Inside an empty classroom, the orange light from the setting sun floods the area, whilst the calm breeze slowly blew the tied curtains.
In one of its corners, besides the short brown bookshelves and the open window to the left, a group of friends was seen conversing. Talking carefree.
On top of the door, hung a calender; July 16, 2022.
"Arcade? Didn't we already go there yesterday? And it's not like you win anything anyways." A student with jet-black hair scoffed.
"And I've almost run out of pocket money. I'm on my last hundred." The young man added.
"But it's about to close down!"
A girl the same age as the teen with hazel eyes and orange hair refuted.
Forming puppy eyes, she pleaded. "C'mon, pretty please."
"Can't you just give in for once?" Joined another student with blonde hair as he nudges the man's shoulder.
"Zack, I think you're the one who knows best how out of hand she can get when you give in to her requests." The man stated with an annoyed expression.
"I do, but I...kind of like to go too, Michael," The blonde teen named Zack said as he scratched his cheek.
"Don't worry, we'll leave as soon as I get that! You don't have to spend a thing!" Zack said with his thumbs raised.
Michael looked at him and took a long sigh.
He had already expected this outcome but it still irritated him that it happened. Zack had failed to get a bear-stuffed toy the day before.
"Do you have a gambling addiction?" Michael sighed again.
He crossed his arms and scratched his head.
'How can these guys be so carefree with so many projects due next week?' He thought.
"What about you Rebecca?" Michael asked reluctantly.
Spinning a strand of her hair, a red-haired girl with a revealing cleavage replied; "Just give them what they want."
"I want to go find a fat pig myself." She added after a weirdly seductive pause.
Michael's eyes widen at her statement.
"Zack, you're hearing this right?" Michael asked in a worried tone. He first pointed before looking him straight in the eye.
"Oh that, we decided on an open relationship," Zack answered nonchalantly with a slight shrug.
"Open relationship?! How can you be so chill about this when she's with other men?!" Michael roared.
Clink!
Michael suddenly stood up and grabbed Zack's collar, tipping over his metal chair in the process.
"Did you already forget what happened before?! How can you be so docile?!"
"Have you forgotten about A-"
"I know!" Zack shouted. "I know. So please calm down." He added with his fists clenched.
"I know what I'm doing," He said in a low tone.
Michael dropped his hands but still glared at him.
"I trust her, besides I have a pretty low libido," Zack stated with a smile trying to diffuse the situation.
"What's that got to do with anything?!" Michael yelled again.
He couldn't help but be concerned about Zack who had already been cheated twice. He didn't want to see him miserable again.
"It means...until he gets in the mood, I can do it with anyone," Rebecca followed as she suddenly leans towards Michael.
"And that...Includes.You." She said in a seductive tone as she ran her fingers on Michael's chest.
Then, she suddenly closed in and whispered in his ears, "Don't worry, I love with all my heart."
Immediately, the orange-haired girl cuts in between, "Hey!" separating them.
"Stop! Don't flirt with my Michael!"
"What do you mean by your Michael, Mia?" Rebecca questioned.
With a smirk, she teasingly added. "Don't tell me you confessed already?"
Seeing what they were trying to do, Michael calmed down.
"Yea, even though I haven't accepted it yet..." He sighed with a blush.
He had decided to let the matter go.
"No way?" Rebecca gasped. "Mia Confessing? Are you sure we're still talking about the same person?"
"Y-Yea! So what? Weren't you the one who told me to tell my feelings?" Mia pouted, turning around in an attempt to hide her blushing face.
A wide grin appeared on Rebecca's face and hugged Mia from behind, "My baby's all grown up!"
"Baby? I'm not your kid!" She replied in a flustered tone.
As the two bickered, Zack lays his hand on Michael's shoulder.
"But you like her, don't you?" Zack said wearing a serious face.
"W-Well, yea, but..." Michael stuttered as a faint red tinge appeared on his cheeks. Taking a deep breath, he continued;
"It's too early."
"Don't get me wrong, I do love her, but I want to give her a good life. I was delighted when she confessed. But I'll take things slowly. We're still only 16 after all." Michael said with resolve in a soft tone.
Zack: "Study first then?"
"Study first," He replied with a smile.
"Damn you're really a goody-two-shoes, huh?"
"It's better than getting cheated on." Michael retorted with a slight laugh. "Joke, don't take that seriously." He added immediately.
Zack laughed: "You insulted someone and took it back instantly? Who does that?"
Michael sighed and added, "And I'm sorry about earlier..."
"It's fine, I know you were just worried about me."
"But seriously, I'm fine. I don't fall for the same trick thrice. You know me." Zack stated.
Convinced, he smiled and stood up, wearing his bag in the process.
"Where are you going?" Mia asked, "Are you going home? I'll go with you." She followed with a disappointed face.
Grabbing his wallet out, Michael asked;
"Didn't you want to go to the arcade?"
Upon hearing this, Mia's eyes brightened.
She wrapped her arms around him and giggled.
"W-What-"
"Thank you!" Mia grinned gleamingly.
Embarrassed, he turned around and hid his face with his short bags.
'That was so cringy damn it!' He cursed himself.
"Let's go." He said still looking away.
