Chapter 97 – Echoes in the Hallways

The halls felt narrower than he remembered—or maybe he'd just changed.

Ryan moved through the crowd in his wheelchair, navigating turns and locker clusters like he'd never been there before. And yet, something tugged at the edge of his thoughts. A scent. A voice. A hallway he swore he'd never seen, but also… had.

Their schedules had split them up. Anna had English first period. Ben had chemistry. Savannah had art. Ryan, meanwhile, was assigned to History with Mr. Lawson—a name that sounded both brand new and oddly familiar.

As he entered the classroom, a man with a white button-down and sleeves rolled to the elbows looked up. "Ah, Ryan Whitmore," he said with a smile. "Welcome back."

There it was again—that strange feeling. Like hearing a song you used to love but forgot existed.

Ryan gave a small nod and rolled to the back of the room, trying not to look at the empty seat beside him that, in some other life, maybe had a friend next to it.

Midway through the lesson—something about early American government—Mr. Lawson's voice triggered a flicker.

He was standing at the front… holding a basketball? No—a t-shirt. "Varsity warm-ups," the voice said, younger, louder in Ryan's head. "Congrats, Whitmore."

Ryan blinked.

Gone.

He glanced around. Nobody seemed to notice his momentary freeze. He stared at Mr. Lawson again.

Who was I?

Second Period – English

The room smelled like old books and lavender. Mrs. Greene smiled warmly as he entered. "Ryan. We missed you."

She had kind eyes—sad, but kind. She handed him a printed poem and asked if he wanted to read along. He nodded.

The poem was about time. Lost time. About clocks melting into memory and people forgetting who they used to be.

As he followed the lines, something pulled.

Laughter. A chair scooting closer to his. Anna—whispering a joke about the poem being "just an emo diary entry." Him rolling his eyes. Her biting her lip to stifle a giggle.

Flash.

Gone again.

He rubbed his temple and stared at the poem like it held the answer.

Lunch

They all sat together—Ben, Savannah, Anna, and Ryan. It was quiet at first, the kind of quiet that settled between people who were still figuring out how to act around each other.

Ben broke it. "How's it going?"

Ryan looked at him, then Anna, then down at his tray. "I… remembered something today. Just for a second."

Ben leaned forward. "What was it?"

"Mr. Lawson. He gave me a varsity warm-up shirt." Ryan looked at them. "Was I good at basketball?"

Savannah grinned. "You were the best on the team."

He frowned. "Was I… happy?"

Nobody answered immediately. Then Anna spoke, voice soft. "You were learning how to be."

Ryan met her eyes. Something stirred in his chest.

Afternoon – Science Class

As Mr. Harris launched into a lesson about energy transfer, Ryan zoned out. His eyes drifted toward the back wall, where a project poster from last semester still hung.

He squinted.

His name was on it. Ryan & Savannah – Kinetic Energy in Sports.

He touched his forehead.

They'd built a mini-catapult. They'd argued over the size. Savannah made a joke about launching Ben across the cafeteria. They both laughed so hard, the glue spilled.

Flash.

Then back to the present.

He turned to Savannah as the bell rang. "We made a catapult?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yeah. You nearly broke it testing how far we could launch a tennis ball."

He gave a short laugh, surprised by the sound of it. "That sounds like me."

"It is you," she said gently.

End of the Day – Locker Hall

The final bell rang, and the halls were alive with shouts and sneakers and slammed lockers. Ryan waited as the crowd thinned, and then slowly moved toward the exit. Anna stood by the door, waiting for him like she had all day, quiet and patient.

As they walked outside together, Ryan looked up at the setting sun. "I remembered four things today."

Anna looked at him. "That's four more than yesterday."

He hesitated. "One of them was you."

She stopped walking.

"I don't know if it was real or just… a feeling. But you were laughing. We were close."

Anna didn't say anything right away. Then she smiled faintly. "We were."

He looked at her hand. He didn't reach for it—not yet. But he wanted to.

They walked on in silence, two shadows stretching side by side across the pavement.

And maybe—just maybe—the past wasn't as far away as it seemed.