Chapter 4

I sat on the bed in the nurse’s office while Kei grabbed me some water to take with the medication, we got from the office Luckily the nurse was on break so we were by ourselves. The air between us felt awkward since my melt down in the hallway. Kei hadn’t really questioned anything I had said yet but I know the questions are coming. He handed me the glass of water and the medication. I threw the pills to the back of my throat before taking a big gulp of water. “You know there are cases where people have completely different personalities after a coma,” Kei explained.

I sighed, shaking my head. “I know it’s hard to believe,” I started to say, seeing the tears start to form in his eyes. “But I’m serious when I say I’m not Aki. My name is Toshio, and seventeen years from now I lose my wife in a robbery and take my own life. Next thing I knew, I woke up in this body.”

Kei slumped into the nurse’s chair, cradling his head as tears started to flow. “Why do I believe you?” He wailed. I got up from the bed, putting a hand on his shoulder. “My best friend is gone.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said. “And thank you for believing me.”

Nothing more was said between us as I allowed him to cry. We were in similar situations, having lost people close to us and not knowing how to process our emotions. “I’m sorry for you too,” he cried.

That set me off, as I started to cry again. Damnit, teenage hormones, triggering off all my emotions again After some time we pulled apart, wiping our eyes with nearby tissues. “So, what’s the plan?” Kei asked, still sniffling. I raised a brow. “Well, you’ve clearly been brought back for a reason. What’s the plan now?”

I hummed; Kei raised a good point. But it’s not like I'm in some Shonen time travel manga. As far as I know, there’s no way for me to go back to my, I guess, timeline. Remember the photo Akemi showed me, there was no Aki, so the timeline has already been altered. I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. “I’ve not been visited by a guardian angel or any sort of time leaping gremlin so maybe there’s no real objective.”

“You certainly aren’t Aki,” Kei said with a sad laugh. “He certainly didn’t have your crude and childish humour.”

I gave him a shove, laughing alongside him. My heart is fluttering, it feels nice to know I have someone who believes me. After cleaning up our faces, we made our way back to the classroom. By now we’ve already missed the majority of our first class but it couldn’t be helped. “So um,” Kei murmured, I could see him playing with his fingers. “I know its awkward but calling you Toshio is going to be confusing, are you okay for me to call you Aki still? Even in private?”

When you think about it, it would be hard to call someone by two different names plus it could look strange to people who don’t understand the situation. “As long as you don’t mind if I call you my friend,” I suggested.

“Really?” Kei laughed. “A twenty-two-year-old is so desperate for friends he needs to ask a high schooler.” My face heat up, damnit it really does sound weird hearing it said that way. “But I don’t mind.” I smiled, damnit Kei is the joker type. “You need someone on your side through this whole ordeal anyway.”

I can’t help but wonder just how close Aki and Kei have been. Maybe they were childhood friends? Neighbours once upon a time? Ah who knows, at least I have a friend now. Walking into the classroom, it was as if chaos ensued. Tables and chairs moved the side, large pieces of paper with scribbles on them and on the blackboard it seemed like team designations. “Feeling better?” Mr Hashimoto asked with a large smile. I nodded. “Excellent. You guys missed the role designation for the school festival. Kei, you’ll be with the food booth and Aki, I haven’t given you one yet. In the mean time you can just wonder around and see where you feel comfortable.”

“Sure no problem,” a school festival? That brings back memories.

“Mr Aki,” I turned looking down to see Akemi holding up a piece of paper. She pushed it forward, encouraging me to take it. “This is for you!”

She seemed proud of what was on the paper as I took it. I flipped it around, seeing a colour child drawn picture, of what I assume, was me with the words ‘get well soon’ written above. I felt the tears come back. “She wanted to make you a card,” the class rep spoke up. “I think Akemi did a really good job with it.”

I knelt, hugging Akemi tightly. It’s so strange, feeling her warmth again. Even as a child, she was considering others and thinking how to make them feel better. “Are you okay?” She asked, hugging me back.

“I think Aki really likes what you did for him,” Kei said as I pulled away and he patted her head. “I think our decoration team could use your help with how pretty this picture is.”

Akemi blushed, laughing as she ran off with the rep to start on more decorations. My heart is so full from the first-hand experience of seeing Akemi’s childhood. My Akemi never really spoke much about her childhood and family. “Hey Kei,” I said in a low voice, not wanting the rest of the class to hear. “I’ve decided why I’m here.”

“Oh.”

“I’m going to help Akemi have a childhood worth bragging about,” I proclaimed, looking at the picture again. “She has such a bright smile and kind heart, a kid like that deserves to be happy.

“You know,” Kei said. “I think that’s pretty noble of you.”

I turned back around, standing up up straight. “So, you’re still going to help me, right?”

Kie sighed, crossing his arms. “I guess I have no choice huh?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“At least our last year of high school will be entertaining.”

Oh crap, that last sentence brought me down from my eye. That’s right Aki is in high school. Which means I have to take exams all over again. My mouth twitched; I might have just bite of more than I can chew.