I stared at the peeling brown paint of my desk, the events before the first period bell rang still processing in my brain.

Eugene dropped by my seat like he always does every morning. "Hey, wanna hang out in my place after Will's practice?" he said. "Around 6:30?"

In normal circumstances, I would have accepted. We would pack into Euge's tiny house, playing both video and board games Euge had amassed in his room. It was a fun evening, but I remember the reset cut it in the middle, restarting the day when we haven't even gotten home for the night.

When I realized I could remember the past, I found myself not wanting to hang with my usual friends. That means I often forwent the Euge-house-hangout.

I don't blame myself, though. Jule explained to me long ago that being able to remember was not a gift, but rather a curse. Because you may move forward but the world around you didn't move at all. You'll find it boring. You'll find it cold and unforgiving. You'll find it lonely.

And I couldn't believe Jule had endured all of that for so long without going insane.

Will came by after Euge, asking me if I want to go to Euge's hangout. I barely answered with a small "no", my thoughts on my encounter with Jule earlier.

She didn't know who I was.

She wasn't joking either. I spent enough time with her to know when she's lying or not. And this morning, she wasn't faking.

She has forgotten who I was.

Was that possible? She told me that she didn't know how she was able to remember. All she knew was that she was somehow supposed to get out of this loop through me.

The more I thought about my behavior the other day, the more I realized I'd been an asshole and Jule didn't deserve that. I made a mistake and now I need to face this consequence.

Was this heaven's way of telling me I messed up and that this was my punishment?

"Earth to Rom, come in," Janice's voice tore through my thoughts. I looked questioningly at her.

"You said something?" I said.

"Are you alright, Rom?" Aubrey chimed in. "You didn't even react when Janice did it."

"Did what?" I asked before automatically feeling my head. To my horror, there was a rubber band tying my hair back. My eyes widened. I fumbled to get that rubber band off my hair. Oh, God. I look hideous with my hair pushed back. That's why I was keeping my hair this long.

"Janice!" I growled, even though a smile crept to the corner of my lips. I could never get mad at her, for some reason.

Janice was the type of person to mess with boys' hair and get away with it. I was her favorite because I, apparently, give the greatest reaction among us.

There was this one time when Janice spilled raw egg all over Euge's hair or when she burnt Alan's locks with a hot iron...but those were stories for another time.

And honestly, no matter how Janice treats us, we found her pranks as something to lighten our mood. We have known each other since middle school and most people won't understand our bond. And there was also a time when Will cut her hair out of spite...but again, a story was for another time.

I smiled at Janice and then at Aubrey. "I'm alright, guys," I said. "Just...thinking."

"Oh, got a girl on your mind?" Alan popped between the girls, his notebook already on his hands, his pen poised to write. "What was it like? Details please. I need this novel to be as realistic as possible."

"I'm not one of your research attempts, Alan. Knock it off," I said. "I'm not thinking of her that way."

"So there is a girl," Aubrey gasped. "Are we getting a new sister?"

"Girl, don't pressure him," Janice said, waving Aubrey off. "He's such a sweetheart I doubt it will get there that fast."

Janice wiggled her brows at Aubrey and the girls giggled conspiratorially. Oh dear. I'm never going to hear the end of this.

"I can see Rom's dopamine levels increase from a mile away," Austen interjected, dropping his textbooks in the seat in front of me. Why does he even bother bringing encyclopedias to school everyday? He has a phone!

"Hey, Austen," Aubrey said, nuzzling Austen's cheek. "Had a good night?"

"Better, with you in my dreams," Austen replied, pressing a quick kiss on Aubrey's lips. The girl practically melted in his embrace while all of us around them groaned. Seriously, I see this everyday and I could honestly swear that that pick-up line was the only thing Austen says that wasn't related to Chemistry.

It must be so happy to be in love with each other and stay that way for all eternity. It's like they have all the time in the world and they don't have to worry about starting over tomorrow. They don't even know what tomorrow was.

I felt myself wanting that same kind of love. The one that lived in the present, never gets old, and was always new every day. I think I butchered that chance with anyone.

Jule...

God, Jule. I don't know how I was going to fix things with her. It would be that easy if Jule still has her memory intact. I could just waltz back into her life and ask what she wanted to say the other day.

But it's like someone wanted to make this extra hard by wiping Jule's memory off and setting her up like a clean slate. It's frustrating.

My friends dispersed like startled pigeons as soon as the door slid open and my Statistics teacher popped into the room.

Here comes another day. I'll figure out how to fix this. I have to.

I was walking to pick Mindy up from the Primary School.

As much as I dreaded making this trip, I have to. Even if I know that the day resets and I would find Mindy back at the house the next morning, my conscience would not let me rest if I disappear on Mindy.

So, no. I have to pick my sister up.

That also means that I was passing each and every one of Jule's neighbors, the ones that she explained to me for two days because we kept getting sidetracked to other topics, our conversations often lasting until the reset ensued.

I passed the entrance to the ranch and Ritch, the owner, was setting up a chess game with the helper. I didn't go out of my way to tell Ritch that he would just lose. This was a part of Jule that I understood now that I'm experiencing what she went through.

