Puff
The notebook fell softly on the desk, and before Leif could even react, Jennifer was already leaning toward him with that feline ease that always characterized her.
Her hands rested on the edge of the desk. She shortened the distance until she was dangerously close to his face, close enough for Leif to smell the perfume that always surrounded her, that sweet and confusing scent that made more than one person forget how to breathe.
Her lips curved into the smile of someone who knows exactly how she looks and what she causes.
Her big light blue eyes narrowed with mischief, like a little animal that pretends to be innocent while hiding sharp fangs.
"Leif…" she called him with a voice so sweet it seemed to melt between each word, "a band is coming to town this weekend. They are going to play at the new bar."
She leaned a little closer, tilted her head, and let a small strand of her black hair fall over her cheek. "I want to go." Her gaze slid over his, wrapping around him. "Would you like to come with me?"
At this, several boys around them turned their heads as if someone had turned on a spotlight. The stares locked onto the two of them, filled with envy, discomfort, and a frustration that could almost be touched.
"Why him?"
"What does she see in him…?"
While they boiled, Leif leaned back against his chair as if nothing was happening. He lifted his eyelids with a slowness that bordered on arrogance, looked at her for a second, and shrugged with a clear air of disinterest that would have made anyone want to punch him.
"Alright."
He said it with a neutral tone, as if he accepted going with her only because he had nothing better to do, and his attitude was perfect for making those around him even angrier.
Jennifer's eyes brightened immediately, excitement rising like a spark.
"Perfect. Then it is decided." She winked at him, "Don't run away from me, okay?"
Leif only nodded without giving her more emotion than necessary.
RIIIIIING
The bell cut through the air of the classroom.
In one second, chairs scraped, backpacks closed with loud hits, and voices rose. The entire classroom came to life like a swarm that had just been released.
The groups of classmates began to leave in a hurry, scattering through the hallway.
Leif gathered his things without rushing, stood up, and made his way through the crowd without changing his expression at all.
He walked toward the school exit while behind him, Jennifer watched him with a smile that did not promise anything simple…
While he walked down the street, Leif could not stop his mind from going back to his absurd experience. Sometimes he wondered whether to laugh or curse, because it was ridiculous even for him.
He, a normal person from the twenty first century, a respectable citizen with common problems… and he ended up transmigrating simply because he went to the bathroom without paper.
Not even a heroic accident, not a mysterious lightning bolt. No. A bathroom. Without paper.
Every time he remembered it, he felt like flipping off the sky and asking for explanations from whoever was in charge of his life now.
As the years passed, he managed to understand what kind of world he had fallen into.
And the conclusion was clear: the universe he lived in was a blend of horror movies, superstitions, and urban legends that no sane person would ever want to visit.
His town was called Derry. Yes, that Derry. The one with the clown that traumatized entire generations.
Every time he walked past a sewer grate, he looked twice in case he saw something red floating. Luckily, he had not run into Pennywise yet, and he hoped it would stay that way.
Not far from there was Camp Crystal Lake, a place famous for its beautiful forests, its calm water, and an immortal guy soaking under the dock according to the rumors.
Very tourist friendly.
And that was not the worst.
In Oregon there was a so called Hotel Stanley that no one with two neurons wanted to enter, and in California the news talked about a serial killer spreading panic along the west coast. There was also Elm Street in Springwood, a place where no one with a shred of self respect would sleep for more than five minutes.
It was like living inside a catalog of classic nightmares.
The more he thought about his situation, the more his temple throbbed. But just when he was about to give up at the simple idea that this world wanted him dead, at the exact moment he needed it most, the system appeared.
'Panel'
The word crossed his mind, and immediately a panel materialized in front of him.
[Name: Leif Connor]
[Sex: Male]
[Age: 18 years old]
[Main mission: ???]
[Backpack: Ebony and Ivory, Pure silver cross]
[Skills: Perfect memory, Pure Yang Body, Charm]
[Pets: None]
[Achievements: (Pillar) You made a ghost trip over you three times in a row]
[Coins: 999]
[Draws:
-Basic: 1000 coins x 10 pulls.
-Intermediate: 100000 coins x 10 pulls.
