Unsolicited School

Lapse of Memory

Robbie

Day 4

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

The same irritating beep came from Robbie's alarm clock. Wakes that mullet-haired boy from his sleep. Unlike yesterday, he didn't dream anything. Only pure emptiness accompanied him. He pressed the "off" button from the alarm clock without seeing it. As he expected, the time must be six o'clock. He flexed his body and whispered to himself, "Same stuff, different day," He opened the curtains and saw the outside of the suburbs. It looks wet outside. Did it rain last night?

After he dressed in his school blazer, he went downstairs to the dining room. The dining room is combined with the living room so they can watch tv without moving their food to the living room. He's the last one who came to the dining room as his dad sat down first while his mom is preparing the finished breakfast.

"Hey, son. C'mere and sit down," his dad called him.

Robbie obeyed his dad then sat together. After half a minute, his mom prepared all the breakfast and sat down. Robbie's breakfast is a small bowl of fried rice, a fried fish fillet, a perfect salad for everyone, and a glass of milk. Like a harmonious family, they eat together. But minus his little sister.

While they enjoyed their feast, the TV in the living room broadcasts the weather forecast. The lady on the news presents the upcoming weather in the city. Robbie and his parents listen to the forecast.

"Thank you. Despite the rain last night, the weather for today and the next three days will be sunny. Without any rain at night, this will be the perfect weekend to have fun 24/7 straight. The temperature for today and tomorrow will be 18.6 degrees Celsius. But for the weekend, the temperature will rise from 18.8 degrees to 19.4 degrees".

"Hey. Looks like it's the perfect time to visit Ruri on Saturday. What do you think?" his mom reacted to the forecast and asked the family.

"I think we should," her husband replied.

"Of course," Robbie nodded.

"Okay then, we will go and meet Ruri this Saturday. I hope there's no sudden thing on our way,"

They continue eating, the news on the TV attracts their attention again. They chew their food slowly as the news broadcasts.

"Now, move to Today's topic. Today we will talk about the case of teen suicide. We will talk about the reason teenagers commit suicide these days, a method that is often used, how to save your beloved from suicidal attempts, and the prevention,"

The news reminded Robbie about what happened last night as he saved someone from a suicide attempt. He carefully listens to it while eating his nearly finished breakfast. While he's watching the news while eating, his mom warned him.

"Robbie, you better eat soon if you don't want to late for the bus,"

"Wha?" his mother's warning made his eyeball tracked to the time that displayed on the TV. It's 6:40. Ten minutes before he leaves. He quickly ate his food and took his classic black-gold-colored backpack. Unlike the usual students, he chose to use his backpack instead of the typical school bag, which made him look like a skater or a delinquent. Robbie's backpack is one of the most owned by teenagers these days. The gold-colored diamond-shaped bike light attachment on the back represents the common attribute of the classics. On the lower right is the brand of the backpack written "Supremacy,"

While Robbie was wearing his backpack, he turned off the TV and walked to the shoe rack. He put on his shoes and opened the door without looking at his parents.

"I'm going to school now. Bye," said Robbie once he outside the house.

"Bye," his parent's voice can be heard while he almost closed the door.

He walked through the road that was drenched by last night's rain. Some puddles can be seen from the road he walked over. Some people were passing by on the street like human traffic. While he walked to the intersection, he imagined the traffic light was there.

After ten minutes of walking, he arrived at the bus stop. The bus stop is full of students waiting for the first bus arrives. There are 12 students there, including him and Mullet, who sat silently. Neither Robbie nor Mullet talked to each other until the white-blue bus arrived. The bus met its passengers which they can't wait to go. The doorway opened automatically like a subway door. The students entered public transportation. The empty seats filled with the students as the bus was empty before.

Despite last night's accident, today is as normal as usual. It feels like everyone forgets about that attempted suicide. The view outside of the school comforts the students even they're on the second floor. The serenity inside of the class made it the students easier to focus on today's lesson.

Robbie, who already learned that chemistry lesson, just listened to the teacher's words as his stick danced on the chalkboard. He looked at the front seat. There's Nino who yesterday didn't come to school. Where is she last night, why she didn't come?

While his brain is gone brainstorming about Nino's absence, Miss Takahashi. The science teacher called him and broke Robbie's focus again.

"Nakata! Please tell the class the five halogens," she smiled at Robbie.

