Someone tapped my shoulder right as I was getting my books out of my locker. I jumped, the books flying out of my hands. I whirled to find Rom standing behind me.

"Jesus," I rolled my eyes and Rom smiled at me.

"Good morning to you too, Jule," Rom said, crouching to pick up my Trigonometry and Earth Sciences books. He deposited them in my arms as I sputtered.

"What are you doing here? The bell will ring anytime soon!" I hissed. Students from every class hurried past us, footsteps squeaking against the waxed floor. "Your room is from the opposite wing. You won't make it in time!"

"Look at you, concerned about going to class," Rom said. "Why the change of attitude?"

"Yeah, look at you, wanting to drag me into your skipping class charade," I said. Rom pouted. "Hey, I have something I need to think about, okay? I'll see you after the last period."

Rom pursed his lip. He looks disappointed. "Okay, last period," he said. "Don't forget."

"Ha-ha, as if," I said, sticking my tongue out to him. The school bell rang and I turned to run the rest of the way to my classroom before Mr. Trigonometry beat me to it. I know what happens when I am late.

And damn it, why was my classroom at the end of a long-ass hallway?

It's a good thing I was always wearing my pink sneakers so I was up for running anytime. I threw open the back door to my classroom as Mr. Trigonometry slid into the room through the front door. We locked eyes, him staring at me coldly, and me panting like an athlete after a race.

Well, it was a race.

He frowned at me. "Late, Miss Jule?"

"Yeah, can't you see it?" I snapped. Heads turned to me by some kind of synchronization system. By God, one should document the amount of o-shaped mouths, knitted eyebrows, and general looks of confusion I get every single day I decide to be snarky to Mr. Trigonometry.

Now that I realized it, nobody even knows I call Mr. Trigonometry...Mr. Trigonometry. Eh. Not like I was going to say it to anyone's face.

Mr. Trigonometry didn't move from the doorway, his face slowly turning red, either from rage or from embarrassment that a snarky teen could snap at him like I did. Either way, it's nothing new for me since I experience this every time I decide to be late for his class.

"What did you say, Miss Jule?" he hissed, his tongue lisping against his lips. His voice sounded like he just hit his pinky on a bedpost.

I shrugged. "Just start the class and talk about sinusoidal functions like you always do."

"That's quite enough for you, Miss Jule," Mr.Trigonometry said. "Go to the Office."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine," I said.

It's a known consequence when I get too snarky it's bordering on rudeness. But I'm just annoyed more than anything this morning when I, again, tried painting my bedroom walls and the reset got me.

So, you know, a grumpy day ahead. I shouldn't have gone to school if I was going to be like this for the whole day.

But I would feel bad for Rom. I did promise him that I would always come. And me breaking promises was a very no-no. I've done many conscience-triggering things over the days I've been here and I don't want to add promise-breaking to it.

Besides, Rom seems to be making progress with the whole memory thing. There were still times when it would fail and he would temporarily forget me but after extensive explanations and the consequent class-skipping, he would eventually remember me and everything that we have been through.

I'll admit that those days were the best days I've had in the long while. There was a day when we ate nothing but burgers and I threw up in the shop's bathroom. Rom, even though he's apparently traumatized by puking, braved the storm and patted my back until I was finished.

Oh, there was also a day when, per my persuasion, we visited Chris and Fisher's school. God, the way the twins threw their books at us was a scene perfect for a Hollywood movie. And oh, how they hate seeing their family near the campus. That was some intense puberty stuff going on. Then we all went out and got ice cream after we fetched Mindy from the primary school.

I've yet to ask Rom what's the deal with his brothers but that's the least of my concerns right now.

Then, recently, with Rom showing improvement with his memories, I thought that I had some sort of leeway around the reset. I started painting my walls again with the goal of finding out which aspect of my life had changed.

Guess what? The paint still disappears every morning but the popcorn I brought not long ago didn't.

Ugh.

Well, at least, I get free popcorn everyday, right? Priorities.

So when I saw that popcorn box again right as I was going down the stairs to eat, my blood rose to my head and the popcorn ruined my mood.

I went to school, passing everyone by. I heard Pastor Frank shout his "God bless you and good luck at school!" line which annoyed me even more. I saw Mrs. Higgins chasing Junior. I evaded the old lady in the sunbathing chair. I shoved the box of cheese Ritch had been offering me back to him.

Why couldn't I paint my damn wall?!

