Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds

Chapter 25

The clock on the wall ticked backward for three seconds, and Jared was the only one who noticed.

He sat in his usual spot near the window, trying to focus on Mr. Novotný's lecture about the Cold War, but the numbers on the clock kept dancing. They'd move forward normally, then skip back, like a broken video file.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His pencil hit the desk in an uneven rhythm. Ryan, sitting next to him, shot him an annoyed look.

"Dude, you okay?" Ryan whispered. "You've been weird all morning."

"What's weird about being bored in history class?" Jared muttered back, but his voice came out wrong - like there was an echo underneath it.

Ryan frowned. "Not that. You walked straight through Petra earlier without even noticing her."

"Through her?"

"Past her," Ryan corrected quickly, but Jared had caught the slip. Had he actually...? No. That wasn't possible.

The fluorescent lights overhead flickered, but when Jared looked up, they were steady. Just like they'd been steady when he thought he saw t