A loud bang reverberated around the room as the professor slammed his hand down on the table next to Ryan's head, “MISTER REED!”

 

 

 

 

Ryan's head was cradled in his arms as if he had put it down to get some sleep. The sound startled him, causing him to jerk his head up a few inches and look around, trying to get his bearings. It was extremely disorienting, especially considering that just moments before, he had been splattered all over the pavement by a large, black truck.

 

~Wait… what?~

 

Ryan slowly straightened up in his seat as he glanced around. His eyelids fluttered rapidly in a feeble attempt to remove what felt like grime on his eyeballs. As he reached up to rub his eyes, he abruptly withdrew his hand as he wondered where his glasses had gone. Adrenaline kicked in along with a growing sense of panic. He snapped his head around, trying to look at everything at once.

 

“What the...?” Ryan muttered as he looked around, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He felt disoriented and confused, still reeling from the shock of being hit by the truck.

 

He was in a theater-style classroom, one that you would find in most universities. He was sitting at the long table, where his row of seats was located. There were more tables on both sides of him and behind him, with a staircase going up the middle of the room. At the front of the room, there were several chalkboards. To the side of everything, there stood a large desk and podium.

 

Ryan's confusion only deepened as he looked around the classroom, trying to make sense of his surroundings. How had he ended up here? Was he dreaming? He couldn't remember ever being in a classroom like this before. He looked down at the table and noticed a notebook and quill in front of him. As he reached for the feather sticking out of an ink well, a piece of paper caught his eye. It was a syllabus for a course called “Introduction to Core Management.”

 

Standing right in front of Ryan was an angry-looking man in dark blue, formal robes with a pencil-thin mustache. The man had long black hair that was combed over his bald spot and peculiarly colored eyes, a shade that Ryan had never seen before.

 

Gold.

 

Ryan was about to speak when he did a double take. Ryan was shocked to find the room filled with kids aged fourteen to sixteen wearing uniforms that reminded him of those from British schools at the start of the twentieth century. 

 

That isn’t what caused his double take.

 

It was as though all the people in the room had eyes like rocks or metal, and their hair colors were abundantly varied and surreal. As a result, all eyes were on Ryan, but he found himself fixated on the girl seated directly behind him. She glared back, “What are you looking at?”

 

Ryan quipped, “Someone who looks like they stuck their head in a cotton candy machine.” She gasped and looked offended, even as she tried to work out if she had been insulted or not.

 

The professor slammed his fist on the table once more, "I'll have your answer now, Mister Reed!" His voice dripped with sarcasm and insult. "If this class bores you so much that you can't help but fall asleep in it, then you must be very knowledgeable on the topic!" His eyes looked down at Ryan from beneath his furrowed brow. There was a murmur amongst the other students. Some shifted in their chairs to get a better view of the unfolding spectacle, while others sniggered at the scene.

 

Ryan raised a finger to point at the man before him but stopped short of saying anything. He stared at his hand. He brought up the other and held them in front of his face, turning them both over repeatedly as he examined them closely, ~Not a single scar. What the bloody...? These aren't my hands.~ He thought, right before he abruptly pushed himself back away from the desk and looked down at himself. He was wearing a school uniform - dark navy blue like the rest of the students. "Okay..." He muttered in an almost detached fashion.

 

The professor's left eye twitched, “Is there something wrong with your clothes, Mister Reed?”

 

Ryan looked up at the professor, "Nope. Not at all. I'm just..." After taking a brief moment to contemplate his choices, Ryan beamed with a wide grin and boisterously declared, "I'm just glad I'm not naked!”

