Double Life Double Lie

Chapter 2

She slowly opened her eyes. It felt weird. Usually, when she takes a nap in school, Ling would wake her up. Speaking of Ling, Ao Yan looked around.
"Where's Ling? Where's everyone else?" 
The room was silent as if no one was there in the first place. Ao Yan walked around the classroom, certain that there was absolutely no one else in the room. She grabbed her bag and then started to walk home. 'That Ling... she didn't even wake me up.'

As she started to walk, she noticed that there was no one at school. She checked her phone, only to notice that the time stopped. 'That's weird, is it broken? Everything is getting weirder and weirder...'

She continued to walk. After about 30 minutes, she noticed that she stayed at the exact same place. Usually, she would be at the gates right now, but nothing changed. It's as if she's walking in a circle. 

One question popped into her mind: "Where am I?"

It was not possible for everyone to suddenly leave nor for her to walk for 30 minutes only to be at the exact same spot. 

The sky suddenly turned dark- a grey, gloomy color. She heard a voice calling out her name, "Y-Yan... Yan..." The voice was full of dread. It gave you that sense of insecurity. She heard the rustling of leaves again and saw the same black cat from before. It was the last thing she saw before she saw a blinding light. 

"LI AO YAN!" Ao Yan was shaken awake by Ling. Rubbing her eyes, Ao Yan asked Ling, "What time is it?" 
Ling replied, "Time for you to wake up. It's so weird, most of the teachers are either absent or has an important meeting."
Ao Yan nodded as if she was listening. She checked her phone again only to see that 3 hours had passed. She slept for 3 hours? By now, she would have Science Class and moved classes. It was so weird. 

Ling sighed and said, "So, now most of the school day is over so they said we can just go home early today. There's no point if the teachers aren't even here." Ao Yan nodded again, "Then you go home first. I can get a bit more practice like this." 

Ling puffed her cheeks, groaning. "Practice, practice, and practice. All you care about is fighting. Don't you want to do anything else?" 
Ao Yan laughed and said, "If there is something I can do, maybe I'll do it. But for now, I can practice." 
Ling sighed, waving her hands, "I'll go first then." She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door. Before leaving, she said, "You owe me a snack." Ao Yan shook her head. It seems like this was her goal the whole time.

Ao Yan grabbed her bag as well, heading towards the gym. The gym had its own building and this one is specifically made for martial arts. In the center, there is a squared mat for sparring. Ao Yan stretched her back, smiling. It was this sort of environment that relaxes her the most. Without even changing, she grabbed a sparring dummy. It was tanned like most dummies except this one was a bit more worn out. 

Ao Yan inhaled deeply before exhaling. She rushed up to the dummy and did a roundabout kick. The dummy wobbled a bit and before it could stop, Ao Yan struck it in the middle, sending the dummy backwards. 

'Your technique is not bad.'

Ao Yan suddenly turned around and saw a white kitty. In a moment, the white kitty turned into the white tiger she saw from before. Ao Yan furrowed her eyebrows. "Aren't you suppose to meet me after school?" 

The tiger responded, 'Technically your school ended by now. Most people left.' Ao Yan nodded, replying, "So why are you here anyway?" The tiger did not move, but Ao Yan felt as if it was smiling in a way. 

'I'm here to tell you a tale.' 

。。。。。

An eye blinding light flashed before her eyes. When she reopened them, she no longer saw her school gym, but instead, a palace. Underneath the palace was a bundle of clouds as if immortal beings lived in the palace. She turned left and right only to find that the tiger was gone. She was about to shout before a voice sounded, 'Don't say anything. Just watch.'