2

Once I closed the door to the classroom, I could make out voices coming from inside. I attempted to ignore them, putting up blocks to keep their sharp, piercing words from cutting at my arteries. However, the shield was flimsy, and they were out for blood.

"Are you okay, Tokachi?" The teacher said, saving me from the indirect attacks at my insecurities. "You're shaking." I looked down at my hand, watching as it continued to shiver against my leg. Stashing both in my pockets, I let out a heavy breath and stared back at her.

"I'm fine, but what happened exactly? Did I blackout?" I asked, but she gifted me another moment of silence as she looks off to the side. I was already expecting a grave tale. Once she got up the courage to tell me, she confirmed my suspicions.

"I'd brought you in a few minutes ago once the bell rang to introduce yourself to the class. However, before you said your name, you froze. I tried getting your attention, but you refused to respond. The other students, then, began to whisper among themselves before I quieted them down. That's when you fell onto the floor and screamed, tears streaming down your face. I believe you came to a few moments after I yelled your name."

"...I see. I'm sorry for causing trouble."

"No. No. It's perfectly fine, taking your condition into account. Of course, I'll have to report this to the school, your therapist, and your sister. If it's alright with you, would you like to go home for the day and try this again tomorrow?" She asked. I gave a single nod after a bit of thought. I certainly didn't want to return to whatever my new classmates were discussing. Plus, after that shitshow, I'd rather bury myself in my sheets and pretend this day was wiped from the calendar. "Also, I'll refrain from mentioning your mental issue to the cla-"

"Tell them," I said, interrupting the teacher as I stated it bluntly. "Oh! Sorry for interrupting!"

"It's okay, but your sister specifically asked me personally to not bring it up to them. I gave her my promise out of wanting you to get along with the others regularly."

"I had a panic attack at the front of the classroom. If we pretend it never happened, that'd be fanning the rumors that are already spreading in there," I said, pointing to the classroom. "At least, if they know about it, I can still have a good time at this school. Don't you agree?" I tried my hardest to word it in a way to come off rationally. Though, honestly, I was hoping it'd make people leave me alone. The idea of sitting alone on a rooftop, reading manga as I ate my lunch alone, came to mind as a blissful dream. The missing presence of others didn't bring a frown to my face...as long as I could live a normal life.

"Okay. I'll let them know," She said, finally deciding after a few moments. "If you could, please apologize to your sister. Otherwise, perhaps, I'll make you take the pop quiz I had planned for today," She told me with a laugh. I knew she was trying to lighten the mood, but that's like threatening me with cruel and unusual torture! Wasn't I new? Weren't I exempt from that already?! "Anyway, head to the faculty office and let them know you're leaving for the day. I'll let them know the details, so don't worry. Have a better day, Tokachi," She said, walking back into the classroom.

As I turned to leave, I overheard her telling them my disorder. Honestly, I felt like I was past the social anxiety recently. Everything was going fine, I was able to go shopping with sis a few days back, and I thought school wouldn't be hard. But, with this, I felt like sitting in the bath and letting the world drift along without me for a while. It was like having chains that kept me from moving on, confining me to what I was used to...like that man with the mask. Perhaps it was a metaphor for something.

Either way, after speaking to someone in the Faculty Office, I got my things and walked out of the school's front door. It was relatively sunny for the worst day of my life so far. The birds that flew over my head were almost like a celebration of my failure to fit into society. But, regardless, I noticed some dark clouds on the horizon. I knew it was going to rain, so I'm glad I brought my... "Shit. Forgot my umbrella," I whispered under my breath as I turned around.

Suddenly, without warning, I locked eyes with the man with a mask from before.

This time, I was able to backtrack a few feet before busting my ass. Quickly letting the pain drop from relevance, my vision swung from left to right, the never-ending forest circling me once more. How did I end up there again? Was it another blackout? As I panicked about what was happening to me in reality, a hand touched my face. He closed the gap between us like before, his mask inches from my face.

As the hands slowly rotated backward, he stated something weird. "Automata Hacks Wife." Before I could get a question in, which I wasn't sure would be even heard by myself, everything goes black.

"TOKACHI REN!"

Lights filled my vision to the brim, the faces of multiple people surfacing soon after. Their eyes looked down at me, widened enough to witness the white around the entire iris. From these visual exchanges, I noticed that I was sitting on the ground against the wall. Even worse, it hits me that I was in my new class, in front of people I just met, introducing myself.

But the absolute worst part was that this was happening again, the tape flipping back to the start as if it never played.