Mysticscaler

Join the discord: https://discord.gg/Wrn5DNvD

----

'Nina?'

The thought hit me before I even really processed who it was. Nina Shoka from my class. She was just walking along, probably listening to music, totally unaware that this car had lost control and was sliding right toward her.

I didn't think about it. Didn't weigh the pros and cons or consider my options. My legs just started moving.

I dropped my phone and sprinted toward her. The car was maybe three seconds away from hitting her when I slammed into her side, pushing her as hard as I could toward the sidewalk.

She went flying, landing hard on the concrete but definitely out of the car's path.

Me? Not so lucky.

The impact felt like getting hit by a train. One second I was pushing Nina to safety, the next I was flying through the air. Then I hit the ground and everything went wrong at once.

I couldn't move my legs. Couldn't really move much of anything, actually. There was this weird warm feeling spreading across my chest and stomach, and when I tried to breathe, it felt like drowning.

'Well, this sucks,' I thought, staring up at the sky. 'Guess that's what I get for being a hero.'

My vision started getting all swimmy and weird, but I could make out Nina crawling over to me. She had pulled out her earbuds and there were tears streaming down her face.

"Why did you do that?" she kept asking, over and over. "Why would you do that?"

I wanted to shrug, but my shoulders weren't really cooperating. It seemed pretty obvious to me - she was in trouble, so I helped. That's what you do, right? Nothing fancy about it.

She was talking to me, saying my name a lot. I didn't realize she even knew my name, to be honest. We had been in the same class for like three months and I don't think we had ever actually had a conversation.

"Kofi, stay with me, okay?" she was saying. "You're gonna be fine. The ambulance is coming."

My Romance Life System

FOM THIS POINT FORWARD, WE ARE SWTICHING FROM 1ST PERSON TO THIRD PERSON POV. HOPE ITS NOT TOO BAD.

And so, the new plan was set. A plan so simple, so painfully obvious, that it felt destined for failure. The strategy was now "no strategy." (Honestly, you have to pity the boy. This was like telling a fish to try "not swimming.")

Jake was now on a solo mission. A lone operative armed with nothing but the vague instruction to "be a person." He shadowed Ruby from a distance as she left the library, his movements a masterclass in how not to be subtle. He would duck behind a locker. He would pretend to be fascinated by a fire extinguisher. It was a pathetic display, really.

'Okay, just be normal. Kofi said be normal. Nina said be normal.'

'What is normal? Do I talk about the weather? No, that's what old people do. Do I ask about her weekend? Too personal. Do I just say hi and then walk away? Cowardly.'

Fail, Again