Time Loop

11 - A Shift In Time

"This is all your fault!" Dante snapped, gripping the broom tightly as he swept the dusty floor. "My fault? How the hell is this my fault!?" Jasper shot back, glaring at him. "If you had just locked the principal's office like you were supposed to, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Dante argued, his frustration evident. The two had been bickering about this for what felt like forever.

"Forget about that! The explosion didn't even happen!" Killian interjected, carrying a stack of old boxes from one corner of the storage room to the other while the rest of us continued cleaning. "Exactly! By the way, what do you think, Dante? You're the genius here. This was all your plan, right?" Jasper said, folding his arms and giving him a pointed look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dante asked, still sweeping the floor aggressively. "I mean, do you think the time loop is actually over or not?," Jasper pointed out. Dante paused for a moment, "I don't know, dont ask me," he said. Meanwhile, Killian continued moving boxes outside, and I sighed, picking up a broom and starting to sweep as well. This was our punishment.

It all started earlier that morning. We stood in the hall, waiting for the explosion to happen, counting down the seconds. But when 8:10 AM arrived... nothing. No blast. No chaos.

Instead, the principal had walked into the hallway, finding us all standing there just us, while the rest of the school was locked inside their classrooms and offices. It didn't take long for him to figure out what had happened. Furious, he had scolded us, demanding an explanation for why we had locked everyone inside. And as our punishment, we were ordered to clean out the school's old storage room until the end of the school day. Which brought us to this moment sweeping, dusting, and arguing.

Jasper and Dante were still at each other's throats because Jasper had forgotten to lock the principal's office, which led to us getting caught.

School was still in session. Right now, it was probably the fifth period since it was 10:20, that was when the fifth period usually started. I groaned inwardly, realizing how much time we still had left before school ended. We were stuck here until then, forced to clean up this mess as punishment. Sighing, I tightened my grip on the broom and continued sweeping.

We cleaned there for a long time, and after a while, we heard the sound of a bell ringing. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 11 AM, meaning the second break had started. "Ugh, I'm hungry," I said, throwing the mop aside and sitting on a box. "Me too," Kill said and came to sit beside me. "As for me, i know my friend will bring something," Jasper said with a smirk. "You locked him in the class this morning. Do you even remember? You really think he'll bring something for you?" I said.

"Why wouldn't I?" a voice came from the door. We looked over and saw a boy standing there. "Oh, Sam," Jasper said and started snatching the snacks from his hand. But the boy held them up high and didn't let go. It seemed like this boy, Sam, had brought a lot of snacks, maybe even for us.

"First, tell me why you guys were locking classrooms this morning," he said. We looked at each other, and then Jasper sighed and said, "You wouldn't understand. Just give them to me." Sam held the snacks even higher and refused to give them. "Then you won't be getting them."

A sudden, deafening explosion roared from outside, shaking the ground beneath us. The walls of the storeroom trembled, dust falling from the ceiling. We froze, eyes wide, before looking at each other in alarm.

"What the hell was that?" Sam blurted out. Without wasting a second, we sprinted outside. As soon as we stepped out, our breath caught flames were rising from the buildings canteen, bright and violent, smoke curling into the sky.

"This is the reason," Kill muttered looking at sam. "We locked you all inside." "What do you mean...?" Sam asked, looking at Kill. "You wouldn't understand," Jasper muttered. "At least tell me! If you explain, I'll understand," Sam said, his gaze shifting to Jasper. "There's no point! Even if we tell you, by tomorrow, you'll forget all about it," Jasper replied, looking straight at him.

"I don't get it," Sam said, frustration clear in his voice. "You will. For now, just stay away from there," I said, glancing at the burning building. With that, Kill, Jasper, Dante, and I headed back inside the storeroom and sat down. "Did any of you noticed?" Dante asked. "Yeah... The explosion didn't happen during the first break because they knew no one had gone to the canteen. So, they waited for the second break," I said looking at them.

Just then, Sam walked in, looking at us with confusion. "Why are you guys so calm?"

"Just tell him, Jasper," Dante said, knowing full well that Sam would forget everything the next day anyway because the day resets. And even if Jasper told him, he wouldn't believe it or even if he did, it wouldn't matter, and it wouldnt change anything. Dante and Kill got up and started cleaning again.

"Fine!" Jasper sighed.

For a while, Jasper and I tried to explain everything to Sam the whole time loop situation. At first, he didn't believe us. He asked a lot of questions, and we answered them. Even now, I don't think he completely believes us. To be honest, at first i didn't either. It felt like a dream or something because things like this only happen in movies and fiction, not in real life.

"So that means... everything resets tomorrow?...and the day will start over from March 7th?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Jasper said.

"To be honest, it still doesn't feel real to me. Part of me thinks it might be true. I mean why would you guys lie to me. I wish I was in this loop too... so I could help you guys," Sam said. "Don't say that," Dante muttered. "Ask us--the ones who've watched people die over and over. It's horrible."

"So what are you guys going to do now?" Sam asked us.

"Go home, sleep. what else?" I said.

After some time, the school guard came and informed us about the situation, telling us to go home. Most of the students had already left. When we stepped outside, police cars were everywhere, sirens blaring, and an emergency response team was on-site. Parents were rushing to find their kids. My eyes scanned the crowd, and that's when I saw uncle Sucre. He stood there just like he had on the first day, back when Kill was taking me home.

Even now, he was standing near a corpse covered with a white sheet, staring at it. Even though I had already seen this scene before, looking at it again made my chest tighten. A lump formed in my throat, and I felt like crying.

I walked home. When I arrived and stepped inside, Uncle Lee wasn't there. Oh, right. He had work today. Before leaving, he had given me the house keys, saying he'd be late. I sat on the sofa, waiting. After a while, Uncle Lee finally came home. The moment he saw me, I slowly stood up. He rushed toward me and pulled me into a hug.

"Are you okay?!" he asked, his voice filled with worry. "I saw the news about the explosion at your school... and that some terrorists had entered. I left work immediately and went straight to the school, but your friends told me you had already gone home." I sat back down on the sofa. "I'm fine. You don't need to worry," I said with a small smile. "Thankfully, I wasn't inside the building."

A little while later, I went to my room and sat on my bed. "When will this finally end...?" I muttered to myself. My eyes landed on my diary. I reached for it and flipped it open. A few days ago, before I even got stuck in this loop, I had written about my nightmare in it. And now It was gone. Of course, it was. Everything resets.

Kill had said that we would come up with a new plan, but he hadn't told us anything yet. Well, we'll see what happens next. "For now, I should just sleep. Let the day reset. I'll just rest." I said to myself and lay down on my bed, pulling the blanket over me and closing my eyes.

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