"Sure," he stood up and answered the question, "Fluorine, Chlorine, Bromine, Iodine, and uhh…" Robbie had little trouble when remembering the last element. But he still able to answer it after he randomly generates any kind of word for 3 seconds "Astatine,"

"Very good," Miss Takahashi appreciated, "Now let's continue…"

Robbie sat down after the 27-year-old teacher praised him. He continued his brainstorming until the science lesson finished. Some students approached him to chit-chat. Robbie got limelight again as he was able to answer the five kinds of halogens before.

"Robbie, can you please teach us that science lesson after school? You seem great at it!"

Now he got another problem. Even though he able to teach someone, he's not sure about teaching more than 5 students. And more so, Robbie knew them 3 days ago. It's hard for him to get along as he couldn't interact with many people.

"Uhh… sure, I can teach you later. But where?" Robbie asked.

"At the school park. We can use the gazebo," said a student.

"Okay…" Robbie nodded.

After a short chit-chat, the second lesson began as the next teacher arrived.

The school bell rang as the time reached 12:00. Informed the student for lunchtime. The student's decision patterns were back to normal, unlike yesterday. Some students decided to go to the cafeteria while some of the students chose to stay. And so were students heading to the roof to enjoy their bento. Before they left the class, the feedback sound from the intercom above the chalkboard rang out loud. Pulled back any students from the doorway and halted them.

"Mic test… check"

All of the student's eyes were on the intercom as it goes off.

"Good twelve, school. I'm Reimi with your daily announcements," Reimi cleared her throat before continued.

"As you know. Today is the food and cook festival in this city. We have a guest from outside. He's an expert chef from New Zealand. His name is Daniel Johnson, he will teach us some five-star dishes with a one-star cost at the cafeteria. And also he will cook our lunch today. So don't miss his savory dishes".

Daniel Johnson

Robbie knows him because he always saw him on TV. he hosts a cooking reality show titled "The Feast," Unfortunately, the show is broadcasted outside the country. And Robbie must use the "Outside channel" port to watch it.

"And for the special lunch for today is..." Reimi continued, "The X Jerk Chicken. This chicken has a blend of spices that creates a tropical-style tasty marinade that brings this lunch to its fantastic flavor, just in time for barbecue and today's special day. Thank you for your attention, and have a nice day," Reimi's voice cut off with a beep.

Some students left the class after the announcement. The appetizing special lunch made Robbie's stomach growled loudly. Yelling at him to get that food before it's too late. He quickly walked to the doorway. Followed by Nino, who also wants to eat that jerked chicken.

"Hey, let's get that err… Chicken what?" Nino forgot the name as she walked together with Robbie.

"The X Jerk Chicken," Robbie corrected.

A question appeared inside Robbie's head about last night. Without too much thinking, he asked.

"Oh yeah, Nino. why didn't you come to school last night?"

"What? I come to the school yesterday" Nino's answer made Robbie confused.

"You weren't there. Your desk is empty,"

"Hey, I attended the class yesterday. And I see you sat on your desk too,"

Robbie was confused by Nino's clarification. How was she in school if I didn't saw her?

NO

The single word is written in Robbie's eyeball. Shocked, Robbie paused. And then he continued walking. That grim word spooked Robbie like an error message. Robbie wanted to tell him about last night's suicide attempt. But he realized if people will quickly forget about it. Nah… I think I'll save this conversation.

THEIR MEMORIES

BEING RESET

Those words are written separately on both of Robbie's eyeballs again. His mouth locked as the words came. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear his sights. It feels like another message delivered by some kind of evil spirit. What was that?

After a few moments, Robbie asked Nino to forget his fear. "Uhh… Nino? Maybe we should walk faster. These students are looking at us,"

She nodded and replied, "It's okay. No need to worry,"

They finally arrived at the cafeteria. As they expected, the line is very long due to chef Daniel was there. Cooking food for those hungry students. Of course, this moment won't last for long. But this is the longest line for Robbie to see.

"Duuuuuuuude, what a line," Nino sighed. The long queue of the students made Robbie and Nino had to wait until they got their food. But luckily, they didn't come late if they want that jerk chicken. So waiting is worth it.

After ten minutes of waiting, they finally get to the counter. Robbie lets Nino ordered first, then followed by him.

"I'd like to order the X Jerk Chicken, and milk, please,"

After 20 seconds of waiting, his food finally arrived. The lip-smackingly taste smell made Robbie's stomach growled even louder, forcing him to sit at the lunch table quickly.