Then I totally forgot to deviate from the pavement-walkers and ended up enduring Travis's Fortress and Strife rants about not having enough gold to buy a Super Flaming Golden Sword.

Like it's my problem?! Ugh. Stop dying in Eternal Waterfalls if you really want gold!

And because of those early morning annoyances, I snapped at Rom. He's probably going to think that there's something wrong with me now. Will he not?

Ugh.

I headed to my Earth Sciences class just as my classmates from Trigonometry bled out of the door like a herd of sheep on the way to the pasture. I made sure to blend nicely among the mass of heads, clothes, and bags before Mr. Trigonometry noticed I didn't go to the Office as he instructed. Earth Science has a really interesting topic and it would be a shame if I missed it.

Mrs. Jones was dressed in the most fashionable floral blouse made from the softest satin I've ever seen. This, paired with simple denim jeans, was a look I've always been dying to try out. Sadly, I don't have the budget to buy myself a new set of clothes and they would disappear from my closet the moment the reset happens.

Now that I think about it, I still have to tell Rom to change out of his blue-and red flannel sometime.

I snuck inside Mrs. Jones's room and sat in my usual seat. The other students trickled in, others I recognized with the majority I didn't even know existed up until now. There was this one guy who wore a black emo band shirt that nobody took seriously. He kept reciting in Mrs. Jones's class that his face kinda stuck to me. Still, I keep forgetting what his voice sounded like.

The class started like it normally did and the topic was about the galaxy. Mrs. Jones flashed pictures of bright stars in her presentation, explaining to us the intensity of their brightness and their distance from our world.

I began wondering if time gets reset for them as well. Here they are, living their best lives and shining upon the universe with their infinite light. Do they ever get tired of shining?

Turns out, they do. Mrs. Jones turned to the next slide and it showed a star imploding to create a brand new system filled with even brighter colors. It's wonderful.

I love this class because I get to see how even the broken things in the world were still able to shine, stronger and brighter. One supernova shines brighter than a billion stars grouped together.

It showed me that no matter how the world crushed me, no matter how many times I feel like giving up, and if it really breaks me down, I could still shine. And I'll shine brighter than any star if I want to.

Mrs. Jones switched to the next slide to show a picture of stars colliding. What happens when stars get closer? They collide. From that collision, either a brand new star or a black hole could be formed. The former whole and brighter, the latter empty and never satisfied. No one knew how any collision would turn out. It's a gamble and ultimately based on chances.

Same with people. Lives collide to form either a stronger, better relationship or generate so much pain that it ends up ruining not just the relationship but also the people, themselves. Some recover while most...don't.

And like the black hole, broken people always end up empty and never satisfied.

For me, that was the most tragic outcome. And part of the reason why I'm cautious along this line with Rom. Because, whether I like it or not, our lives and our worlds would collide. would a stronger star come out of it or would we end up dark and desolate?

It's all a gamble based on chance.

Am I willing to bet everything I have for a slim chance of winning? Who was really winning in this situation?

Mrs. Jones's class ended without much ado and I slithered out of the room, aiming for the cafeteria for a plate of fried meatballs. Perhaps Porter and Nicola can distract me from my thoughts, even though I know everything they're going to talk about.

I turned a corner and bumped into a hard chest.

"Oomph! Watch it!" I snapped, rubbing my nose just as Rom slowly appeared in front of me. My vision adjusted from the sudden collision and I found him grinning at me.

"Someone's grumpy," Rom noticed. "Have you eaten something bad for breakfast?"

I snorted. "No, but my day hasn't started out good."

Rom fell into step with me as I began walking towards the cafeteria again. "Oh? What happened?" he asked, offering to carry my books for me. I shrugged him off. It's not like we're dating.

"Mr. Trigonometry yelled at me for being late, again," I said. "I might have earned myself a visit to the Office."

"Oops," Rom said, concern absent from his tone. If this was the old him, he would've been beside himself, nagging me about acting up against a teacher. Then again, if it was the old him, we wouldn't even be together like this.

"Well, did you go?" he asked.

"No," I said.

Rom chuckled. "That sounds so much like you," he said. "This is the only fun thing with the loop, if I could be honest."

I shrugged. "It has its perks and snags."

"Are you heading for lunch?" Rom asked.

"Yeah, I am," I said.

"Come sit at our table?" Rom said. "Meet my friends?"

I stared up at him, realizing that there was an average difference between our heights. "Yeah, sure," I said. "Why not?"

Rom grinned. "Perfect."

I sighed. Well, I suppose my day could be better, right?