-Advanced: 1000000 coins x 10 pulls.
-Supreme: 100000000 coins x 10 pulls.]
Looking at this minimalist, almost depressing system, he could only sigh.
To stay alive, he had to become an expert in cheap survival. He ate just enough, spent the minimum, cut out any luxury, and saved every last cent.
All that pocket money was used only to participate in the system's draws, ten dollars here, ten dollars there, miserably accumulating coins.
With time, and with a patience he himself did not understand, he had managed to get a few useful things, although not as many as he would have liked.
While he walked down the street, he calculated things in his head for the umpteenth time.
Only ten more dollars and I can do another ten pull.
Hopefully, for God's sake, hopefully this time something would come out that actually saved his life and not another piece of garbage.
He lifted his gaze toward the sky.
The sunset had such a dull color that it looked like it had been taken from a badly developed photo; a pale, dead sky without a hint of life.
A perfect landscape for a world where terror and bad luck walked hand in hand.
…
"I'm back!"
As soon as he crossed the door, Leif announced it loudly, letting the echo move through the house.
Without stopping, he walked straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. The water ran between his fingers when he heard a voice coming from the kitchen:
"Leif, go call your sister so she can come down for dinner."
It was the voice of Sarah Connor, his mother.
The first time he heard her name he almost choked. For a second he believed he had landed in the world of Terminator, with Arnold appearing at the door saying "I'll be back."
But the excitement lasted about three seconds.
Because after that he saw the name of his father: John Connor.
That day he understood that the universe had a pretty cruel sense of humor.
He was not in Terminator. It was just another twisted world that played with references as if they were inside jokes.
He dried his hands as he went up the stairs and stopped in front of his sister's door.
Knock Knock
"Lillith, dinner."
A click, and the door opened slowly. His sister, Lillith Connor, stepped into the hallway with the same unsettling calm as always.
And there it was again, that feeling.
Lately, every time he saw her, something in her made him feel a strange tingle. It was not fear exactly, but it was not calm either. It was… odd.
As if there was something out of place in her, something subtle he could not quite understand.
No matter how much he thought about it, he could not figure out what it was.
After dinner, Sarah went out for a walk with Lily to help digest the food. With them gone, the kitchen felt spacious, quiet, and only the sound of the faucet could be heard while Leif and his father put the dishes away.
Leif dried his hands with the dish towel and looked at his father, who was leaning over the sink washing the dishes with the routine of someone who did it every day.
"Dad," he said casually, "lend me a hundred dollars."
John froze immediately and turned his head with a raised eyebrow. "A hundred dollars? What do you need that much for?"
Leif answered without thinking, "A band is playing in town this weekend. I said I'd go with Jennifer." And he added with a gesture, as if the answer were obvious, "I'm not going to look like an idiot in front of her, right?"
John laughed at this, a mix of resignation and affection.
He dried his hands on the apron and took a deep breath before speaking, "Son… you know your mother is the one who handles the money in the house. If it were up to me…"
But Leif interrupted him.
"The hidden compartment under the vase in the living room. The hollow base of the candlestick in the guest room. And page thirty six of the atlas in your study."
He listed each hiding place calmly, enjoying the shifting expression on his father's face, and then looked at him with a narrowed smile, "Dad… what do you think would happen if Mom found out?"
The silence lasted only a second, but it was more eloquent than any lecture.
John blinked, swallowed, and shifted his posture. "My dear son… would two hundred be enough? Do not go and embarrass yourself in front of your girlfriend."
Leif's eyes shone, "Perfect."
He extended his hand, took the two pristine bills, and headed to his room while humming a melody.
John watched him walk away, shook his head, and murmured, unable to stop himself from smiling, "This kid… when the hell did he discover my hiding places? I am going to have to find new ones or he is going to leave me broke."
He returned to focusing on the dishes, resigned to his new reality.
…
In his room, Leif placed the two hundred dollars on the table and sat in front of his desk. The system opened as soon as he called it mentally.
He took out ten dollars and made the recharge.
Ding
On the panel, the coins rose to the number he had been chasing for days: 1000.
"Please… let something worthwhile come out this time."
________
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