Julia had hoped the universe would offer her a moment of clarity, maybe a small sign that she wasn't completely losing her mind. Instead, she sat in her mother's old college classroom, listening to a guy in a flannel shirt explain the deep, metaphorical significance of Postmodernism. Or, at least, she thought that's what he was talking about.
To be honest, the whole thing was starting to sound like a broken record of vague philosophy and existential confusion.
"...and so," the professor droned, "in conclusion, we must ask ourselves: is meaning even real, or is it just a construct imposed by the oppressive systems around us?"
Julia, trying to hold her composure, absentmindedly tapped her pen on the desk. She felt like she was about to explode from the weight of being in her mother's body in this strange, chaotic time. The last thing she wanted to do was sit through an entire lecture about postmodernism.
She needed answers.
She needed to understand what was happening to her—why she was in Lindsay's body and how she could even begin to make sense of the madness that had unfolded since she first touched that damn watch.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of him again—Victor. He was sitting in the back of the class, lazily flipping through a book, his expression distant, as if he wasn't really there, his gaze flicking toward her every so often like he was deciding whether or not to make a move.
She swore she recognized him, even if she didn't understand how or why. There was something in the way he carried himself, something familiar and almost magnetic.
But she couldn't focus on that right now. She couldn't afford to fall into any kind of... romantic distraction while trapped in her mom's shoes. No matter how hot he was.
And then there was Lucian.
For the tenth time that day, Julia turned her head to see him streaking by the window again. His wild eyes were locked onto something, and his arms were flailing as if he was a modern-day prophet giving a lecture to an imaginary crowd.
"I have unlocked the mysteries of the universe!" Lucian shouted as he zoomed past the window, leaving a trail of brightly colored smoke bombs in his wake.
A collective sigh rose from the class, with a couple of students shaking their heads. One whispered, "Man, I think Lucian's on another level today."
Julia let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, then turned her attention back to the front of the class.
"Are you okay, Lindsay?" the girl sitting next to her asked again, with that same weirdly intense stare.
Julia blinked, confused for a second, before realizing the girl was talking to her.
"Oh, uh, yeah," Julia said quickly, forcing a smile. "Just... a little distracted." What does that even mean? she thought.
The girl raised an eyebrow. "I'm just saying, you've got that look again, like you're about to lose your mind."
Julia laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, well... college. You know how it is."
The girl nodded seriously, as though this was a profound answer. "Totally. That time of the semester, huh?"
Julia nodded too, as if she knew exactly what she was talking about, even though she was just barely holding it together.
'Is she a friend of my mother? '
When the bell rang to signal the end of class, Julia bolted from her seat, eager to escape this nightmare. She shoved her stuff into her bag and made a beeline for the door.
"I'll see you later, Lindsay," the girl called out, still with that puzzled expression on her face.
"Yup!" Julia called back, barely containing her panic as she stepped into the hallway.
The door slammed shut behind her, and she took a deep breath of the musty hallway air. She had no idea where she was going, but anywhere was better than that room.
Except... as soon as she made it down the corridor, she found herself in the path of a group of students. There was no escaping the chaos of this time period.
Lucian was still there, now wearing a neon green hoodie over his spiked hair, his snake now apparently wrapped around his waist like a belt. He locked eyes with her as he passed, and the snake lazily flicked its tongue at her.
"You're not just Lindsay, are you?" Lucian asked, his voice surprisingly serious.
Julia stopped. "What do you mean?"
"You're not... you're her." Lucian's expression darkened for a moment before he flicked his head. "You know what I'm talking about. The loop."
'Who is this guy?'
'Does he know about the pocket watch? '
Before she could ask him what the hell he was talking about, his friends appeared, trailing behind him like they'd been summoned from a far-off dimension.
One was a girl in an oversized tie-dye shirt, chewing gum loudly; the other was a guy who looked like he hadn't bathed in a week, his hair a mess of oily curls.
They were just... weird.
Lucian's tie-dye girl friend stopped and waved lazily at Julia. "Oh hey, is your name Lindsay? I think I've seen you somewhere," she said, her tone flat and disinterested.
Julia blinked, unsure how to respond. "Um... yeah?"
Tie-dye girl turned to her friend, the greasy-haired guy, and casually said, "Weird. She looks just like that chick in the philosophy class last semester." She shrugged like it didn't matter. "Maybe she's just another Lindsay. I don't know."
The greasy-haired guy snorted loudly. "All these Lindsays look the same, huh?" He made a weird finger-gun motion, pointing at Julia with both hands. "Like, who even are you?"
Lucian rolled his eyes and cut in, "Guys, not now. Can you see I'm trying to have a serious conversation about the loop?"
The friends looked at him, then back at Julia, as if just now noticing she wasn't part of their circle of weirdness.
"So what's up with the whole, like, big energy you're giving off?" the greasy-haired guy asked, staring at Julia with intense focus, before turning to his friend in the tie-dye shirt. "You ever think people can be trapped in loops, man?"
The girl with the tie-dye shirt flicked her gum and shrugged. "I don't know, dude; I just came here to find my notebook."
Julia was about to respond when she heard it. The unmistakable sound of Victor's voice.
He was walking down the hallway, laughing with a group of friends, completely oblivious to her staring. His shaggy brown hair fell in loose waves around his face, and his wide smile caught the fluorescent light above. He had that same quiet confidence, the same magnetic pull that Julia remembered from Vincent—her first love.
No. It couldn't be.
This wasn't Vincent. It couldn't be. But his face—his eyes, his smile—it was exactly the same.
It was like a mirror, reflecting back a version of the man she had loved and lost. Her heart hammered in her chest as the world tilted around her. She could almost hear his voice whispering in her mind. You're not the same person anymore, Julia.
"Is that Victor?" she blurted, unable to stop herself. The question escaped her mouth like a breath she had been holding in for years.
Lucian looked at her like she was a complete weirdo, his eyebrow raised. "Uh, yeah. That's Victor."
"Who is he?" Julia couldn't stop herself from asking, her heart racing. "What's his deal?"
Lucian glanced over at Victor, who was now talking to his friends about... well, Julia had no idea what it was, but it sounded like a really bad attempt at a deep philosophical conversation. Lucian's voice dropped lower, clearly in some kind of conspiracy mode. "Don't know, but he's... different. You know?" Lucian rolled his eyes dramatically, the kind of look someone gives when they're dealing with some sort of life mystery but don't feel like explaining it.
Julia could feel her pulse quicken as she watched him move through the crowd. He seemed so familiar, but there was no way she could be seeing things clearly. It was as if the universe had thrown her into some bizarre déjà vu loop.
"I have to go," Julia muttered, backing away from Lucian and his weird crew, her mind reeling. "Thanks for the... chat."
"Catch you later, Lindsay," Lucian called after her. "And remember: the loop waits for no one!"
Julia didn't answer, her feet moving faster now. She had to figure this out. The resemblance between Victor and Vincent—what was the connection? Why was everything in her life feeling more tangled up by the second?
She didn't know. But she was going to find out.