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"Look who finally decided to leave her wonderland and show up in the real world." I turned to find my brown-haired best friend walk to me.

"If that is the way you welcome me on my first day back in hell, you need to reconsider working on your greeting skills." I hit him on his head, that hurt my hand. He let out a laugh and pulled me in a crushing hug, literally I felt I might have a broken bone now.

"Um, I know you love me and missed me in the hallway, but Neil - I need air to breathe," I whispered. He pulled away from the hug and put his hands on my arms and examined me like I'm a delicate piece of art in some old museum.

"This hallway was never the same without you." He stated, his blue eyes radiating sheer happiness.

"Yeah, it was never dramatic." We heard a voice and saw Jamie walking to us. To be honest, I missed her the most. We've been together for so long that we know every detail about each other's lives, well knew.

"C'mon Jamie, dramatic isn't even the word." He gave her an eye. I mentally laughed, he was on my side. "It was always disastrous and chaotic." Then he laughed and winked at her.

Oh, okay.
And I thought he was on my side.

"Let's go. Skye, Betty and Zach are waiting for us in the cafeteria." She holds my hand and asked to walk with her. I stopped her and she turned to face me, her dark brown eyes, always been my favourite colour.

"Do we have to be with them?" I asked, unsure of my socializing skills with people. "Can it not be just the three of us, like the old days?"

Skye, Elizabeth and Zachery are our friends, Jamie and Neil told me that. They've been to my place, visiting me every other day. I remember their faces now. First, it was awkward, when they showed up in my hospital room, Elizabeth with a giant stuffed unicorn toy and Skye with a band-aid of my name, she got it customized. It was a cute gesture.

Since then, they've been there, every next time when I needed my friends. Whenever I asked Landon or Dad to call my friends, they'd call all of the five and the house would become a party place. Dad and Landon enjoy my friends' company as well.

"C'mon Lyssa, they are our friends. We thought you've finally started feeling comfortable around them." She started, assuring me with a smile.

"I do, yeah -I mean, they are great. I like them, but all of this and today is a bit overwhelming for me." I declared.

"They're waiting for you, Alyssa. We are a group and we all love you. You being back in school is a huge deal for all of us and we want to celebrate." Neil stated, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded, still unsure about it. I want to be normal, for my friends, for myself. But coming back to school means trying to cope up with all the memories, that I've probably lost.

We walked to the cafeteria and Jamie explained to me how everything works around here. It was like, she was giving me a school tour. I made a mental note to myself that we are in Senior Grade and will graduate in the next three months.

There is a table for every clique, from preps to jocks, nerds to stoners, rockers to gamers, everything down to the loners. Not that they actually spoke to each other half the time.

She explained and my eyes scanned the area. People should be in class for their lecture, but some were here, either on their phones or talking to each other.

"There they are," Jamie stated and pointed to the table where I saw two girls and a guy laughing about something. Their heads turned to our direction and they waved to us. As we walked to them, they stood up and ran to me altogether. Carefully, without saying anything, Elizabeth pulled me in a hug.

"How are you?" Was the first thing she asked. The first thing I noticed about her on the day we met at my house was her nose ring, it looked beautiful on her face with her Auburn hair.

"Umm, good - I guess," I whispered.

She stepped aside to let Skye welcome me by pulling me in a warm hug. "We missed you, Ally." She had braided her hair from the side and wore a black bomber jacket. She looked cute and edgy.

"Step aside bitches. My favourite person is back." Zachery pushed Skye away and pulled me in a bone-crushing hug. I swear I won't be able to feel my bones by the end of the day.

"Oh my sweet angel, you look ravishing." He looked me in my eyes and stated. I passed on a smile. Zachery has been the ray of light of the group. He is always smiling and cracking jokes. Skye dramatically rolled her eyes at him.

"Thank you, Zach. But a scarred face and a body of broken bones is not my definition of ravishing." I stated. When I woke up, Zach and Neil were in the room with Landon. Dad was in the Doctor's office talking about my health. I recognized Neil and Landon, but Zach was a stranger then. He introduced himself with just a smile, but the next day he brought a bouquet for me. He has the most unique eyes, as he has a condition called sectoral heterochromia which made his one eye blue while the other half blue and half brown. I instantly became a fan of his eyes.

"You still are our old beautiful Ally." Jamie declared.

"I doubt that I mean she is beautiful right now, but back then - she was just plain." Neil stated. Everyone else gave him a look.

"That is why you begged her to go out on a date with you when she rejected you three times." Skye said. They all laughed.

"That never happened. It was the opposite. Ally was in love with me." He stated with a wink.

"I might be unaware of a few facts for now, but I'm sure this is false information." I rolled my eyes at him. He scoffed but then a smile formed on his lips.

