Waking up in the morning is something everyone has to deal with, though, for someone like Marcus Veridan, he wishes that it wasn't so lonely. Exiting his room to go to the kitchen, he makes himself some coffee and eggs as he gets ready for the day. While other families would have family pictures decorating their house, the house Marcus resides in has none of those, instead the only thing hanging on the walls are the same paintings that were there when it was being sold.
As Marcus glances around the dull, lifeless house he notices that there isn't even a note on the kitchen counter anymore, the one thing his parents have done for him each day, is now just a footnote in his memory. Marcus sighs as he finishes eating his breakfast and notices he's getting a call from Ronnie, he decides to answer it.
"Yo Marcus! How's your weekend?" Ronnie asks on the other end of the phone.
"Oh it's fine," Marcus states, "just the same as usual."
"Ah I see, but hey, you excited for the gala tonight?"
"Wait that's tonight?! I thought it was in December."
"It is December, I guess you just lost track of time," Ronnie jokingly states.
"Hah very funny man, but yeah I'll see you at the meetup spot tonight," Marcus states.
"Sounds good!" Ronnie states before hanging up.
As Marcus thinks to himself he realizes that he's always been well aware of what day it is, each year he tends to remember the day, time, week, and even the weather pretty easily. Though to him, he figures that this is just a byproduct of just spending so much time having fun that he just lost track. Ever since he founded the club, he's gotten to know so many people, gotten to be friends with people he never even imagined being friends with, and now that the club's done some pretty noteworthy things, many people are coming to the clinic nowadays to ask for help. It's usually just small things like help with homework, but it's still fun for Marcus. Even their new member, Cameron seems to be enjoying the club, even if he doesn't show up to all the meetings.
However, as Marcus steps outside to get some fresh air, he wonders to himself if the people he considers to be friends, see him the same way. As he exits his house he looks up to see that snow is falling, making this the first snowfall of the season.
"I'm telling you we didn't need that couch!" Someone yells.
Marcus looks around to see that there are three people all trying to lift a couch into the house next door. One of them is a teenage girl around his age that has long black hair with purple highlights, white skin, blue eyes, and is wearing an old gray hoodie and some black sweatpants. Another one is a teenage boy with ginger hair so messy it looks like he just got out of bed, green eyes, white skin with freckles all around, sharp teeth, one of their eyebrows has a slit, and he's wearing a white hoodie with black stripes on the sleeves, blue jeans, and red converse. The final person trying to help lift the couch is a big muscular man with dark skin, brown eyes, and is wearing a red durag, a white t-shirt over a black leather jacket, and ripped jeans.
"Okay, how was I supposed to know that this thing was heavier than Graham," the ginger teen defends himself, "besides it's super comfy!"
As Marcus watches them, he figures it would just be best to let them handle things themselves, but just as he's about to head back inside he thinks about his friends, and how they would probably lend a hand. So he walks on over and asks, "You guys need a hand with that couch?"
After several failed attempts, the group of four finally manage to put the couch into the house and the four are all resting on the couch.
"I almost broke my arm trying to lift that," the man in the durag says.
"Yeah that was tough," Marcus says.
"Thanks for the help...sir?" the girl with long black hair says.
"Oh, I'm Marcus Veridan."
"I see, thanks, Marcus. My name's Vanessa Deli, and those two are Blanko Deck & Graham Dirt," Vanessa, the girl with the long black hair, replies.
"You really had to tell him our last names?" Blanko, the ginger teen, questions.
"The kid is our neighbor," Graham, the man in the durag, retorts.
"So, what brings you guys to the neighborhood?" Marcus asks.
"Oh we're just staying for a little bit then heading out," Vanessa explains, "I need to get to the MSA Winter Gala while those two gotta go around town."
"I see," Marcus says.
The MSA Winter Gala is an annual event where a titan of the fashion industry, The Moon Shadow Affiliate, holds a gala to showcase upcoming releases. All of it is located in the northern borough of Starlight City, the one where Marcus & everyone who attends Starlight High resides. The Moon Shadow Affiliate often gives out free clothes and donations to anyone who comes and it's surprisingly cheap for residents to get in, so much so that they even give out free tickets to some.
"Oh, have you paid for a ticket already?" Marcus asks.
"No, I don't think I can. They get sold out pretty quickly," Vanessa says.
"Well lucky for you, I have an extra one," Marcus says as he hands Vanessa a free ticket.
"You're just gonna give this to me?!" Vanessa asks stunned.
"I already bought a ticket when I got a free one, so I've been meaning to give it to someone," Marcus says.
Vanessa doesn't know what to say however Graham clears his throat and states, "Thanks we really appreciate the gift, though we need to go return our moving truck since we rented it."
"Oh, okay, it was nice meeting you guys and I'll see you at the Gala, Vanessa!" Marcus says as he leaves.
As Marcus leaves, the trio waits for the door to close before Blanko lets out a sigh of relief, "Well, he just made things a whole lot easier for us, huh?"
________________
"So you guys want to listen to my SoundCloud?" X Locke asks.
X Locke was walking down the crowded street with Ronnie, Alex, Elizabeth, & Cameron during the night. The group is all heading to the MSA Winter Gala, with everyone excited for one reason or another, but the main one being getting free clothes.
"Since when did you make music?" Elizabeth asks.
"For a while, I've got a pretty nice singing voice, if I get enough listens I might be able to make it big," X says.
"Yeah, too bad you have a face for radio though," Alex replies causing Ronnie & Cameron to both snicker.
"Wow, I was just trying to have a civil conversation with you guys for once," X states, "especially since I'll be next to you guys."
"Yeah maybe some other time," Ronnie suggests.
As they reach the gala, they look to see Marcus already at the front waiting for them.
"Sorry we're late, X decided to tag along at the last minute," Elizabeth explains.
"It's fine, I just got here," Marcus explains.
As the group heads inside, Marcus looks around and notices that Vanessa isn't anywhere to be seen. As that thought lingers in his head, he follows everyone into the building and into the exhibition hall, where several chairs are put in front of a huge stage with a golden statue of the letters "MSA" at the back of the stage.
As they all make their way through the crowd to find a spot, Ronnie begins to talk to Marcus by saying, "You know the guy who works with my mom at the tattoo shop?"
"Oh you mean Santiago?" Marcus asks.
"Yeah him, well they're both going to be models for the gala tonight!" Ronnie whispers with a grin on his face.
"How'd that even happen?"
"Oh, I'll tell you later, the thing's starting."
As the lights begin to dim a man walks up on stage, that man being MSA spokesperson & fashion designer, Ronald Sampson. He's wearing a beige jacket covered in a flower pattern over a blue button-up & black tie, black round sunglasses, black pants, black dress shoes, and a silver ring on his pointer finger. The crowd begins to cheer as Ronald takes the mic and starts to speak.
"Hello everyone and welcome to the 2013 MSA Winter Gala, usually these are hosted by our president, but for this year, I've been given the grand honor of hosting, so I hope I do a good job," Ronald explains, "We've got a lot of things to show off today so let's start right away with our first model!"
The crowd cheers as a person walks onto the stage. The crowd's cheers turn to confusion as the person who is walking on stage is wearing clothes that are dirty and clearly experienced some wear & tear. The confusion turns to panic as the person who just entered the stage runs towards Ronald and decks him over the head with a blunt object. As people begin to panic, Marcus looks at the stage in shock at the person who just attacked the speaker.
"Vanessa?!"
See You Next Chapter!~