Calculus does not go better. For most of the class, I spend more time looking for information online rather than paying any attention to the teacher. The more I dig, the less I understand. I see ads for movies and games I’ve never heard of, I’ve got apps installed that I’m sure I never downloaded, and I’ve even got names saved into my contacts I don’t recognize. When I open something that looks like a social media app, I’m greeted by a timeline full of pictures of myself I have no memory of taking, alongside people I don't remember meeting.

But oh man, checking social media is an absolute mistake. I’ve got hundreds of notifications, with tons of people apparently following and friending and tagging me. Apparently I’ve become somewhat of a school celebrity. Luckily, it doesn’t look like anyone’s uploaded any videos of my outburst at Ashley, but it’s obvious that everyone’s talking about it. The notifications started to blow up earlier this morning, so it’s pretty likely my weird encounter at the front of the school spread around by word of mouth before the end of first period.

I’m in hell. The only logical explanation is that I’ve died, and I’m in hell. I legitimately think I’m going to be sick. I can actually feel the bile starting to rise in my throat before I force myself to calm down. Maybe I should call home, check in with mom, see if my brothers are doing okay. Maybe I'll even ask her if I can just move back to the west coast. Just as I’m considering firing a text to her at the very least, I get a notification from a name that I actually recognize. Freddie Shawcross has apparently just followed me, and she’s even sent me a direct message.

I can't help but feel trepidatious, but I open the message anyway. It reads, "You good?"

I almost laugh as the tension dissipates. I quickly respond. "I mean, I’ve been better. Why?"

"I heard about Ashley."

I groan internally. Of course she had. "Yeah, it did not go well."

"I bet." A pause, then three dots follow. "Do you need someone to talk to? We could meet up after school."

I briefly consider saying no. I kind of just want to go back to my room and hide under the covers for the rest of the year. At the same time though, I feel like I’m drowning under a rising tide of bullshit. Every class period, I learn more and more about a world that no longer makes sense to me. And I think Freddie’s just about the only person in this school who would throw me a life preserver.

I mull it over all of class as I continue to read wiki and news articles that reference people and events I've never heard of. I even take a look at the website for celebrity gossip, and I don't recognize a single name on their front page. By the time Bio rolls around, I realize that Freddie’s probably the best shot I have of making heads or tails of my bonkers situation. I'm some sort of timeline immigrant, and I desperately need to assistance of a native to understand the world I find myself in. As soon as I've come to that conclusion, I text her back an affirmative before I have an opportunity to second guess myself.

Almost immediately, my phone vibrates with a response. Meet me out front after class.

I play enough attention in Bio to not alert anyone, as far as I can tell, and if the teacher sees how distracted I am they she doesn't single me out for it. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, I find it’s best to just kind of drown out my thoughts by working on something. Of course, as it’s the first day, it’s not like we can dive that far into the textbook, but as always drawing is there to occupy my mind. I very nearly pull out my sketchbook, but the open nature of the science classroom makes that difficult. Ultimately I settle for doodling some pointless little scribbles in the margin of a notebook.

The end of the day can’t come soon enough. Unlike earlier today, I’m ready to go at the bell. I make my way out to the front of the school. Of course, I beat Freddie to the front gates of the school, as far as I can tell. The whole place empties out, and while I was aware the school was somewhat small, it certainly doesn’t feel that way at the end of the day. Same as before, the hundreds of girls I share the school with give me a couple feet of clearance everywhere I go. If I really wanted to obstruct everyone, I could easily just stand on the sidewalk in front of the gate. I briefly wonder just how they’d all react to that, having to pass within a meter of me in order to leave the campus. Would they just stay here on this side of the gate, terrified of the weird new kid? Or would they push past me, their eagerness to get home overriding their disgust of me? Maybe someone would work up the courage to call me out, rising as a champion for the common woman against this horrible, masculine intruder?

I settle for standing off to the side on the grounds, within clear view of the front gate, so as not to block the exit. As amusing as the mental images are, I’m not that guy, and I know it. Better to just try to let the bitterness go.

In any case, I don’t have to wait long. Freddie’s easy to spot in a crowd, and I wave at her as she leaves the school. I briefly note that they aren’t giving her the same berth they give me, though I’ve got no idea exactly what that means.

“Hey Beachboy!” she calls out as she spots me. I’d be mad if it wasn’t for her genuine smile at seeing me. She jogs over to me, her JanSport casually slung over one shoulder. “Did ya miss me?”

I kind of want to snark back at her, but honestly I am happy to be reunited. “A little, if I’m being honest.”

Her eyes widen in surprise for a moment, but she recovers quickly, a smug grin returning to her face. “Hey man, be careful saying that kind of stuff. You don’t want to give someone the wrong idea.”

“Uh, sorry, my bad." Not that I have any idea what kind of idea I'd be giving. "Though that does remind me of something I wanted to ask you about."

I actually had many questions to ask her, but I was still trying to figure out how to phrase most of them to not sound completely crazy. Or maybe it's not the phrasing that would be the problem. Maybe I am just crazy. Maybe I've given myself some sort of targeted amnesia, and if you asked me yesterday if girls with horns and sheep ears would normal I would have said, '"yeah, totally." But one way or another, I needed to field these questions about the whole... reality of the situation I find myself in. And seeing as she's been so positively normal so far (barnyard appendages notwithstanding), there's only one person in this whole goddamn school I'd want to ask.

