CHAPTER 11: The Rival Equation
2212 Words
THE PERSON WHO STARTED THE RESET.
I stared at the words.
My hands were cold.
My heart was pounding.
The notebook lay open on my desk, but I couldn't bring myself to touch it.
A few seconds ago, I had thought I finally understood the equation.
Josh.
Ezekiel.
Michael.
Me.
Four variables.
Four possible outcomes.
But now there was something else.
Someone else.
A person who had started all of this.
A person who knew me.
A person who had been watching every reset.
And apparently—
a person who knew things even Ezekiel didn't.
I slowly whispered,
“Who are you?”
The page remained still.
I waited.
Nothing.
I tapped the paper.
“Come on.”
Still nothing.
I sighed.
“Of course.”
I closed the notebook.
Then my phone vibrated.
I froze.
One message.
From Ezekiel.
Don't open the notebook again tonight.
My stomach dropped.
I typed:
Why?
The message showed as read.
No reply.
I typed again.
Ezekiel?
Nothing.
Then my phone vibrated.
Because someone is listening.
I stared at the screen.
My room suddenly felt too quiet.
I looked toward the window.
Nothing.
The door.
Closed.
The hallway.
Silent.
I looked at the notebook.
I didn't touch it.
For the first time, I was afraid of something I couldn't see.
---
I barely slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the same things.
Josh.
Standing in the darkness.
Ezekiel.
Telling me I had died in another timeline.
Michael.
A name I hadn't even met yet.
And the mysterious fourth variable.
The person who started everything.
At around three in the morning, I finally gave up.
I sat at my desk.
I opened the notebook.
Nothing happened.
I waited.
Nothing.
I laughed quietly.
“Maybe I'm just paranoid.”
Then—
a single sentence appeared.
GOOD MORNING, ELLE.
I jumped.
“What the—”
The ink disappeared.
Another sentence appeared.
TODAY, YOU MEET THE SECOND VARIABLE.
I frowned.
“I already met Ezekiel.”
The page changed.
NO.
Then:
TODAY, YOU UNDERSTAND HIM.
I stared at the words.
Before I could ask anything else, they disappeared.
---
The next morning, I arrived at school earlier than usual.
I didn't know why.
Maybe because I needed answers.
Maybe because I wanted to see Ezekiel.
Or maybe because some part of me was afraid that if I didn't find him first...
he would disappear again.
I walked into the classroom.
His seat was empty.
I looked at the clock.
Still early.
I sat down.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Fifteen.
Still nothing.
Then the classroom door opened.
Ezekiel walked in.
He looked tired.
His hair was slightly messy.
He dropped his bag onto the chair.
I immediately stood.
“Where were you?”
He looked at me.
“Good morning to you too.”
“I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
“You disappeared yesterday.”
“I went home.”
“You didn't answer my messages.”
“I was sleeping.”
I stared at him.
“You're lying.”
He smiled.
“You're getting better at that.”
“At what?”
“Knowing when I'm lying.”
I crossed my arms.
“Maybe because you lie too much.”
He laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
“Did you open the notebook?”
I hesitated.
“Yes.”
His smile disappeared.
“I told you not to.”
“I needed answers.”
“And?”
“It said I would understand you today.”
He froze.
“What?”
I repeated it.
“The notebook said I'd understand you.”
He looked away.
For several seconds, he didn't say anything.
Then:
“Maybe it's time.”
“Time for what?”
He looked at me.
“To remember.”
---
Before I could ask anything else, our teacher entered.
“Good morning, class.”
Everyone settled down.
Ezekiel sat beside me.
I leaned toward him.
“Remember what?”
He whispered:
“Later.”
I wanted to argue.
But the teacher started speaking.
“Class, we have an academic competition coming up.”
My attention immediately shifted.
“It's a school-wide competition.”
Students started whispering.
“The top students will represent the class.”
The teacher looked at the ranking sheet.
