With a practiced motion, I retrieved my phone with my left hand and tapped an application designed to select a random Bible verse.

The device emitted a soft ping as it generated a verse, and a smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I recognized it. It held a special place in my heart, already memorized word for word. Every verse I read, I connect it to my experiences, giving meaning and purpose to my actions. However, this verse gave definition to my life and my power instead.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Setting aside the phone, I turned my attention to the library table. On the large, smooth, black glass surface were several unfinished papers and a stack of four books. These tables, found in the school library, were interactive. It had access to the Internet, a dictionary, a calculator, and several other features.

I raised my left hand and tapped on a three-dotted icon that revealed a variety of functions. Selecting the notepad icon, a collection of saved notes appeared on the desk surface. I moved my hand to pick up the black pen lying on top of my papers and started writing, or rather, imitating the act of writing.

My hand traced the scribbles I saw, forming letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs with each stroke of the pen. From time to time, my head would turn to my notes before returning to my papers, not reading, but following the body motions. Not long after, I finished my reaction paper on local superheroes that was due on Monday. I glanced at the time on the desk’s surface and saw 12:21 pm. Done in 10 minutes.

“Jane, why did they make religion class mandatory?” A girl asked, her head bowed and her eyes glued to the paper. Her fingers were tugging at her red hair. I smiled at my friend Thea.

She wore a baggy white shirt and pants. Her friends always teased her boyish appearance, with her smaller hips and chest. Yet, she did not mind her label and laughed together with them instead. Despite her deceptive appearance, she wasn’t a tomboy, as she had a boyfriend three years older than her. Their relationship had been strong for more than a year, and it was rare to see them fighting. No, her boyfriend never showed hints of aggression.

Compared to me, I still wore the uniform issued by the school—a white collared buttoned shirt with a black tie and a knee-length black skirt. Like Thea, I didn’t like how tiresome it was to wear makeup, the same reason for my short black hair, making it easy for brushing.

I smiled and opened my mouth. “Don’t. It’s a rhetorical question.” She glared at me, so I closed my mouth. I shrugged, and then my senses dulled for less than a second before returning to normal.

“Just shift to Shinto class like everyone else,” I said. “At least their dancing and ritual activities sound fun to learn. Besides, they don’t bog you down with philosophies and beliefs.” In an instant, my senses stopped working, enveloping me in a world of emptiness. My eyes saw only blackness, my ears heard silence, my nose smelled no odor, and my tongue tasted no flavor. In this empty world, the only thing I felt was the touch of clothes, shoes, papers, a pen, a table, and a chair.

I held my posture and fixed my head straight ahead to where my friend had been sitting. I held my smile for a few seconds before my vision returned and I could see my friend talking with her palm on her cheek.

“—if I don’t stay with my sweet friend?” my friend asked. She had a big grin.

I blinked. I didn’t catch the first part, but I didn’t voice it out.

Thea’s smile mellowed. “I took the same classes because I’m your best friend.”

Ah.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling for real. This time, it did not dull my senses.

I looked at my wristwatch.

She chuckled, “That’s normal girl stuff, hanging around with friends.” I felt a tingle in my heart. I only felt it whenever I stayed with Thea.

I tolerated a few people, and Thea had actually been on my avoid list before. She checked most of the boxes I would avoid in a person until I put up with her antics for days on end. She was accommodating and understanding, trying not to push beyond my comfort level. It didn’t take long for us to become best friends.

“So how’s your assignment for Christian Studies?” I kept smiling.

Her cheeks slid off her palm. “Will finish, soon,” she grumbled while glaring at me.

“I am willing to read your reflection paper, but it seems you aren’t interested.” I shrugged and smiled at her. My senses cut off again, and I kept my grin. It surprised me to see an empty chair once my senses returned. She had already grabbed a chair and sat down beside me, smiling.

“Finished wandering?”

“Yes, thanks for waiting.”

“LOL, I should be the one thanking you.”

