My Eyes: Part I

It would be rather unbelievable to be looking at this, that's for sure. Things are always in a flux that is surrounding me, both in the good and bad sense of the word. It is really hard to determine what is real and what is just a figment of my imagination, but I suppose I can still venture a guess or two on that.

It all began roughly two days ago. I was minding my business mostly while sitting in class. As I recall, it was a chemistry class, and the teacher was just droning on and on about some organic chemistry topics. It was hard to stay focused, and soon I found myself drifting off to sleep, only to quickly jerk up in sudden self-realisation that I was nodding off. I would say that it was not the best time to be trying to catch up on sleep---it was a class period after all.

``Junhao!''

``Eh?'' I groggily responded before suddenly sitting up straight in full attention.

I found the whole class looking at me in a strange way, and the chemistry teacher was no different. However, there was something odd about her that I couldn't quite put my hands on. Then it hit me.

She had three eyes. Two in the usual places, and one that was located right in the middle of her forehead.

``Junhao! Did you just woke from your nap?''

I blinked hard and looked again. Nope, only two eyes, nothing weird there. Must've been hallucinating.

``Um, sorry?'' I replied somewhat confusedly.

``Need I remind you the importance of paying particular attention to this topic of organic chemistry? You do know that it is of a significant percentage in the O-levels right?''

``Yes Ms Tan,'' I replied apologetically.

``Good, please don't waste everyone's time again,'' Ms Tan said nonchalantly as she carried on with the droning.

I tried my best to hold out for the remaining twenty minutes to the lesson before the much needed recess break that was to mark the middle of the lessons of the school day. It wasn't easy, but I think I managed okay. When the bell finally run and Ms Tan took her leave from the class, I promptly crashed out on my desk with my head on my hands.

``Junhao,'' a soft voice drifted through my sleepy head, ``you doing alright? You look kinda rough.''

``Buh?'' I opened my eyes lazily to see who it was who roused me from my sleep. What I saw made me awake almost instantly.

It was Shumei, the class beauty. Her skin was flawlessly fair and had long hair tied up in a ponytail. She wore glasses of course, like most of us in school, but the frame was of a subtle pink that fit her cute face quite aptly. Her eyes were not particuarly large, but they contained a sparkle that would bring joy to anyone who looked through them. And of course, puberty hit her slightly earlier, and her physique was made of sensual curves that almost every other girl in school were jealous of. Like I said, the class beauty.

She and I were good friends since a long time ago. We went to the same primary school, and were in the same class for all six years of that. And as luck would it, we managed to enroll in the same secondary school in spite of the streaming that came at the end of primary six and have been assigned to the same classes for the last three-and-a-half years.

Unfortunately for us, we were always teased about our supposed relationship with each other. I was mostly a nerd, doing pretty well in school when I had the mind to, and was not really that good-looking, but that did not stop anyone from claiming that Shumei and I were an item. Shumei didn't seem to mind it that much, but I always felt a little bad for her as it seemed as though she had a bad deal in being associated with me that way.

``Junhao, are you okay?'' Shumei asked again concernedly.

``Yeah, I suppose so. Stayed up too late playing that new game; it's just so addictive,'' I replied truthfully.

``Perhaps you shouldn't play that game too much if it is affecting your school work, right?''

Of course she was right, but I was not going to give in that easily.

``Nah... it's okay. I'll be fine. Thanks for getting back to me.'' I really wanted that sleep so much.

``If you say so... I'm going to get some food from the canteen, you want anything?''

I shook my head. Sleep was more important.

``Okay then, try to stay awake in the remaining half of the day, yeah?''

I nodded in agreement before laying on my hands once more to catch my nap.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. That thirty-minute nap was sufficient to keep me going for the remaining three hours of classes, and at the conclusion of the final class of the day, I was already raring to go home.

As I put away my books in the locker outside of the classroom, Shumei accosted me once more.

``Heading for home?''

``Yeah. You?''

``Sort of. I need to run some errands first. You want to come?''

``Sure, why not?'' Now that school was over for the day, I found that I had some excess energy that I didn't know existed. Might as well spend it with Shumei. After all, I did feel kind of bad for not going with her for recess break---that was the usual routine that I had with her for a long time, and it was broken only rarely, when I had a completely legitimate reason to be otherwise unable to join her.

``That's great!'' Shumei exclaimed as she shifted her school bag on her shoulder. ``I'll wait for you.''

I nodded as I stuffed the remaining book into the locker and slammed it shut before locking it with the small padlock I had. I picked up my backpack from the floor and put it on before following Shumei.

As we walked towards the staircase to exit the classroom floor, I started to wonder what errand Shumei had to do. It was not something particularly unusual, but it was not that often that Shumei would involve me in an errand that she had to do. Often my involvement would come to play when she had to move some rather bulky or heavy items home, or if the particular job required more than one person to be there. And of course, I would be sure to find out what was expected of me as we were going to the location. Rarely do I turn down helping her even after knowing the nature of the task.

``So, where are we heading to today?''

``Um, this place in Katong Shopping Centre.'' That was a rather strange reply, made with a voice that sounded rather unfamiliar to me, as though Shumei had been replaced by a gynoid instead. Not finding it strange enough to warrant a closer look, I took her answer at face value and followed her on to our bus that stopped at the bus stop that we were heading to.

The bus ride was in near silence, with only the sounds from the engine permeating through the air. Shumei was noticeably quiet, and my languor was returning from the lack of physical activity while sitting in the seat. Within a few short moments, I nodded off once more.

When I awoke, I found that I was standing alone with Shumei in a rather dark mall. It was an odd feeling---it didn't feel as though I just woke up from a nap; it felt more like I had just blinked my eyes and suddenly appeared after a blink. The surroundings were of a much different nature, a certain foreboding feeling that seemed to have engulfed me at that point in time. Then it hit me.

As I looked about to take in the sights and sounds that were a part of the mall, I realised that I was looking at what appeared only to be a mall on the superficial level, but was really looking at the husk of a mall. All around me were the shops that were supposed to be there, but they didn't have their main lights on. There were no other people around save Shumei and I, and I found that there was a quiet ambient glow that made an otherwise logically dark and powered-down mall vaguely visible.

``Jun-Junhao, are you alright?''

``Why do you ask?'' I replied in a midly confused tone.

``Well, erm, we were walking along and then you suddenly stopped there and looked about vacantly. You're scaring me you know...''

Now I was more confused. How was I scaring her?

``I'm alright. Do you find this place a little strange?''

``Strange? In what way?''

``Isn't it unusually dark and quiet?''

``Huh? No? It's not dark and quiet and all.'' It was Shumei's turn to be confused. ``Are you sure you are alright?''

I blinked hard. The lights came back on, and the mall was in its usual hustle and bustle, with the afternoon crowd almost in full force.

That was puzzling. The last I remembered, I was on a bus, then the next thing I knew, in a strange form of the mall. Now it seemed like things were okay.

``Uh Shumei?''

``Hmm?''

``I don't feel so good.''

``Huh? What are you talking about?'' Shumei asked puzzledly.

``Wait, didn't you ask me if I was doing okay just a while back?''

``No, I didn't say anything. Are you sure you are fine?''

My head was aching. Something odd was happening, and I was pretty sure that it was not a hallucination this time. I rubbed my temples with my hands.

``It's okay, let's go do your errands?''

``Sure. I think the place is just around the corner anyway.''

``Ah, that's good,'' I replied as I followed her closely.

(Story continues here.)