Reapers Of The Storm: Awakening

Chapter 1: A not-so-average schoolday

Groaning under the weight of boredom, this class is a slow torture. Stuck up front, I'm forced to stay wide awake, can't even catch a quick nap without risking trouble. The teacher's drone raises the question: How do they expect anyone to stay tuned in?

Turning my attention to Mika, a burst of color in this dull room, her red hair and radiant smile offer a brief escape. If there's a silver lining to this lousy seat, it's her.

"Hey, Mika, any of this making sense to you?" I ask, hoping for a shared moment of confusion.

She grins, a beacon of rebellion. "I lost track ages ago. You're not doing any better, right?"

The teacher shoots a disapproving look our way, prompting a quick headshake from me. The clock, my only ally in this temporal struggle, seems to slow with each stolen glance.

In a daring move, I decided to risk a momentary escape by closing my eyes. A blissful second passes before reality unravels. Math class and its humdrum surroundings fade into an abyss of infinite darkness, crackling with an ominous energy. Mika's whisper cuts through the void. "Zach, wake up." Her words echoed back at me from all sides.

I try to move or speak, but my muscles betray me, and dread tightens its grip as panic takes hold. Her voice echoes in the void, asking questions that underscore my fear. Another voice, a disembodied presence, cuts through my mind with inaudible words.

"Who are you?" I manage to murmur, struggling to be heard over my own racing heartbeat.

With a deafening roar, the voice commands, "WAKE UP!" Lightning flashes, thunder booms, and then, abruptly, I'm back in math class, gasping for air.

"Our sleeping beauty is awake," the teacher says, his calm demeanor thinly veiling the anger beneath. He points to the door. I grab my bag, sprinting out of the classroom with record-breaking urgency.

The bell signals the end of the school day, ushering in the weekend. Passing Mika on my way to the exit, she calls out, "Zach, wait!" Intrigued, I turned, and we decide to walk home together. Our paths usually diverge after school, but today is far from ordinary.

"What happened in there?" Mika's expression reveals genuine concern.

My heart quickens at the thought. "I don't know, I guess I fell asleep," I offer, wary of divulging the bizarre truth that might label me as unhinged.

"Why do you want to know?" I counter, secretly hoping for a proclamation of genuine concern.

"You didn't wake up; even the teacher came over to check." she observes, her words sending a shiver down my spine. Stuck in that otherworldly place, it seems I appeared merely asleep. Something isn't adding up, and the mystery deepens. I can hardly wrap my head around what just went down. I closed my eyes for a split second, and suddenly, Mr. Baldy was practically breathing down my neck.

Baldy, or Mr. Shine as we sometimes called him, suited his shiny, bald dome perfectly. Rumor had it that he shaved it because his hairline nearly reached the back of his head. We both chuckled at the nickname exchange.

"So, anything exciting happen?" she probed, her persistence starting to give me an odd vibe. Why was she so intent on prying into whether something extraordinary occurred? I'd already insisted I just dozed off. "No, nothing happened. Just your standard sleep-deprivation saga," I replied.

Her intrigued expression melted away like snow in sunlight, and she flashed a smile. "Alright then, see you tomorrow!"

I waved as she strolled toward her front door. The journey home breezed by faster than expected. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.