Thea pushed her papers in front of me and I took it over. I glanced at my wristwatch before reading her papers. One of my eyebrows raised. I turned my head to her and had to ask after the second paragraph. “Really? Judas?”

“Why not? It’s an unpopular opinion, but we can also reflect on his actions. By the way, I sent you my notes as well.”

“Sure, but why not someone like Peter?” I tapped on the bell symbol with the red dot and open the sent notes.

“Nah, he was dull and annoying up until the rooster part. And I can’t even recall the other disciples.”

“Hey, he was just confused at the time,” I said before clicking the red close icon. “I don’t see a problem with your papers and notes. You wrote a good reflection point during Judas’ grief and your notes seems you already have a genral idea what to write. What’s stopping you?”

“I hate writing on paper.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “We are already in the year 2114, and he still requires us to write on paper. This is a huge step backward for humanity.”

“That sounds like a you problem.”

“Hey, I thought you were helping?”

“I said I would read your paper, not write it.” I handed the papers back to Thea before looking at my wristwatch. “And good luck. You still have half an hour before Christian Studies.” I smiled at her.

“Meanie.” Her cheeks puffed up before she giggled. She then turned to her papers and groaned before writing. She would need a constant nudge or reminder to get her work done.

I looked at my watch, and picked up a book from my stack. My senses cut off, and I welcomed the void. With familiarity, I lifted the cover and pretended to read. This darkness continued before I could see the pages. I looked at my wristwatch and read 12:39 pm before turning my head back to the book and started reading.

 

Walking out of the room, I saw students milling around the hallway. Most of them wore their own style of clothing, one even wore a blue jacket in the hot season. A few of them, like me, wore the standard uniform, students who wanted an extra credit, or couldn't afford to repeat a subject.

On the walls were a collage of plastered posters competing for my attention. One that did draw me in was an image of a person dribbling a ball and rushing in the gap between two defenders. It had a caption in bold red that read, 'GO GO RED JAGUARS!!!'

“Why did they make it mandatory?” Thea asked.

I turned to my friend and a deep frowning face. Christian Studies always leaves her in a bad mood, as she couldn't handle the boring discussion. I did try convincing her several time to change to a more active class. Well, I tried.

“The world leader wanted to revive spiritual beliefs,” I said. “Something about society needing values to function.” I raised my hand to look at my wristwatch, which read 1:57 pm.

She groaned, “You don't need religion to have values.” She straightened up and put her hands in her pockets.

I shrugged. “Maybe.” We passed three girls wearing burqas. Despite the veils, I could see through the holes a hint of eyeliner and makeup, as well as their sweat. Their fingers, with long polished nails, pinched their veils, pushing and pulling to cool their bodies.

“So, where do we hang out? A friend told me that the algebra teacher wasn’t present in their class.”

“Don’t we still have to attend her class?” I pulled out my phone and tapped the app with the school insignia. It had an open book and a graduation cap with a ribbon around it. Insight Institution was written on the ribbon. “It can only be declared ‘no class’ if the teacher is not present within 15 minutes after class has started.” On my phone, the app displayed the algebra class amongst the green highlighted classes.

She grumbled.

“This isn’t the 90s anymore,” I frowned while looking at Thea’s face, “but, um—sure, we can hang out in class before we... hang out somewhere else...” I nodded at her and continued walking toward our algebra class. While my attention was already elsewhere.

I was curious if Ms. Sally was really absent, so I detached my perception. If I was walking through the hallways before, now I was sitting in the classroom and half the seats were empty.

I felt the head moving and my vision landed on my wristwatch, which read 2:15 pm. It then shifted to the remaining students as they stood up and went for the door. I didn’t see our teacher. I set the time I could perceive back to the present.

“Where do you want to hang out?” I asked as my senses clouded for a moment.

“I dunno,” she shrugged, “Anywhere but the library, I guess. Somewhere I can laugh without receiving glares.”