These people are easy with me, none of them bringing up any topic from the past to make me feel uncomfortable. All this time, they talked and updated me with everything going on in school while I sat there, enjoying my time with them. In the last three months, they've avoided talking about anything that hurts my brain, because everybody around me was instructed not to cause mental pressure on me.

Landon was right. I enjoy my time here, well for now. Who knows what happens next.

The bell rang which indicated that we had our first lecture to attend. Neil said he would get a new schedule for me, because I lost the last one, well, don't remember that. But for now, they helped me with my classes because I had almost every other class with each of them. Only one subject, Law wasn't together with them. They said I decided to opt for Law alone and not with them because they were a pain in my ass and I really needed to study the subject without any distraction.

For now, I've English with Neil and Syke. The hall is filled with people, and the chaos is so perfect, like a movie. Some took a glance at me, passing on a smile. I tried to pass the smile back, but I couldn't. They are strangers to me, maybe they know me, maybe we had a past together, but I remember nothing.

Some girls walked past me like I don't even exist. Well, that is fine with me. I have anyway wanted that, for people to ignore me and continue with their lives like I never stopped.

They walked me to the lockers and I had mine next to Jamie's. She said we paid extra to have our lockers next to each other. On which the Principle scolded us for showing off the money, but anyway agreed to pass the lockers to us.

I opened the locker, which remained untouched for months. It was tidy, I thought it might be a pigsty, but no, everything was at its place. A few books for academics, more books to read, a few stationery items and a picture of me, Aurora and Landon.

I took the picture from the clip and examined it. We were so young. It was from Landon's seventh birthday, I guess. It was a superhero-themed party and everyone was having a blast. He dressed up like Spiderman because back then he was in love with the character and therefore asked for a themed party. Aurora dressed up like Circe, but in a decent way, wearing a green dress, though she knew Landon strictly asked her not to get up as a villain. She out themed the party and he was angry at her. I, on the other hand, dressed up as Jean Grey and he promised to love me forever and that I'll always be his favourite sister. I liked how Jean had both her days, the good one and the bad one. She could be Phoenix as well as a superhero.

I miss Aurora. Ever since I've woken up, I didn't get to see her. Though we talk on the phone where her voice is not the usual her, Dad says it's because she has changed. Well, I cannot say anything about that. I was away for quite a few time.

There are a few cards to get well soon, some hand made, some bought from the shops. I guess people slipped the cards in my locker. Jamie knew the code of my locker and she helped me remember it.

There is also a card, different from all the others, that particularly caught her attention. My name was printed in beautifully flowing calligraphy on the front, the ink a beautiful navy blue colour. As I opened the letter, which carried a poem.

The words, each had a deep meaning. It felt like someone wanted to convey something, heartbreaking. A lose of someone, maybe a lose of me. It took me another few minutes before I began to realize how much these direct words hurt me.

"Whatcha got there?" Zach took the card from my hand and before I could protest, he showed it to Elizabeth.

"Oh wow, what is this?" She inquired. She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at me. "You're already getting Valentines? What am I saying - of course, you are, look at you."

I suppose Valentines is several months away. Who'd send me a valentine's note with a heartbreaking poem?

"It's not a love card, Elizabeth." I stated. I remember when I first called her Elizabeth, she looked at me, amazed. They told me I always called her Lilibet because I adored Queen Elizabeth so much that I had to give that nickname to my friend.

Always.
It has been a long time since always.
Always, in recent days has been forever to me.
Whenever they updated me with these little things, I tried to learn it like I was supposed to keep a journal about the new facts. These all information, it is new for me. I'm processing everything slowly. I'm learning about myself.

"What is it then?" Neil asked. "I guess a simple note, something saying about loss and heartbreak," I stated. "I suppose this is a joke." I took the paper from her hand and placed it inside and the locker.

They exchanged glances, like let's keep her out of our secret or yeah we all will communicate through actions but she won't know.

"Guys?" I called them. They all faced me.

"Yeah, definitely a joke." Zach declared. I nodded, though I was not convinced with the sudden change in his tone. The other three waved a bye and said we'll meet at lunch break. Neil, I and Skye, we walked towards our class.

"I warn you, Ally, Mr. Porter is going to be a little dramatic when he sees you, but bear with him." Skye stated.

"Dramatic?" I asked. "He went all oh my lovely child, be back soon and other stuff, literally in the form of stupid poems for you."

"Guess I was his favourite student." I stated. "About that, um..no, you were the exact opposite of being his favourite." Neil said.

"He was jealous of you."

Jealous?

