Time Looped

Will watched as his friend shattered before his very eyes. Helen had done a good job arriving at the scene in record time, though too good of a job as far as Alex was concerned. The expression of determined vengefulness on her face made the boy glad they were on the same side.

Knights really do fight well, he thought.

“Are you okay?” the girl asked.

Given what just had occurred one would think that a small crowd would have started to gather. At least someone should have noticed a girl leaping over a school fence and shattering a boy to fragments of glass. And yet, no one did. People continued to honk, rushing off to some place or other. A local shop worker gave the car lot a general glance, then returned to getting things ready for the day.

“Yeah.” Will tried to move off the spot he was standing. The mirror tile kept on holding him tight.

As he was hesitating whether to try and smash it or not, Helen approached and did just that. On cue, he no longer felt stuck.

“Thanks.” He stepped away. “You got here fast.”

“I’m good at gymnastics,” the girl said, looking at where Alex had been. By now, the glass fragments had all but evaporated as if they had never been.

“Seen anything like this before?”

The girl shook her head. “Are you sure it was Alex?” she asked. “I mean, this wasn’t him, but are you sure he’s the one?”

“Yep.” Will walked up to the mirror pole and tapped it with his hand.

The class has already been found by someone else. Next time, try sooner.

The familiar message appeared on it.

“See?”

“He must have learned some trick.” The boy looked at the ground again. “Or more than a few tricks.”

During his brief speech, the goofball had given Will the impression he had been at this far longer than either of them, possibly even longer than Danny. Catching him was going to be difficult, although Will had gained one huge advantage: he’d found the location of the starting mirror. Still, there was something that didn’t add up.

“Want some mousse?” he turned to the girl.

“What?”

“Chocolate mousse. I know a place.”

Helen tilted her head, arms crossed.

“We’ve got six minutes till the next loop. After what just happened I don't feel like going to class. Why not use the time to chill a bit in a coffee shop?”

The chances of such an offer being accepted were a hundred to one. If this were a date, or there was a chance that it seemed like a date, he’d never be so straightforward. Since it was loop related, and there were only a few minutes left, Will wasn’t going to feel particularly bad if he were shot down.

On her part, Helen, would normally never accept such an invitation. Everything else aside, she liked to know where she’d be going and gathered a few second-hand opinions of the place first. Going to a random coffee shop that served “chocolate mousse” was without question not it. And yet only a minute later both of them were sitting inside, taking advantage of the place’s cocoa.

“Are you sure you’re supposed to be here?” the barista asked with a note of suspicion. “Isn’t it a school day or—”

“First period teacher got stuck in traffic,” Helen interrupted without batting an eye. “We thought we’d go somewhere special.”

“Ah.” The barista nodded, as if the answer made anything clear. “Right. I’ll go check the inventory.” He gave them a sly nod, then discretely wandered off.

“How fast can you get to the parking lot?” Will asked, the moment they were let alone, doing his best to ignore what she had insinuated just then.

“Running, jumping out of windows… ten-fifteen seconds. It’s not that far if you follow a straight line.” She took a sip of her drink. “Straightish.”

“Even after getting the knight?”

“It takes me less than a second to get the knight. I’m already in the bathroom, remember? Wasn’t like that when Daniel was alive. Then, it sometimes took me half a minute.”

“You never said that.”

“Well, excuse me for not discussing things relating to a dead close friend. He wasn’t supposed to die, either.”

Will had an inkling of how she felt, but even so had hoped she’d share such important things. So, a looped’s death caused eternity to change. It sort of sounded logical.

“When you became a rogue, you pulled the loop forward. At least for me. Of course, I did the same thing I did every morning.”

“Get to the mirror and get your class,” the boy said along with her. “That means Alex will be in front of his mirror too.”

There went the idea of catching the goofball by surprise. Still, it was possible to make things uncomfortable for him. It would take Helen fifteen seconds to get there. With a bit of running, Will could reach the spot as well from the other side. Some testing would be required to tell whether it would be faster to get his rogue class first or run directly to the mirror. Either way, it would put pressure on Alex.

“So, that’s your big plan?” The girl didn’t look at all impressed.

“Of course not,” the boy lied. “We know where he starts. We know where he has to be to get Danny’s file—”

“Not that it will do us any good,” Helen uttered beneath her breath.

“We know that…” the boy paused. “A class has three skills, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“I’m serious. Are there any with more?”

“Not that I know of. Daniel said that all the classes were front heavy and started with three at most.”

“Then it’s impossible.”

The girl narrowed her eyes.

“I mean Alex,” the boy continued. “I know one of his skills is to make him faster. I saw that when I chased after the archer. I also know that he can create traps, and we saw that he can make copies of himself.”

“That makes three.”

“How come no one sees him?” Will leaned back triumphantly. “Even if he has a mirror copy of him rushing off to get Danny’s files, how does he get both copies without being seen or raising the alarm? You tried breaking into June’s office. How did that go?”

“Invisibility…” the girl said.

“And lock picking.”

“Please. That’s child’s play. Anyone can pick a lock with a basic set of tools. Daniel taught me how.”

“I still doubt it, but okay. That still makes four skills, which—” the boy raised a finger “—he must have before getting to the nurse’s mirror. Otherwise, she’d have seen him as well.” He grabbed his phone from his pocket and started typing a text. “Danny said that there were only four classes at the school, right?”

“Yeah, but he didn’t say anything about outside. There could be more. The parking lot isn’t part of the school either.”

