"Jack Runner?" Liam asked, turning to Theo with a curious look. "Anything special about him besides being the son of the school board chairman?"
Theo gave a short laugh. "Special? No, not even close. There are a lot of things about Jack, but special isn't one of them."
"Then why does that name sound familiar?" Liam asked.
Theo looked at him more closely. "You really don't remember him, do you? He's the one who gave you that scar, on your left eyelid."
Liam blinked and touched the thin line above his eye. The moment he did, a faint flash of memory came to him, a swing of a school bag, a sudden pain, and a mocking laugh in the classroom. His eyes widened slightly. "So that was him, huh?"
"Yeah," Theo said with a sigh. "He's ruthless. A bully. A complete dickhead."
And strong," Liam added, still staring out the window. "I think he's one of you guys."
"You're joking, right?" Theo said, confused.
Liam said nothing, just kept his eyes on the field.
"You think he has powers too?" Theo asked. "I doubt that. If he did, he would've used it to terrorize everyone by now."
"I don't know what to think, but what if he doesn't know yet?" Liam said quietly. "What if he hasn't manifested?"
Theo sighed. "I really hope he hasn't. I hope he doesn't have any powers at all."
"You can't take it away from him if he does," Liam said, turning to face Theo. "So tell me again, what exactly is it that you can do?"
Theo sighed deeply. "This is worse than I thought," he said. "I told you once, I can look like someone else. If I think about a person long enough and look in the mirror, I look exactly like them. I see their face instead of mine."
Liam's eyebrows rose. "Shapeshifting. That's… impressive." Has anyone ever seen you do it?"
"No," Theo replied quickly. "I'm always careful. I avoid thinking about anyone when I'm in public." He hesitated, then asked, "But what are these powers anyway? How do they come about? And how many of us are there?"
Liam looked thoughtful. "I think that's what I was trying to find out. Maybe I even did before losing my memory." He turned toward the classroom door. "Either way, I need to get them back."
He began walking fast down the hallway, Theo hurrying to keep up.
When they reached the classroom, it was empty. The desks were neatly arranged, and sunlight streamed in from the windows.
Liam went straight to his desk and opened the locker underneath. He started going through books and papers, flipping things over one after another.
Theo leaned on a desk nearby, watching him. "What exactly are you looking for?"
"I don't know," Liam said without looking up. "Just… something. Anything about these powers. I can't believe I wouldn't have written something down. I must've left a note, a clue, something."
Theo chuckled softly. "You do realize you're talking like you're not Liam, right?"
Liam paused in the middle of his search. He gave a small smile and said, "Yeah, sorry. I meant to say, if I were me, I'd have written everything down. I may not be a lot of things, but I'm smart enough to keep records."
Theo smiled faintly. "That sounds more like you."
Liam leaned back on the chair and looked at the locker. "I've always loved writing," he said, almost to himself. "It helps me remember things. Maybe somewhere in here, I left a piece of myself, a clue I just haven't found yet."
Theo crossed his arms and nodded. "Then let's find it. Whatever's going on, it started with you."
Liam nodded and continued searching and disorganizing his locker, taking out the books one after another until, finally, at the very bottom, he saw a thick black jotter.
"I think I have it," he said with a sigh of relief, pulling it out and smiling. "I knew I must've taken some caution."
But the smile didn't last long. He flipped open the book, and his expression slowly changed from relief to confusion, then to disbelief. The pages were blank, completely empty.
He flipped through again, faster this time, hoping something would appear, but nothing did. Every single page was clean, untouched.
"No… this can't be," he muttered under his breath. "I'm sure I've written in this book before. It's even old, the edges are worn… how could it be empty?"
Theo frowned, moving closer with a puzzled look. "Wait, I've seen you writing in that jotter several times, Liam. I remember you sitting with it in the evenings. How's it blank now?"
Liam dropped the book onto the locker with a thud, staring at it as if it would give him an answer. Then he said quietly, "Someone's responsible for this."
Theo blinked. "What? What do you mean?"
"Think about it," Liam said, turning toward him. "Just when I'm supposed to explain everything to you, I suddenly lose my memory, and now this diary, the only thing that could've helped, is wiped clean. This isn't a coincidence. Someone's involved in all this… someone close."
Theo's eyes darted around the room nervously. "But we've been careful, Liam. We've told no one. Who could've found out?" Then he paused for a moment and added, "Wait… what if it's Jack? He's always been the villain in everything."
Liam shook his head. "I doubt it. He's not wise enough to pull something like this off. No, Theo… this is bigger. You need to be careful. We don't know who's watching or how much they know. For now, I'll try whatever I can to regain my memory."
Theo sighed and crossed his arms. "And what if you still find nothing after all that?"
Liam didn't respond. His eyes drifted toward the window as something caught his attention. Outside, a girl walked through the school gate. She had long red hair and carried herself with elegance. Liam moved closer to the window, staring harder, and his heart beating faster.
"I know that girl," he said softly, almost to himself. "I've seen her before."
Theo raised a brow and came to his side. "That's impossible, Liam. You can't know her, I've never seen her before in my life."
Liam turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"
"She must be new," Theo replied. "The new session just started, and a few transfer students came in this week. Maybe she's one of them."
Liam frowned and narrowed his eyes more. "New…? But how?" He looked out again and had a strange feeling of recognition. "I have to get a closer look."
He shut his locker, grabbed his backpack, and started going outside towards the gate, Theo following behind. As they were out of the building the girl's face became clearer, and Liam became more certain.
"I do recognize her," he whispered. "And I'm not mistaken."
Just then, the girl noticed him too. She stopped walking, her eyes locking onto his. For a moment, they both froze, staring at each other.
Around them, students who were playing football nearby began murmuring. Their attention had shifted to the girl, not because she was new, but because she was stunning, and that noise distracted the stare between her and Liam.
"Did you see that?" Liam asked.
"See what?"
"That stare," Liam replied, still looking at her. "It's like she recognizes me too."