"Because he thought you were the only person in this school who loved poems more than him. He loathed you because you considered poetry as a beautiful form of art, which was apparently only his right to do so. I swear, he has killed you many times in his dreams."

"Let's not make death jokes, Rollins." Neil warned her. She nodded and we entered the class. It consists of twenty chairs, almost everyone was already there.

They greeted me with a hello and welcome back and stuff and I just smiled back.

I took my seat beside Skye while Neil was behind us, with some guy who passed on a smile.

"You may not remember me, but I was supposed to be your English project partner before everything happened." He stated.

Before everything happened.

Yeah, right.
Before everything changed before I was someone else before my world turned upside down.

"Shut up Chris." Neil turned to him in anger. "Hey, that's all right." I assured my best friend. He sighed. I passed on a smile to the Chris guy. "I hope you find a better partner this time. Someone with a stable brain." I joked about it.

He sighed and let out a chuckle. "You were great."

"I know I was. But you'll find a Great II, an updated version of me."

He nodded and didn't say anything further. Skye rolled her eyes at Neil. What?

The professor entered the class and everyone greeted him with a good morning. Once his eyes landed on me, they begin to shine. Water formed in his eyes, tears. He walked to me and examined me with a heartwarming smile.

"Oh, dear Alyssa. You're finally back." He spoke after a silence of the whole minute. Everyone watched our emotional reunion. I felt nothing, not a single emotion and look at him, crying his eyes out like I was his precious child. He stated how much he missed me in class and whatever, which seemed a total exaggeration. Everybody laughed at something that he said like it was supposed to be a well-known Joke about me and him. Once he was done with his welcome back speech, he walked in front. He had already wasted ten minutes of the class for which I guess everyone loves me now.

"Ugh, drama Queen." Skye inhaled. "Now that you're back, he'll be back being at his best."

"And that is being a bitch." Neil groaned. I let out a chuckle. They hate this man, not just him, they hate every professor.

"Okay, class." He drew our attention to him. "Today we'll discuss about protagonists, what makes them stand out to be the hero?" He started off. "Everyone thinks of themselves as the protagonist because we're all the main character of our own story."

The main character in the story?
A protagonist?

Actually, I guess I'm the comedic sidekick that maybe has powers but can never be the main character everyone looks upon. I'm no diva, I'm just a girl, with broken bones and a confusing past. I cannot be the protagonist. They are supposed to be strong, full of life and remember everything. They narrate their lives like it is full of adventure. But for me, I am none of the three. I have no adventure in my life.

I'm just a stupid girl. My future, my fate, my road to greatness that I guess I wanted to achieve was destroyed in a matter of seconds. All that I planned for, all that I wanted and aspired to be, all that I thought would be a reality came crashing down on me. I don't blame anybody for that. It was supposed to happen. All I can do is start fresh.

The bell rang and everybody started leaving the class. I didn't even realize, I was not paying to attend to whatever the professor taught. I was battling with my own thoughts.

We three walked out as well. The hallway was again filled with students walking to their next class. Neil and Skye waved me a bye as soon as Zach accompanied me. It felt like they were taking turns to be around me, like a bodyguard.

"How did Mr. Porter react after seeing his one and only rival?" He asked. It is my first day back at school and everything will be hard to process this fast. The classes, the people, other than Jamie and Neil. Though the three of them have been my friends since last two years, being with them in school is a new experience for me. So yeah, I guess I'll have to work faster, to walk in their time.

"We had an emotional reunion, totally unrequited from his side, as only he had tears in his eyes. I was totally baffled by his outstanding performance." I stated as he laughed.

"I missed you here Lissie." I turned my gaze at him, his eyes shining at me. He wasn't lying. But I wished I could say the same.

"I know it is hard for you to process everything. But you'll get there. You're strong." He declared. I passed on a smile. We entered our Calculus class and the same routine followed. The other students welcomed me with smiles and greetings.

"You know, if you hated anything more than your Bali vacation, it was Calculus class." Zach stated.

"My Bali vacation?" I asked. The professor entered and started teaching, so Zach promised he'd share the story later.

Unlike the previous professor, this one didn't bother about my presence and that is exactly what I wanted from people. To treat me like no-one, to not bother about me and let me be, just me.

I groaned at everything that the professor taught. I couldn't concentrate. This subject is bullshit. Zach was right, I hate this subject already more than anything. He laughed at my situation but assured that I'd get better in days. I didn't believe him, but he was sure about it.

We walked out of the class, once the bell rang and we had a break now. So we started walking towards the cafeteria where everyone else was supposed to meet us.

"What was that Bali vacation thing?" I asked and walked, my gaze turned to him. I didn't pay attention to where I was walking and before he could explain to me anything, I hit something really hard. The bump made me drop my book.

