Chapter one

The night out with my friends comes to an end as I drive home in a fancy Lamborghini. It is not mine, but Jacob’s, who is my best friend.

The car that I own is not too extravagant, but I love it. It is an electric car that my dad just got for me for my past birthday.

It is a Tesla and I really love it. With the gas prices climbing, my friends usually ride with me; but tonight I forgot to charge the car, so I’m using Jacob’s car to drive back to campus.

Tonight was really wild and I have not partied that hard in a while. It was Jacob’s birthday and we celebrated it off campus at his parent’s huge house.

His parents are out of town, plus they gave him permission to throw his birthday party at the house. If I could guess, I would say that the entire school was there.

Including my girlfriend who was drunk and carried home by her friends. I insisted on taking her home, but they were adamant that they did.

Jacob got so wasted that he puked two times and even went unconscious. It was truly a wild party.

The police came over twice to tell us to tone it down, but yet the party went on. I guess the neighbor who was calling for a noise complaint just finally gave up.

Most of my friends are sleeping at Jacob’s because they are too drunk to drive. I don’t drink alcohol, so I am one of the few who are sober enough to drive home.

Right now, I’m heading back to the campus which is not too far from where we had the party.

With soft music playing in the car as I drive on the almost empty road, I feel elated. I feel a sense of peace that I can’t explain.

The night is cold, but the winds are yet soothing as they blow through my greasy brown hair. I’m driving with the windows down and I smell like alcohol, although I did not even have a sip of it.

“ID, please.” The security at the gate that allows me onto campus property asks me.

“Man, don’t you know who I am?” I joke and the security laughs.

“Ryan King. Who doesn’t know you?” He replies and I chuckle.

“Here.” I hand him my campus identification card even though I know he would let me in without one.

He glances at it without taking it from my hands.

“You’re good, buddy. It is just routine to ask for identification.” The security says and he smiles.

He leaves me and goes back to the small booth at the gate and in a few seconds, the gate opens and allows me to pass through.

As I do, I honk once to acknowledge him and he waves as I drive away.

It’s funny how I am treated almost as if I am a celebrity when I am on campus. Sometimes, I enjoy it, but sometimes, it makes me feel uncomfortable.

I drive to the parking and I park the car. I lock the doors once I’m out of the car and I check the watch on my wrist for the time.

It is 1:39 in the morning, which means I would be getting a small amount of sleep tonight, considering that I have a class at seven tomorrow morning.

I walk towards the building that my dorm room is in and I place my keycard on the scanner at the door, causing it to unlock.

Once I am in, I take the elevator and it leads me to the third floor. My college is one of the few colleges in this area that has elevators in their dormitories.

I exit the elevator as soon as the automated doors open and I walk towards my room. Instead of knocking, I turn the knob and the door opens. I did not knock because I don’t want to wake my roommate up.

Once I enter the room, I close the door and lock it.

“You smell like you went diving in a pool of alcohol.” A voice startles me and my attention goes to the left side of the room.

It’s my roommate, Kevin, and he is awake with his laptop opened on his bed as he chews something, which I’m guessing are chips.

“Gosh, Kevin, you almost gave me a heart attack,” I say as I breathe out a sigh.

“That party must have been the party of the century, considering you drank alcohol.” Kevin comments.

“Trust me, I didn’t drink. I just had a lot of people who did around me. Drinks got spilled on me, and Jacob also decided to baptize me with a can of beer.” I explain and Kevin chuckles.

“Anyway, why are you not sleeping?” I ask him and he shrugs.

“I started a new show, and I can’t stop watching it.” He says and I laugh.

Kevin is my roommate, but also one of my closest friends. He did not go to the party because he said that it is not really his scene. He told me to wish Jacob a happy birthday for him, and I did. He is an introvert, but also really high energy at times.

“Well, I am extremely tired right now and I am heading to bed. I got an early class tomorrow.” I inform Kevin, but he doesn’t reply.

He seems sucked into the show he is watching on his laptop and only mumbles in response to me.

I remove my clothes and I only leave on my boxers. It is how I sleep every night, it is just too comfortable that way.

I then flop on the bed and it does not take very long for me to drift into a dreamless sleep.

The morning comes with birds chirping and a strange sensation in my legs. My eyes flutter open and soon adjust to the light streaming into the room from the rising sun.