Then smiled.
“Ezekiel.”
He raised his hand.
“And Elle.”
My eyes widened.
The class reacted immediately.
“Ooooh.”
I looked at Ezekiel.
He was smiling.
“You're enjoying this.”
“A little.”
“You haven't even won.”
“I don't need to.”
“Why?”
He leaned closer.
“Because you're going to challenge me.”
I smiled.
“Maybe.”
He smiled back.
“Definitely.”
---
After class, our teacher posted the latest rankings.
Everyone gathered around.
I didn't want to look.
But Ezekiel grabbed my wrist.
“Come on.”
“Why?”
“I want to see your reaction.”
“You're annoying.”
“You say that a lot.”
“Because it's true.”
We reached the board.
I looked.
#1 — Ezekiel
#2 — Elle
Again.
I stared at the numbers.
There was only a tiny difference between us.
I looked at him.
“Seriously?”
He smiled.
“Seriously.”
“How?”
“Hard work.”
“I hate you.”
He laughed.
“No, you don't.”
I looked away.
For some reason, that sentence felt different.
Too familiar.
Like he had said it before.
Many times.
I looked back at him.
“Have you said that to me before?”
His smile faded.
“Yes.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
He didn't answer.
“Ezekiel.”
He looked at the ranking board.
“In another life.”
I swallowed.
---
That afternoon, we were assigned a debate.
The topic:
“Is success measured by achievement or by the impact a person leaves on others?”
I looked at Ezekiel.
He looked at me.
Our teacher pointed at us.
“Elle will argue for achievement.”
“Ezekiel will argue for impact.”
The class immediately started laughing.
Someone shouted:
“Perfect!”
I sighed.
Of course.
The universe had a sense of humor.
Ezekiel leaned toward me.
“Looks like we're rivals.”
I smiled.
“Looks like it.”
---
The debate began.
I argued about discipline.
Hard work.
Education.
Goals.
Ezekiel challenged every point.
He argued that success wasn't simply about being number one.
It was about the people you affected.
The things you changed.
The lives you touched.
At one point, I asked:
“If achievement isn't important, why are you always number one?”
The class reacted.
Ezekiel smiled.
He didn't hesitate.
“Because being number one isn't the goal.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Then what is?”
He looked directly at me.
“Becoming someone worth being proud of.”
The room became quiet.
I couldn't look away.
For some reason, that answer hurt.
Not because it was wrong.
Because it sounded like something he had told me before.
Something important.
Something I had forgotten.
The debate ended.
The class applauded.
I sat down.
Ezekiel leaned toward me.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You're staring.”
“I'm thinking.”
“About my answer?”
I nodded.
He smiled.
“Good.”
---
After school, we stayed behind to prepare for the next competition.
It was already late when I noticed how quiet the classroom had become.
Everyone was gone.
Except us.
I looked at Ezekiel.
“Why do you always compete with me?”
He didn't answer immediately.
He kept writing.
Then:
“Because you make me want to be better.”
I froze.
“What?”
He looked up.
“You heard me.”
“That sounds almost nice.”
“It isn't.”
“Why?”
“Because you're annoying.”
I laughed.
“You're impossible.”
“So are you.”
We smiled.
Then the silence returned.
I looked at him.
“Ezekiel.”
“Hmm?”
“If we knew each other in another timeline…”
He stopped writing.
“Would we still be rivals?”
He looked at me.
“No.”
My heart skipped.
“What would we be?”
He looked away.
“I don't know.”
“That's a lie.”
He smiled faintly.
“You don't want to know.”
“Why?”
“Because you'll start looking for memories that aren't yours.”
I stared at him.
“What happened between us?”
He closed his notebook.
“Nothing.”
“Ezekiel.”
“Nothing in this timeline.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“So something happened in another one.”
He didn't answer.
“Did you love me?”
Silence.
I almost regretted asking.
Then he looked at me.
