" Hey, Eris!" Allie called me over, presumably to invite me to the courtyard. For the first time, I declined. She looked hurt but still gave me a nod of understanding. I headed into the bathroom, which was empty. I rinsed my face with water and gave myself a death glare.

All right, it was about time I pulled myself together. How do I keep up this act? Trying to stay normal, putting my thoughts aside, smiling casually; how do I keep going? These things don't happen, time-traveling a week back with all my memories intact. If anything, this only hurt my appearance. I showed everyone how weak I was. The teachers probably thought I wasn't the Golden Child they were expecting. I need to be seen in my very best at all times. I need to let this slide. I mustn't show any tiredness.

These thoughts swirled through my mind, and then I found myself feeling energized. I practiced my smile once again and stepped outside into the world.

***

Of all things to find outside the girl's bathroom, I did not expect a fight.

Not only that, I did not expect to see Ax here. He and a boy I recognized were yelling at each other and occasionally punching. I gasped, and they both turned to me. Ax was being held by the collar and the boy had his arm held back for another punch.

" E-Eris... Hi. Can you please help me out here?" Ax trembled. The boy— whose name I was still struggling to remember— dropped Ax. This girl's bathroom was away from the main building of the school, so there were no witnesses.

Just me, Ax, and a person whose name I am still trying to remember.

" What is happening here?" I questioned.

" This person-"

" He-"

" - stole my identity-"

" -started beating me up"

" -shouldn't be here!"

" -is accusing me of identity theft when I'm-"

" -shut up! You aren't-"

" Okay, calm down both of you. You two shouldn't be here. It's off-limits for boys. I was only allowed here because I have a pass! You're both in trouble for fighting as well," I glanced over the both of them and they gulped at the same time. The other boy shrugged and gave a small grin.

" This is a common occurrence, don't worry about it."

" It's a common occurrence?" Ax yelled.

" Shut up, I can't let her tell me off." the person hissed in Ax's direction. Ax looks annoyed but manages to stand up.

" I'm Ax Willson." Says Ax. The boy looked like something in him went off. He grabbed Ax's face with his hand and put his head under his arm. Ax suffocates as the boy smiles a little bit again.

" Have a good day, Ms. Howard." and the two ran off. Maybe I should have asked how they knew my name, but that was the least of my worries.

***

" You want to check on the name, Ax Willson, in the school records?" Mr. Glads looked baffled. He sat in the staff's office with a can of diet coke in his hand and a newspaper on his desk. During our free period, teachers have a full hour to plan or relax. Mr. Glads did not think highly of me at the moment, but he seems to be the only one free to help. He scowled, but he took a folder from his desk drawer and started looking through it. He searched through names starting with W and pulled out a file.

He passed it on to me, and I skimmed the document. Ax Willson— average grades, Literacy club, past schools... but when I found his picture, it was not the Ax I knew. Instead, it was the person whose name I could not remember.

They look entirely different, yet why do they have the same name? If the school records are right, then why do I keep calling the black-haired Ax by that name? Why can't my brain simply address it and move on... calling him anything other than Ax just feels wrong. The only thing different from the first week of January 8, is the presence of the supposed Ax Willson.

Maybe this is my mind giving me a clue, but that can't be right.

***

Back where the boy lived there was a small secluded cabin. In their little bubble of land that his mother owned, surrounding the cabin was a forest of high trees. He enjoyed trekking through the artificial forest; even while it wasn't very real, it was extremely beautiful. The sounds and smells were said to have been exact copies of those of real forests in the past. This excited the boy when he had first heard it.

On a day when he sunk his feet into a small stream of continuously generating water, he saw someone on the other side's shore. This was home to no one but him and his mother, so it surprised him to see an intruder. It was another young boy, and he looked nearly like his mirror image. Everything was the same— except his eyes.

Unlike the Ax's, they were a familiar shade of bright green.

And he smiled brightly at Ax.