"Ouch. FUCK!" I yelled out in pain and jumped back as something hard and heavy fell on my foot. "Mutherfu-" I stopped myself when I saw who I just bumped into.

All I saw was a guy with brown curls looking at me worriedly. His brown eyes had concern in them, like they knew what was my story. He said in a panicky voice once he realized what had happened. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Without thinking, I bend down to pick up whatever had fallen on me, which turned out to be the biggest and heaviest books I had ever seen.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Don't worry."

He smiled kindly in a friendly way. "No, I'm really sorry. I wasn't paying attention and that seemed like it hurt a lot."

He carried an essence of different ethnicity.

"That, it did but it's fine. I can barely feel it already." I assured him. "With all the other physical pain that I'm suffering, this had me feel nothing."

The guy and Zach exchanged glances and then the curly-haired turned his eyes back to me. "It's nice to see you again, Alyssa. How are you?" He stated with a shy smile. He knows me. I turned to Zach and he understood that I don't know this person.

"She is doing fine, Liam." Zach answered instead of me. Liam. He nodded and walked past up after a wave and a smile.

"He was hot." I exclaimed in delight. "Well, he gets that a lot, Lissie. Belonging to a different ethnicity does help a lot in popularity." Zach and I started walking.

"What is he, Turkish?" I asked, not sounding too obvious that I did like his appearance.

Zach nodded giving me a confused look. "How do you -"

"What, really?" I asked surprised of my guessing intelligence.

"His father left Turkey for further studies. Then he settled here and got married to an American woman."

"So the son goes after his good. Good for him. He can charm people around with his looks." I let out a chuckle.

"Yeah - because here, looks do matter," Zach rolled his eyes. " a lot." 

I hit his arm playfully. "C'mon Zach, you've got the most beautiful eyes."

"I know." He winked as we walked. I laughed.

O course, Liam got the compliments from people. Those curls were literally the cutest yet the hottest thing I've seen. Can someone be cute and hot at the same time? Well, I know my brother tops that category.

Once we entered the cafeteria, we spotted our friends and walked to them. Neil stood up and gave me a side hug and walked to get his food. He said he'll get a sandwich and juice for me.

Skye and Elizabeth started talking about what happened in the previous class. How some Bitch Sophia was again trying to get the young professor's attention. Their words.

I examined the area. Everybody was having a good time. They were with their friends, having lunch, talking about things they loved, people they hated, about books or whatever. At least, they knew what they were talking about, they remembered what they ate before six months. I cannot do that.

My eyes landed on the hot guy I ran into before ten minutes. Liam. He caught me looking at him and passed a smile. The girl next to him saw that and said something to the group. That's when I realized, there were four guys including Liam and two girls including the girl next to him. They all shifted their gaze at me, leaving just one. Everyone either passed a smile or had a blank face, while the only guy who didn't bother to look up, was reading a book.

My eyes landed on the title, The Bell Jar.

"Is that Sylvia Plath's book?" My friends' shifted their attention to me when I asked. Then their eyes landed where I was looking. At the guy.

"Yes, it is." Neil walked from behind and stated, placing the tray on the table. I thanked him and he took a seat next to me.

"Did I ever read that book?" I asked them. "You read it more than ten times." Skye stated. "In the course of two years." She added smiling.

"Sylvia became one of your favourites." Elizabeth stated.

"You wanted to read Sylvia but could never get the copy of it. Finally on your sixteenth birthday, you got the book as a gift and you couldn't be happier about it. You completed reading it within two days. You read it day and night. After that, you would read the phrases that you underlined, every night before sleep."

"From the same book?" I asked. "No, you had phrases underlined from every book that you read. This way, you'd re-read them before going to bed." Neil declared.

"That was annoying though. You'd carry books everywhere, a new one every fourth day." Elizabeth stated.

I nodded understanding a little more about myself. But as far as I remember my last memories, I had given up on reading. I quit reading for my own reasons.

"As far as I know, I don't have this book on my shelf."

"That's because you lost it when - "

"When what?" I asked. Zach was about to say something when Jamie glared at him. He shut his mouth. When what? I asked again. "Umm - when we went on a trip together." Jamie stuttered. She is lying.

"Is that true?" I turned to Neil and asked. I wasn't convinced by her answer. He nodded meeting his eyes with mine, then back at Jamie. I didn't push it further. They know me better, they know about me, more than me. I should trust them, believe them. Neil and Jamie have been my friends since we were six. The other three, Skye, Betty and Zach, I might not remember them as my friends from the past, but they know me so well.

I guess having them with me will help me get better. This new phase with them will be a good journey, I suppose. I just hope I live up to their expectations. I hope I'm me around them, the old Alyssa.

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