I nodded and started increasing the time I could perceive, curious to see our hangout. I was about a second into the future when I felt something hit the back of my head, and I felt pain.

I immediately returned to the present and moved my body to the left, plunging back into the empty world. I felt a rush of air, briefly tugging strands of my hair. My body hit something soft, and it wrapped around me. Thea, I thought.

I felt it. It was an instant shock to my nerves as my foot landed on the hard surface, twisting. I opened my mouth, yelping in pain, and yet I heard no shriek. With nothing to see, nothing to hear, nothing to distract, the pain became too apparent.

It hurt.

My body bent down, and my hands reached for my left ankle, grasping it tightly. The arms wrapped around me loosened before I felt a tug that pulled my shoes and socks off.

It hurt.

I yelped into the void before I felt an arm pulling me into its embrace while the other hand kept massaging my foot. I gritted my teeth and focused all my attention on its warmth instead of the pain.

After a long moment, I felt large, muscular arms touch my back and under my legs before being lifted. I yelped in surprise before I felt a toned body touch my right side. It then began to run before I finally realized that I was being carried in a hall filled with students. My hands rushed to cover my face.

Soon after, my hearing returned and I heard whistling and squealing noises while. My vision was kept in the dark even after reaching the clinic.

“How does it feel?”

“It still hurts.” A nurse wrapped a bandage around my sprained ankle.

The boy who carried me earlier had already left after apologizing. His friend wanted to borrow his ball, but failed to catch it when he passed it.

I sighed.

None of this would have happened if I hadn't dodged the ball because it wasn't thrown hard. I just overreacted. Reviewing my past, I saw the ball slowly arching toward me.

“You know what I mean.” I glared at Thea’s punchable wide grin. The school nurse tried to hide her smile. She tried.

Be angry and do not sin.

“It still hurts,” I repeated in my flat voice. I raised my right hand to check the time, which was 2:42 pm.

“How did it feel to be carried by him? Did you enjoy feeling his muscles? Or being carried like a princess?” Thea asked. She followed her question with more details to prevent me from dodging her question.

“No.” My vision blurred for a moment. Thea’s smile widened, while I suppressed the blood creeping into my face.

Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.

“Oh come on, Jane. Don’t be shy with your best friend. It’s normal for girls to squeal with delight.” I just ignored her and started looking at the future I had changed, watching my future like a first-person movie in fast-forward.

There were many changes from what I saw in the morning. Changes like going to the clinic, Thea helping me walk home, riding in Thea’s boyfriend’s car, and being taken care by Thea. Everything changed when I twisted my ankle.

It also answered the question why it took so long to regain my senses.

I returned to the present and saw a frowning Thea. I kept my posture and fixed my head. “Don’t act like you’re in deep thought right now, Jane. I’ve been your best friend long enough to know the difference,” she said. “Now out with the juicy bits,” before smiling at me.

“Why do you care so much?” I asked, groaning at her persistence. She kept smiling. “You rarely get flustered, so I wanted to squeeze you dry until I’m satisfied.”

I grumbled.

My head turned to look at the approaching nurse with a bottle of painkillers in her hand. It was so obvious from the way her lips were formed, pretending not to smile. I wanted the day to end. I checked my watch and saw that only a minute had passed. My eyes closed, and I recited a verse.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

“The sprain isn’t that severe,” the nurse said in a soft voice as she handed me a pill. Her eyes kept staring at my bandaged foot. “But I would strongly recommend resting your feet for the whole weekend. However, if you wanted to attend the festival tomorrow, I can provide you with additional painkillers to help manage the discomfort.”

“No, but thank you.” I declined without hesitation, shaking my head slowly. “I’ll stay in my room.” My lips formed a smile before swallowing the pill. I would rather stay indoors, villains were always at any events. Also, I wasn’t comfortable being in crowded places.

My vision cut off for a moment before I saw the smiling nurse, making me frown.

The cutoff length meant my power wanted me to answer, 'yes'.