Reality overload Chapter 12: Open House Day (The Day the Universe Turned on Me)

Read chapter 12 of Reality overload by Namizou on NovelPedia.

The smell hit me before I even reached the kitchen. Toast, Eggs, and Bacon. Charlie had actually cooked. Twice in one week. Something was definitely wrong with the universe. I shuffled in, still half‑asleep, rubbing my eyes. Charlie was already at the table, scrolling on her phone with one hand and shoveling eggs into her mouth with the other. She looked up Her fork paused mid‑stab. "...What?" I mumbled, sliding into the chair across from her. She squinted at me like I was a suspicious artifact she'd found in a museum. "Your face." I blinked. "My... face?" "Yeah." She leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Why does it look so good this morning?" I groaned. "Not this again..." "No, I'm serious!" She pointed at me with her fork. "Your skin is all..." she waved vaguely, "smooth and glowy and annoyingly perfect." "I dunno," I muttered. "Maybe I'm just... hydrated?" Charlie snorted. "You? Hydrated? Please. You forget water exists unless I physically hand you a bottle." I opened my mouth to argue. Then closed it. She wasn't wrong. Charlie took another bite, still staring at me like she was trying to solve a puzzle. "Well, whatever. It's good timing." I paused mid‑sip of orange juice. "Good timing for what?" She blinked at me. Then smacked her forehead. "Oh my god, Kris. Did you seriously forget?" "...Forget what!?" She set her fork down with the slow, disappointed grace of a mother who just found out her child ate crayons. "The college entrance ceremony. In two days." My brain stalled. "Oh. Right. That." "You didn't remember, did you?" "I remembered!" "You're hopeless. Completely hopeless." I slumped in my chair. "It's not my fault! I had a traumatic god/goblin related crisis yesterday!" "That was in a game."she said "It was emotionally real!" She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Well, lucky for you, your skin looks amazing. Seriously, if you show up to the ceremony looking like that, people are gonna think you actually take care of yourself." I groaned into my hands. "Stop talking about my skin..." "Can't help it. It's distracting." She shrugged. "I'm just saying. You look cute today." I nearly died on the spot. Choking on my bacon. "CHARLIE!" She laughed, stood up, and ruffled my hair on her way to the sink. "Relax, shrimp. Eat your breakfast. We've got errands later." I grumbled into my toast, cheeks burning. But the moment she turned away, I caught my reflection in the microwave door. I leaned closer. "...What the hell..." Charlie glanced back. "You coming?" I jerked upright. "Y‑yeah! Coming!" I stuffed my mouth full, and followed her out of the kitchen, trying very hard not to think about my reflection. "Hold on, let me run and grab my ID," I said, already half way down the hall. Charlie called after me, "And don't forget your paperwork! They're gonna ask for it!" I waved a hand. "I KNOW!" My voice carrying back to her. I ducked into my room, rummaging through the chaos on my desk until I found my ID wedged under a note book, and my paperwork on top. I grabbed it, stuffed it into my pocket, and hurried back out. Charlie was waiting by the door, keys in hand, tapping her foot like a parent who'd been ready for twenty minutes. "Finally," she said. "Let's go before the parking lot turns into a war zone." "It's a college open house, not a concert." "You'd be surprised," she muttered. We stepped outside into the warm morning air. Birds chirped. Sunlight filtered through the trees. It was all very peaceful and normal. Which made me feel even more out of sync. Charlie glanced over at me as we walked to the car. "You sure you're good?" she asked casually. "Yeah," I said quickly. "Just tired." "Mm." She didn't sound convinced, but she didn't push it. We got in the car, buckled up, and she pulled out of the driveway. "So," she said, "today's just the open house. We're checking your dorm assignment, getting your student ID photo taken, meeting your advisor, picking up your schedule—" image "Ughhh..." "Don't start," she warned. "You're d