The morning of the final science project presentation arrived. The atmosphere in Room 2-A was particularly lively. Many students wore expressions mixed with excitement and anxiety. My own group was no different. We had arranged to meet in front of the school early to review our speeches one last time.
"Hey, Leo, you seem to be in an unusually good mood today," Zeno remarked, patting my shoulder. "Probably because you get to show off your work with your sweetheart, huh? Your and Komori-san's 'Parallel Worlds and Infinite Possibilities' project must be awesome!"
"What sweetheart are you talking about?" I brushed him off, but couldn't help but smile. Lumine's words from yesterday still resonated in my heart, giving me a strange sense of encouragement. "I just hope everything goes well."
"Yeah, man," Ken added. "Seeing how dedicated you and Komori-san have been, your scores have to be good. By the way... after the presentation, aren't you thinking of asking her out on a date to celebrate?" Ken winked teasingly.
Takumi, leaning against the school wall and gazing at the sky, spoke in his usual flat tone, "If you're going on a date in a parallel world, don't forget to send a postcard back from the seventh dimension. Maybe I'll get some new ideas for my drawings."
"You guys are something else," I laughed, looking towards the school gate, waiting for someone. "What about Riku? Is he even coming today?"
"No idea. That guy's unpredictable," Ken replied.
When the bell rang, we walked into the classroom. My heart beat a little faster as I scanned the room for Lumine. But… her desk was empty. I frowned slightly. Could she be late? It wasn't like Lumine to be late on such an important day.
Mr. Satoru walked into the room with his usual dignified air. "Alright, students. Today is the day to judge the work you've dedicated yourselves to for months. I expect everyone to do their best. The first group to present is... Tsukino Leo's group and..." Mr. Satoru looked down at the list in his hand. "Uh... Riku Lancaster. Please come forward."
I stood up, bewildered. "Wait a minute, sir. I'm partnered with Komori Lumine. Riku should be doing a solo project, shouldn't he?"
Mr. Satoru raised an eyebrow, looking at me with surprise. "Komori Lumine? Who's that, Tsukino-kun? Your project partner on the list is Lancaster-san. It has been since the lottery draw."
"What!" I exclaimed loudly, causing the whole class to turn and look at me. "That's impossible, sir! I remember I was paired with Lumine! We've been working together all this time!"
"Hey, Leo, what's wrong with you?" Ken nudged my arm gently. "What Lumine are you talking about? We were just talking about whether Riku would make it for the presentation."
"Yeah, yeah," Zeno added. "You were just complaining about what you'd do if you had to present with Riku."
Takumi looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze. "Tsukino... you look like someone who just woke up from a dream within a dream. Or did you secretly experiment with your parallel world theory and swap places with a Leo from another dimension? Or maybe... you just need an excuse to postpone the presentation."
My head was spinning. "You guys... you really don't remember Lumine? Lumine Komori, who sits in front of me every day? The one with long, golden-brown hair who loves reading physics books!" I started to get agitated, scanning the room. "And Iris! Himari! Aren't you Lumine's close friends?!"
Iris Mikazuki looked at me with a calm but suspicious expression. "Tsukino-kun, who are you referring to? There's no one named Lumine Komori in our class, and I've never heard that name before." Her eyes seemed to be analyzing whether I was joking or had some kind of problem.
Himari Kanzaki looked confused. "Lumine? That's a cute name, but I don't know her either, Leo-kun. Or is she a new student you have a crush on and dreamed about? Teehee." But then her smile faded when she saw my serious and confused face. "Uh... Leo-kun, are you okay?"
Everyone's words felt like a hammer blow to my chest. How could this be? Why did no one remember Lumine? We had just talked yesterday! She had just given me chocolates on Valentine's Day! She had just poured her heart out to me!
I rushed to the desk that used to be Lumine's. But what lay on it was an old school bag and a few comic books... Riku Lancaster's!
"No... this can't be real..." I murmured to myself, feeling like my whole world was collapsing before my eyes. Every memory of Lumine was still vivid in my mind, but to everyone else... she had never existed.
"There must be proof... there has to be something..." I quickly took out my phone, my fingers trembling as I opened the chat application. I scrolled through the contact list... Nothing... There was no "Lumine Komori" in my contacts, even though we had exchanged Line IDs to discuss the project! I tried typing her name in the search bar... No results found.
"Impossible..." I opened my photo gallery. I had never taken a picture of her, but maybe... there was a group photo from the cat cafe? I quickly scrolled through the pictures... There were photos of me with Himari and Iris. There were many pictures of cats. But there wasn't a single picture with Lumine in it! Even though I remembered her sitting right there, laughing softly when a cat nuzzled her.
"And... and the notes she gave me? The project summary notes!" I frantically rummaged through my school bag, dumping everything out onto the desk. Books, notebooks, pens... But there was no neatly stapled sheaf of papers, no neat handwriting of Lumine's... Nothing! Only empty notebooks and regular textbooks.
"Tsukino-kun, if you're not ready, or if Lancaster-san hasn't arrived yet, I can let the next group present first," Mr. Satoru said, his voice trying to be understanding, but with an undercurrent of bewilderment. "You seem to be genuinely sleep-deprived, or perhaps stressed from preparing."
I slumped into my chair, completely drained. My mind was blank. What on earth was happening? Where had Lumine gone? Or was I... was I going crazy? Were the memories I had of her... all just something I had imagined?
No... it couldn't be like that. Her smile, her voice, the scent of her lavender shampoo... everything was still so clear.
And our project? The notebook filled with her handwriting, the diagrams we drew together... I searched my bag again, fumbling for the black notebook we used for the project...
And then I found it.
But when I opened it... what was inside wasn't the complex diagram of parallel worlds, or Lumine's neat handwriting. It was... hastily drawn sketches of buildings and brief notes about "The Influence of Baroque Architecture on RPG Game Design," along with messy handwriting that I recognized as... Riku Lancaster's.
My heart plummeted... What... what the hell was going on! Was my brain malfunctioning completely?!
"Tsukino-kun, are you alright? You look very pale," Himari's concerned voice sounded beside me. She gently touched my arm. "If you're not well, should we go to the nurse's office? I can take you."
"Lumine..." I looked up at all my friends again with pleading, confused eyes. "You have to remember... Komori Lumine... the one who sat right there!" I pointed to the desk that was now Riku's. "The one who gave me chocolates on Valentine's Day... the one I talked to about dreams and parallel worlds at the cat cafe that day! Himari, you were there too, weren't you!"
Himari looked even more confused. "Cat cafe? Weren't there only three of us that day? Me, Iris-chan, and you, Leo-kun. There was no one named Lumine."
Iris nodded in agreement. "Yes, Tsukino-kun. It was just us that day. I remember." Her expression seemed to suggest she was starting to believe I might actually have some psychological issues.
How could I mistake someone I felt... felt so special about? Those memories were as clear as if they had happened yesterday!
Suddenly, the classroom door burst open, accompanied by a loud greeting and the tall, lanky figure of someone familiar...
"Yo! Sorry I'm late! Got caught up at a party celebrating my neighbor's cat's birthday last night! Anyway... is it our group's turn yet, Leo?! Our 'Application of Chaos Theory and Fractals in Designing Future Architectural Structures to Withstand Natural Disasters' project is ready to shake the world!"
Riku Lancaster... appeared, with a mischievous grin and a project topic I had never heard of in my life...
My world... had it truly become distorted? Or was this just a nightmare I couldn't wake up from? And Lumine Komori... the girl I had just begun to feel a deep connection with... where had she gone? Or perhaps... she had never existed at all?