10 Ascertaining the Status Quo

As soon as I opened the door, I quickly realized that I couldn't just "ignore it".

The first issue arose immediately. I had no mode of transportation. There was nothing to aid my journey outside the house; I had to rely on my own two feet. Although this discouraged me a bit, it wasn't enough to break my spirit. Knowing I'd have to rely on a bit of my own energy, I decided to head back inside and pack some survival essentials into my backpack.

*Three of these chocolate granola bars oughta suffice...*

Okay, maybe they weren't essential for survival, but they were bound to boost my energy, so they were good enough.

I stepped outside for the second time today, and I finally left the confines of my property. However, I quickly noticed another problem. The neighborhood was... practically crumbling apart. My house and a few others around it were fine, but after walking a short distance, it was easy to find houses that looked as if they'd been there for quite a few years unattended. Some of them even had loose shingles, or were windowless. In addition, there were no signs of people. In a suburban area like this, at this time of day, most families would be in the process of their daily commute. This stark contrast to the neighborhood I knew was unsettling to say the least. It made me realize how much atmosphere people took up.

*Now that I think about it, people aren't the only thing missing...*

As I subconsciously started to observe my surroundings a little more, it wasn't hard to find other things out of place. There were no wild fauna, for one. Not that there would be very much in a densely populated neighborhood, but there were no rabbits, birds, stray cats, or anything of the sort. There was absolutely nothing. Not even crickets or cicadas chirping broke the silence. With the absence of living beings, even the slightest breeze was deafening, creating odd howling noises as it passed through various crevices in the decrepit structures.

In addition, the normally well-kept yards of our neighbors were a little too lush; the yards were becoming overgrown with grass, and various weeds could be seen sprouting out of the cracks of the driveways. I could even see some moss growing in shadows at the base of the walls.

*What the hell is going on? Where am I?*

I was beginning to feel like I was in the twilight zone or something equivalent. Imagine leaving your house in the morning only to find odd inconsistencies and no people wherever you looked. I didn't have to imagine it; it was literally happening right in front of me. I was genuinely starting to get freaked out.

The only positive thing about the status quo was that the weather was ideal. The sun was peeking out from behind sparse clouds, and the sky was crystal blue. It was warm enough to make me feel complacent but not hot enough to make me start sweating.

Despite my odd surroundings, I pressed forward in the direction of the school.

*Ah, what am I doing... I don't even like school, but now that this situation has come up, I'm going straight there.*

This strange scenario made less sense the more I thought about it.

If there truly were no people here, there was most likely no authority. Why was I still going to school?

Why was there nobody in the house? Why did it seem like there hadn't been anyone in the house for a few days?

Why was there nobody... in general? Even the local stray cat...

How was it possible for the neighborhood to look like this in such a short amount of time?

How could the world I know be this creepy?

And most importantly...

*Why is there no WiFi?*

The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. And when the following thought entered my head, I couldn't get it out.

*Wait... world I know? Do I really know this world?*

It was a fact that my surroundings were incongruous with what I was familiar with.

I pulled out my smartphone and stared at the screen for a few seconds, attempting to rack my brains for more clues. The date on the phone was the same as it was on my computer. The third of January, 1970. I also had no service.

After contemplating for a few minutes, I came to a conclusion. It was one that didn't make sense.

*But my whole situation doesn't make sense! ... If this is not a dream, and it's not the world I know, then... there's no way right? ... Why me?*

Had I been transported to the far future where everything was crumbling? Was I in a post-apocalyptic scenario? Would zombies start coming out of the ground?

If it wasn't this, then there was another possibility.

Maybe it was those isekai light novels I'd been addicted to recently, but I was starting to think I had been taken to another world. I wasn't sure, and the other possibility seemed more likely. But if that were the case...

*Nothing is going to change. I'm still going to school.*

Education was important.

*I'm totally not scared of the possibility of being in an entirely unknown new world, regardless of if it's the far future or something else entirely.*

In the past, I'd imagined myself as the protagonist of a post-apocalyptic novel. I would count on my hands how many days it would take for me to die. I'd at least surpassed the instant death point, so it could only get better from here.

