Amnesiac

 Liam fiddled with the strap of his bag, trying to let out his anxiety. He took a deep breath, and decided to get it over with.

Entering the school, he quickly made his way through the crowd. He stopped at the front office’s desk, where the traffic of students was thinner. Pulling his hood down, he coughed lightly to get the attention of the woman behind the desk. 

She looked up from her monitor, bright red manicured nails tapping at the keyboard even as she stopped looking. Almost immediately upon seeing Liam, her face twisted into a scowl.

She eyed him suspiciously, and Liam resisted the urge to comment on her smudged lipstick. “Back again, are you? Get to class.”

He sighed softly, even as she continued glaring at him. “I don’t know which class to go to.”

It seemed as though the statement reminded her of the note that had been sent through the principal the previous week. Clearly, she must have thought it was fake, as everyone had assumed. Liam was beginning to grow tired of the reactions he received from everyone.

“Ah,” She muttered, typing away on her keyboard to pull up a file. “Right. Memory loss. Amnesia or whatever. Thought that was just a lie for you to miss a week of school.”

Liam restrained himself from giving her a reply. He was used to this. He had no idea what he had done to give everyone such an opinion of him. And it seemed like he never would.

After being informed that he had to go to class 15-A, he made his escape. The suffocating perfume was about to make him puke. He could have asked for directions and saved some time, but he could figure it out himself.

At least, that’s what he told himself. But as he wandered through unrecognisable hallways, it seemed like he was thoroughly last. Thankfully, just as the bell rang, he found what seemed to be the right classroom, and quickly entered.

The door opened with a sound far louder than he meant it to be, thanks to his rush. All eyes immediately looked at him, and Liam felt himself flush in embarrassment.

The teacher looked at him in annoyance. “Get to your seat, Mr. Harper. And you’ll be getting detention for your tardiness.”

He could’ve explained himself. He could’ve even asked which seat was his. But he knew what the reply would be, having received the same from his parents, the principal, and uncountable other people.

It was easy to figure out where he was supposed to sit. A wide berth was formed around one seat in the back, and as he walked towards it, people shifted further away.

Murmurs and whispers filled the classroom, and he could feel the burning gazes locked onto his back. He ignored it.

Even as class continued and the teacher, who he now knew to be Mr. Rogers, explained the lesson, Liam wasn’t listening. He stared down at the notebook he had been given by his parents. Unfamiliar doodles filled the pages, and unfamiliar handwriting stared back at him. Everything was unfamiliar these days.

The bell rang, but he paid no heed. He was focused on trying to remember something, anything related to school, or those doodles. 

A tap on his desk snapped him from his thoughts. He looked up at a rather burly boy, who was glaring down at him. Strangely, Liam could see a spark of fear behind those angry eyes. Why would someone be afraid of a boy as gangly and non-threatening as him?

“So,” The boy looked around at his friends, who had begun to surround the desk. “We’ve heard that you’ve lost your memory. Is that true?”

From the few episodes of a sitcom that he had watched while in recovery at the hospital, he was pretty sure that this was the sort of situation in which the bullies would laugh at the victim. But the barely-repressed terror with which the people were looking at him, made him feel like he was the bully here.

Liam decided to reply truthfully. It was on his hospital record, after all. “Yeah. I’m not sure who you guys are.”

The tension seemed to dissipate from the environment, but he didn’t let himself relax. In fact, he only grew more anxious, seeing the sudden malicious grin grow on the burly boy’s face. The students around them began to whisper, and the odd dynamic from earlier reversed.

“So you don’t remember what you blackmailed me about all of last year, huh?” He crowed, leaning onto Liam’s desk. The badge on his shirt, now visible from beneath the blazer,  identified him as ‘Aaron Smith — School Captain. Liam leaned back. “You don’t remember any of the dirt you had on anybody?”

He didn’t reply, staying silent. That was enough of a response. Similar malicious smiles spread on other student’s faces, and Liam realised for the first time how many enemies he truly had.

Someone in the crowd screamed, but he couldn’t see who it was. “Get ready to suffer, Harper. This is payback!” Other students cheered, and his heart dropped.

What had he done before he lost his memories?