Back to Eighteen

In that moment when my headache threatened to split my skull, I suddenly opened my eyes. Bright sunlight poured through the window, landing on the yellowed desk, where crooked handwriting was carved. I raised my hand to touch my face; the skin felt smooth and firm, nothing like the wrinkle-lined skin of someone in their thirties. "Eva Lynn, what are you daydreaming about? The college entrance exam is only six months away." A familiar yet youthful voice sounded beside me. I turned around stiffly. My eighteen-year-old self was sitting right beside me, wearing a blue-and-white school uniform, a face full of adolescent awkwardness and hope. This is the classroom for the study class, and somehow I've gone back to when I was eighteen. "Who are you?" Eva looked at me warily, her eyes full of suspicion. I took a deep breath, holding back the storm inside me. "I'm you — you ten years from now." Eva laughed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You're lying. Nobody can travel back to the past." "I'm not lying." I grabbed her hand. "I know you like Daniel Shaw. You've liked him since the first time you saw him." Eva's face instantly flushed red, and she yanked her hand away sharply. "You... how do you know?" "Because I am you." I looked into her eyes, my voice urgent, "Listen to me, don't fall for him. Things won't end well." "Why not?" Eva frowned, her face full of resistance. "Daniel Shaw is kind. He helps me with problems and encourages me to study hard." "No matter how good he seems, he can't give you the future you want." I tried to convince her, "He'll leave you eventually, and you'll end up broken and hurting." "I don't believe you." Eva stood up and stepped back, "You're just trying to drive a wedge between us. I'm not falling for it." I was about to say something else when a muffled bang came from the back door of the classroom. I turned and saw Daniel Shaw standing there, looking about thirty, dressed in a suit, his gaze sharp and cold. He obviously saw me too; his steps faltered for a moment before he walked straight toward the boy in the classroom.