The Replay ✓

{01}

"Finn, get the hell up!" shouted Finn Davis' mom from the kitchen. "You're going to be late!"

Finn slowly woke up and went downstairs, his hair a mess. "What do you want, mom?"

"You're not dressed yet? Run and go get some clothes, for God's sake," said his mom, her voice worried.

"What do I have today?" he asked, confusion to be heard in his voice and seen on his face.

"You have school. How could you forget?"

"But I just..." started Finn but didn't get to finish his sentence. His mom had other plans in mind.

"Run upstairs and get some clothes. I'll get you some food so you can eat it in the car."

Finn obeyed his mother and went upstairs, still not understanding what was going on. Did he just forget that he lived throughout the summer break and now he was off to college? Or was it his mom playing some prank.

He grabbed a few pieces of clothing, not being able to find most of his favorites, and got dressed fairly quickly. Finn then went back upstairs to his mom waiting at the front door with his breakfast and his things. "You almost forgot this..."

Finn nodded and followed his mother to the car through the open door.

They sat in the car, an awkward silence reigning. When it was time for Finn's mom to turn right, she turned left. "Mom, you turned the wrong way!"

"No, your school is this way. How could you forget? You've been at that school for a few years already..."

"But the college's the other way, mom. I'm not stupid," spat Finn, but his mom still didn't stop. "Mom, why aren't you turning around? You're going the wrong way. I'm gonna be really late because of you..."

"I think you're forgetting that college is next year. You still have a year until then, Finneas. Make sure to spend this year wisely."

What sick prank is she playing on me? Finn said to himself internally. She knows how much I hated last year. Every single moment of it. Except for a few...

"But I graduated yesterday, mom. You were there, taking pictures..."

"Oh honey, you seem to be dreaming quite a lot. Maybe with your father gone and everything else..."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Finn, almost accusingly. His father was gone a while and he got over his death completely.

"It's obvious that you've been struggling with a few things ever since your father died. And now that you're imagining things..."

"I've seen a therapist about that, mom. Plus, I'm not imagining things. You're just trying to play with my mind by doing something. I don't know what exactly, but it's something..."

"Whatever you say. Have fun at school, kid."

He quickly got out of the car, not being able to be in that suffocating space any longer. With the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his best friend, Audrey Wilson. Her hair was long, not how he saw it the day before. Audrey decided to shave her head right before graduation, but her hair was now long and resembled exactly what it did before she started experimenting with it.

"Finn Davis, oh how much I missed you..."

He wanted to point out that they saw each other the day before, but he decided not to. Something strange was happening and it was best to just let it happen.

Because maybe, just maybe, he was imagining things.