*Drring* *Drring*
The sound of my alarm rang through my ears, I half-knowingly placed my hand on the phone and the alarm stopped. Work was physically demanding as usual so why can't I treat myself with a couple more minutes of sleep?
God, I just realized how sad that sounds.
*Drring* *Drring*
What the hell? I thought I shut it off.
*Drring* *Drring*
In the moment, my half-awake body just threw the phone across the room, the alarm was faint but manageable.
As I rest my eyes for a second time and wonder if I could just dream the day away, but it's been a long time since that ever happened.
The darkness returned and I felt a few moments go bye, there was a point where I felt weightless too, as if I was soaring through the air, then suddenly, a soft surface stifled my flight. My clouded ears opened to hear a grumbling voice say,
"Dammit, can't you just get up and out on time for once in your life"
They said that like they would know what I have to go through just to get up in the morning.
I got off my carpeted floor and aggressively rub my crusted eyelids to perfectly see the asshole in front of me.
The person who decided to awaken me from my beauty sleep was none other than a boy that wore a camo V-neck and dark jeans, who was barely taller than me, has sun kissed skin, brown hair in a military cut, and for some reason, acts like an ass most days.
■For his name was Kaleb Gage, a good friend that he's known since kindergarten. He wasn't the coolest, or the smartest, nor bravest person someone could have as a good friend. That begs the question to why these two stuck together. Maybe out of necessity or no reason at all■
"Hurry up man, we can't afford to waste any more time, or I swear I will drag you all the way there" he exclaimed with impatience.
"Is that an invitation?" I shot back by pure instinct.
He didn't respond to my awesome retort and stormed off to wait outside.
I collected my thoughts while gathering my scattered outfit from around the room; it's always pretty cold in the morning, so I decided to wear my casual t-shirt and jeans with a gray hoodie.
As the hoodie went over my head, I stopped to stare at my unoriginal self in my hanging mirror. It was almost custom since I've been doing it for some time.
My face bared a pair of green, shrewd eyes and distasteful frown. My forcibly, neatly cut hair was a matted to one side, though not even I could discern its color, was it brown? Or maybe dark blonde?
■He then repeated his boring name multiple times like his parents before. Mathew Greyley. The nobody who made it all throughout his life doing nothing special, making it by with mediocre test scores and common hobbies. He was an average high schooler who contemplated his life after his last day, but he couldn't imagine how it was about to take a turn for the better and worst■
■It was now time for him to start his day with the usual negative thought■
I should feel pity for the man in the mirror, but even I don't even deserve that much.
As I shut off my clouded mind and headed downstairs, I contemplated to see if there was a chance of getting a quick snack, how easily my mood changed when I saw my parents together in the kitchen.
I scoffed to myself.
That's a rare sight, better just get out now before-
Right as I opened the door and almost out the house, I heard the same fake words I hear every time I leave.
"Love you son"
I shut the door to be greeted by the usual bustling streets and Kaleb who was looking at his digital watch.
"About time, let's hurry or else we'll be late, you don't want to be tardy on our last day?" Kaleb said with an unimpressed tone.
It's almost hard to believe that today is our last day of our school lives, maybe even our last day as friends. The group of people we have made memories with since childhood all have their interesting lives ahead of them, but what will happen after today?
I look to the other conjoined townhouses the same as mine; how long have I seen the same bricks? the same pizza restaurant that serves crappy food and terrible service? The distained faces of other humans going on about their structured lives?
■A repeated set of questions he asked everyday■
My sailboat began to sail its usual path...
■He commonly referred to his train of thought as his 'sailboat' for an odd reason■
How many times will I see these identical things again and again?
■His sailboat now faced a massive storm with crashing waves■
My mind filled with more questions, anxious thoughts have always been the better of me.
■Suddenly, a few soothing and mumbled words were spoken, stopping the oncoming storm entirely■
I didn't notice my breathing returning to a normal state. It was time to stop worrying about the hypotheticals, it's just a waste of time so I just gotta live in the moment, or at least, that's what one of our friends says all the time…
That idiot, he doesn't know but he rubs off on everyone, whether that's a good or bad thing.