I'd also imagined myself as the protagonist of an isekai novel. The conclusion I came to was, "it's like traveling abroad, but with way more culture shock", depending on how different the new world was from Earth. It's entirely possible that the new world was an alternate version of Earth. Still, traveling abroad was a personal nightmare. Due to the fact that I didn't have very many friends in school, and my best one was a masochist, I didn't have the best social skills.

*Or maybe it's the other way around... because of my social skills, I don't have many friends? No, that can't be right.*

Regardless of what order this happened in, the fact was that I wasn't very good at communicating with strangers, much less with those who didn't even speak the same language or shared no culture. I'd always imagined "another world" as the extreme version of traveling abroad. After all, most of the worlds in these isekai novels really were completely different, with magic systems and stuff. If these worlds were real, the combinations of unknown things would most likely create a wildly unimaginable culture, resulting in the worst possible culture shock on Earth multiplied by 10.

Those stories where the protagonist gets taken to a world seemingly tailored to his personal benefit always made me cringe. They have no plot, and the protagonist is a walking deus ex machina. Yet these stories are still wildly popular, because they're "relatable" to a certain subset of people. Take a no-name no-life out of their bedroom and place them in a world where they're practically a god. Wouldn't it be fun if it happened to you? No wonder these types of things are looked down upon by the society at large. Why would a hardworking citizen enjoy a story about an unemployed person becoming a god?

The problem was, if my isekai hypothesis were true, *I'm* the one being transported to another world. This brings up a few issues of my current state.

1. I'm unemployed.

2. I lack social skills.

3. I'm lazy.

4. I'm practically a nobody.

*Seriously, though. I'm in high school. You expect me to be employed? I guess the universe doesn't care about things like that...*

I was still technically unemployed... so, once again, if and only if my hypothesis were true, this means that this world is one of the following:

a) Crafted around my wants, allowing me to become a god amongst men.

*Yea, right.*

b) A mistake.

*Possible.*

c) In need of my help, and I was the "hero".

*... No chance. What kind of damsel in distress tells you to survive?*

... or...

d) A boot camp to correct my behavior.

*... Well, the first and third options are highly unlikely, and none of the others are appealing at all. Seriously, why me...*

Trying to find the answer, I thought of everything that happened yesterday.

*Come to think of it, yesterday was a pretty strange day in general.*

I nearly broke down over yelling at Jeanna; I claimed a "victory" for the first time against her - an anomaly. Then, I was late for school. Then, I failed a test. Nothing wrong there. But then, I went straight to the club room... on time. And then, chess... and then... There was a weird atmosphere between the three of us. And then...?

*?*

What happened after that? Why couldn't I remember?

Had a whole day really passed? Was yesterday even "yesterday"? Was my headache this morning really just a bad hangover, or were my memories missing for some other reason?

*What's wrong with my head? Why can't I think properly?*

I must be going crazy. I don't know how or why, but there's no way I was in the far future or a new world. That would be literally impossible. I must have gotten really drunk and had a bad hangover. That's the most logical explanation to why I can't think straight.

*That still doesn't explain why I can't even remember my best friend's name... or where Jonah and Jeanne are...*

As I was pondering yesterday's events, I recalled the time I spent with Jeanna. I remembered how strange she was acting - asking random questions and becoming startled at minor events. I remembered how *he* had confronted her about what happened.

*That's right. She had to know something was up. If there's anything I don't know about, she definitely does.*

With that, I gave myself a goal. In the midst of the chaotic swirl of thoughts I was having, one thing set my mind straight. Find Jeanna.

*That's right. Trying to comprehend the details will only make my head hurt more. I already resolved myself to ignore everything that was going on, right?*

The good thing is, the neighborhood's layout happened to be exactly the same as I knew it, so I didn't have to waste extra brain power trying to create a mental map of the area.

The farther I walked, the more dilapidated the houses became, adding to the unsettling atmosphere. Eventually, they started looking like they had been hit with wrecking balls, hit with a massive earthquake, or both. Despite witnessing all this, I continued my trek through the frontier.