Sunlight pierced through the window, casting golden light across the lecture hall walls. Dust danced in the beam, drifting like tiny spirits in the air—while Layla just stared blankly ahead.
"Mey, have you ever seen, like… a hologram screen right in front of you?" she asked her deskmate, Meyla.
"Huh? A hologram screen?"
"Yeah, like a soft pink screen with text on it," Layla explained.
"Nope. Why?" Meyla frowned. "Did you watch some weird sci-fi movie or something?"
"No, seriously. I've been seeing this screen pop up in front of my eyes lately."
"You're crazy," Meyla said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.
"I'm not kidding. I'm serious, Mey."
"Come on. There's no such thing as random holograms popping up in front of people. We don't even have flying cars yet," Meyla snapped, furrowing both brows.
"I know, but I'm telling you, it's not a dream. You wouldn't believe it unless you were me."
"Nope." Meyla shook her head firmly.
"I think you need to see a psychologist. Your mental health might be... unstable," she added half-jokingly.
"Excuse me?! I'm not crazy!"
"Yeah, right. Hallucinating holograms? That's literally not sane."
The lecturer finally had enough and shouted at them to be quiet. Layla frowned slightly and turned her gaze to the front of the class.
"Am I... really losing my mind?" she wondered.
Suddenly, the air in front of her shimmered, like a cracked mirror being struck. A faint pink glow flickered, then formed a transparent screen—right in front of her face.
Layla's heart skipped a beat.
"DELETING MEMORY..."
"MEMORY DELETED."
Her eyes widened in confusion. What does that mean? she thought. Just then, she noticed Meyla staring ahead blankly—motionless, unblinking.
For a moment, she looked like a lifeless statue.
Seconds passed before Meyla blinked and returned to normal.
"Mey… are you okay?" Layla asked cautiously.
"I'm fine. Why?"
"You just… looked really weird just now."
"Weird? I've been paying attention to Mr. Tian this whole time," Meyla replied.
Layla just nodded, brushing it off. Her eyes returned to the lecture as if nothing had happened.
After class ended, Layla rushed toward the DPM office. Her head was still spinning from the strange experience, but she tried to shake it off.
A few minutes later, she spotted the head of DPM sitting in front of the office, waiting for her.
"Here's my form," she said, handing over the application paper. The girl in front of her began explaining what Layla needed to prepare.
Suddenly, a male student approached, holding the same form. Layla glanced at him and frowned—it was the same guy who had bumped into her on the bus earlier that morning.
"Hey, you're the guy from the bus, right?" she asked.
The boy looked puzzled, unsure why a stranger was suddenly talking to him like they'd met before.
"You bumped into me this morning!"
He paused, trying to recall. A faint memory flickered in his mind—he did recognize her.
"Oh… yeah. Sorry."
"Too late! You hit me and didn't even apologize!" Layla snapped.
"I didn't mean to."
"Yeah, sure," she mocked, rolling her eyes.
"I'll head out now," she said, turning to the DPM head to excuse herself.
"Alright."
But just as she turned away, her ears rang—and the screen appeared again in front of her.
"WARNING!"
"DO NOT APPROACH THAT MALE INDIVIDUAL. YOUR MEMORY WILL BE ERASED IN 3 SECONDS FOR VIOLATING THE RULES."
Layla's eyes widened in horror.
What?!
A piercing alarm rang in her ears, as if a siren had gone off inside her brain.
"3..."
Her vision blurred. Her stomach churned like it was being twisted from the inside.
"2..."
She collapsed to her knees, trembling violently. Her head throbbed with pain.
"1..."
The pink light engulfed her face. Then, slowly, the screen darkened—turning pitch black.
"MEMORY DELETED."
🌀 What kind of system can erase your memory just for breaking a "rule" you didn't know existed?
💭 Drop your thoughts in the comments. Who do you think the guy really is—and why is Layla being watched?