Work Text:
Running through the hallways of her abandoned high school, she did not want to consider what this reality brought her. Aoi does not even exist. This cannot be the right timeline.
Then, reality jumps away from her, as it does, ripping her from this timeline. Time gets jumbled up, the world swirls around her, her body feels weightless for a mere moment before crashing down when gravity reclaims her. A weird plummeting sensation hits her every time she messes with the time. Like when you’re on a tall, frightening fair ride, and suddenly you plummet down the tracks, one could imagine. A flash of light ends the sequence, leaving Nene dizzy for a brief moment.
Her eyes adjust to her surroundings. She’s sitting in a cubicle, a computer with Gmail open in front of her. The stimuli floods her senses. Fluorescent lights. The soft sound of keyboards clicking from elsewhere. Nene does not move for a long time. Her cursor blanks patiently next to the half-written sentence adressed to her coworker. Her coworker who’s name she’d have forgotten, who she feels she wouldn’t have known, if his name had not been written at the top.
Finally, she looks down at her hands, resting atop the desk. There were pens and sticky notes and thumbtacks everywhere. Little scraps of paper stuck to the corkboard she had in the corner.
“Send email to marketing.” “Arrange meeting.” “12:30 meeting.” “Get lunch w/ Hina.”
These tasks did not feel familiar. But they did. And that was very off putting to Nene.
“What was I just doing?”
Nene looks around in confusion, searching for an objective. She stands up and pokes her head out of the cubicle. She knows where she is, of course. But the atmosphere doesn’t feel just right. Is she supposed to be here? That is the question. But nothing actually seemed wrong, that she could notice right away. She sits back down, adjusting her hairstyle. A corporate approved bun, with no extra flair.
Is my mind playing tricks on me?
Nene pulls her phone out of her purse, which was sitting on the floor. She didn’t recognize the people on her lock screen. Oh, no, she did. Nevermind.
This was the team photo taken last year.
She stared at herself. Smiling, crouched in the front of the group.
What day is it now? I really am the most forgetful person on the planet.
After checking the date on her phone; the 21st; Nene sets her phone down. The large numbers 2:03 disappear when the screen goes dark.
Then, with a strange discomfort in her chest, she simply turns back to her computer and opens a to-do list.
“Strange,” she murmurs wearily to herself, slouching. “I need to get more sleep.”
An hour goes by. Two hours. Four hours. How long had she been here before she zoned out? 9AM, probably, since that’s when she clocks in everyday. Of course. But her mind felt fuzzy for some reason. All of earlier today didn’t register immediately.
I picked up breakfast at the cafe down the road after I got ready. I clocked in… got to work. Not too eventful. But I feel like I’ve been very busy and… and stressed… I guess I do have deadlines.
Nene looks at the clock. Oh, almost time to go home. She packs up her stuff and logs out of her computer. A normal routine. Her normal routine.
“Bye, Yashiro-san!” The younger girl in the cubicle beside Nene’s chirps on her way out. Nene pauses mid slinging her purse over her shoulder.
“Oh…” Nene stalls. Her heart drops.
Do I know her?
“…M-Megumi-chan. Have a safe ride home,” She stutters, providing a friendly wave.
Oh dear, I forgot her name for a moment. What’s up with me today? Nene thinks worriedly.
“Are you alright?” Megumi wonders, holding the straps of her backpack.
“No, I mean yes, I’m fine. Just… disoriented. I think— I think I stayed up too late last night.”
“Working hard, I assume?” Megumi laughs cheerfully.
“Haha… yeah…” Nene agrees, though she can’t really recall what she did last night. Whatever it was, it took a toll on her.
Did I black out? No, that doesn’t seem like me.
Nene rubs her forehead wearily. “Well, see you later.”
“Bye!” Megumi repeats, dancing off towards the exit. Nene stares at the rows of cubicles in the room. It was cramped, with all the mini walls of the cubicles, the low ceiling, the lighting that made it feel like a warehouse. Nene felt unsettled. Why? She’s been working here since she got out of college. It’s been… years.
I feel so close to school, still.
I just need to go home.
Nene loads her stuff up into her car. The parking lot was still pretty full. People from other departments stayed later. Nene starts the car, an old car, but a functional one. She turns on the radio.
“They always play the same songs…” she mumbles to herself, turning at an intersection.
I don’t know any of the lyrics to these, actually. I wish they’d play older songs.