The alarm rang at 6:30 a.m.
I didn’t even move.
“…Yeah, yeah. I’m awake. Monday. Again. Congratulations.”
At this point, even my alarm clock sounded like it was mocking me.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Like it was saying: Round three, idiot.
I stared at the ceiling for a solid thirty seconds.
Maybe this was a dream.
Yeah. That had to be it.
People don’t just repeat the same day like some low-budget sci?fi movie.
So I did the logical thing.
I pinched my cheek.
Hard.
“Ow—!”
Yeah.
Definitely not a dream.
“…Great.”
So either I was insane…
Or the world was.
Statistically speaking, it was probably me.
---
Everything happened exactly the same.
Mom yelling.
Same breakfast.
Same breeze outside.
Same cat judging me like I owed it money.
I tested something.
Right before the old lady watered her plants, I stopped and waited.
Three… two… one…
Splash.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Water.
Right on schedule.
“…Creepy.”
Okay.
So it wasn’t just déjà vu.
The world was literally following a script.
Like everyone but me was an NPC.
That was… uncomfortable to think about.
---
“Yo, Matsuda!”
I didn’t turn around.
“You look like you died,” Yuto said.
“You said that yesterday.”
“…What?”
“Nothing. Keep talking.”
He squinted at me like I was being weird.
Fair.
From his perspective, I probably was.
Still…
If time really was looping…
Then nothing I did today mattered, right?
No consequences.
No tomorrow.
So…
“…Hey, Yuto,” I said.
“Yeah?”
I grabbed his bread from his bag.
Took a huge bite.
Right in front of him.
He froze.
“…Did you just steal my lunch?”
“Yep.”
“…Why?”
“Scientific research.”
“You’re insane.”
Worth it.
If the day resets, he’ll get it back tomorrow anyway.
Honestly, this might be the first useful thing about this stupid loop.
---
Classes dragged by.
But this time, instead of zoning out, I watched people carefully.
Same jokes.
Same yawns.
Same teacher tripping over the same word.
Exactly identical.
It was like watching a replay.
Everyone was stuck.
Except me.
…
Except—
My eyes drifted toward the second row.
Tsumugi Aiko.
Still holding that folded paper.
Still whispering practice lines.
Still turning red every five seconds.
Same as before.
But today…
I paid closer attention.
There was something off.
Her hands were shaking more than usual.
Not normal nervous shaking.
More like…
Exhaustion.
Like she hadn’t slept.
Dark circles under her eyes.
“…That wasn’t there before,” I muttered.
Weird.
If the day resets, shouldn’t she reset perfectly too?
Then why did she look tired?
---
Lunch break.
Yuto stole my bread again.
Balance restored, I guess.
I kept glancing at Aiko.
She barely touched her food.
Just staring at her phone like she was counting something.
Numbers maybe?
Dates?
I couldn’t see from here.
But something felt wrong.
Like she wasn’t fully present.
---
After school.
Same orange sky.
Same shoe lockers.
Same setup.
She stood there.
Paper in hand.
Waiting for Yuto.
Same as the last two loops.
“…Okay,” I muttered.
“Let’s test something.”
If everything was predetermined…
Then could I change it?
I walked straight toward them.
Before the soccer club idiots could show up.
Right between Aiko and Yuto.
“Yo,” I said casually.
Both of them blinked.
“Ma— Matsuda-kun?”
“Something up?” Yuto asked.
I grabbed Yuto’s shoulder.
“Club meeting. They’re calling you.”
“…They are?”
“Yep. Urgent. Life or death.”
“…That sounds fake.”
“Very urgent fake life or death.”
He stared at me.
Then laughed.
“Fine, fine. I’ll go check.”
And just like that—
He left early.
No interruption.
No soccer ball.
No accident.
The script broke.
“…Huh,” I said.
So I can change things.
Nice.
Science wins.
Which meant—
Aiko was now standing alone with me instead.
“…Ah…”
She froze.
Clutching the paper tighter.
“…Matsuda-kun…?”
“Yeah?”
“…Why are you here?”
“Locker. Shoes. Normal human activities.”
“…O-Oh…”
Awkward silence.
Man.
Talking to shy girls is harder than time travel.
“…You were looking for Suzuki, right?” I asked.
She jumped like I’d exposed a crime.
“W?What?! N?No— I mean— maybe—”
“So yes.”
“…Yes…”
She looked down.
“…Tomorrow,” she whispered.
I stiffened.
Tomorrow.
The same word.
Every time.
“…Why tomorrow?” I asked.
She flinched.
“…Eh?”
“You always say that.”
“…Always…?”
Her head slowly tilted.
Like something didn’t make sense.
“…Matsuda-kun…”
Her voice got quieter.
“…What day is it today?”
“…Monday?”
“…The date?”
I told her.
Her face drained of color.
Like I’d just announced the end of the world.
“…So it really did reset…” she whispered.
My heart skipped.
“…Wait.”
She looked up at me.
Eyes shaking.
“…You… you remember too… right?”
Silence.
Wind passed between us.
Cherry blossoms drifting.
For the first time all day…
Something changed.
Something unscripted.
Something real.
“…So it’s not just me,” she said.
And somehow…
Those words scared me more than the time loop itself.