My alarm on my phone is still blaring, reminding me that it is time to wake up.

When my eyes are fully open, I sit up on the bed and I yawn while I stretch.

“I swear one of these days, I am going to throw your phone on the wall. Your alarm is meant to wake you up, not me.” I hear someone says and I search the room for the source of the voice.

The room looks strange and I don’t know where I am. What the hell is happening?

My eyes finally land on the source of the voice and it is a guy with short blonde hair. He is wearing baggy trousers and no shirt.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asks me and I squint my eyes at him.

The guy sits up on his bed and stands to his feet.

“Ryan, why are you acting weird?” He asks me with a tentative smile as he walks close to me.

“Stay away from me!” I say loudly and he stops in his tracks.

“What the crap? Man, what the hell is wrong with you?” The guy says for he seems startled that I yelled at him.

How did I even get in here? Was I kidnapped? And who is this guy? “Who are you, and where am I?” I ask him and he scoffs.

“Ryan, I don’t have time for this, I’m going back to sleep.” He says as he goes back to his bed and sits on it.

I take my eyes off him for a moment and I visually search the room for nothing in particular.

My heart rate is increasing and I can feel a sense of fear overtaking me. My breath begins to quicken and I stand to my feet.

“Who are you?” I say, and my voice is shaky.

“Wait, you are serious, aren’t you?” The guy stands up again.

Is he going to grab something to hit me? I am weaponless, I need something to defend myself.

I search around and I see a baseball bat lying on the floor. I hurriedly throw myself towards it so I can take it, and the guy jumps backward, showing that he is afraid.

Once I have the baseball bat in my hand, I clench it, ready to defend myself when the moment arises.

“Ryan, damn it! You’re creeping me out!” The guy says loudly. Well, he is the one creeping me out!

“Start talking!” I warn him, though I am not going to hit him even if I wanted to. It’s just to scare him.

“Start talking about what?” He asks, and then he laughs nervously.

“Ryan, you came from a party last night and you fell asleep. You woke up this morning and now you have been acting like a nutcase, or like you lost your memory or something.” The guy says, and a look of clarity crosses his face.

“Wait, maybe you did lose your memory..but how?” He talks to himself.

“Ryan, Ryan.” He calls my name and I keep staring at him.

“Do you remember who Alice is?” He asks me.

The name does not even ring a bell in my mind. I don’t think I have met anyone by the name of Alice.

The only thing that comes to my mind when I hear that name is “Alice In Wonderland”, which I think is a movie.

“Alice In wonderland?” I ask him and he snorts out a laugh. “No.” He says as he continues to chuckle.

“Gosh, you really did lose your memories. This could be temporary amnesia or something.” The guy speaks.

“Who is Alice then?” I ask him.

I am no longer clenching the baseball bat in my hand. I’m holding it loosely as I listen to what this guy is saying.

He is either lying to me, or I really did lose my memory.

“Alice is your girlfriend.” He informs me, and it’s my time to laugh.

“You two have dated for four years now.” He adds, and my laughter dies down.

“I think I would definitely remember if I had a girlfriend that I have dated for four years,” I say to him confidently.

I have not a single recollection of an Alice in my mind.

“That’s the thing, you do!” He says, clearly fascinated that I seem oblivious to whom he is talking about.

“No, that’s impossible,” I say to him as I try my hardest to remember, but I just can't.

“Okay, would you put the bat down for a second and let me come to you?” He asks me and I look at the bat in my hand.

“Sure,” I mumble, and then I toss the object on the floor.

He walks from his side of the room and I eye him suspiciously as he does. He goes to the bed I woke up in and takes my Phone.

“You can remember that this is your phone, right?” The guy asks me and I nod. Of course, I know for a fact that that’s my phone.

“Interesting, so it’s people and places you don’t remember.” He says to himself and I roll my eyes, still not believing him.

“Okay, unlock the phone.” He hands the phone to me and I do so.

He then takes it back and clicks on the screen a number of times before handing it back to me.

“Tell me who’s on that picture.” He says as he thins his lips and I gulp.

There are two people in the picture. There’s a very pretty girl, and I. The girl is so close to me and we are both kissing.

More confusion clogs my mind and I can feel physical pain in my head. “You see, you really did lose your memory.” The guy says.