The rest of the day was a blur of excitement and discovery.
Once Kai had calmed from the shock of his first real out-of-body experience, curiosity burned through him like fire.
If I did it once… I can do it again.
He couldn’t stop thinking about it.
It was like a secret door to the world had been thrown open, and for the first time in his life, he wasn’t trapped in the tiny prison of school, bullies, and shame.
No, now he could go anywhere.
Kai sat down in his closet again, candle lit, eyes closed, pyramid sharp in his mind.
Within minutes, the spiraling sensation began to take hold, more familiar this time, and soon he was standing outside of himself again, weightless, free.
The rush of it brought a smile to his face.
He stepped right out of his room and into the world.
At first, Kai just walked around the neighborhood, drifting past houses, watching people mow lawns, wash their cars, and talk on phones—all of them completely unaware of the boy passing invisibly by.
It was… hilarious, in a strange way.
He chuckled to himself as he passed by a group of teens his age hanging out by a store, cracking jokes and sharing drinks, oblivious to his presence.
“If only you knew,” Kai thought with a grin.
Then, an idea popped into his head—the movies.
It was a place hasn’t been for a long time.
But now?
Now he could walk in and no one would ever know.
With a laugh of pure freedom, Kai drifted across town and into the movie theater, slipping right past the counter, right into the largest screen room.
The movie had just started. People sat in rows, munching popcorn, glued to the screen.
Kai sat down casually in an empty seat near the back, watching the movie play as though he were really there.
For almost two hours, he forgot everything—school, Evan, even his weird new abilities.
It was just like being normal.
Like he belonged.
After the movie, Kai left the theater, still in his strange ghost-like form, and wandered the streets.
He stood next to couples in quiet conversations, laughing silently when someone spilled secrets to their friends or argued over nonsense.
He sat on park benches, listening to strangers’ lives, stories he was never meant to hear.
It was like the world had opened itself to him, and he could see it without anyone ever noticing.
But as the sky darkened and night began to fall, Kai felt a strange pull—a tugging sensation, like a string attached to his chest, tightening.
Mom’s probably home by now, he realized, glancing at the sky.
The moment the thought of home entered his mind, he felt himself sucked backward—faster and faster—until—
Snap.
He sat upright in his closet, heart pounding, candle still flickering beside him.
His body felt normal, though there was a strange soreness in his limbs, like he had gone for a long run.
But nothing was wrong.
Kai breathed out slowly, rubbing his arms, feeling more alive than ever.
That night, as he lay down in bed, staring at the ceiling, a small smile curved his lips.
For the first time in so long, he wasn’t thinking about school, or Evan, or what people thought of him.
His mind was filled with only one thought:
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Wonder.
“What else is out there?”
“What else don’t we know about the world?”
“What did Dad really want me to find?”
Kai let out a soft laugh to himself as he pulled the covers over his chest, still feeling a little buzz from his adventure.
“Life is way more mysterious than I ever thought.”
And with that thought lingering in his mind, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Kai woke up with a rush of anticipation, excitement already bubbling in his chest.
The memories of yesterday’s adventure were still fresh in his mind — walking unseen among people, sitting in the movie theater, listening to conversations like a ghost.
Today, he was eager for more.
But first, he had to eat.
His stomach growled, pulling him out of bed. He shuffled down to the kitchen where his mom was already moving about, making coffee and getting ready for her day.
“Morning, Kai,” she said, glancing at him over her shoulder.
“Morning,” he mumbled, grabbing some toast and eating quickly, barely tasting it.
He had only one thing on his mind.
Before heading back to his room, he looked over at her and casually asked, “You working late today?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be home late. Why?”
“Just wondering,” Kai said, trying to keep his tone casual.
She smiled and sipped her coffee. “Alright. Don’t lock yourself up too much, okay?”
“Yeah, sure,” Kai said, already walking away.
Once in his room, he made sure to lock the door, double-checking it this time.
If he was going out there again, he didn’t want to be interrupted.
The candle flickered to life with a soft click of the lighter. Sitting cross-legged in the closet, Kai closed his eyes and focused, bringing the image of the pyramid into sharp clarity.
Within minutes, the familiar spiraling sensation returned, and a grin tugged at his lips as he felt himself lifting out of his body.
He loved this feeling now — the weightlessness, the sense of floating above everything.
Kai drifted through the house, light as air, slipping into the living room where his mom was pacing, phone pressed to her ear, deep in conversation.
She didn’t notice him standing right there.
“If only she knew,” he thought with a smirk.
Satisfied, he moved outside, ready for another adventure.
Kai wandered the town, exploring places he never dared to go physically.
Eventually, he found himself at the beach, standing on the sand, watching the waves crash in soft rhythm. The sun warmed the world around him, and he stood there feeling completely free.
For the first time in his life, there was no fear.
Just peace.
As he watched the waves, he let himself forget about tomorrow—about everything.
But then —
The thought hit him like a slap.
“Tomorrow is school.”
His chest tightened, heart pounding as the memories flooded back.
The laughing faces.
The pointing fingers.
Evan’s voice: “Happy birthday, freak.”
The humiliation.
The betrayal.
The weight of it all wrapped around him like chains.
Kai’s stomach twisted, and suddenly, the sand beneath his feet began to melt, softening and swallowing him, like the beach itself was rejecting his presence.
Panic rose in his throat.
“Kai!”
A sharp voice snapped him out of it.