"Mhm!" Mia nodded.
Rebecca blushed at the sight.
"You love birds just fuck already." She chuckled before grabbing Zack's hand and running off. "Babe-? — Wait! Slow down!"
"Wait for us!" Michael and Mia called out.
They both ran out of the room side by side, looking at each other fiercely.
"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Both said simultaneously, bumping with each other as they dashed into the hallway.
But as soon as they passed a corner, Mia was suddenly pulled.
"Ah!" She shrieked.
As if a foreboding warning, a baseball smashed through the window right in front of him.
Michael was surprised but he had no time to hesitate.
He quickly braked and turned around to see Mia being pushed against a wall by a student with a green mohawk.
Michael's eyes widened in surprise and fear.
The man wore a black tattered jacket and torn pants just below the thigh with tattoos at the side of his head. A gangster.
"Hello missy, missed me? Cuz I missed you soooooo much." The delinquent said with a red face. He was visibly drunk from his beer-drenched shirt and stench.
Mia screamed and pushed the person away.
The delinquent was caught off guard and fell. His face slammed onto a doorknob, hitting his nose, breaking it.
Delinquent: "FUCK!"
Mia seeing this opportunity quickly ran to Michael's side. She held onto his also trembling hands.
"FUCKER! HOW DARE YOU! EVERYONE IS A FUCKING LIAR! I KNEW IT BUT I STILL GOT MYSELF PLAYED LIKE A FOOL!" The man screamed like a madman whilst blood dripped down his chin.
Michael grabbed an umbrella attached to the side of his bag and wearily raised it against the man.
"You fucker, I'll kill you!" He added with a menacing tone as he brushes off the dripping blood and reconnects his nose.
Although he acted strong, he looked tired and worn-out, visible from the bruises on his face.
But Michael was too shaken to notice this fact.
'This guy is crazy! How can people like him even get inside the school?!"
'He reconnected his nose just like that? Won't that hurt?!'
'Is he really drunk or is he a psychopath?!'
'Can I even beat him?!'
Thoughts were racing inside Michael's head, but one thing was for certain. He must save Mia.
With this in mind, he took up a fighting stance as if he was wielding a sword and prepared himself whilst the man slowly got up.
Although with that resolve, his body was shivering and his heart was palpitating. He even thought of escaping twice, but got a hold of himself and dismissed the idea. He would never sink too low as to abandon a friend, let alone the person he's infatuated in.
After standing up, the delinquent's physique became more apparent from before when he was hunching over Mia, standing at 6'1 with a slightly larger build compared to Michael's 5'7 height.
At this moment Michael's heart dropped, the delinquent was completely towering over him.
He thought he could stall some time while Mia runs away before escaping himself, but that seems impossible now.
Just by his appearance alone he already looks like an athlete, there's no way he can outrun a person like that. He doesn't have any inborn talents whether it be physically or mentally. He was just your average high schooler working hard to live an average, peaceful life.
In a cold sweat, he turned and looked at Mia. But his fear quickly disappeared as he saw her having an even more frightened expression than him, an expression from the carefree and brave girl he never thought she would make.
An unexplainable feeling came over him. As if a last ounce of courage, he charged at the man who was still dazed and bashed him with the umbrella like there was no tomorrow. The man fell shortly after but he still continued beating him regardless.
Unbeknownst to him, he started smiling midway. Whether it's a smile of relief or not, only he knows.
Mia soon snapped out of her trance and stopped Michael.
As she hugs him, Michael gained clarity and looked at his bloody hands before noticing the heavily wounded delinquent right in front of him.
His face became pale and took a step back in horror. The food he had eaten had somehow already reached the back of his mouth. Blood splattered all over the hall, some dripping down the stairs.
Most horrifying of them all was the visible, broken skull of the man, showing its twitching brain.
The sight was too much for them and they both puked. They could no longer hold back their disgust.
At first, they were happy and relieved that they survived. But everything finally kicked in a moment after and guilt overwhelmed them.
Someone died — "We killed him,"
They both cried in relief and guilt, dropping on their knees as they apologized and grieved. Breaking the skin-crawling, unsettling silence.
As they both wept, the ground suddenly shined brightly.
Rune-like writings appeared below them, circling them all as it slithers like a snake. Not giving them a chance to rest, grabbing their attention; stopping the waterfall of tears.
They were surprised and wary at it initially but were soon mystified. They weren't able to think properly and sat there dumbfounded.
As the writings fully formed, Michael finally realized the danger they're in and quickly stood up. His 7th-grade delusions flashed in his mind like a violent wave. Fear formed in his face.
Not only did it look mysterious, if his knowledge serves him right, they're about to be summoned to another world.
Mia's safety was his top priority.
Without time to explain, he grabbed her by the waist and rooted his feet on the ground.
"Michael..?"
He then swayed his entire body before letting go at the last second.
"Ah? Michael!"
As he threw Mia away, a blinding light shot up from the runes and engulfed him.
But unfortunately, the runes were still underneath her that shot up soon after.
He had failed to notice that the runes weren't being written around them, it was written beneath them. Beneath their feet as if a shadow.
They soon disappeared along with the mysterious light.
Leaving only the traces of a hair-raising incident.