Chapter 2

She didn't come through. Instead, I was thrown backward. The arm hanging from the ceiling disappeared as well.

The girl's anxious voice came from the empty air again.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt? I'm sorry. I didn't know it would throw people back."

"I'm fine. Looks like the time-space distortion can only transfer objects and voices for now."

After hearing my reply, she sighed in relief.

"It's getting late. Go get some sleep. We're friends now. My name's Hannah Scott. What about you?" She asked cheerfully.

"Evan Lynch."

Over the next few days, Hannah and I actively tried to figure out the rules of this time-space distortion phenomenon.

But the more we investigated, the more confused we became.

Sometimes, something placed in one spot would disappear the next second, but if we put something in the exact same place again, nothing would happen.

This time-space distortion seemed completely random. It appeared without warning, and the size of the objects it transferred was random too.

But there were still some patterns.

For example, my food always seemed to end up on Hannah's side. and Hannah's clothes always seemed to end up here.

Once, I finally decided to treat myself and ordered an expensive takeout meal.

The moment I opened the container, the entire meal vanished right in front of me.

Hannah's scream soon followed.

"Evan! Why is my pencil case full of risotto?"

Another time, I was taking a nap when I suddenly felt like I couldn't breathe.

I woke up and realized Hannah's clothes had landed perfectly on my face.

Then came another scream from her side.

"Evan, are you doing this on purpose?

"I just took a shower and you stole my clothes! Are you trying to peep at me?"

As time went on, Hannah and I grew closer.

Hannah lived in Kerningham, more than 200 miles away from me.

Like me, she was a senior in high school. We agreed that after the SAT test, we would meet in person. It would basically be our first time meeting an online friend.

Hannah's academic performance was concerning.

Once, my scrap paper was transferred to her side.

She looked at the cosine of thirty degrees written on it and asked if I was good at literature.

Whenever I had time, I would pick a few math problems and explain their solutions to her. She usually started falling asleep halfway through.

One day, I came home and was greeted by Hannah's endless stream of chatter.

I replied calmly, "I'm a little tired today. I'm going to bed."

Perhaps she noticed something was wrong. She went quiet for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Evan, you've been crying."

I was shocked. I asked her how she knew.

"Your tears landed on my face. It was like a silent rainstorm.

"Did someone hurt you? I can smell blood."

I instinctively touched the corner of my mouth. Only then did I realize.

"Can smells transfer now too?"

For once, Hannah didn't answer me. Instead, I heard her rummaging through things.

A moment later, a first-aid kit appeared next to my hand.

"Did it make it through? I don't know how badly you're hurt, but I hope it'll help."

My tears fell uncontrollably. Hannah didn't say anything else. She just stayed there quietly with me.

Only after I finally cried myself out and my voice weakened did she speak again.

"Evan, did someone bully you?"

I rubbed my swollen eyes and replied hoarsely, "How did you know?"

Hannah sighed helplessly.

"Are you seriously someone who lost a fight and secretly cried after the fact?"

I couldn't stop myself from laughing, but Hannah suddenly became serious.

"If someone bullies you again, fight back. Grab one of them and don't let go. They started it anyway.

"If things get really bad, like really bad, just tell them my name. I'll take a bus there during the weekend and stand up for you."

A warm feeling spread through my chest. Even the pain from my injuries seemed to fade a little.

"Hannah, thank you."

Hannah seemed to remember something and suddenly asked, "By the way, what about your parents? You've never mentioned them. If someone bullied you, wouldn't your parents do anything?"

I pursed my lips and stayed silent for a long time.