There's just no point in being nice and helping people if every record of it was going to vanish with the wind as soon as the reset happened. I was even starting to see how pointless everything in this world was, including living.

I passed an open lawn with an old lady reclining on a sunbathing chair, hacking away at a laptop. I stopped to ogle. Jule explained that this lady was writing in a journal about dragons. Jule didn't say anything about the lady owning a laptop.

"Are you lost, young man?" the old lady asked, jarring me.

I blinked several times. "Uh, no," I said, shaking my head more violently than I intended. "Just passing by."

"You aren't from around here," the old lady noted. "Where do you live?"

"Uh..." I pursed my lips. "Harville?"

The old lady nodded, raising her eyebrows in understanding. "Ah, that reclusive village by the Creamery? I know Joselle from over there. What's your name, boy?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "Uh, Rom," I said. "You?"

"Mrs. Mazur," the old lady said, bowing slightly. "Husband's Polish."

"I see..." I said uncertainly. "I should go...?"

"Oh, do you want to hear about this idea that I've been developing?" Mrs. Mazur said. I was sure I took a step back.

"That's not necessary, is it?" I said. I need to pick Mindy up and Jule's bound to pass by here any time soon. I couldn't afford to be sidetracked like this.

"Nonsense, boy," Mrs. Mazur waved her hands, swung her legs off the chair, and scooted over. She patted the newly vacated place beside her. "Come here."

I wonder how Jule evaded this woman everyday. This woman was persistent and Jule didn't even tell me how to get out of her claws. I couldn't deny an old lady her wishes, could I?

I sighed. "Okay, I'm coming."

Soon, I was listening to Mrs. Mazur rambling about her newest high fantasy trilogy idea about a colony of dragons about to be razed by their own people. This forced them to hide out among humans and learn their ways. Mrs. Mazur's main character was a male dragon sent by his colony to scout the human world and report back to them. Along the way, he would have to discover that there was more than one way to be human.

"That's...pretty cool," I placated as soon as Mrs. Mazur paused when she realized she still has to think about how the dragons could take human forms.

"Will it be through witches? Or the dragons' magic?" Mrs. Mazur muttered. She seems so lost in thought. I began sliding away from her.

I flinched when she grabbed my arm and whirled to me with sparkling eyes. "Would the concept of witch dragons appeal to you? No, I think not. Mainstream media was always going on and on about dragons. It's hard to think of some new spin. Hmm, let's see..."

"Mrs. Mazur, I really need to go—"

"Rom, what makes us human?"

I paused. Mrs. Mazur's eyes don't appear like she's going to let this go any time soon. I sat myself back down on the sunbathing chair, making it creak at our combined weight.

"What are your thoughts on it, Mrs. Mazur?" I asked. Because let's be honest, I don't know the answer to that as well. Knowing didn't hurt, either.

Mrs. Mazur closed her laptop lid. "I think the one thing that makes us human is our emotions, our ability to feel things and act on them," she said. "And other than that, perhaps...memory?"

Bingo. On point.

"Why do you think it's a memory?" I asked. It's pretty ironic, isn't it? Mrs. Mazur knows the answer to getting out of this loop, yet she didn't even have any idea that she was in one. She has all the right ideas yet she'll never know it.

"Because memory gives birth to emotion," Mrs. Mazur said. "Without memory, we would just be lifeless dolls, walking around without any real purpose. Memories tell us a lot of things about our dreams, our relationships, and of course, our life."

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I realized now why Jule fought so hard to get me to feel emotions of my own. Apparently, the way out of the loop was to be human. The only way to remember was to start feeling emotions. The answer to our questions from the beginning could be found in this woman stuck in a sunbathing chair, dreaming about dragons she would never get to write about.

To think that Jule avoided Mrs. Mazur. Ironic.

Now, I know how Jule made me remember. I vaguely recall her trying to bring out my care for Mindy by bringing us to the ice cream shop. I think that's the reason for that encounter. I started remembering around that time.

Which proves that it works.

Now, the tables have turned and Jule's the one needing my help. She needed to remember everything again. She has given me something that I never imagined I'll get. She changed my world from just a simple loop to a richer one full of different possibilities. She encouraged me to dream, no matter how silly it was. She believed in me and implored me to believe in myself too.

She made me human.

I know I should do the same thing to her in order to fix this. Perhaps, after I do, I'm going to hear what she has to say that day. Perhaps...

"...and then they fly into this wonderful alps, her on the back of a magnificent dragon!" Mrs. Mazur's voice slid back into my conscience. Oh, has she been talking about her idea all this time?

Oops.

Mrs. Mazur was about to say something more when I bolted up and bowed. "Thank you for your time. I really loved your idea. But I really must go. My sister from Primary School was waiting for me."

Mrs. Mazur nodded uncertainly. I dashed out of her lawn before she said more.

I was almost past her lawn when she gave a final wave and shouted, "Say hi to Joselle for me!"

The thing was...there wasn't even a Joselle in Harville.

I waved back and dashed to the Primary School with only one thought in my mind. I am going to fix this, one way or another. I'm going to make Jule human again.