Chapter 158 - Plans
[Are you okay, brother?]
Kyle could hear the worry in Kay's voice as he was staring at himself in the mirror, the last remnants of the nightmare fading in his mind. He grabbed a face towel and dried off his face, still contemplating on this new development of their bond.
[Yes. Just a nightmare.]
[What happened? Want to talk about it?]
[No. Not now. Go back to sleep. We can talk about this later]
['kay. Night]
When Kyle felt like he had calm down sufficiently, he went back to bed. he could hear everyone else's even and deep breathing, so he was grateful for that.
He lay on the bed and closed his eyes, going through his past memories of his past life. The dream must have meant something. A premonition?
As Kylie, she had not seen any signs of anything unusual so she had lived oblivious to the danger that was lurking underneath. Perhaps the dream was a sign that this day, something happened?
Something that his subconscious remembered and thus, it affected his dreams? Kyle sifted through his memories and tried to figure out which past life memory was of today. It was discerning enough to discover that one had been reborn as a guy, but that was nothing compared to finding out that she had gone back in time.
In another continent, she was still alive.
No matter how much Kyle tried to wrap his mind around it, he couldn't. In the end, he just accepted it without trying to figure it out. After all, he was the living proof that it is possible so what is the point of thinking about it?
Right now, he was trying to retrieve a specific memory but it was extremely difficult. It was akin to going through a library to find a book that you did not know the title of. You had a general idea, but it still required you to go through every book title to find it.
Kyle groaned.
Times like this, having a photographic memory wasn't beneficial. If he had to recall any specific information, it was easy as long as he had the keywords. If he needed to know the student registry of Sakura Academy two years ago? Bam. It pops up.
This one? The memories aren't categorised by dates!
He can't remember what actually happened on this particular date so there were no keywords or landmarks like a significant event to help him pick out the right memory. The only clue he had was that his son is 8 years old this year thus, would be in Primary 2. His daughter was only 6 years old, thus still in pre-school.
Still, that was better than nothing.
He had to study one year of memories to try and see if there was something he had missed as Kylie. Kyle knew that he wouldn't be able to do so in one day, thus decided to allocate a few hours each day to do so.
Kyle punched his pillow in frustration and sighed. He would need to see whether MIB had anything, specifically the Nanny Op Agents. Something may have shown up under their constant monitoring. With that thought, Kyle fell back into a troubled sleep.
?? Next Day ??
The Cafeteria was in a buzz.
Unexpectedly, the entire Elite Five guys had entered the cafeteria together. It was only the second day of the new year, so for most people, seeing them together after being away for so long was a treat.
There was just something dazzling about them as they entered, the sunlight seemingly glistening behind them. It was as if everything happened in slow motion and the sight was blinding. Individually, they were striking and together? Devastating.
Even Xing Han, who was normally regarded as the 'normal' one of the batch, exuded a certain mysterious aura that day. Sam didn't seem so babyish anymore, though that was probably just the trick of the light. Kyle's smile was more dazzling than usual and he was laughing more than before. Ali, the dark prince looked more sophisticated than they remembered.
All in all, people made way as they walked through, wanting to just watch that scene close-up.
After getting their food, they headed towards the table that Kay and Kyle always use.
"I'm always amazed that we can always get this table," Xing Han said as he put down his tray of food and sat down.
"That's because it's sacred grounds," Kyle replied, taking a mouthful of pancakes.
"What do you mean?" Ali asked curiously.
Sam looked around and noted the position of the table. His eyes darted all over and immediately realised what Kyle meant.
"This is the best spot that can be viewed from almost all areas of the cafeteria," Sam said slowly, as he continued to survey the surroundings, "I suspect that the occupants of the tables surrounding this are the ones who ensure that this table is always empty."
Kyle nodded.
"The first years are at the outer edges, while those closest are the final years," Kyle explained.
Kyle would always recon the area out of habit and he had recognised all of the students around. After determining that no one meant any harm, he let it be even though it meant being on display whenever they had breakfast.
"Where's Kay and Sarah?" Xing Han asked, "Doesn't Kay always get your breakfast for you?"
"She does?! You make our Angel Kay serve you like that?!" Ali gasped, staring at Kyle.
"I do not make her," Kyle protested, "She always comes before I do and she gets the food for me. What can I say? She just loves me too much."
Ali rolled his eyes.
"She's coming in later, Xing Han," Kyle said, "She said since Ali and Sam are here, I wouldn't have any trouble getting food by myself."
"Oh," Sam said, "You get mobbed even in the cafeteria?"
"You have no idea," Kyle muttered, biting on a piece of toast.
"And seriously, Kyle," Ali stared at Kyle again, "Just where do you put all of that food in that tiny body of yours? And how do you eat so fast? Are you even chewing?"
Kyle had already finished two meals (pancakes and potato gratin) and was finishing up his third (scrambled eggs and toast).
"First, yes. I do chew. Secondly, it all goes to muscle," Kyle said with a smirk, "Something you may not be familiar with."
"Oh, you did not say that," Ali replied with a bigger smirk.
"I believe I just did," Kyle retorted, an eyebrow raised and his smirk becoming a lopsided grin.
Ali was just about to get up when Kyle said nonchalantly, popping the last piece of toast in his mouth, "Do anything and I'll slap you with a demerit point so fast your head will spin."
Kyle was referring to the power that Student Council members (and prefects) had to ensure order. There were prefects, but overall, the Student Council members had the same power (and more). Accumulate enough demerit points and you'll be sent to detention, which would include cleaning duties (normally, the toilets).
Ali gasped, putting a hand over his heart as he said, "You'd do that to a friend!?"
"No," Kyle replied, "I'd do it to you."
His mouth was twitching by now, trying hard not to laugh while Ali was barely able to keep himself from launching over at Kyle. If this had been outside, they would have been engaged in one of their usual fights but it was the cafeteria. Rules were rules. No fighting.
Ali sat back down, then grinned, "There's always Sage Class."
Kyle smiled and leaned his head back as Kay came over. She kissed him on the forehead and sat next to him. He passed her the plate of pancakes that he had gotten for her.
"Thanks," Kay said as she started eating.
Kyle handed Sarah another plate of pancakes, saying, "I know you usually have cereal but here. You should have something different once in a while."
Sarah was surprised and took the pancakes while thanking him. She looked at the pancakes and thought they looked more enticing than usual. Upon the first bite, it tasted even better than she remembered.
"So how was the first class of Wing Chun?" Kyle asked Kay as he drank his milk.
"So far, so good," Kay replied, "Even Sarah joined the class."
"Really? That's interesting. Did you enjoy it, Sarah?"
"Yes, it was hard but fun," Sarah said, "The exercises were tiring but I think I'll get the hang of it soon. Kay picked up the moves so easily and she didn't even look tired at the end of the class."
"Don't compare yourself to Kay," Kyle said, "Everyone is different and has their own pace."
"Yes, that, and the fact that I do have my own exercise routine," Kay replied, "So technically, I'm not a beginner like you."
"Yeah, you'll catch up pretty quickly," Kyle agreed.
Sarah listened to them encouraging her and she smiled to herself. She wanted to improve herself and not just take the comfortable route. She decided to use Kay as someone to emulate and hopefully, she would be able to stand next to Kyle properly.
She chewed on her pancakes happily, giving some glances at Kyle who was now talking animatedly with Ali and the rest.