I was sitting in a hot tub, two girls by my side. I turned to one—a blonde with a big rack—who giggled as she placed a cherry in my mouth.
Clang.
I turned my head the other way. The other girl smiled and leaned in, pressing her lips against mine. We started making out.
Clang.
What the hell? The girl I was kissing began to fade away.
I turned back. The blonde was gone, too. And right in front of me, the resort itself started dissolving into nothingness.
I woke up.
Clang.
"Jay!"
A voice yelled from outside my window.
I groaned. "Claire, I'm going to kill you," I muttered through gritted teeth. Begrudgingly, I rolled out of bed and trudged toward the window, opening it.
A rock immediately flew toward my face, hitting me square between the eyes.
"Dammit, Claire! Stop throwing rocks at my window!"
I looked down to see my childhood friend, Claire, stifling a laugh, a handful of pebbles still in her grasp. Her shoulder-length navy hair swayed in the wind, and her emerald-green eyes gleamed under the morning sun.
She was already in her school uniform, her backpack slung over one shoulder. That's when it hit me.
"I'm late for school, aren't I?"
"Yes, dumbass. And on the first day, too! I've been throwing rocks for ten minutes. You're lucky I was having fun, or I would've left already."
"I'll be down in a sec."
I shut the window and rushed to get dressed. My uniform was buried somewhere in the back of my closet, unwashed since before summer break. I threw it on anyway.
Snatching my bag, I bolted downstairs.
In the kitchen, I slapped together a quick sandwich. The house was quiet—my parents had already left for work, and my sister was at school. I grabbed the sandwich and stepped outside, locking the door behind me.
"Took you long enough," Claire said, arms crossed, leaning against the wall of my house.
"Yeah, yeah," I muttered, already heading in the direction of our school.
"Hey, wait up!" Claire jogged to catch up, falling into stride beside me.
"So, you ready to graduate?" she asked, watching the wind rustle the leaves along the pathway.
"Yeah, it can't come soon enough. Crazy we're already seniors." I replied
"Yeah, I'm surprised you made it this far with your terrible grades," she teased, grinning.
"Hey, it's not like your grades are any better!"
"Please." She rolled her eyes. "I always have and always will be better than you" Then, before I could react, she snatched the sandwich right out of my hand.
"Hey! I was gonna eat that!"
Too late. It was already halfway gone.
"What was that?" she asked, feigning innocence through a full mouth.
I sighed. "Nothing."
The rest of the walk passed uneventfully.
We arrived at Greenview High just in time for homeroom.
"We made it," Claire said smugly, marching up the steps toward the entrance.
I followed her inside to our designated classroom. The desks were arranged in neat rows, occupied by familiar faces—we'd all grown up in the same city, attended the same schools. The whiteboard at the front of the room had a teacher's desk to its right.
"Welcome," our teacher greeted us with a smile. "You're just in time. Sit wherever you'd like."
He was a tall man, athletic build, short hair—looked more like a coach than a teacher. Claire shrugged and found a seat in front of our good friend Mark. I sat next to her just as the bell rang.
Mark tapped my shoulder, and I turned. He held out his fist, smirking. I smirked back and bumped it with my own.
"Ready for another thrilling school year, Jay?" He asked me with a grin
"What I'm really ready for is this to be over with."
"You said it," he chuckled. "Though, I gotta say, there are some new transfers who just might make this year bearable."
He nodded toward the front of the room. Following his gaze, I spotted a blonde girl with striking blue eyes.
We looked back at each other and grinned.
"You know, I always admire how you can find the good in any crappy situation," I said.
Mark laughed. Claire, meanwhile, palmed her face. "I'm surrounded by idiots."
"Alright, class, settle down," the teacher called out. The chatter died down as he continued. "My name is Mr. Whitaker, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for your final year. Every morning, we'll meet here for about an hour. I'll take attendance, make announcements, and sometimes we'll do small activities."
He picked up a stack of papers from his desk. "Mostly, though, this class is just to get you ready for the day."
After introductions and going over expectations, Mr. Whitaker cleared his throat.
"So, as you may or may not know, seniors are required to participate in an extracurricular activity to graduate." He lifted the papers. "These are lists of all the available clubs. If you're already part of an athletic team, don't worry—that fulfills the requirement, too."
Claire grinned and made a fist in celebration.
Mr. Whitaker began passing out the lists. When he reached us, he handed one to me and Mark, then turned to Claire.
"I don't need one," she said confidently, crossing her arms. "I'm on the soccer team."
"Oh, okay then." He moved on.
"You're awfully proud of a team that didn't win a single game last year," Mark quipped, laughing at his own remark.
Claire's grin vanished instantly. "Why you…!" she seethed, clenching her fists.
I decided to interrupt before she could strangle him. "I wonder what club I should join. Probably something easy, huh?"
"Typical Jay, always taking the easy way out," Claire scoffed.
"I don't know, sounds smart to me," Mark said. "Though I already have my mind set on a club."
"And what club would that be?" Claire asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Theater club." Mark grinned.
Claire raised an eyebrow. "You? In theater?"
"Hear me out! It has the hottest girls in school and they're talented. What more could a guy ask for?"
"But you don't even know how to act," I pointed out.
"How hard could it be? And if it is hard, I'll just be the prop guy or something. Problem solved."
"Yeah…" I replied, unconvinced.
Claire smirked. "How about you join the supernatural conspiracy club? Sounds about right for your level of brainpower."
"Hey, that's—" I glanced at the list in her hands, realizing she had swiped my paper without me noticing. "...Actually not a bad idea. Sounds easy."
"Sounds like a sausage fest full of fantasy-loving nerds," Mark said. "I'll stick to theater club."
"Suit yourself," I shrugged, checking the date of the club's first meeting.
After school today…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rest of the school day came and went. After it was all done, I bid my friends farewell. They had made plans to go to the mall, but I declined, seeing as I had a club to attend. They understood and decided to go without me.
I left the classroom and headed toward the club. Having been at this school for years, I already knew where it was. I arrived at the unsuspecting door and gave it a knock.
I waited for a reply, but there was no answer. I knocked again, still no answer.
"Hello? I'm here for the supernatural club," I called out, but there was only silence in response.
Shrugging, I opened the door myself and walked in, closing it behind me.
The room was dark, the windows covered with heavy curtains. In the center of the small room was a table, four chairs on each side.
"Hello?" I asked, stepping forward toward the table.
On the table sat a glass cage, and inside, a small black kitten with two small horns scratched at the glass. It looked at me with an almost pleading gaze, as though asking to be let out. I felt a pang of sympathy and, doing what any kind-hearted person would do, I decided to help.
I opened the top of the cage and gently lifted the kitten out. It didn't seem to react as I moved it, almost as if it had resigned itself to the situation. Setting it on the table, the kitten looked up at me expectantly.
I stared at it for a moment, confused, before realizing what it wanted. Without thinking, I scratched behind its ears. It purred in response.
I smiled, enjoying the moment. For a minute or two, I just kept scratching, grinning as the kitten purred contentedly.
"You're so cute, aren't you—Ah!"
Suddenly, the kitten bit my finger.
I jerked my hand back, staring at the small wound as a sharp pain throbbed in my finger. "You little... little…"
Before I could finish my sentence, a wave of dizziness hit me. My vision blurred, my eyes rolled to the back of my head.
Then, everything went black.