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CHAPTER 3: MARIGOLD

Imagine waking up to a sandpaper tongue licking your nose. I open my eyes and witness my Russian Blue cat, Gary, on my chest. When I move, he walks to the end of my bed. I turn, pick up my phone, and notice it's a little after 9 AM. This means that it's a little after 11:00 AM there in Texas. My flight takes off at 2:00 PM, which means I need to hurry up, shower, and get a bite to eat. There's no telling how heavy the traffic is currently in Toronto.

On my dresser, there's a picture of Kimi and I's photo booth picture from Six Flags that we took two summers ago. Kimi's hair was shorter back then and she has lost quite a bit of weight. She still thick though! I chuckle to myself and put the picture back down.

"Meow."

I see Gary stretching his paws at the end of my bed. I pick him up and hold him while I kiss his chubby forehead.

I thought this morning would be a little more exciting, but after receiving the call from Amy about Kimi...

I'm more anxious to get there than anything. All of the incidents are happening in the United States. Should I still come? Would it be safer if I just stayed here?

Come on, Mari, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't go? You're just scared, and that's okay, but we are all in this together. Plus, I know I'd be a shitty best friend to Kimi if I didn't come, and I know she probably needs me the most right now.

Discord notification for an incoming call starts to ring on my pc.

I get up and sit down at my desk. I grab my glasses from my rainbow case and place them on after putting a beanie over my messy lavender-dyed hair.

I look to see that it's Tony, one of the triplets. I go ahead and answer before it stops ringing.

Tony's profile pic changes from his cheerleader portrait to his webcam.

"Hey, beautiful!"

"Hey, Tony the Tiger! What's up?"

"MG, I love you, but I hate that name. You know it sounds cringe as fuck, right?"

I giggle and shake my head. "Oh well, I don't care."

Tony seems to be normal after hearing about the incident with Kimi. I'm sure he cares and is most likely on his way to Texas with his siblings, but sometimes Tony can be confusing.

"Hey, are you alright? I know Kimi is like your best friend, and I care about her too, but how are you taking this? Like everything? I've been worried since my sister told everyone, and Echo and she have been really on edge."

I can tell how serious Tony is in his voice. Most of the group thinks he can be immature or joke too much, but Tony and I have gotten to know one another since Amy hired him as our moderator. I think there's more to Tony than most give credit to him.

"To be honest, I almost didn't want to come anymore. Is that bad?"

Tony's eyes widened with disbelief, and he moved closer to the webcam as he spoke.

"You were going to cancel? MG, I know it's scary, and to be honest, I get it. However, the group believes it would be safer and best if we were all together. I know you're the only stream team member of Gameraza out of the country, but what if this murder has someone over there? We received our threat, and they used Kimi to do it."

My cheeks started to get hot, and I began to peel off my nail polish. I always do this when I get anxious or frustrated. Mari, do not cry.

"Tony, I know. That's why I am still coming. Jason is actually on the way to Texas right now from Illinois. He left a couple hours ago and texted me before he started driving. He offered to pick me up from the airport, but I told him to just go straight to the hotel and rest."