That was true. It was possible that he’d taken a class from elsewhere. If so, that might complicate Will’s plan a bit.

Helen leaned closer to see what he was typing, but the angle remained uncomfortable.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m texting to Alex. If all goes well, we might not have to fight after all.” The message sent, he put the phone on the table. “We’ll still have to be ready, though. Just in case.”

The girl took the phone. The text read: Talk after 1 period , followed by a mirror and hand emoji.

“Mirror and hand?” The girl looked at him.

“Or we’ll break your mirror.”

It wasn’t a very realistic threat, especially considering the nature of the mirror in question. Still, it was a clear threat that they were going to make life difficult for Alex in every loop moving on. The only question was, whether he’d believe them.

With less than a minute left to the end of the loop, the barista returned to check if they wanted anything else. Despite his reluctance, Will ordered a chocolate mousse, telling Helen she had to try it. Before she had the chance, however…

Restarting eternity.

Another loop, another rush through the bathroom. Will didn’t pause to wait for Alex or the daily insult coming from the pair of girls. Getting the rogue right off, he went to the art classroom. Helen was already there, as usual, opening the windows. Silently, the boy assisted, then sat at Daniel’s desk.

One by one, the rest of the class started to arrive. Everyone did the exact same things they had been doing for hundreds of loops. The same jokes, coughs, and nasty comments. Students went to the same places asking the same questions to receive the same answers. In his mind, Will often finished the conversations for them, seconds before they had a chance to do it. Then, something different happened. When the jocks came in, they no longer did so with their usual yell. In fact, they were rather quiet, discussing football strategies. Jace didn’t even pay attention to Will, joining the rest of the group at their desks.

Huh? Will thought.

After experiencing the same things so many times, he almost wanted to go to them and start a fight himself. It wasn’t even about extending the loop—he knew precisely what actions he had to do in order to achieve that—but rather out of a sense of tradition.

As for the goofball, there was no notable difference. Ever since he had been discovered, Alex had stopped coming to class, doing his thing elsewhere.

Eight o’clock. The bell rang marking the start of class.

The teacher, barely arrived, told the class to prepare their drawing materials—as he did each loop—then went to close the nearest window. Unexpectedly, the door opened once more. Everyone turned in its direction only to see their very own goofy classmate standing there, carrying a large paper bag of something.

“Should I even ask?” The teacher sighed as his glance fell on the bag Alex was carrying.

“It’s fire, teach!” The boy reached in and took out a muffin. “Muffins, the progressive nature morte!”

The entire class erupted in laughter. Even the teacher found it difficult to remain indifferent. Despite all his other faults, and Will could think of several since the recent revelation, the goofball remained highly amusing.

“While I’m impressed you know the phrase, muffins can hardly be described as a nature morte,” the teacher said once calm was restored.

“But, they’re lit. And I brought enough for everyone.”

“Great. I’m sure your classmates would appreciate that… after class. Until then please put the bag on my desk where it won’t serve as a drawing inspiration.”

Alex shrugged, returned the muffin to the rest, folded the top of the paper bag, then placed it on the teacher’s desk. A few rogue comments followed from other members of class, all attempting to match his humor and failing at it. That didn’t disturb the boy in the least. In his usual swagger, he went straight to Will’s old desk and sat down.

“Brought your muffin, bro,” he whispered as he took out his drawing materials from his backpack. It was subtle, but enough to let him know that the truce had been accepted.

Class continued as usual. Will and Helen finished their assignments first, earning themselves a lot of praise and envy. To everyone’s surprise, so did Alex. Seeing the goofball’s “hidden talent” almost made the teacher get a stroke. It was more than skill, it was mastery that required years of practice to perfect.

While the rest of the class was astonished at the result, Will felt a lump in his throat. Alex was sending him a warning. Being looped for so much longer had also made him a lot more experienced. In both confrontations so far, he had proved to have the upper hand. Although, interestingly enough, not once had he attacked. He could done so have back when Will had no idea what was going on. Helen had, after all, so why hadn’t Alex?

The bell sounded bringing the class to an end.

“And remember,” the teacher said just as everyone started putting away their belongings.

“Practice makes perfect,” the students continued in the most unenthusiastic fashion possible.

“Or something of the sort,” the man said with a smile showing he was accustomed to disappointment. “Alex, Will, I’d like to have a word with you sometime this week.”

“Sure, bro!” The goofball grinned.

“Ok,” Will replied in a quiet tone. If this were outside the loop, he would have been thrilled. Right now, the only thing on his mind was the conversation.

“Great. Oh, and don’t forget your…” The teacher pointed at the paper bag on his desk.

“Nah, keep it, teach. For next time.”

A few bouts of laughter erupted as the people poured out into the corridor.

“Nice sketch,” Helen tore away from her friends. “Must have taken you a while to get the technique right.”

“Nah, bro. I’m lit.” He smiled.

Two of Helen’s friends rolled their eyes, leaving the room with a “don’t take long” glance at her.

“Yard?” Will asked in a whisper.

“Muffin place.” Alex finished packing his backpack. “My treat.”

“Muffin place,” the girl repeated.

It sounded just like something the goofball would suggest. It was also a good move. Open spaces gave him the advantage. Additionally, given that it was his home turf, there was every chance that he had set up a trap or two.

“Fine. Let’s go.” Will tossed the backpack on his shoulder.

“For real, bro?” The goofball arched his eyebrows, surprised.

“If it’s a trap, we can still do what I said in the next loop.” Will paused. “And all the loops after.”