The minute the final bell rang, signaling the end of the period, both girls exhaled for what felt like the first time all day.

The usual chaos of students rushing out for lunch surrounded them, but neither Karina nor Giselle made any move to join. Instead, they sat in their chairs, tension building between them as they watched their classmates leave. Once the room was mostly empty, Giselle turned to Karina, her face serious and filled with urgency.

“Okay, spill it,” Giselle said, leaning in closer. “Tell me everything. I need to know what’s going on.”

Karina sighed, running a hand through her hair, her mind racing. This was the moment she'd dreaded but also hoped for—the chance to explain everything and, hopefully, make sense of it.

“Alright,” Karina began, her voice a bit shaky, “It started three days ago. I woke up like usual, got ready, and came to school. Nothing weird at first, just a normal day.”

“But then... it repeated. Everything, down to the smallest detail. The same people said the same things, in the same way, at the same time. I thought maybe I was just having a weird déjà vu, but when it happened again, the exact same day... I knew something was wrong.”

Giselle’s eyebrows knitted together as she listened. “So, you're telling me you’ve lived today three times already?”

Karina nodded, feeling a strange mix of relief and frustration. “Yes. And it’s not just similar—it’s identical. Every word, every gesture, even the weather. I’ve done it all before.”

Giselle stared at her, eyes wide, trying to absorb the information. “So... what do you think is causing this? Is it, like, a dream? A hallucination? Are you sure you’re not—”

"Crazy? I thought about that," she interjected quietly.

"I even tried to just go with it at first. But when it kept happening and I couldn't change anything, I realized it's real. I'm stuck in some kind of time loop."

Giselle leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping nervously on the desk. “Okay... so you know everything that’s going to happen today?”

Karina nodded again, biting her lip. “Pretty much. I’ve even tried changing a few things, but it doesn’t matter. Everything resets when I wake up.”

Giselle stared at her, her mind struggling to catch up with the impossible. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke. “So, what now? Do we just wait for the day to start over again?”

Karina shrugged, feeling helpless. “I don’t know. I was hoping you might have some idea or maybe... we could figure it out together?”

Giselle crossed her arms, her mind working overtime. “Well, we have to try something. There’s got to be a way to break this loop. Maybe if we do something totally different... something that could trigger a change?”

Karina looked at her, hopeful. “You really think that could work?”

Giselle gave a half-smile, though her face still showed uncertainty. “I have no idea. But it's worth a shot, right? We can’t just sit here and wait for it to happen all over again.”

For the first time that day, Karina felt a glimmer of hope. With Giselle by her side, maybe they could figure out a way to break free from this endless day.

As they made their way into the corridor, Giselle walked alongside Karina, her brow furrowed in thought. “Okay, so if everything's repeating… does anything, like, stand out to you today? Something unusual or different?”

Karina’s pace slowed as she tried to recall any significant event. She wracked her brain, flipping through memories of the last few repetitions of the day. And then it hit her. Her eyes widened in realization as she mumbled under her breath, “The garden...”

Without another word, Karina bolted down the stairs.

“Wait, what garden?” Giselle called after her, hastily following Karina’s rapid descent.

As they hurried toward the lower floors, Karina began explaining, breathless from both the rush and her discovery. “It’s Ningning. She was at the summer festival yesterday—well, technically yesterday—and she was the hot topic because of that insane dance performance, remember?”

Giselle nodded, though her face was still filled with confusion. “Yeah, everyone was talking about it. But what does that have to do with this?”

Karina glanced over her shoulder as they rounded a corner. “Earlier today—or, I guess, both times I’ve lived through this day—I remember seeing Ningning in the garden. She looked really angry, which was weird because she's always so cheerful. But she was storming through the garden and then... I think she pushed someone against the wall near the building next to it.”

Giselle blinked in surprise. “Wait, Ningning pushed someone? Like, physically?”

“Yes,” Karina said, her voice strained as she tried to recall every detail.

“I didn't think much of it the first time, but it was odd. It felt out of character for her.”

They arrived at the entrance to the garden, the path leading around the school to the quieter, more secluded area near the building Karina had mentioned.

Giselle, still trying to wrap her head around what was happening, looked at Karina with a mix of concern and curiosity. “So... do you think that could be important? Like, maybe this incident is a key to the loop or something?”

Karina nodded slowly. “It’s the only unusual thing I can remember. Maybe whatever happened there is important.”

They quickened their pace again, Giselle now equally intrigued and anxious as they approached the side of the building. The tension was building between them as they turned the corner, and sure enough, Karina spotted the familiar figure of Ningning near the garden.

Ningning’s back was to them, her posture tense, her hands clenched at her sides. She was speaking to someone—a student Karina didn’t immediately recognize—her voice low but clearly agitated. And just as Karina had remembered, Ningning shoved the student against the wall with surprising force.

Giselle’s eyes widened as she whispered to Karina, “What do we do? Should we stop her?”

Karina hesitated, unsure whether to interfere. This moment felt significant, but what if interrupting made things worse?

“I... I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I think we need to find out what’s going on.”