His head jerked up—
He wasn’t at the beach anymore.
No.
He was back at school.
Standing in the hallway.
Surrounded by classmates—their faces turned toward him, eyes watching, waiting.
But there was something different this time.
It wasn’t after everything had happened.
It was before.
Before the prank.
Before the video.
Before the laughter.
A sinking realization hit him like ice water—
“I know this moment.”
His eyes darted around, heart thundering in his chest.
The lockers. The sound of chatter. The same sunlight pouring through the hallway windows.
And then —
Evan stepped out from a group of guys, that same smirk on his face, like a script Kai had seen before.
“Hey, Kai,” Evan said smoothly, leaning in close.
Kai stared at him, wide-eyed, frozen.
What was happening?
Was this a dream? A memory?
Or had he… actually gone back to this moment?
“I think Emily’s looking for you,” Evan added, voice syrupy and fake, but no one else seemed to notice the edge behind the words. “She’s waiting for you in Room 3B. Said she has something for you.”
Kai’s throat went dry.
“This is it. This is where it started.”
The moment when everything fell apart.
Evan grinned wider, clearly enjoying every second of Kai’s stunned silence.
“You should hurry,” he said with a laugh, clapping Kai on the shoulder a little too hard.
Kai’s mind was spinning.
“What the hell is happening? Am I reliving this? Did I travel back somehow?”
Everything around him felt real.
The weight of Evan’s hand.
The heat of the hallway.
The sound of lockers slamming and kids laughing nearby.
“I’m not out of my body… I’m HERE.”
But how?
He swallowed hard, fighting to keep his breathing steady, trying to piece it together.
“If this is real… if I’m back here—”
”—do I have to let it happen again?”
“Or can I change it?”
The question hung heavy in his mind as Evan gave him one last smirk and walked off, disappearing into the crowd.
Kai stood frozen, heart racing.
If he went to that room, he knew what was waiting for him.
But if this was real…
“Maybe this time, I don’t have to fall into their trap.”
Kai stood frozen in the hallway, his heart thundering in his chest.
Evan’s words echoed in his ears — “She’s waiting for you in Room 3B.”
The same trap.
The same setup that had destroyed him.
But now, standing here in what felt like a perfect recreation of that day, Kai knew one thing for sure:
“I’m not letting this happen again.”
With a deep breath, Kai straightened his back, turned away from Room 3B, and walked straight past Evan without a word.
His legs moved quickly, carrying him through the hallway as if he might shatter if he stopped.
“Get out of this. Just get out.”
“I’m not doing this. Not again.”
Outside, the air hit his face like a wave, but he didn’t slow down. His mind was spinning.
As he walked the familiar path home, everything looked exactly the same—every tree, every car parked in the same spot.
It felt real—too real to be a dream.
And when he reached his house, Kai’s heart skipped a beat.
The package from his father still sat on the table, neatly wrapped — just like that day.
His poster still hung perfectly over the closet door.
Nothing had changed.
“This isn’t a dream… this is real.”
Swallowing hard, Kai took off his jacket and opened his closet to hang it up — but then froze mid-motion, realization hitting him like a punch to the chest.
“If I’m here… where’s my body?”
His eyes widened, panic rising in his throat.
And before he could even think—
WHOOSH.
The room blurred, and Kai was yanked backward, like an invisible force pulling him through the air.
In a blink, he was back — sitting in his closet, candle still flickering, heart racing like a drum.
His breath came fast, sharp, as though he had run miles.
“What the hell is happening to me?”
This was too much—too weird, too real.
Hands trembling, Kai stood and paced the room. His chest felt tight, mind spinning so fast he couldn’t think straight.
“Was that time travel? A vision?
The questions swirled like a storm.
He couldn’t handle it. Not tonight.
Kai turned on his computer and dove into his comfort zone — gaming.
For hours, he played, trying to shut his brain off, to drown out the fear, to forget what had just happened.
Only when night finally fell and sleep weighed down on him did he crawl into bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark.
The next morning, Kai woke up with a hollow feeling in his chest, unsure if he had dreamed the whole thing.
Maybe it wasn’t real, he told himself. Maybe I just imagined it.
But when he arrived at school, everything was different.
The stares were gone.
The quiet whispers — gone.
No one was snickering when he walked by.
Kai blinked in confusion as he passed classmates who barely even looked at him, as though nothing had ever happened.
And then he saw Evan.
Leaning against a locker, still smirking, still loud — but no mention of Emily, no mention of the prank.
No sign of the cruel plan that had once crushed him.
Kai’s heart thudded as he walked past, waiting for the mocking voice to follow him — but it never came.
Confused, Kai approached a classmate — a guy who had been in the class when the prank video was recorded.
“Hey… uh,” Kai started, awkward, unsure. “Do you… do you still have that video? You know… the one from the other day?”
The guy blinked at him, confused.
“What video?”
Kai stared. “You know… the one where Evan set me up?”
The classmate shook his head, genuinely puzzled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, man. I don’t remember anything like that.”
Kai’s mouth went dry.
“No way.”
He stepped back, his mind spinning.
“Did I erase it? Did I change it by walking away?”
His hands were cold as the realization settled over him like a weight.
Something had changed.
He had changed something.
And now, as Kai stood in the middle of the hallway, watching people pass him by without a second glance, one thought echoed in his mind louder than all the others—
“Did i do this?”
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