“Yes.”
One word.
Simple.
Devastating.
I couldn't speak.
He continued:
“But that's not why I remember.”
“Then why?”
“Because you asked me to.”
My heart stopped.
“Asked you to what?”
“Remember you.”
I frowned.
“I don't understand.”
“You told me that if the reset happened again…”
He looked directly into my eyes.
“I had to find you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
He smiled sadly.
“Because you knew you would forget.”
---
I couldn't speak.
The classroom suddenly felt too small.
I looked away.
“What happened?”
“In which timeline?”
“The one where we were…”
I couldn't finish.
“Together?”
He nodded.
“What happened?”
“You died.”
I closed my eyes.
Again.
That word.
“You died.”
But this time, it hurt differently.
Because I remembered the fear in his eyes.
I remembered him saying it.
Not like someone explaining a fact.
Like someone reliving it.
“I couldn't save you,” he whispered.
I looked at him.
“And that's why you remember?”
He nodded.
“You made me promise.”
“What promise?”
“That if we ever got another chance…”
He smiled faintly.
“I wouldn't let you choose me.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because every time you choose me…”
He looked down.
“You disappear.”
My heart broke.
“So what am I supposed to do?”
He looked at me.
“Choose yourself.”
---
The classroom lights flickered.
I looked toward the window.
Outside, the sky was turning dark.
I suddenly remembered the notebook.
I pulled it from my bag.
The pages opened by themselves.
The numbers appeared.
JOSH — 68%
EZEKIEL — 53%
MICHAEL — 0%
I stared.
Josh was falling.
Ezekiel was rising.
Michael remained untouched.
Then a fourth line appeared.
ELLE — UNKNOWN
I looked at Ezekiel.
He nodded.
“That's what I was trying to tell you.”
“What?”
“You're changing.”
“How?”
“You're no longer following the equation.”
I looked at the numbers.
“Then what am I doing?”
He smiled.
“Writing your own.”
The notebook suddenly flashed.
RIVALRY: 31%
Then:
TRUST: 22%
Then:
FEELINGS: 18%
I stared at the last number.
My heart began pounding.
“What is that?”
Ezekiel looked at the page.
Then at me.
“That's the part you should be afraid of.”
“Why?”
“Because the equation can't control feelings.”
I swallowed.
“Then what controls them?”
He smiled.
“You.”
---
We left the classroom together.
Neither of us spoke.
But for the first time, I wasn't walking beside Ezekiel because I needed answers.
I was walking beside him because I wanted to.
And maybe that was the first real change.
Not the rankings.
Not the debate.
Not the reset.
Not the equation.
Me.
I was beginning to understand something.
Josh made my heart race.
Ezekiel made my mind challenge itself.
And somehow...
both feelings mattered.
But I wasn't ready to call either of them love.
Not yet.
Because I had already learned what happened when I rushed toward an answer.
The equation changed.
People disappeared.
And I lost pieces of myself.
So this time, I would take it slowly.
One day.
One choice.
One variable at a time.
I looked at Ezekiel.
“Race you home.”
He looked surprised.
Then smiled.
“Loser buys food tomorrow.”
“Deal.”
We started running.
And for the first time since the reset began...
I laughed.
Not because the equation told me to.
Not because the past demanded it.
Not because someone was watching.
I laughed because I was happy.
And somewhere inside my bag, the notebook quietly opened.
A new sentence appeared.
SECOND VARIABLE: CONNECTING.
Then another.
BUT THE EQUATION HAS DETECTED SOMETHING IT DIDN'T EXPECT.
The ink stopped.
Then one final word appeared.
LOVE.
I stopped running.
Ezekiel looked back.
“Elle?”
I quickly closed my bag.
“Nothing.”
He smiled.
“Come on.”
I followed him.
But deep inside, I knew.
Something had changed.
And this time...
I wasn't sure whether the equation was changing because of me—
or because of him.
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