I took a deep breath as the school bell rang, signaling the end of class. I threw my physics textbook into my backpack and headed up the stairs, pulling out my phone to check my Kakao. I frowned when I saw that she looked at the message, but didn’t respond. Sighing, I continued climbing the stairs until I reached the roof of the school building. Tossing my backpack aside, I took a moment to let the cool breeze calm my nerves. It was cloudy out, and I preferred it that way. The black blazer I had to wear for school was so warm whenever the sun was out, and I felt so stuffy in that classroom, anyway.

I walked over to the edge of the roof and stared out at the tall buildings in the distance. Even the billboard beside me was huge, making me feel even more insignificant than I already felt. I checked my phone again; still no reply. Sighing, I climbed onto the very edge of the roof and stared down at the trees and basketball courts below. Why did everything make me feel so small? Suddenly, I heard the squeak of a metal door, and I turned around to see her: Kim Jiyeon.

Kim Jiyeon was the most beautiful girl at school. Maybe not by anyone else’s standards, but at least by mine. She had long, brown hair and looked so cute and petite in her school uniform, but what really stood out to me was her indifference to everyone around her. Every day she walked into class with her ear buds in, listening to CNBLUE or F.T. Island from what I could hear. No one paid attention to her except for me, and I liked it that way. I couldn’t help but smile in surprise when I saw her.

“Hey, you are here!” I exclaimed. I felt a little nervous, like I was going to fall off the edge or something. Jiyeon looked up from her iPod and stared at me, her gaze bored and maybe slightly annoyed. “It’s not a big deal,” I lied, faking confidence. “I have to hear your answer.” She took out one ear bud as I started pacing the edge of the roof, twirling my thumbs. Why was I still on the edge if I was so nervous? I feel like I will lose balance any minute. “I have been thinking for a long time,” I continued, my eyes focused on the feet treading dangerously close to my doom. I took a deep breath and looked directly at her, stuffing my hands in my pocket. “I want you to date me.”

Jiyeon’s expression did not change at all! How could it not change? I threatened, “If you don’t accept me, I am going to jump off from here, okay?” What? JB, what did you just say? Yeah, you feel insignificant, but you don’t feel depressed enough to kill yourself! I gulped, swallowing my thoughts. I guess I was trying to guilt her into dating me, but do I really want a relationship like that?

Jiyeon blinked at me with the same bored expression. “I am really going to jump off, okay?” I couldn’t handle that face anymore. Why was she just staring at me like that, and what is with my baseless threats? I lost my balance a bit and began teetering on one foot. It was almost exhilarating being in this much danger, and I was starting to lose my sanity anyway from her disinterested stare. “I will for real. I am serious.” I leaned to the side, almost falling for real. “I will fall for you.” Oh my god, I am so cheesy. Maybe I should just fall off the edge now to relieve myself of this humiliation. This is getting ridiculous.

I saw Jiyeon mouth something, but I couldn’t hear her. She plugged her ear bud back in and started to turn around.

“Please say something,” I begged, not wanting to watch her walk away after I embarrassed myself this much already. “Hey! Hey! Where are you going?” Man, I was pitiful. “Hey!” I yelled one last time. The metal door closed, and Jiyeon was out of sight. “Fine, just walk away,” I grumbled, looking down at my feet. Suddenly, I heard the door open again. I looked up to see… me? My mouth opened in confusion.

My clone walked onto the room in tacky blue overalls that didn’t even have the straps pulled over the shoulders, a black and white striped shirt with only one ripped sleeve, and a long, golden chain around my neck. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Why was I standing right before me in such a hideous outfit? Am I too high up? Is the adrenaline making me hallucinate? I shook my head, closed my eyes, and smacked myself to make the image disappear, but when I reopened them, he was still there, his shoulders slumped and staring at me with the same bored expression Jiyeon was giving me.

