"Hey, bro, you good?" A voice cut through the haze.

"Hello? You there? Bro, what are you doing?" The voice came again, more insistent this time.

"Dude, what’s wrong with you? Wake up."

A dull ache throbbed in my skull as I forced my eyes open. The world swam in and out of focus—blurred lights, muted voices, the distant clatter of trays and murmuring students.

I blinked.

A kid around my age—maybe sixteen—stood in front of me. Blonde hair, a faint line of freckles just below his eyes. His expression hovered somewhere between concern and amusement.

"Hey, bro, you good? You were out for a minute." He let out a nervous chuckle, though I could hear the worry beneath it.

I groaned, rubbing my temple. My body felt sluggish, like I was trapped in the grip of a fever. My head pounded, my thoughts tangled in a fog.

I glanced around.

Rows of metal tables. A long serving counter in the distance. The unmistakable smell of cheap cafeteria food clung to the air.

A… cafeteria?

I was in a school.

What kind of game was this?

I swallowed hard, forcing out the words. "Uh… yeah, I’m good." Even as I said it, my head throbbed in protest.

The guy—whoever he was—narrowed his eyes. "You don’t look good." Then his expression shifted. Not just concern now—something closer to disappointment.

"It’s because of Rebecca, isn’t it?" His tone was firm, knowing. "Dude, you did this to your—"

"Who the hell are you talking about?" I cut him off, sharper than I intended. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, but can you just… stop talking for a second?"

I pressed my fingers to my temples. My skull felt like it was splitting apart.

Then—

A whisper. Right at my ear.

"Remember, you're in the role of your prideful self. Just play along. Otherwise, I'll be dealing with you myself."

The voice was deep. Commanding.

And unfamiliar.

Not the Overseer’s.

A shiver ran down my spine.

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I exhaled slowly, steadying myself. Play along. Right. Fine. I could do that.

I glanced back at the guy in front of me. He still looked confused, maybe even a little hurt.

"Hey… what’s your name again?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

His brows knit together. "Huh? Bro, are you serious? It’s Alan." A pause. His voice dipped slightly. "I can’t believe you forgot my name."

Shit.

I forced a weak chuckle. "Sorry, man. I just… got a massive headache out of nowhere."

Alan didn’t look entirely convinced, but he sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, whatever. But seriously, what were we talking about again?"

I swallowed, my mind racing.

Who was Rebecca? Who was I supposed to be?

And more importantly…

Who the hell just whispered in my ear?

"So… who’s Rebecca?" I asked, keeping my tone casual.

If I was going to play this role, I needed to know the backstory. But seriously—why did transferring into this one feel so horrible? My head was still pounding, my body sluggish, like I was recovering from the worst hangover of my life.

Alan blinked at me, then snorted. "Dude… Rebecca was the girl you massively failed at flirting with. Like, it was brutal. Hard to watch, honestly." He laughed, shaking his head.

I clenched my jaw. Really, Overseer? Out of all the possible roles, you stuck me with a pathetic, lovesick loser? Fantastic.

I forced a chuckle, rolling my shoulders like I was shaking off an unpleasant memory. "Oh, yeah… I remember now. That was rough."

Alan grinned. "Yeah, bro, she was honestly kind of a bi—"

He stopped mid-sentence. His face stiffened, eyes flicking past me.

Something was wrong.

Slowly, I turned.

A girl stood behind me, flanked by two others. She wore a tank top and jeans, layered in jewelry that caught the cafeteria lights. Long brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, and even without knowing her, I could tell—she owned the space around her.

And judging by the way her piercing gaze locked onto me, I was not her favorite person.

"Were you just talking about me?" Her voice was sharp, biting. "What the fuck, Kael? Get over yourself. I said no, so that means no!"

My stomach twisted. Oh, shit.

This was Rebecca.

I didn’t know her, but she knew me. And judging by the venom in her voice, she wasn’t thrilled to see me.

A bead of sweat rolled down my temple. I had no idea what past-me had done, but I had a feeling I was about to find out. Fast.

"Uh—w-well, yeah, but it wasn’t anything bad, I swear!" Alan stammered, hands up defensively.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes, lips curling in disgust. "Mhm, sure. Well, do me a favor—tell this lovesick loser to. Fuck. Off."

With that, she spun on her heel and stormed away, her friends following close behind.

I exhaled slowly. So that was Rebecca. And judging by that reaction, past-me had seriously screwed up.

This is going to be a tough game.

I turned back to Alan, trying to play it off. "So… that’s Rebecca, huh."

Alan let out a laugh. "Yeah, man, she hates you."

"Yeah, I got that much." I rubbed my temple, the lingering headache only making things worse. "Remind me again—what exactly did I do to piss her off?"

I needed context. If I was going to clean up this mess, I had to understand what kind of idiot I was playing.

I took a deep breath. Just breathe, Kael. Figure it out.

Alan scratched the back of his head. "Well… you kinda backed her against a wall, put your arm over her, and started sweet-talking her."

I felt a wave of secondhand embarrassment before he even finished.

Then, grinning, Alan put on an exaggerated, pathetic version of my voice: "Hey cutie, you look mad cute. You wanna go out?"

I physically cringed. What the hell was this version of me thinking?

"Okay, what else?" I asked, bracing myself.

"Then she tried to walk away, but you grabbed her arm and were like, ‘Wait, come on, baby, give this guy a chance.’" Alan winced, then burst out laughing. "She straight-up yelled no and decked you in the face. You had a black eye for two days."

I let that sink in. Man. Past-me wasn’t just cringe—he was creepy.

Alan, completely unfazed, clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, it was pretty bad, but I saw potential. I could totally help you out, dude!"

I shot him a look. "Yeah, no thanks."

He smirked. "Come on, man! I have a girlfriend, y’know. I know my stuff."

I sighed. This was going to be a long game.