“You excited for your first day of college classes?”
“Hmm?” Todd asked, having completely zoned out for a few seconds. “O-Oh! I…I’m a bit n-nervous…” He poked at his scrambled eggs with his fork for a second before scooping some up and taking a bite.
Todd had gotten up around 7:00 AM to begin getting ready for the day. He didn’t have his first class until 9:00 AM, but he always liked to get up early so he didn’t waste the day. He had expected to wake up and go to breakfast by himself, but Todd was genuinely surprised to find that Sam was awake when he got back from his shower. The jock suggested that they go and get breakfast together before Todd’s first class, which led them to where they were now.
Sam laughed before taking a bite out of his breakfast burrito. “Yeah, I’m a bit nervous about my first day too,” he admitted after swallowing his food. “The start of a new grade has always made me nervous ever since I was younger. And now we’re starting college, the next big step in our lives! And in a completely new world, no less! It’s still all so crazy to me!”
“Y-Yeah…I get th-that…” Todd took another bite of his eggs. Despite getting to know Sam quite well over the past few days, he still felt a little nervous around him.”
“Hey, I don’t think I’ve asked you yet: what are you majoring in?” Sam asked. “I feel like as roommates, that’s one of the first things we should have shared with each other. Guess we just got caught up with other stuff, huh?” The jock laughed, which made Todd start laughing. There was something about the way Sam laughed that Todd found so…contagious…
“W-Well…it’s for a s-silly reason…” Todd started. “But…I-I always w-wanted to…to d-design games…”
“Games? As in video games?” Sam asked curiously. Todd gave a small nod, which made Sam’s face light up. “Dude, that's so cool! What made you want to do that?”
The young man was quiet for a minute, which made Sam feel a bit concerned. Had he said something wrong? When Todd did speak, he only said two words that Sam could barely make out.
“What was that?”
“My dad…”
“Oh cool! Does he like video games?”
“He did…”
Sam’s smile faded as he realized what Todd meant. “Oh…I…I had no idea…” he said quietly. “If I had known, I never would’ve-“
“I-It’s okay…r-really…” Todd said, cutting him off. “You…you c-couldn’t have k-known…” He paused for a few seconds before continuing. “Wh-When I was l-little, he used t-t-to show me the g-games he l-loved to play. O-One of them…One of them was a g-game that…had you g-going around and…trying to stop the world from e-ending in th-three days, b-but you would re-relive the same th-three days…over and o-o-over. My dad, he…he l-loved that g-game…” Todd paused, sniffling a little bit.
“Wh-When I was 12…h-he got r-really sick…When I went to the h-hospital to s-see him…he t-t-took my hand in h-h-his…and he s-said…‘We…we only have a l-l-limited time s-s-son, and my t-time…my time is up. But you…y-you made every s-s-s-second worth it. Use y-your time…t-t-to make others…h-h-happy…’”
Todd was on the verge of tears when he finished his story, though he was caught a bit off guard by Sam suddenly wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Hey…it’s okay bud…I’m here for you…I can see why you might want to forget that when you start your new life here.”
Todd shook his head. “N-No, you don’t un-understand,” he said softly. “I…I want to remember that. E-Everything else a-about me c-can change…b-but I don’t want th-that to. I c-can’t just forget m-my dad’s l-last words…”
“Well, when you put it like that, I can see where you’re coming from,” Sam said. “If what Stripes said was true, and this world really wants what’s best for us, I think it will let you remember those valuable memories.”
Todd nodded quietly before speaking up. “Th-there’s something e-else…”
“Something else?” Sam asked. “What is it?” Todd turned his head and stared into Sam’s deep brown eyes.
“Th-these memories with…with you…”