Okay, JB, there is something mentally wrong with you right now. Suddenly, everything around me started flashing and blacking out, hurting my head. I shut my eyes tightly to remove the unpleasant sensation, but my head still throbbed like I was having a migraine. I smacked my head with the palm of my hand, trying to force the terrifying images out of my mind. I started to feel dizzy, and soon the world began spinning around me. I gave the metal door one last look before my feet gave out beneath me. I plummeted towards the trees below in what felt like slow motion. A loud explosion and a huge rush of wind ruffled my hair and blazer before I fell into a pool of gel.

 

*****

 

Formulas. Plots. Lines. Diagrams. That’s all I could see as my body laid on the cold, hard floor. A boy with black hair shaved on the sides ran by until he stopped and took notice of me. He looked me up and down before he asked me what I was doing. All I could do was stare at him dumbly. I had no idea where I was! I should be dead, not staring at calculus problems and a confused teenager.

“Come on!” the man said with a grin before running off. I sat up straight and watched him run away. Taking a look at my surroundings, I noticed there were a lot more students in the same tacky overalls as I saw myself wearing. Desks and chairs were splattered all over the place, with only one boy with styled up hair actually trying to do work. The man that talked to me earlier was now bugging this boy, and there was even a pink-haired guy riding around on a skateboard in the middle of the classroom!

Looking to my left, I saw another lounging atop cabinets eating and playing on an electronic device. To my right, there was a blond relaxed in his chair playing on the same device but in red. The studious boy was now throwing pencils at and jumping onto the one who asked me what I was doing earlier. Lastly, there was a man who looked to be older than everyone else with gray-blue hair and huge headphones jamming out to music in the back. Who uses big headphones nowadays? Isn’t technology about making things smaller?

I stood up and carefully made my way through the mess of a classroom to look out the windows high above, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: flying cars? What the hell is happening? Is this heaven? I can easily say, in all my life, I never imagined heaven to be a futuristic classroom with rowdy students.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom opened, and I froze. As if the world wasn’t doing enough to confuse me, Kim Jiyeon shows up with her hair in a wavy ponytail, a denim jacket with buttons all over it, and a bright smile. Jiyeon never smiles, and she never wore her hair in a ponytail! And… was her stomach and legs showing? I blushed looking at her perfect body. All the boys in the classroom crowded around her and gave her high fives, and I just stood there, clueless, wondering when she became so open and popular. Wait, did she just smile and wave at me?

“Hey! JB!” I shook my head and broke out of my daze. Everyone was out of the classroom besides Jiyeon and the man who asked me if I was okay. The man wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulled me close, and whispered in my ear, “Do you have a crush on Keiki?”

Keiki? Who was Keiki?

“Jackson, stop teasing him!” Jiyeon laughed, playfully slapping the man’s arm.

“Ouch Keiki! That really hurt!” Jackson faked a sniffle and pouted his lips. Wait, Keiki was Jiyeon?

“Well, we need to get going. The dance contest is tonight!” Keiki reminded, flicking her ponytail as she turned around. I am so confused. What dance contest? Why are these people acting like my friends when I don’t even know them? Where is the professor? Jackson dragged me out of the classroom, and all I could do was follow and watch this Keiki girl laugh and giggle with this Jackson guy. Jackson finally removed his old on me once we were outside of the school. “I will meet you later tonight!” Keiki shouted before hopping onto a bike without wheels and riding off. I frowned. She looked just like Jiyeon, but she didn’t act like her at all.

“You really do like her, don’t you,” Jackson suddenly spoke in his raspy voice of his. I jumped; I thought he already left. “You better put on something y tonight and dance ‘til your feet blister if you want to impress her.” I looked down at my hideous overalls and then back at Jackson. I don’t think I had the same fashion sense as these people to win Keiki’s heart over, and she wasn’t even Jiyeon, so why would I want her, anyway? Jackson heaved a sigh and roughly patted my shoulder. “Good luck tomorrow, JB, but remember, I am the dancing king.” He sighed and saluted with a wink before walking off. He apparently didn’t have a floating vehicle like everyone else here.