As we continue our walk, just normally chatting about how we think the day is going to happen or making fun of each other, we heard the yelling of a boy among an ocean of other voices on the crowded sidewalk.
"Hey! Wait up guys!"
We turned our heads to see the familiar face of a tall boy with blonde hair and kind blue eyes who always wore some graphic t-shirt with motivational quotes. Today's shirt said, 'We Rise by Lifting Others' I swear those give me secondhand embarrassment just to be around my cousin.
■He lied of course, seeing this boy's face brought the only sense of joy to Mathew. The boy's name was Clay Greyley. The most kind and purest person anyone can meet and the only one known to Mathew. He was never meant to be corrupted by their faults, and though it was never detected, he too had his flaws■
"Hey Clay, I said before that I would leave you if you didn't show up on the usual path to Matt's place" Kaleb preached.
"Sorry, I know, but I just woke up late, that's all. Come on, you can't keep me on that deal, right?"
Clay huffed out trying to catch his breath, he may be chubby, but he sure can run, however, that wasn't good enough for Kaleb because he already had a strict posture and spoke a loud.
"NOPE, you agreed with full confidence that you would buy lunch if you came late yesterday, so you know what that means!"
Oh boy, here he goes.
"It means that we're eating Chinese again, oorah!"
As he raises his prideful fist in the air, I jab him in the side of the ribs with my elbow.
"Gah*, Hey man-"
I cut him off,
"Look at the time Little Miss Perfect" I showed him my phone's clock that stated the current time.
[7:28 a.m.]
"Shit! we're going to be late! On the double ladies" he recited in a panic as he dashed off.
I followed close, I swear he worried too much about that perfect attendance even on our last day.
"Come on I just got here" Clay retorted with a deep exhale.
We hurried along the sidewalk as quick as we could, cutting a few corners and slightly pushing against crowds until we stumbled our way to our multi floored High school. The rush of other late students could be seen from the front of the building, luckily, we've seen this plenty of times.
I whip out my phone as we hurried along the side of the building going up a series of stairs and go to my short contact list looking for a name.
[ Peter ]
I pressed the contact and sent a text of only a single word "backdoor" while we hurried our way to the third floor, we came across the door of one of the fire escapes.
A moment passes until the sound of two separate footsteps are heard on the other side.
A couple seconds went by when the thick metal door was released. A girl wearing an outfit consisting of an overall and a baggy shirt ushered us inside while I saw a boy with large, round glasses next to the door, fidgeting with the lever to not activate the emergency shift.
"There, you guys owe us lunch for doing this ya know"
The girl that had been helping is Haleakala Bridgette Kekoa, whose name I still could never get right even after years of knowing her, so everyone just call's her Bridgette for simplicity sakes. She was as tall as me with golden skin, had frizzy, dark brown hair with dyed tips put into a messy bun, and a playful type of vibe, but that is not to be mistaken by her pride.
■It's said that her pride was so fierce, it could even rival the sun in boldness. A competitive lifestyle was all she knew when growing up in a family of seven boys, competing with each other in their fathers' mechanic shop. Her warmness brought others close, and some would even get burned, with an exception of course. That being a certain moon who saw beyond her fiery surface■
"Stop it Bridgie, that's a little too much"
Ordered a boy almost a foot smaller than her wearing jean shorts and a black sweater, his name is Peter Adzumi, he has fair skin with short dark hair parted in the middle. His intelligent face looked as if a woodcarver slowly crafted it with fine lines and was complimented by attentive eyes under a pair of large, round glasses.
■He was an observer. His cold aura and fierce gaze could be felt from a mile away. He was gifted with an amazing brain but was inept with social encounters. That's why many referred him as a moon, something so out of reach that they could only gaze at its beauty and elegance from afar. Maybe that's why the Sun also stared back■
Bridgette contemplated for a moment until she gave in,
"I guess you're right, that is too harsh. They should get us some dessert at ChilB's after grad"
Of course she gave her own option in there, however, Kaleb walked past me and put one hand to the side of his face.
"We will just put it on Matt's tab" he loudly whispered "Clay let's go, don't want to want to get on Mrs. Johnson's bad side AGAIN"
He then pushed them aside while giving a quick nod of appreciation while Clay followed after and thanked them profusely. After they left, we heard the bell for classes to start.
