Chapter 16: Me doing Me

"Alright, Eiz. You've got the house to yourself for the next week!"

We rushed to get everything loaded and packed as soon as I landed. Now, they were almost ready and heading out.

"I gotcha, Mom! Did you leave the lines I need to practice on my desk?"

"Oops~ I left them on the coffee table in the living room."

"That works too. Cain! Euphi!" The two looked over at me, and Euphi—

"Whattt? I want to leave already, Eiz!"

"Tch, tch. So cold, Euphi! I was going to gift you with one final hug of greatness!"

"GUAH!"

"GUHH!"

Pulling the two little rascals into a hug, I ruffled their hair and then set them free. I believe I'd fulfilled my duty as a big brother.

Mom looked at us with warm eyes, shaking her head with a smile at our playful banter.

After being released, Euphi stormed over to Mom in fake tears. "H-He messed up my hair!"

"I'll fix it. It's really no big deal, Euphi."

"Hmph! It's happened too many times today!" She pouted and stomped outside. Mom adjusted her grip on the bags and followed, her stride soft, her smile lingering. Cain trailed a few steps behind. They were taking the helicopter to the airport to link up with their class. Apparently, the class had a whole plane to themselves—which was insane for just an elementary school field trip.

I walked back into the living room and found my lines for the role I'd been given:

"The Echo Within – Main Role"

'Fuck me... the main role!' The script had everything in it, but my lines were highlighted and emphasized more than the rest. It was a hefty stack, and since I had most of the lines, you can imagine what I had to memorize.

I flipped casually through the script, nearing the end, until one line pulled me in—a line that resonated with me on a deeper level.

"But don't stand there and pretend you earned any of this. You're just a reflection. A perfect echo bouncing off the walls of a life you never bled for."

I stood still, my mind a mess of thoughts. That one part reminded me of my current situation. Because it was really Eiz who made this life, and I was just a spare, here to keep "him" alive.

[Cheer up. He was destined for something way worse...]

'I can't help but doubt that.'

[It's because you're young that you can't see it. Later in life, you'll think back on this and understand my words.]

I didn't scoff or agree with the Record. I just felt... this role was meant for me. It was the perfect bridge to start a new beginning while paying homage to the old one. Depending on how this role went, it would determine a lot about myself and the things I chose to pursue.

Sitting on the couch, I threw the lines back onto the coffee table. I was mentally drained enough from school and introspective thought. I couldn't tell if I was overly emotional or just scared. It was one thing in the spur of emotion to hype myself up, but when alone, I needed genuine positivity.

Ding~ Ding~

"Ugh. It better not be that Alice woman again." Her existence was nothing but bothersome to me. I just didn't know how to handle the situation with her, mostly because I didn't know if she'd broken his heart, betrayed him, or if it was simply unrequited feelings.

Grabbing my phone, I read two messages from another unsaved number.

'Eiz... please save your numbers, dude.'

["Eiz! Eiz!"]

["Guess who got your number?!"]

"What the hell?" I stared in confusion at these texts. Only a few people called me "Eiz," and with this level of energy, I had just one person in mind.

["Kate?"]

["Correct!"]

["This saves me the trouble, phew~"]

["What do you mean, trouble?!"]

["It's an honor to have my number!"]

["You're right, it is an honor to have MY number."]

["(╥﹏╥)"]

["Heh, that's kinda cute."] I caught myself grinning at the screen like an idiot. She'd somehow managed to clear away all the negativity that had started seeping in.

["Something you'll never learn, hah~"]

["Yeah, I leave being cute to professionals. Like you!"]

[That was so cringe.]

"Shut it."

I waited for a response, but nothing came. I knew she'd read it, but maybe I'd left her speechless. Either that, or she had something else to do. I knew she wasn't the type to ignore someone—especially not intentionally. Even in our short time together, I'd at least learned that much about her.

[You probably left her speechless from cringe.]

"Didn't I tell you to shut it?"

[No recollection of that.]

"So convenient for you."

[That's just how good I am.]

"What are you, Kate now?"

[No. A mortal could never be the awesome me.]

Shaking my head, I ignored the Record and headed upstairs to my room. I'd decided to dedicate today to learning some new skills—or at least, trying to. Maybe I could even relearn some of the old ones from Earth. With my progress wiped, I could only hope it wouldn't take as long to reacquire them.

[You have the knowledge, so it shouldn't—unless you're a super idiot.]

'Ignored again, buddy.'

[Tch.]

Some of the skills I had on Earth—besides those I got to keep—included basic martial arts. Not much, just enough to protect myself if needed. But another skill I'd trained heavily was sound recall. I mainly used it to troll friends or mimic people, but I could remember, imitate, and even pinpoint sound cues, accents, and voices.

These were the two I wanted to retrain first. Actually, I was a little surprised that "Sound Recall," as I'd dubbed it, hadn't already been reacquired.

[It's because you haven't had the intent of using it.]

'So that's how it works? I have to intentionally use it?'

[Correct.]

'Then why did Socializing level up so fast?'

[Really think about that stupid question.]

'Dang... I was just asking, dude.'

[Not your dude.]

'Whatever.'

With the secret of skills revealed to me, at least I knew it wouldn't take all night to reacquire them—at least to Level 1.