I close my eyes to block out the sunlight, which is killing me. I take in a slow, deep breath and then another. A vastly more likely scenario presents itself: I have a super basic concussion, and this is just the part where I’m passed out. I will wake up any second, and it won’t be a big deal. Cheng has had two concussions, and they’re no party but he’s always fine in a week-ish.

Just thinking of him makes me hot with anger again: Could he have offered a worse response to my Prom Council fiasco? It makes my head hurt even more.

If I remember right, you’re not really supposed to go to sleep right after a concussion—at least not till the doctor says what’s what—but it’s tempting right now. The sun is warm, and I can feel the afternoon breeze on my face, damp with sweat. It’s kind of dreamy … except, again, I’m supposed to be inside the currently nonexistent arts building.

I open my eyes, and the world is as old school as the last time I looked. I sit up again and stare at my hands like that’s going to tell me something. The imprint of grass that needs to be cut has made a cross-hatch pattern on my bare arms. If I am out cold, my subconscious has a killer way with details.

Okay, let’s say this was more like a real-life crisis: a bad break-up or a huge test I didn’t know was happening. I’d give myself like five minutes tops to freak out, then strategize about what I needed to do next. When Alex dumped me in eighth grade (do not ever speak to me of Alex), I sweet-talked the middle school registrar into switching my gym class, so I never had to see him in cute shorts again (my feelings about his legs were hard to hide if you know what I mean). And last year, when I mixed up the AP Bio and English test dates, I claimed a two-day migraine that got me out of both and really deserved an Emmy.

So what now? I’ve pretty much used up my freak-out five, and what I need to do is stay calm and assess my options if, in fact, this isn’t a concussion. Obviously, I don’t have a time machine—there’s no DeLorean or energy-shooting orb in sight. So I guess there’s always the time portal thing. But if there is some mystical rift between past and present at ASA, someone would have noticed. Especially if it’s in the middle of the arts building, which I realize is not gone; it just hasn’t been built yet.