"Alright, I guess I should be going too, see you guys tonight" I say as I head to my home room class.
Throughout the day I just napped in between classes or eavesdropped in conversations that were none of my business. Some people talked about their plans for the summer and other seniors talked about careers. It was my period before lunch when there was a big commotion in our group chat because that IDIOT started trouble again.
[BigBlair]: Guys you won't believe what Jon did again
[FutureSoldier76]: What did he do this time?
[Bridge13]: if it's another "Mr. T situation" I'm going to laugh
[BigBlair]: So get this, we were just walking down the hallway back from the cafeteria when the principal came out of his office and greeted us
[me]: I don't like where this is going…
[BigBlair]: we were having a small chat but as soon as we finished our conversation, Jon managed to trip on his own laces (that were-tied mind you) and spilled milk all over the principal!
[GreyClay]: Oh no :0!! Are they okay??
[Bridge13]: oh my goodness, that's to good XD
[Marc]: lol
[BigBlair]: He did the usual kiss ass move but now he is gonna be out for lunch because he has to help out set up the stuff for graduation
[FutureSoldier76]: Great, just what we needed, how does he keep doing this stuff?
[Me]: I swear he goes from being the luckiest guy in the world to being the unluckiest.
[GreyClay]: Remember that one time he managed to make a bet with the Chemistry Teacher to make everyone's final quiz a one hundred?
[FutureSoldier76]: Ugh, I still can't believe he managed to win that dumb bet
[EthanKing]: Wait, I was in the AP class instead, wasn't the bet something like "If I can win three times in a game of chance"?
[Me]: Yeah, that's basically it, I swear he just took advantage of the situation because we all know the teach' goes to Vegas every chance he gets-
[Seen by Peter]
"Mister Greyley!" A cryptic, old voice wailed my name.
Oh no, this can't be good.
I rose my head to see a middle-aged woman with greying brunette hair and a strict stature saying,
"Can you tell me what it is you are doing in my class?" The teacher yelled across the room and looked straight into my soul with a disappointing look "I know it's your last day, but can't you tell when the lunch bell rings??"
Now that she mentions it the room appears to be empty, I guess I wasn't paying too much attention, again.
"I swear, throughout the years I thought you would at least get that head of yours out of the clouds" she gives me a cold stare before continuing with a sigh "You still don't know what you want to do?"
I remain silent not sure how to answer, it is always a hard topic when someone mentions my future because I am unsure to what it is I want.
"Well, I hope you have a good life, I really cared about you kids, now leave before I start growing older"
She now glanced out her window onto the street of other bellowing high schoolers getting lunch across the street from the nearby restaurants.
I should probably tell her now...
"Thank you miss, you were always a great teacher"
No, I can't tell her, just keep your thoughts to yourself. I gather my things and leave the classroom where I make my way out to a courtyard where some people go instead of the cafeteria.
When I got outside a chill wind ran through the courtyard that made me question if I should have eaten inside. I passed some other tables filled with other seniors and people who formed their own clique of friends to the most hidden table out here, I'm pretty sure most people can't even tell there was a table back here due to all the shrubbery and laziness of the school. When I passed through, I already found two figures bringing out their lunch bags.
"Did you see the Beavers last night, that Manny Carey guy is doing great for them, might make it to the playoffs!"
A figure said ecstatically with a head of curly burnt, orange hair accompanied by long, matching sideburns and small hairs on the chin. Their average build misleads from his hazel eyes that seemed to reflect life. Their name is Aideen Blair, but we call him Scott for, well, obvious reasons.
■From a family of aristocrats. He was always set to high standards. Then why were they in such a "Lowbrow" Highschool. Well, being born with a silver spoon does have its perks. Sadly, his silver spoon could never help his way out of being a people pleaser. Neutrality could be the death of him, never picking sides, even when it was hurtful to others and himself■
The guy he was talking to just nodded and silently ate his food. The quiet brute who sat with a taller stature than us is named Marcus Clementine.
A tough-looking guy with almond skin and a hardy build to compliment it. He bore shortened, deep brown hair and a square face that looked to be made from stone, no emotion ever could be seen under those calm brown eyes.