"Hey, Over here!" Nino's voice made his eyes glared at her.

Like usual, Nino always sits with the g**g. All of their lunch was the same, only their drinks were different. The left seat is occupied by the boys (minus Robbie, who hasn't sit yet), while the right seat is occupied by the girls. Before he walked to the g**g, he looked at the crowd. Their eyeballs cannot move from the chef. The chef's movements and his gestures danced with the cooking utensils. Made the spatula and the knife on his hand became alive.

He refocused his eye on the g**g, he put aside the crowd. Now the previous question came back to his brain like whack-a-mole. The question is about their reaction to Yuu's attempted suicide. Are they know about this?

NO

THEY DON'T REMEMBER IT

Another message came into Robbie's eyeballs again - making his eyes blinked quickly. He can't hear any kind of sound except a loud screech, which deafens his ears. Robbie shook his head and closed his eyes - trying to clear up his sight.

ASK

SOMEONE

Another message came to him, but it's unclear. The words were in a corrupt state. Robbie's muscle was weakened by his glitchy eyes. He could not clearly see like he had severe glaucoma.

HEHHHHHEEEHHHSSSS

REMEMBERED IT

After the frightening and unsolicited message vanished from his eyes, he regained his stamina, his hearing, and his sight in a punch. The cafeteria was reverted to normal again. The crowd and the ambiance were returned to his senses. He was still standing at the counter until a student told him to move.

"Hey, man! You hold the line, move!"

"Oh… sorry. Forgive me," Robbie repeated his apology.

He moved to the lunch table where his friends sit down.

"Geez, what's took you so long?" asked Nino.

"Yeah, you stood still like you just petrified by Medusa," Mary added.

Shouko and Mullet just laughed at Robbie's aimless pose before while Kano gave his question mark expression.

"Uhh…" Robbie didn't answer as he doesn't want to tell what he saw before.

"Nah... that's okay. C'mon! Let's eat! I'm hungry," Mary ended the short conversation as her stomach growled.

"Hehe… I can't believe your stomach is loud today," Shouko snickered.

"Shut up!" Mary pouted.

While they are enjoying their feast, Robbie asked about the question that's swarmed inside his brain.

"Hey, guys. May I ask y'all a question?"

All of them nodded while eating that savory chicken.

"Good. Err… maybe one of us didn't come to school last night. But… did you know if two students were tried to suicide yesterday?"

Robbie's question made the g**g surprised. They swallowed the chicken without pulverizing it. As none of them is eating their food, Kano asked.

"Really? Who?!"

"Uhhh... his name is Yuu. He slashed his own neck. But at least he survived," Robbie looked at Mullet before he continued.

"And another one was saved by Him," Robbie glimpsed at Mullet, "Tell them,"

Mullet obeys and tells the g**g, "The other one's Erika. She drank a bottle of bathroom cleaner. I found her almost dying when I get there,"

The horror stories that have been told by the duo made the g**g shuddered in fear. They lost their appetite after they just heard of that suicide attempt. Shouko, who the most terrified, voiced up.

"So that's why she was gone after school? But why she did that?"

Shouko bites her lower lip. The fear and sadness filled her mind and can be seen by the g**g.

"Look, how about we talk to Erika after school? Maybe we can convince her to call suicide prevention," asked Nino.

"Yeah, maybe," Shouko nodded. She stopped biting her lower lip, and Nino continued, "Sorry, Robbie. I can't accompany you today. Can you teach those students by yourself?"

Robbie nodded.

"Look, guys. Let's not talk about this right now, okay? We are eating here, and you made us appetite-less with your creepy story. So, let's continue eating because I don't wanna waste this 5-star food!" said Mary with a grouch. The g**g obeyed, and they continue eating.

Robbie and his friends move out to the hallway after finishing their lunch. However, they have 10 minutes left before the class begins.

Upon walking through the first class, the students went chit-chatting at each other. As an advantage, Kano asked the duo.

"Are you sure if Yuu slashed his own neck?"

Huh?

"Yeah. I saved him last night," Robbie rejoindered.

"I saw him at his class before," Kano replied with lifted eyebrows.

"Wait… what?"

"Are you lying?" Kano became suspicious.

"No. I don't lie," Robbie defends his statement, "I saved him while he tried to kill himself in the janitor's room. I saw the blood splattered on the floor".

