When my vision clears I find myself in a bathtub, fully clothed. I get up and stretch, hearing a satisfying popping sound as I raise my arms above my head. Spending the night in a bathtub is not good for my joints. Or her joints? Just what am I supposed to say here? It’s definitely not my body, but it’s not like there’s any other occupants now. I’ll just stick with saying it’s mine. There isn’t anyone else who gives a shit.
I look in the mirror to see a face very different from my own. I’m five foot three, hispanic on my mom’s side, and athletic, while this girl is curvy, asian, and almost six feet tall, if the change in perspective is any indication. As I look into her eyes, dark brown like mine, her name pops into my head. Nakamura Yuki. What the hell? As I reach for more information about her, I find it easily. It’s like I can sneak a peek into her memories. She died in her school uniform, a blazer and skirt for a school in… Japan?
I leave the bathroom to check the alarm clock on her desk, which is next to Yuki’s bed. It’s 7:15, and she’s supposed to leave for school at seven. Today’s Friday. I should just ditch. Besides, I’m 26, I’m done with that shit. I intend on doing just that when her mother walks in and starts yelling at me. I literally can’t understand a word she’s saying. I don’t speak Japanese. She waits for a response. Shit. “Hai,” I say quickly after remembering the one or two anime I watched. I think it means yes but I’m not too sure. That was years ago. Her mother throws Yuki’s bag into my hand and drugs me down before handing me a lunchbox of sorts and shoving me out the door. The lock clicks behind me. Damn it, I don’t think I’m getting out of this one. And it’s not like I can ditch either, I’d get lost after just one block. And I can’t even read the signs! I am so not looking forward to this.
Just getting the school building is an awkward process of trying to reconcile the characters on the signs with those in her memory, and no true way to translate the individual words. Her memories don’t magically make me able to understand Japanese, and the little I can figure out is from phrases she learned in English class. I finally make it to the train station and get on the one that will take me to her school.
I take one of the few empty seats and stare out the window. It’s been difficult so far, and it’s only going to get worse once I have to actually talk to someone. I manage to make it to the school alright, and I get to my class and settle into my chair not long before the bell rings. The teacher walks in, and I spend the rest of the morning sitting through classes where I can’t understand a single word. It’s boring as all hell and I hate every minute of it. I eat my lunch quickly and doodle stupid shit in Yuki’s notebooks for the rest of lunch, and the rest of the day. I don’t even care enough to pretend to pay attention.
After class, as I’m getting up and grabbing my stuff to leave, three girls walk up to me. They start trying to talk to me, saying a few curse words (the only things I bothered to pick from Yuki’s memory) and I walk away with them calling after me. I’m not dealing with those bitches. I don’t have to speak Japanese to know they acted like complete dicks to Yuki from her memory.
I have a much easier time getting back to Yuki’s house, but I still have difficulty with signs. I go up to her room and turn on the computer, fiddling with the settings until I somehow manage to set it to English. Curiosity has been getting the better of me. The year here is 2050, a little less than thirty years after my death. It shouldn’t be too hard to find me, I was in the WNBA for four years before all this shit started. I look up my name, but there’s no results. Not with my full name, or my jersey number. Then I look up the players in the 2021 season, my last one. I’m not there. What the hell?
I turn off the computer and curl up on Yuki’s bed. This world, which so closely mimics my own, is definitely not mine. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. I can’t stay here. I can only stay quiet for so long before people realize I don’t understand a word they’re saying. But I can’t go anywhere either. I’m stuck. I lay there with my mind going in circles until I fall asleep.
When I wake up the next morning, it’s to Yuki’s mother calling me down for breakfast. As I’m eating, I decide I’ll go out today. I’m stuck here anyways and I’m not going to learn Japanese by figuring out how to switch language settings. Best way to learn now is to just go out and learn. With that thought in mind I go upstairs and root through Yuki’s closet. Most of its uniforms, but I find a flattering dress in the back. It goes down to my knees and I wear some red tights and a pair of black boots that are still in the closet.
After I get dressed, I take the train to a shopping district and window shop. I spend my morning wandering the streets and take a stop at a fast food chain for lunch. I have been paying attention to phrases from Yuki’s memory, and I’m able to order myself a burger combo.
I take a seat by the window to eat. Just as I’m about to get up to leave I see a high school girl, still in her uniform, holding a potted plant and glaring at passerby. As I continue looking at her, I notice that the space around her almost seems to glow. What was that? I throw out my trash, but by the time I get outside she’s gone. I glance around before returning to my window shopping. My own situation is weird enough, I don’t need to bother with other people’s weirdness.
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