ring ring ring

„My name is Alice and, if anything, I'm a pretty norm..."

„Pffft! What's this? The introduction of the main character?", her best friend laughed at the other end of the phone.

„Shhh, the peanut gallery isn't supposed to interrupt the random exposition! Anyways, why did you call?"

„I just wanted to ask when you get home. I still have to cook, it has been far too long since we had something proper to eat! Where are you right now?"

Thinking back, it has already been one and a half years since they entered the same college and started living together.

„Take a guess."

„So you are in the library again? What is it this time about?"

Alice had always been curious and liked to read. But while she could sate her curiosity at first easily, since she started college and had more time on hand, it started to escalate quickly.

„Well, I've read an article about A.I. and got curious..."

„So this time you are learning programming?"

„No, I'm learning to build a computer."

Yes, this was the problem, her curiosity had turned into a bad habit. Alice's father was a scientist who always pointed out the importance of the basics, and she took it to heart. Probably a little bit too much.

„Urrgh, but you know that you can only borrow ten books at once from the library?"

„I know, that's why I was very careful with the selection!", Alice said, very satisfied with herself.

„But you do know that you have already two books on black holes?!"

„Ooops, I forgot about those..."

„Or the four books about the history and development of vacuum cleaners..."

„Oh right! Did you know that the first...", Alice started only to get interrupted.

„Yes I know, the first vacuum cleaners were big cars that would drive from home to home and could only blow air. You told me already three times in the last four days.
Oh, but did you know that you also still have five books on the biology of the earthworm..."

„Right, those were pretty interesting! Did you..."

Her friend interrupted her once again: „No, I don't know and I don't want to know! They are creepy and disgusting and that is all besides the point!
How many books are you trying to borrow?"

„Ten."

„And how many are here at home?", her friend continued asking.

Alice thought for a moment: „Two... Six... Eleven... Oooh!", she finally realized what her friend was on about.

„I have already more than I am allowed to, don't I?"

„Exactly, now put them back and get a move on! We have to get up early tomorrow!"

„Yes, mom!"

„Who are you calling..."

„By mom!", Alice said and hung up.

With a small sigh, Alice put the books down on a small table and took out her notebook. After flicking through the whole book, she realized that she really needed a new one. Luckily she found a small corner that was still empty and speedily took down the names of the books she had wanted to borrow.

Normally she would put the books away herself, but since her friend had told her to hurry up, she picked the books back up. Carrying her backpack and the ten books, she slowly made her way to the counter.

Just as she was halfway down the stairs, Alice stumbled. Painfully slow, she tilted forward.

„Kyaah!"

In a bold attempt to catch herself, Alice started to half run half stumble down the stairs.

But what Alice didn't expect, was the young man sitting at the end of the stairs.

Curious of what was happening, the man turned around, catching the full force of her knee with his face.

With a loud crash, both fell down in a flurry of arms, legs, and books.

Sharp pain assaulted Alice's head, not the pain of a headache, but the pain of hitting her head against a sharp object.

„Urrgh!", she let out a dizzy groan.

„Hey, are you okay?!"

She could feel a hand on her shoulder.

When she didn't react for a moment before she realized someone had turned her on her back with a few well-practiced movements.

"Is everything alright?!"

Alice opened her eyes.

„Pfft, hahaha!"

She couldn't help but laugh, the person who was looking at her with a worried look on his face was a handsome young man, just, his nose was clearly broken and his face was full of blood. He clearly hadn't noticed.

„I'm okay, I think you should worry more about yourself.", Alice answered finally.

She blinked.

The scenery changed. The library had disappeared and instead she was looking at a wooden ceiling.

She blinked in confusion.

Alice was back in the library.

Suddenly, she got attacked by a headache. Groaning in pain, she closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, everything went weird. It was as if she was looking at a different picture with each eye.

On one side she could see the library, but at the same time and place, she could see the wooden ceiling again. But this time, she got a strangely familiar feeling from it, as if she had seen it already countless times.

„Urrgh, AAAAHHH!"

The pain intensified.

Screaming in pain, Alice curled up, her field of vision turning towards her legs.

At the same time, the picture of the wooden ceiling turned sideways and she could see a small room. Again, it felt strangely familiar.

She could feel the sensation of her blanket on her naked skin as she grasped her head and curled up in a fetal position.

It was strange, almost as if she was receiving the sensation of two bodies at the same time.

Just as the feeling started to disappear, the headache came back stronger than ever. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that her head exploded.

It was strange, she had never seen that kind of place before. But she still knew that it was a library. And even though she had only ever seen scrolls or bamboo slips, she knew that those things that stood in countless rows on the shelves were books.

The clothes too were weird. She had never seen clothes with such elaborate pictures on them, and they weren't even embroideries.

She was confused, both places were extremely familiar, places were she knew that she had spent a lot of time, yet she felt like was there for the first time.

*knock knock*

Someone had knocked on her door. Suddenly, she realized that it was already pretty late. It couldn't be long until the general martial arts training for the sect branch disciples would start.

„I don't feel well today, go ahead without me! And please tell instructor Wen."

„Ok, get better soon!", the voice on the other side of the door said.

„Hey, is everything alright?", the young man asked.

The people in the library looked a little strange at her. She wondered if had said something strange.

Then she realized.

-Who the hell is instructor Wen? Why did I say something like that?-

Then, for the last time, the headache intensified. It hurt so much that she almost fell unconscious. Then the pain suddenly disappeared, together with the library.