I'm fine with what Sam said" Sam's father smiled

"You know just because it's our house doesn't mean you can't order whatever you want" He said that because he thought I was forcing myself to eat it, but in true reality, I really did not mind eating it, but I was glad, knowing that he thought of us.

We all kept messing around for the day, eating pizza and what not, we even fell asleep, and by the time I woke up we were still in Sam's house, but the kid was nowhere to be seen, I always kept wondering where he went every day, it didn't seem like he went home during the day, but it's not like he was depressed, I think he just likes the snow, I mean, I snow I did before I met Sam, and me and Nicholai don't really do much fun stuff together, so I played alone, ahh, maybe that's why he didn't speak, the odds were stupid but it was a thought for sure, he's most likely just used to being silent, not like that's an issue though, lots of people act like that.

Day 3

I was by myself this time around, Sam went to bed already and Nicholai was at home, the neighborhood was nice back then, so I went outside alone a lot. I walked along the sidewalk, the crunching of snow as I pressed my feet on it felt nice, and the cars driving past as the headlights illuminated, it was a really, really stunning view. When I turned to my right I saw the guy again, he held a camera and had his hair up in a ponytail, really weird, but with the way he did it, it fit well and didn't really seem off in any way. He turned and saw me, I walked over to him

"Didn't stake you for being a photographer" I looked at the camera, after a second he extended his hand that held the camera "You want me to have it?" He shook his head "Check the photos?" He nodded. I grabbed the camera and began looking through the photos, they were gorgeous, of course not something a good photographer couldn't do, but for a kid to do this kind of work was amazing, the photos were of the setting sun alongside trees and buildings, some photos were of bugs that flew around the place, and there was another one, it gave off this sense of peace as the snowy white grass in the photo looked like I could touch it "You're good at this, you know that right, Sam has been trying to get into it but can never really do it right, you wanna teach her?" It was a stupid plan and yet it worked, he nodded, I guess it wasn't really a plan, it was nothing really, nothing more than helping the two at the same time.

Day 4

If I recall, nothing I know of happened this day, the kid was most likely helping Sam with taking photos and becoming a good photographer, the snow was peaceful though, then I forgot about how I slept through the entire school day.

Day 5

After an explanation, and lies, I apologized for "skipping" and went back to class, Sam was hyper, Nicholai was reading, and the only person who was remotely different was the kid that Sam keeps talking to, he seemed unbelievably happy, I guess he enjoys being around people, I guess that first, the initial feeling of him being an introvert was just a hoax.

The class hadn't started yet, everyone was either chatting up a storm or playing games, our group was the type for both, playing games together while talking, hell, we still do it now...well...we used to. We all played MK, it was a nice little game, the one with coconut mall is still the best one though. It ended with Sam winning, the kid in second...and I didn't need to say the last two, that was awkward enough. Once more, besides for some bonding that we all shared with our love for gaming, nothing that helped the kid talk or say his name happened, instead it was all smiles and laughter after failure and competition...boy, I could only imagine UNO with us...oh wait. Anywho this day was more peaceful than anything, so it was time to depart from this day.

Day 6

Same as before, we played games, said and laughed at joked, just a bunch of normal things, soon though, we noticed how the kid was gone and we decided we wanted to know where he went after school was over, and so, we did something that is totally legal and looked for him, hunting down every little clue that might help us in finding him. After I got tired I leaned against the park fence, yet when I looked up I saw Sam and the kid, the kid seemed like he was in a terrible mood, and Sam, being her normal self, tried cheering him up

"Even some villains deserve a happy ending" No matter how many times I replayed this memory in my head, no matter how many times I thought of this, I couldn't say I agree or disagree, there were many arguments for that opinion, but that wasn't the issue at hand. After saying that, the kid looked up at Sam, and once more, Sam extended her hand and asked

"What is your name?" the kid grabbed her hand and smiled, and before he could get back on his feet, on the floor he spoke

"Lee, my name is Lee" After hearing the name Sam's face lit up

"See I told you Kenneth, I knew he looked familiar" Even though I wasn't nearby, she seemed to have noticed me, I could only smile, I couldn't notice what she meant that day, and I still don't know now, after all, how would I know if he looked familiar if I never met him.

"II told you, I know Him"