My second chance in a strange reverse world!

"Hello?" I called, knocking lightly on the door.

A knock was heard inside, followed by hurried footsteps; I stepped back a little, thinking that perhaps there was a person inside and that I was going to open the door completely; however, after stepping back, I only heard the sound of a door slamming shut with a bang.

I frowned and approached again, "Anybody there?" I called out once more, only to be met with silence.

I decided I'd waited long enough and slowly opened the door.

The door slowly slides open, and the smell of old cardboard and dust hits my nose, causing me to wrinkle my nose in response to the reflex to sneeze.

The room is filled with computers, five in total, but only one is turned on. On top of that, there are boxes and cleaning supplies all around them. The window at the other end of the room is boarded up with lockers, giving the space the appearance of a dingy warehouse rather than a club.

On the opposite side of the room, I noticed a door that led to another classroom. I assumed the noise I heard was someone rushing out.

If the person who had just left this supposed club had left in such a hurry, they must have had something to hide. I refrained from taking another step inside. They could have been a thief or worse. The fact that it was class time and there should have been no one outside the classrooms added to my paranoia.

I didn't want to be mistaken as a thief. I was mistaken for one once and it was not a good experience. Seriously, why is it that the first person they blame when a pair of panties goes missing is the loser? Don't know I don't have the courage to take such a risk?

I refocused on what I was doing, putting aside thoughts of my miserable school experience.

I had a clear view of the computers and knew they didn't have passwords because the computer that was on had the lock screen indicating that there was no user, so they were vulnerable. Despite the possible danger, I found myself debating whether or not to go in anyway.

When I thought about it, however, something came to mind. I scanned the corners of the ceiling for what I was looking for: a camera. I knew that even though this was a storage room, or something resembling one, the school would not leave anything valuable unattended. Because it

was a school outside of the city, it was natural that they would be more zealous with their belongings.

I quickly found what I was looking for and nodded to myself, relieved. I knew I had to get in and out quickly while remaining visible to the camera. The camera saved the day, but it also introduced a new challenge: which computer should I use to look up the information?

My gaze was drawn to a computer in a corner in front of the lockers. This was the one, because the camera angle allowed the other computers' screens to be seen. I didn't want anyone to see that I was looking for basic information that everyone should be aware of. That would raise a few eyebrows.

I took a quick step toward the computer after deciding on my goal. As I got closer, I noticed a layer of dust on the screen. I ran my hand over it, feeling the grit between my fingers. The computer's state clearly indicated that it had been long forgotten, collecting dust and cobwebs.

I knelt down and ran my hand over the machine's surface, looking for the power button. It was a small relief to find it, as I had feared that the world had decided to remove the power buttons on computers as well.

I pressed the button with a relieved sigh and was rewarded with the soft hum of the computer booting up. Luck finally smiled on me this time, and I hoped it would continue to do so.

I rolled the chair out of place and fell onto it, feeling both excited and scared. I turned on the monitor, and a familiar but slightly altered logo greeted me, with some dots spinning on the screen indicating that it was loading. When the screen saver of some trees finally appeared, I immediately clicked the computer mouse, and after entering the desktop, I looked to the bottom right of the screen, hoping to find the signal I was missing now more than ever.

To my luck and delight, three familiar slightly curved bars appeared, indicating successful connection to the internet. Thanks lady luck, I like you better than Murphy.

Moving the mouse familiarly, I quickly opened an incognito tab on the internet, and prepared my fingers to type.

I hesitated a bit, but in the end I decided on the basics; look up some history. This was the only sure way to cover everything from magic/essence to historical events that led to what society is today.

Click on the first option displayed in the search engine, titled History for Dummies in the hope that you will finally not be navigating blindly in this world.

(***)

"And so was murdered the Lady of Demons, Adolfina Hitler."

I stopped reading, rubbing my tired eyes that had been crammed with over a thousand years of history read at the speed of light. The only saving grace was that the continents appeared to be the same, albeit with different names.

That was really the only good thing.

Beauty centered on the asymmetrical side; It really was strange when the advertising on the sites I visited showed horrible women holding Beauty products. What did those things accomplish? Did they deform the face?

Reverse gender roles. A pseudo-magical society. Racism... plus more of that-

Something occurred to me, something that sent shivers down my spine, if this was an upside down world; pregnancy... I typed as quickly as I could, the cool surface of the keys doing little more than cooling my overheated nerves. I read the first article I came across, which was about the biology of pregnancy.

I ignored the image of a woman and a man holding a baby as I scrolled down and began reading the article, my voice strained and uncomfortable. "Fatherhood: a stage of male weakness." That was the article's title.

My blood began to run cold, feeling that the one good thing in this world; Having sex easily and without consequences, might have been countered by the absurd logic of the reverse world.

I was about to resume reading when I heard a faint noise behind me. I turned to look, but there was nothing there, and I had more pressing concerns than a more thorough search at the time.

I read on, my hands trembling, my hopes hanging by a thread. "The early stages of pregnancy, when the embryo is formed inside the mother's uterus, are relatively easy," I sighed, relieved that it wasn't quite the opposite, no male pregnancies. Thank you, lady biology.

Still, I read on with curiosity. "The tricky part comes when the baby is born at 9 weeks and begins to depend completely on the man for nourishment."

…huh?

“The biological mechanisms underlying the nourishment of newborns; The process of essence resonance is essential, and it is an unconscious ability that men possess. This unique ability allows men to radiate diluted essence around them, facilitating the natural process of nourishment in newborns. This phenomenon occurs when the essence of the child resonates with that of the father. It is worth noting that women cannot initiate essence resonance in the same way as men. This is primarily because the essence produced by women is typically purer than that of men, and it cannot be fully diluted. Furthermore, the female essence is often overloaded with ether, which further complicates the resonance process.”

Radiate... like some kind of heat lamp or something?

My curiosity prevented me from stopping reading. "Although some injected supplements can serve as a partial replacement for paternal essence, it is important to note that the most optimal approach to nourishing a newborn child is to ensure the child is in close proximity to their father. This facilitates the resonance between the father's essence and that of the child, which initiates the natural process of essence radiation. A child can feed only on the irradiated essence of its father for up to one year after birth."

So... men are basically lamps that radiate food to their children? That would explain the reverse genders a little bit.

Now that I had a better understanding of everything, I clicked on another link that said "Parenting for Newbies." When I clicked on the link, I heard a surprised gasp from behind me.

I'd heard other noises before, but this one was particularly disturbing. The strange thing was that there was only a locker behind me... oh, shit.

When I turned around, my attention was drawn to a pair of bright emerald eyes peering through the locker vents. Whoever was behind the locker seemed as surprised as I was, their gaze fixed on mine. Those green eyes vanished as I rushed up to open the locker door.

I pushed the door open with ease, allowing me to peer inside the darkened locker. My gaze was drawn to a small figure curled up within the cramped space. Her slender frame was framed by long, tousled reddish hair that partially obscured her features. I noticed she had her hands over her mouth, her wide-eyed gaze fixed on me.

I just stood there staring at her, unsure what to do. Did she spot was I looking for? The slits in the locker were quite high, so she might have stood on tiptoes to watch me when her curiosity got the better of her.

"A-Alex is going to have a child." After a while, she murmured, staring at me. And judging by the way her eyes widened, she might have thought I'd just thought it. She raised her hands. "I-I'm not going to say anything! I guarantee it!"

I sighed, massaging my forehead. This is going to be complicated to explain.