(2) The Rebirth of Jeremy Lu

"Hey, can you hear? Get off of me." a familiar voice exclaimed.

Jeremy did not have much time to think before he was shoved on the floor. Furthermore, Jeremy did not have much time to register what just happened before the person walked away.

What's going on? Jeremy thought.

Jeremy begins to look around and notice that the place he was currently at, was his old school. More specifically, the rooftop of the building where he had first met Carter.

Carter!? Jeremy looked around and found the same pendant he discovered all those years ago, and yet here it was all over again. Was everything I went through merely just a dream… or did all that happened to me?

Jeremy picked up the pendant and stared at it for a while. Afterward, his vision began to grow fuzzy as tears started to fill his eyes gradually. He let out a soft whimper and stood there gazing at the night sky unsure of what to make of the situation.

A while later, Jeremy got down and proceeded home. As he entered his neighborhood, the environment that once seemed colorless and monotonous to him now radiates with color despite the uniformity and lack of originality.

Everything is the same. Jeremy thought.

As Jeremy entered his house, he could hear the voices of his family. His mother was sitting on at the table, talking to our neighbor while his sister sat on the couch, talking to her friend on the phone.

Jeremy's head was filled with many thoughts, so he quickly greeting them and soon went to his room to reflect on the situation.

Once in his room, he laid on his bed and started to process what was going on. He drew up a list mentally and decided to go from there.

One. I have may or may not have died.

Two. I have returned to the beginning of my freshman year of high school and have arrived at the point where I first met Carter, but why?

This question became the focus of Jeremy's thoughts. He spent some time during his free time reading novels, some of which dealt with reincarnation, but feels as though these cases don't apply to him as he never thought that he was the main character, even in his life…

"Shall I tell you?" a deep yet subtle voice asks.

Jeremy looked around to see where that voice originated from but found that there was no one to whom he can match the sound. Therefore, he got up and started to look around, but as he did, a sense of dizziness and fatigue hit him, he collapsed onto the floor and was knocked out.

As Jeremy opened his eyes, he noticed he was in a chair and front of him was someone sitting at a desk with two doors on each of their sides.

"Hello Jeremy," the person in front of him said, "I am sure you have many questions and more so want to know where you are, but I cannot stay long so I'll be brief. I am the one who brought you back to this point. As for why I did so, let's say I am interested in you."

"You are interested in me?" Jeremy asked.

"I'll go into more detail about that later, but please don't interrupt again." the person asks, "You have a second chance at life, but this, of course, comes at a price… But I want you to undergo a series of trials to which I will be personally handing out. The prize is your future. If you win, you will be able to live past where your life previously ended, but should you fail; you will die similarly as the exact moment you lost your life."

Jeremy looks at the figure in front of him. I should have expected as much… Something supernatural is always connected with reincarnation stories.

"As a freebie, I will tell the contents of your final trial," the figure said, "All you have to do is answer these three questions, First, why did I choose to send you back to that exact moment? Second, what was the purpose of each of the trials I gave you, and third, what is the reason you were able to return?"

"The reason?" Jeremy asked, "wasn't it because you brought me back?"

"That is a partial answer," the figure said, "while I did contribute in your reincarnation, both your experiences and hidden desires played a key role in you being able to return. To make you reflect on it more, I have stored those memories with me so you won't be able to recall them. Also, the answer, you did find it at the moment of your death, but that memory is with me."

My last thoughts? Weren't they of Carter? But if my memories of the answer were taken, then does it have something to do with him?

"The answer will not be simple, so do think about it. You have several years, so I hope you don't disappoint me with your answers. Now the two main rules of this new life are simple. One, you are not allowed to make major deviations to your current life from your previous one. Though we can make exceptions if you complete the trials, I give you. Second, you cannot tell anyone that you have reincarnated. Though I doubt most people will ever believe, there are three other people I am also observing, and you telling them may present a problem in their trials."

Does that mean I have to make friends with Alice again? Jeremy shuddered at the thought.

"As we are out of time, I will go into more depth later. Good luck, and I hope you won't fail in this life." The figure said as everything goes black and Jeremy is once again back to his reality.

So I have another chance to live with the risk of dying at the same moment. Jeremy thought.

Okay, although I don't know the endgame of my story, I'll make the most of this life. With that, he opens his eyes and gets ready for the first day of school.