■Born to be a fighter. A stoic warrior. A destroyer. These are the standards he was always told to believe by every stranger around him. So, he battled with these internal beasts and cursed the body he was given. Yet, he was not so different from everyone else than he was led to believe■
I sat down on my usual corner of the table where Aideen greeted me with a fancy sandwich in his hand.
"Hey, what's up man, a little late but I think Clay and Kaleb already left across the street for food"
I finished typing a detailed sentence of my exact order to Clay, if I sent it to Kaleb, he would have gotten what HE thinks is best for me.
"Yeah, I just texted Clay to get me a cheeseburger WITHOUT pickles"
"Good choice, well I was just chatting with Clem here about-"
While he was muttering his usual babble about sports, I couldn't help but pretend to listen and fall into my usual thoughts. Will this be our last lunch together? Will we continue to be friends after high school? I mean, all of them have their colleges picked out or futures planned, but what about me?
Compared to these guys I'm laughable, or more like a background character who will most likely be forgotten amongst a story.
I could already feel myself sink back to a unhealthy pattern of thinking until I was completely spaced out on my sailboat.
Why am I like this...
■Why indeed?■
My focus was brought back as a shiver went down my spine. I noticed the air ran still and not in a way that's natural. The sky then darkened as if a storm was brewing.
Scott stopped talking because this spectacle caught the attention of everyone in the area.
*WWWwwrraaahh*
What the hell was that siren for? It didn't sound like a fire alarm and there wasn't any mention of a drill today, maybe it was an accident or some senior trying to pull one last prank.
*WWwwrraaahh*
The sky shrieked again but my sailboat was already filled with anxieties on what this siren is meant for. Could there be fire, or worse, a shooter?
"Aideen, Mathew, let's get moving"
Marcus announced with his deep voice and calm resolve. I was going to ask why but I already saw the sight of most students in hysteria, some looked confused while others started to book it for the doors.
Before we can rush to the doors, a loud crash was heard from the inside, a large shudder came from inside the walls, not a moment later a garbage truck came through the wall of the school and onto the courtyard.
I couldn't believe what I just witnessed; thank goodness no one was hurt...
I felt my whole body shake and I woke up from an unconscious state with ringing ears. It was Scott, he had both his arms on my shoulders and violently rocking me back and forth while moving his lips. I couldn't hear them though.
That's when I saw what my mind tried to conceal.
Looking past his shoulder onto the garbage truck, under the wheels was a crushed arm of a student, a pool of blood leaked from under the truck as well.
I wanted to throw up, I wanted to shout in horror, but I couldn't move.
Aideen forced me off my feet and we started moving. Marcus cleared some of the ruble and we went into the school hallway.
We rushed in, battling through the crowd of people with Marcus in the front. I could have sworn I saw a student or two stuck under some fallen bricks, calling out for help as others trembled over them.
The bellowing cries of fellow students alike was the only thing that could be heard echoing around the halls. It took some time until we made it onto the sidewalk.
The streets were already in chaos as there were screeching cars trying to rush by and make it out of the city, other cars weren't so lucky and found themselves into the hundreds of people coming from the school and buildings in the surrounding area.
We now found ourselves in a flood of confusion, but I was too preoccupied with my own racing thoughts, or more importantly, I was looking for Clay amongst the stormy sea of people.
*K-Tch*
Vision of my sailboat was lost because a thundering crack was heard from the sky. Making everyone gaze upon the atmosphere.
The dark sky changed hue to a bloody red with the clouds circulating into one huge point.
*K-Tch*
Another was heard and from the clouds, a vortex took shape. It proceeded to grow until a pitch-black void opened up and ate the sky.
That's when, IT came.
Out of the void came a large, fleshy blob of tentacles, paws, hands, eyes, and festering mouths full of razor sharp teeth.
I couldn't concentrate as other people started to scream in fear while pointing upwards. Then a new sound filled my eardrums.
*Ding* *Ding*
Where they hell is that ringing coming from?
There's so much information to take in right now, I couldn't think straight! When things couldn't get any weirder, a set of black letters floated in front of me. Almost like a pop-up ad.
[Your *** has been called, good luck surviving]
That was the last thing I saw, before everything faded to black.