Chapter 5 - Glitch #1

"Where was this?"I was in a library, some kind of boring study place, and I could almost feel a pressure in my head."Here you are."A girl with fair skin, golden eyes, and hair as blonde as brass.If I could say, she might represent light, almost an angel if it weren't for the fact that she irritated my eyes.As an unconscious action, I tried to rub them hard, but to my confusion, I found I was wearing white wool gloves.In fact, my clothes had been changed to some kind of company or butler-style uniform. I was wearing a blue vest, a checkered shirt, blue pants, and black shoes, all perfectly tailored. Even my hair was styled with a small fringe popular that I had seen online.Heavens, I even noticed I was wearing a watch on my right wrist."What happened?" I spoke without thinking, turning my gaze to see the blonde girl in front of me."Huh? Oh, I'm done," she said as she placed some folders on the table, something I barely noticed due to my sudden relocation.I observed the place more closely and noticed I was in a room with many chairs and tables, possibly a reading area, seeing the shelves full of books in the distance, I thought my idea was plausible."I just need to pass my physical exam, and I'll be able to have my own ID," she said as she clasped her hands and smiled with excitement.If it weren't for the fact that we were in a library or a place I could recognize as one, she might have screamed with excitement.Undoubtedly her excitement was contagious, giving me a small smile, but it gradually faded as I didn't know who she was or where I was.I couldn't remember what had happened. I remembered waking up early, going to school, and even seeing the teacher giving the lesson, but I had no idea how I had ended up in this place."And who are you?" I hesitated to ask, but in the end, I couldn't help it.A more vivid way to describe how it felt would be to say that time seemed to stop around me. In an instant, a cold sensation took over my body, and the immediate suspicion that it was something I said only intensified that feeling.Aware that I had messed up, I tried to amend the situation as best I could."I mean, I'm happy for you.""But I swear I don't know who you are," I said, shifting uncomfortably in the chair and standing up, noticing the discomfort and fixed gaze of the girl.I was about to continue talking when her action left me frozen in place.Had I seemed like a fool?"Uh..." I murmured, confused, followed by a pathetic attempt to clear my throat. My thoughts were swirling, unable to find an anchor point.How could I not be? She had moved so quickly and suddenly. For my confused self, I could only watch her strange actions."Do you feel alright?" she asked with a voice tinged with concern, placing her hand on my forehead. Her fingers, warm and delicate, palpated my skin in search of some, defect? Or oddity?Honestly, I wasn't sure about anything. Confusion enveloped me like a thick fog, and the way things were unfolding didn't help me understand the strange fantasy I was living. I could only look at her, unable to articulate my thoughts.Her expression was one of concern, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, her lips curved into a line of uncertainty.The girl's hands, warm and soft, moved gently over my forehead. I could feel the slight tremor of her fingers, a sign of her own uncertainty or worry towards... me?What?"You don't seem sick," she finally commented, her voice barely a whisper."You don't smell like anything either," she said as she leaned in, the noticeable scent of her perfume enveloping me."And besides, you're very handsome today," she said all that, smelling and scanning me completely.The surroundings around us, the library, seemed to fade into the background. The soft murmur of the students and the whisper of pages turning became a distant echo. The light filtering through the windows created patterns of shadows and light on the book-filled shelves."Hmm... thanks?" I said, a response full of nervousness and maybe, joy?I took a deep breath, trying to calm my mind.The weight of her words had made my heart roar like a storm, and my trembling anxiety like an earthquake. What had happened to me? Why couldn't I remember what had happened at school?WHAT HAD I MISSED?"Your hand," she spoke again, now in a more commanding voice, cutting through the chaos in my mind."Ah?""My what?" I asked, confused, still noticing how her expression of concern and tension grew with each second."Your right hand, now," she demanded with an even more serious voice, which made me almost robotically obey her order."Wow, calm down, calm down," I said, trying to control the situation. However, she didn't even let me react, taking my right hand and, with skillful movements, accessing the smart watch.Following that, she took out a smartphone from one of her pockets, quickly typing something on it. After a moment, I saw how her expression changed completely.From noticeable concern, fear, and nervousness on her face, she went to an irritated and annoyed look."You drank again," she almost immediately asked, her tone, though annoyed, I could detect sadness coming from her."Drank? Drank what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, somewhat confused and intrigued by the girl's familiarity with me."What else could it be? Alcohol. You've been drinking recently," her sweet and worried voice was now graver, being an abrupt change, but still keeping her voice low, though the anger and frustration escaping her were evident while still keeping the etiquette of not shouting in the library.Or was I imagining it?No, it didn't matter. I thought to myself, finding this more uncomfortable if I didn't stop her right now.Yes, I wouldn't deny that I had been blamed for bad things, but being a drunkard without even being able to prove it, even. Life was unfair."Friend, or... well, acquaintance, seriously, I don't know who you are," I said calmly, repeating it again, and as I did, I slowly got up from the chair, keeping my distance from her if she would have another outburst.Which, from what I could see, wouldn't be far from happening."Oh, of course. This had to happen too," she said with annoyance, sighing as she tried to calm down, massaging her forehead."Look, you don't understand what's going on, but the fact is you're experiencing memory loss due to your constant vices among other bad decisions," she exclaimed, then showed me the screen of her phone where, besides seeing various statistics, data updated every so often, among them there were some marked in red.Being the ones that stood out the most and seeming like she wanted me to read them, I played along.Vitamin B1 (Thiamine): 8 ng/mLVitamin C (Ascorbic Acid): 0.2 mg/dLOf course, these data didn't show or tell me anything meaningful, it's not like I understood or saw what the problem was. Obviously.I'm having trouble in school, I don't think I'm the most qualified for this."Sorry, I don't know what you're saying," I said as I put the chair in place, slowly walking away, feeling her intense gaze and the discomfort invading me. But, as always, I made an attempt to bury it deep in my head as I focused on finding a door to head towards it, with a hurried but not so evident step.Or so I thought.So close to getting out of this unreal and strange situation, I tried to grab the doorknob until