 

The sudden and seemingly irrelevant remark from Ryan left the professor stunned with his jaw gaping open. Numerous individuals in the room audibly gasped in response, while some of the women resorted to using their delicate lace fans to shield their faces and fluttered them as if on the verge of fainting. Observing the easily offended reactions of those around him, Ryan casually scanned the room, noting to himself with a hint of sarcasm, ~Thin Thin-skinned lot, ain’t ya?~

 

With an even wider grin on his face, Ryan continued to speak, seemingly amused by the situation. He scanned the room to gauge the response as he spoke in a jovial tone, "I mean, who hasn't had that dream? You know, where you wake up in class and the professor is trying to get you to answer a question you didn't hear and then you notice you are naked?" Raising his hand over his head, Ryan called for support, "C'mon! We've all had that dream!" He turned back and forth to address the entire room, seeking confirmation, "Someone back me up here!"

 

The room was deathly silent.

 

Ryan slowly lowered his hand as he bunched up his lips to one side of his face, “No... Just... Just you.”

 

The professor's face began to redden, resembling a thermometer as his rage continued to build. He sternly addressed Ryan, "Mister Reed! I am trying to teach you-"

 

Interrupting the professor mid-sentence, Ryan interjected with a sarcastic comment, "And I am learning soooo much! For example, I just learned I'm apparently a freak!" He raised his arms out to the side, palms up, and shrugged, attempting to appear innocent, "Who knew?"

 

Before the professor could respond, Ryan talked over him, continuing his sarcastic tone, "My parents, apparently." Leaning in closer to the professor with a hand on the side of his mouth, Ryan spoke in a stage whisper loud enough for everyone to hear, "I suspect that's why they kept me chained up in the basement."

 

The professor's face drained of color as a look of revulsion took over. Sputtering as he tried to regain control of the conversation, he exclaimed “Wuh-wuh-wuh-whatWhatWHAT?!” He shook his head in disbelief, “Do not spout such nonsense!”

 

Ryan recoiled and nodded with a feigned sense of apprehension, adopting a tone that mixed sarcasm with mock fear, "Oh, yes. Of course. I should not speak of such things. I have NO desire to spend another week in the..." He paused to scan the room, before leaning back in towards the professor, "DARK. BOX." With a playful wink and nod, he tapped the side of his nose, "Good thinking, teach! This is why you get paid the big bucks!"

 

The professor stood motionless, and the entire room fell silent. After a few moments, he tried to collect himself and spoke in a soft voice, heavy with implication, "Mister Reed... are you... feeling ill?"

 

Ryan furrowed his eyebrows, appearing to be deep in thought. Slowly nodding to himself, he responded to the professor, "Why... yes? Yes, I do believe..." He rose from his seat, "I am indeed... that." Pointing a finger at the professor, he continued, "ILL." Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts, he nodded to himself, "Yes, that's my story and I'm sticking to it." Abruptly turning to leave, he quickly ascended the stairs towards the exit. "In fact..." He continued, "I should see a doctor at once. Immediately, if not sooner. I bet I'm having a stroke or a cerebral hemorrhage, maybe even an embolism." After a brief pause, he added, "Hell, knowing my luck, I bet I’m having all three." Then continued to the top of the stairs.

 

The professor said nothing, watching Ryan with a look of utter befuddlement.

 

Stepping through the door, Ryan looked left, then right, then pointed left, but turned right and walked out of sight.

 

The door swung shut with a loud click, and the room fell silent. All eyes turned to the professor, awaiting his reaction. He stared at the closed door for several seconds before muttering to himself, "What, pray tell, is an embolism?" The room remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

 

The professor turned his attention to a small, brown-haired mouse of a student. He wore the same school uniform as everyone else, but it was slowly becoming stained with sweat. The professor raised his voice and addressed the young man directly, "Mister Aldelmo! You are Mister Reed's roommate, are you not?" Aldelmo nodded hesitantly, looking anxious and tense.

 

The professor gestured towards the door and instructed Aldelmo, "Go and make sure Mister Reed gets to the infirmary." Aldelmo nodded and hurried off to find his roommate. The professor then walked back towards his podium but stopped midway to ponder out loud, "Wait... Did I ever get an answer?"

 

Murmurs slowly increased in volume and frequency as everyone started to discuss the spectacle that had unfolded before them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

None of those present knew that this was the moment that would change everything.