“No prob, but can you hold that thought? I didn’t get a chance to get lunch, and I’m starving. There’s a local burger place like two streets over.”

“Oh yeah,” I reply, suddenly aware of the empty feeling in my gut. “Actually, I haven’t eaten either, so that sounds great.”

“Perfect! Let’s grab something, my treat!” She sets off for the gate, and same as before I have to jog to catch up to her. When this girl wants to move, she can really move.

By the time we get there, the place is already starting to fill up with people, most of them around the same age as us. While there’s a few Villanueva uniforms in the crowd, it looks like there’s a decent number of local public school students here as well. Luckily, there’s a pair of touch pads separate from the front counter, which makes ordering convenient. Freddie steps up to an empty one and starts to tap away. The speed she’s going makes me think she must come here a lot.

“This place is awesome,” she says with some pride. “I recommend getting the basic combo for your first time, but they’ve got chicken and fish too.”

“No, that sounds great to me,” I reply, trying to look casual as I crane my neck around to look at the other patrons. Like in the school, everyone here sports a variety of ears, horns, and tails. So I can at least confirm that the beast-ification seems to be affecting people outside of Villanueva, which I suppose is worth something. Honestly, I should have expected it after history class, but a part of me was still hoping that this was all some elaborate prank. Hell, even the frycooks on the grill look like they have animal bits, with one in particular sporting a floppy pink set of pig's ears and a matching curly tail. Interestingly, the pig-man is, in fact, a man, which is only notable because nobody else here is. Well, except for myself. And, I note with some surprise, one freshman-looking kid in jeans and a hoodie in one of the booths.

Freddie ends up ordering for the both of us, and though some part of my masculine pride wants to refuse her hospitality, I swallow it down. If she insists on paying, who am I to deny her that? I'm a modern man, I can let a cute girl treat me if she wants.

“So what’s on your mind?” she asks once we grab a booth.

I fidget a little, not quite sure how to proceed here. “I guess I’m just having trouble adjusting… to the new school, I mean.”

“I’m guessing you’re used to public schools. Gotta feel weird being the only guy on campus, right?”

I look up at her in shock. How’d she hit the nail on the head so quickly? “Well, uh, yeah. But, like, why aren’t there any other guys?”

She nods, like it’s the most understandable thing in the world. “Well most parents who have the money for private education just ship their boys off to male-only boarding schools, right?”

“Really? They do?”

“Oh yeah, totally. All the time.” Then her face starts to go a little red, and she breaks eye contact with me. “Or, uh, that’s what I’ve heard. I mean, you know how overprotective some families get over their boys, yeah?”

"Huh. Well, I don’t think my parents are like that. I mean, I’m living on my own out here after all. Well, kind of. I’m staying in a dorm, so I guess I'm not the only one there.”

"They have a boy's dorm for Villanueva?"

I shake my head. "I'm the only boy on my floor, but the dorm itself is co-ed."

She stares at me wide eyed for a moment before she regains her cool, aloof composure. “Wow. Yeah, sounds like you have really chill parents.”

Talking with Freddie seems so natural, I have to work to stop myself from elaborating further. I imagine that being a little smothering towards a boy would be normal in a world where there's so few of them. Of course, that's not the case for me, but there's no way to explain that to her without letting it slip that I might be from another timeline. At best, she'd think that I might be having some weird psychological episode. I can't think of a single logical reason that I can remember a history and world that's completely alien to her.

"Yeah, I guess they're pretty relaxed about that kind of stuff." But now that I think about it, are they? If I really am in another world entirely, do I even really know my parents anymore? The people who raised me here (or the me that should exist here? Fuck, this is confusing) might be totally different people than the parents I can remember.

Again, a sense of profound loneliness begins to creep up on me. There’s a part of me that just wants to say fuck it, and tell her about my whole wild situation. Then maybe I wouldn't be so alone in all of this. She did try to warn me about Ashley, which at least suggests that she's trying to look out for me. Maybe I can trust her?

Of course, as soon as I try the words out in my head, I know it sounds stupid at best and crazy at worst. Hey Freddie, I think I might be from another dimension or something. One where there wasn’t ever this massive history changing event that led to total societal upheaval and the near extinction of our species. Also, we didn’t have catgirls. Isn’t that weird?

“You okay Jason?” she asks me, startling me out of my own head.

“Ha, yeah, no I’m… fine. Just got a lot on my mind.”

She leans back in her chair, adopting a more casual posture. “Well, if it helps, I’m not going anywhere. Whatever you want to get out, I’ll listen.”

I’m about to brush her off again until I look up from the table and lock eyes with her. Those endless pools of emerald green stare back at me. I know I shouldn’t. She’s definitely going to think I’m insane. She’ll probably tell someone, or maybe even tell everyone, and I’ll look like an even bigger dork than I already did today.

It’s a stupid idea. I only met her this morning. But... the words tumble out anyway.

“I think I’m from another reality.”