It's April 1st, 2016. It had been that way for the past 18 days. At first, I thought it was a clever prank from all the news channels. I was thinking, holy crap, these guys thought of something good! But after the second or third time of living the same day, I was starting to see what was going on.
The contents within this day, I don't know. I can remember some events if it happens right in front of me, or if I can see the lead up to what would happen, but I don't have this day memorized to a tea. I thought I honestly would remember every little detail about it, just like how it is in some novels or movies, but no, I can't remember things like that. I guess if I was in the loop for a hundred days, maybe, but-
"Ian, what are you doing just standing around here? Aren't you gonna be late for school?" Mom said as she pointed to the clock.
"Oh! You're right!"
I headed out the door with an act of haste but slowed down when I had made it down the block.
It's been a while since I've gone to school. After the 4th day, I just didn't see the point in it, especially if I was going to repeat the same day over again.
But this time, I was going back. It was the only place that I knew a ton of people would be. And with the girl in my dreams talking back to me at the end, this could be something important regarding the loop.
"But…" I said thinking out loud, "I don't even know how I got into this mess anyway. Nor do I know any solutions as to how to get out. This isn't a sort of problem where you can just look for a solution online."
I left it at that and went to school. It was the same thing. Just class after class with only a tiny break in between. I felt bored out of my mind.
"Ian!" yelled a friend of mine.
"Hm? Oh, what's up Henry." I said, shifting my blank face to a smile.
"Nothing much. Are you not gonna come with us to the cafeteria?"
"Oh! I will. I was just spacing out for a bit."
"I don't blame you for spacing out. It's because all these classes are so boring! Like these teachers can't seem to make anything interesting."
I let out a quiet laugh. "Honestly, you're not wrong."
We met up with a few other friends at the cafeteria and goofed around as we always did. Cranking out jokes with a bit of shoving here and there, it was always a blast with these people, but still…
"Hey, Ian, are you sick or something?" One of my friends, Cory, asked me.
"Hm, no, why would you think that?" I asked with a light chuckle.
"I don't know. I mean, you're usually the first person to rip on Sandy after me."
"Stop it, Cory," Sandy said laughing. "Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable?"
I laughed. "Nah, I'm not feeling uncomfortable, I'm just tired is all. I just want this day to end already."
"For real!" Said Henry with his arms flailing. "I just want to get my classes over with and watch that new show with that one girl."
"Are you talking about Mina Lee?" Cory asked.
"Yes, bro! Her! She's so pretty man. I have the biggest crush on her, I swear!" Said Henry squirming about humorously, causing us to laugh as the bell finally rang.
"Aw man, I gotta take a quiz for history," I said in an annoyed tone.
I said my goodbyes with a smile that soon faded as everyone left for class.
I didn't want to continue going on to another class. I had been doing the same classwork too many times and was answering the same questions too many times. I was tired of it, so I planned on heading home until I crossed paths with Kora, an athletic girl with black hair.
She glared at me, I knew it, but I couldn't look back at her. So I kept my head low, looked at the ground, and slowly walked.
"Asshole," she whispered to me as I passed her.
"––"
I said nothing to her.
***
The day ended with me laying in my bed again.
I'm in the dream once more.
We're at the bridge now, our hands held in one another's.
"Aw man, I'm really in my feelings right now," I said with a slight groan.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the girl said to me.
"I don't know. I feel as if anything that has happened these past few days isn't real."
I laughed.
"Hell, these dreams that I have with you feel more realistic than any of the days I've lived so far."
"Is it because of that time loop thing that you used to keep going on about?" she asked.
"Sort of, but that's not the case. Right now, I just have this big feeling of guilt upon me."
"—"
She didn't say anything but gave me the sort of look that signaled for me to speak on what I had just said.
"I don't know, it's just that there's this girl that my friends and I would hang out with. Whenever we hung out we would always make jokes and well, one would lead to another, and in the end, I just took it too far."
I stared at the girl for a little bit. She seemed to have known that I didn't want to continue this any further. I was uncomfortable.
"So you feel guilty because you knew you took it too far?" the girl asked me.
"Sort of. The thing is, I never apologized to her. I just made stupid excuses, trying to blame those things on someone else. It's always bothered me now. Especially because it wasn't just her that I hurt. I tried putting my friends under the bus just so that I could avoid apologizing to her."
I looked at the ground, gripping her hand.
"So," the girl said with a smile, "Ian, what is it you wish for?"
I took a deep breath. "I wish I could give Kora a good apology."
I looked at the girl. Silence.
"Is that really what you want to wish for?" she asked me. "It seems like you're not saying the whole thing."
"Do you want me to think about it some more?" I asked her.
"If you could please," she said with a smile.
It's odd, I thought to myself. She usually just listens to my wish and ends the dream right there.
Still, I thought about it for a minute.
"Okay," I said confidently. "I know what I want to wish for now."
The girl looked at me with a look of anticipation.
"I wish I could own up to my mistakes."
She smiled.
As the bridge began to collapse from both sides, I couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
"I hope it works out for you Ian."
Those were the final words she said to me before I found myself staring at the ceiling, laying on my bed.