Chapter - 4 : A normal day!

"…..ahhhh~"

It was around 7:13 in the morning when I woke up, the sun had already risen but my body felt heavy and somehow… strange. It seems like yesterday's events left me with some strange effects but for now I just decided to ignore it and change into my school uniform— the blue long-sleeve shirt, grey pants, red tie.

After changing, I went downstairs for breakfast. Mari, my older sister, was there with Diamond, her boyfriend who had stayed over. They were talking about their plans to get married, which I didn't really care for. Mari, who's in her late twenties and well-regarded at work, often annoyed me and Diamond, who's a bit of a nuisance to me, was making the morning awkward. My mom, who looked as youthful as ever in her forties, seemed the same as always– clam, yet distant.

But it was not always like this… when my dad died, I was only 10 at that time. When I heard that my dad had died of a stroke I was in shock. I can't believe it. I don't really cry and because of this some say that I'm heartless. My mom and Mari cried for days, but not me. That's when I realised… something important—no one ever truly loved us. The people who used to care for us? It was all an illusion. They were jealous. Our kindness was wasted on them. After Dad's death, my mom spiralled into depression for over a year and a half.

"Oii!! Max, why are you spacing out." Sis's voice snapped back me to reality "Just complete your breakfast or you will going to be late"

"Sorry sorry!!" I muttered, shaking off the memory.

"Max, what were you daydreaming in early morning, do you have -" .Diamond smirked, always ready to tease me but before he completed.

"Just stop Diamond," Sis interrupted. "My little brother does not have anyone like that," Sis said.

"Ahaha- how can I have… Sis?! What do you mean?!!"

"It is nothing," she said with a sly smile.

"Ehhhh?? C'mon, tell me"

Our mornings are always like this—filled with teasing and laughter and I want to keep it up as long as possible.

As we talked, I kept quiet about the strange events from the previous day.

.....

*Time Skip - at school*

It was just another typical day at school. I was getting along better with my classmates and even grew closer to Travis and Steven, two guys I met on the first day. They were good and fun people but I felt like I had seen them before. During recess, I went alone to meet Aditya in the canteen, he was already waiting with some food.

"Yo!Aditya!" I called out.

"Ohh, finally! You are late!" feigning annoyance., he said

"Sorry, sorry. I was having fun with them"

"ohhhh...Finally you've grown up" he teased.

"Don't make fun... I just wanna change myself!!"

"hahaha- alright, alright. Anyway, let's get down to business."

Aditya leaned in and started telling me rumors he'd heard from his classmates and upperclassmen. Apparently, our school was built by the British during the colonial era. But it wasn't just for education. There were rumors of… other motives, though no one knew what those motives were. As the canteen got more crowded, we decided to move to the library.

On our way there, I suddenly heard a voice—a faint whisper, like a woman's. "You and me... same..." It wasn't Maya.

"…Did you hear something?" I asked, looking around.

"What!?"

"….."

"Ahh- nevermind" It was only me who had heard. The voice was same when I started to drown in that strange ocean

Once in the library, my eyes were drawn to a book. It looked ordinary, but I felt an odd pull toward it. The book was inside a science bookshelf, I picked it up and flipped it open. The text inside looked like English, but all the letters were upside down.What kind of book was this?

"Aditya, check this out. It looks like English, but the letters are all messed up," I called him over.

"What are you talking about? It's just a normal science textbook," he said, peering at the book. He didn't seem to notice anything strange, but to me, it was different–

"Hey! You two! What are you doing?" A voice interrupted us from behind.

We turned to see a senior. He had glasses, looked like a person who always acted smart, stood about 5'11", and had green eyes. Slim build.

"Who is Maxwell between you two?" he asked, his eyes scanning us.

I froze. How did he know my name? What did he want with me? After a moment, I answered, "I-I'm Maxwell."

"Oh, so you're Maxwell," he said, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "Then I guess it's true… just rumours, huh?" He muttered something under his breath, but I couldn't catch it.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Never mind. And you are?" he turned to Aditya.

"Aditya, senior," Aditya responded casually.

"Aditya, huh? Would you mind leaving us alone for a moment?"

"O-Okay. I'll catch you later, Max," Aditya said, giving me a puzzled look before walking away.

"....."

The senior turned back to me. "Now that your friend is gone, let me introduce myself. I'm Janiff… just like you."

"Like me?" I blinked, baffled.

"Yeah. I have latent powers too. In this school, only nine people have this ability. In the new session, three people were found with it—and you're one of them. Your powers have been… activating ever since you started here."

I stood there in stunned silence as he continued.

Suddenly the bell struck. "Ohh.. It was already time. Maxwell-"

"Max is fine"

"So, Max come to the principal's office after school. We will discuss later" saying that he left.

After he left.. I decided to leave but before I returned to my class, my vision started to blur, my eyes felt too heavy to open like my body wasn't fully under my control. Suddenly, I found myself back in my classroom, all the other students had already left. How did I get here? How long had I been out?

"Oops, I forgot. That senior… What was his name? Janiff? Jade? Whatever—he told me to go to the principal's office."

Just then, I heard a voice in my head.

"Max… I have something to tell you…" Maya's voice echoed.

"Oh, Maya! What's up?"

"Hm… I-I…" She hesitated, like she didn't want to say it. "…The truth is… I've been controlling your body for the past seven days…"

"What?! W-Wait!! What do you mean?! Seven days?!" I practically yelled in my mind, panic rising in my chest.

"Yeah… I've been in control the whole time, but don't worry! No one noticed. I acted like you," she said, sounding slightly embarrassed.

I couldn't believe it. "What were you doing while you were in control? And what about that senior?"

"Oh, everything's fine. I avoided him," she replied, almost casually.

"What?! I thought it was serious! What have you been doing all this time?!" I sighed in frustration.

"Hahaha… I was just enjoying myself, having a real body for once. It was… fun, and I though-"

---

Suddenly, Janiff walked into the classroom. "So… talking to someone?" He glanced at me knowingly.

I froze, unsure of how to respond.

"When Maya was in control of your body, she was so… cute! I don't even know what she really looks like, but I could tell…"

"What?!" I thought Maya had everything under control!

"Sorry, my mistake," he quickly corrected himself. "Max, about that day, I—"

"4-eyes, sorry I couldn't make it that day," I cut him off, still processing everything.

"No worries, but… why do you call me 4-eyes?" He smiled, though I could tell he was a little irritated.

"Sorry, I just forgot your name," I said sheepishly.

He smiled and bent slightly, like he was addressing royalty. "As I said before, my name's Janiff. I'm a science student here. Let's go to the principal's office to continue our conversation."

With that, he led me to the principal's office, where the principal and five other seniors were waiting.

....

-to be continued….