Suddenly, I heard a ding and felt a loud vibration in my pocket. I pulled out a black device that looked similar to a PSP. Looking at the screen, I saw that I got a message from a guy named Youngjae.

 

Where are you?

 

            I decided to just reply. This guy was apparently my friend in this world, so I might as well have someone help me through it.

 

            I am at the front of the school right now. Meet me there.

 

            It did not take long before I heard another ding and felt another vibration.

 

            Okay Mister Bossy Pants. :P

 

            I shoved the strange device in my pocket and waited. I practiced b-boying back at home so I could impress Jiyeon one day, but I was always too shy to even perform for her. So, instead of showing her my mad talent and fun personality, I threaten to jump off a roof and end up in some weird, alternate universe. I sighed. Oh well, it will be fun seeing the competitors in this dance contest perform. I hope their dancing isn’t as weird and ugly as these school uniforms, though.

            “Hey! JB!” I looked over to see that same blond kid riding up to me on his skateboard without wheels. He stopped right beside me and kicked his skateboard up, making a whirring sound in the process. “Let’s head home and get ready for that competition. You and I should practice our routine one last time before we go, too.”

            Oh shoot! I have a dance routine with this kid? How am I going to pull this off? “Yeah, Youngjae, I think you should just do the routine without me. I am not feeling too well.” Wow. That was actually a really good lie!

            “Why don’t you just take an insta-cure?” Youngjae asked, leading me to what was apparently our home.

            Insta-cure? What the hell is that? Does it really just remove a cold with the pop of a pill? “I, uh, ran out.”

            Youngjae laughed. “We have been roommates for so long, man, you can just use one of mine. It’s not that big of a deal. I owe you some favors, anyway! Unless… are you just trying to get out of this?”

            I quickly shook my head, but I was panicking in the inside. “I may have just forgotten the routine…” I think that was the best I could do to get out of this situation, but Youngjae ended up exploding on me.

            “Forgot the routine? We have been practicing this for months now, and you suddenly forgot the routine? No! I am not accepting this! You will perform with me tonight, and we will win first place!”

            I gulped, not sure how to react to the blond’s outburst. Maybe when we practice tonight, he will realize how incompetent I am and just compete on his own. He knows I will just humiliate him otherwise. We arrived at our destination, which was a super colorful building with neon lights and jelly bubbles that looked like balloons. Youngjae jumped and clapped excitedly beside me.

            “Yay! I am so excited! Aren’t you?” he squealed, his eyes creasing as his smile engulfed his face. “Let’s hurry up and practice! I really need that prize money.”

            I sighed and let my shoulders drop. Let’s just see how this goes.

 

*****

 

            “Fei, the dance competition is officially tonight, and I heard he was going to be there. Should I attend and watch this festival?”

            “No,” Fei answered with a swipe of her hand, not even turning around in her chair. Jia glared at the back of the woman’s head.

            “Why not?” the associate asked with a sneer.

            “Because you look too old,” Fei put simply, turning around to face her inferior. Jia did nothing to hide her scowl. “This competition consists of young boys and girls just finishing high school. You, on the other hand, look like a mangy stray cat that was kicked out into the streets because she wasn’t a cute kitten anymore. My suggestion is stick to your long distance spying and leave the blending in to Suzy.”

            Jia glowered at her superior for a few moments before she spoke, her words quiet and harsh. “Yes, your majesty,” she hissed, bowing exaggeratedly to demonstrate she was only bowing out of practice, not respect. Fei chuckled at the display.

            “Thank you, dearie. I appreciate your hard work.” Jia grimaced at her boss’ condescending tone. “Also, send Chansung with Suzy to act as her boyfriend; I don’t want a bunch of young, boys flirting with her on the job.” With that, Fei faked a pleasant smile and turned back around in her chair, leaving Jia to angrily step out of her office.

Yay! First chapter! Just so you know, I love Miss A, so don't be offended if I make their characters seem... unflattering. It's just for the story, okay? XD Anyway, thanks for reading, and I will try getting another chapter up as soon as possible!