It's 3 PM. The school bell rang. It's time for students to go to the club room, or go home, or watch chef Daniel teaches the students how to cook the 5-star dishes at the school park. Just like he promised, Robbie went to the school park. But not to watch the chef. But to teach his classmates at the gazebo. The green, beautiful, and happy atmosphere welcomed him as he walked out of the school building. The traffic of students can be seen here very clearly due to the sunny weather. Most of the students went to see that famous chef Daniel. But also some of them hang out around the school grounds. The green from the grass shined by the happy sunlight. The perfect weather welcomed anyone who wants to come out and play.

Robbie walked on the school path. Passing some students who walk slower than him. The brick red color delicate every footstep of the students. Encourages any students to move their feet anywhere they want. This time, Robbie was accompanied by the students who about to be taught by him. Upon entering the school park, the gate welcomed them to the second beautiful view of the school.

Robbie looked around the park. This was the first time for him to visited the park. The beautiful grass comforts any students who were currently walking, running, sitting, or lying down. The school amphitheater is crowded with students who wanted to see chef Daniel Johnson performing his lessons.

The trees were naturally sprinkled around the park, except for around the amphitheater. The sunlight generates the shadow as Robbie walks alone with the students like a prophet. After a few meters of walking, they finally reached the gazebo. As the park has two wide gazebos. Robbie chose the left one because he likes the appearance.

The students sat down on the floor while Robbie took out the chalkboard from the box. After he took the chalk, Robbie talked to them. He felt nervous because he had to teach 14 students without being accompanied by Nino or one of his best friends. Come back for me, Nino...

"Alright. As you wish, I will teach you any kind of science that you struggled with; But keep in mind that I am not a professional teacher. So, please, your cooperation," Robbie started the lesson, and all of the students were silent. And thus, Robbie's experience of being a teacher began.

After 90 minutes of teaching, Robbie finally finished the lessons. "Okay, that's for today's lessons. I hope you guys understand these formulas. The key to know the answers is to know the formulas and the basics. Not memorize the book literally,"

His classmates acknowledged Robbie's lesson. One of the students asked him.

"Excuse me, Robbie. You are really good at all subjects. Is that how you know it?"

"Mmhmm," Robbie nodded.

"Oh yeah. I wanna know from you. What is your IQ score?" he asked again.

"Uhh.." Robbie paused.

"C'mon, Robbie. We are curious,"

"Fine. 135," said Robbie shyly with his eyes closed.

The whole student was shocked as they know his IQ for the first time. It feels like they looked at a precious emerald right now.

"Dude! I can't believe it! You're way smarter than the student council president!" praised him.

"Huh?" Robbie's voice came out unexpectedly from him.

The students glared at Robbie in awe again. Robbie got blushed by their praise. He partially hides his boiling red face with his book in his hand.

"Look, can you guys not asking me that question? Because people who boast their IQ are losers. And I don't really care about mine," Robbie facepalmed.

ASK

ASK

The unexpected message came again on Robbie's eyeballs. He gasped as the word spooked him. But the students still praised him. He obeyed it and asked the students the same question.

"Uhh… guys. May I ask you a question?"

The students nodded randomly.

"Did you know if there were two students who tried to suicide yesterday?"

The situation shifted quickly. The fun time quickly overlapped with a mysterious question and the students shut their mouths again.

"Listen, guys. Yuu from class 2-3 tried to s***h his neck with a stationary cutter, and Erika drank a bottle of bathroom cleaner. Fortunately, they both saved,"

Robbie's information made the students confused. They do not even understand his words. The student named Karen (as seen from her name tag) asked him.

"Uhh… what are you talking about? I saw her today. She's fine," the students looked at Karen as she voiced up.

"No offense. But are you trying to tell us horror fanfic about them? or are you trying to insult them?"

Karen's question made Robbie muted. He didn't talk after his statement got locked and taken down by Karen. Her black barrettes can be seen from her dirty blonde hair.

"Nah. That's okay, Robbie. We are not gonna blame you. You are innocent. Maybe you just had a bad dream last night," Karen cheered him up.

Felt guilty, Robbie apologized with a very soft voice like a grounded kid who accepts his consequences.

The school bell rang for the last time. Informed the students to go home. The situation in the gazebo reverts quickly. The students thanked Robbie, and then they walk out of the park together.

Karen's words made Robbie confused. Was he dreaming? Was everything that he saw yesterday was a hallucination? Or it's real, and they're pretending to hide it? But Robbie was too tired to think about it. All he needed now was to go home and rest. I need some time to be alone right now.

To be continued…