Eventually, after way too much pedaling in footwear clearly not meant for it, I made my way to the cul-de-sac where the dreaded party was taking place.

It was in a somewhat out of the way spot with only a few upper middle class, two story homes populating its space.

Damien’s house, the one the party was taking place at, was by far the largest and nicest. His parents weren’t exactly rich rich, but they were definitely wealthy by our little suburban communities' standards.

Damien himself was a nice enough guy, popular to some degree with pretty much everyone in our grade if not our school. But that was also the problem though, he tried to please everybody.

That meant laughing at the mean and off-color jokes that some of the preppy popular kids would make.

It meant hanging out with the jocks and other athletic students and looking down and laughing at the nerdy and often athletically challenged kids during gym class.

Finally, it also meant befriending and spending time with the stoners, outcasts, and other edgelord types when they're doing whatever petty crimes they happen to find amusing in that moment.

But whatever, like I already said, I didn’t have any problems with the guy, but I also wouldn’t say we were friends either.

The two friends I was looking forward to seeing at the party were both getting out of a familiar van I recognized.

“Yo! Jenni, you made it!” Scott called out excitedly from across the cul-de-sac’s big street circle. Waving his arms back and forth above his head rapidly.

Beth had also moved around to the van’s front from the passenger side that she had exited from and also waved at me when she saw me.

I waved back at them a bit awkwardly from little brother’s bmx bike, wearing a less than ideal outfit for its operation.

“Hey guys.” I said to them both once I got close enough that I didn’t need to shout.

“So you did decide to come after all huh.” Beth said with a boisterous smirk.

“I told you I would, didn’t I?” I replied challengingly.

“Yeah but I gave it even odds that you’d just find some excuse not to. Also you didn’t call me asking for a ride or an alibi for the party, so I also figured your parents might’ve just stopped you from going or something.

“Well I didn’t know you guys had a ride now did I?”

“Yeah, my brother let me borrow his van since he didn’t have any plans tonight.” Scott told me excitedly.

Scott’s brother’s van was an old but not entirely decrepit brownish grey vehicle. His brother had already graduated and now worked part time as a mechanic. He had apparently gotten this van for a good price while working there, and would occasionally let Scott borrow it.

“We even did a drive-by of your house to see if you’d need a ride, but the lights were off in your room. You also didn’t answer any of my calls, so I assumed you probably had just gone to sleep.” Beth shrugged after her explanation.

“I didn’t go to sleep, but I did have to sneak…” I started to say.

“Would you look at that horrifying looking creeper van.” A shrill, but familiar voice called out.

We all turned in the direction of it to see Jackie and her little girl posse strutting up like a bunch of synchronized animatrons toward us.

“And oh my god.” She let out an extremely irritating giggle that she covered with her hand, and even more annoyingly all five of the girls that were with her mimicked the gesture and sound.

It was incredibly annoying.

“Did you ride here on a bicycle of all things? What are you twelve?” She laughed again. Her clone rejects also copied her, again.

‘God I hate her so much right now’ I thought to myself as I balled up my fists tightly.

“Why do you care?” Beth said loudly and striding forward.

“Why do I care? Because it’s both funny and embarrassing. For you that is.” Jackie replied mockingly.

“What’s embarrassing is you and all your little copycats, thinking you’re oh so special just because Mommy and Daddy sucked and fucked their way to the top. And now you think that…”

“Don’t you dare talk about my parents like that you little trailer park reject.”

“I don’t even live in a trailer park you dumb bitch.”

Beth and Jackie were getting louder and angrier as they were both getting into it. We’d also gathered a small crowd of party goers to watch our little spectacle.

“Oh, you could have fooled me.” Jackie said with a smirk idly flicking her finger in the direction of the van behind us.

“That’s not even our van you dumb fucking cu…” Beth tried to shoot back but was interrupted by Scott.

“Okay, guys, ladies, everyone. We’re here to have a good time, drink some beer and do some dancing. We all didn’t come here to get into a big heated argument that looks like it's about one or so cuss word away from turning into a full on fist fight.” He said all this while walking out and in between the two groups.

“Gahh, I don’t drink beer. That stuff's just for the losers.” Said one of the Jackie clones, named Letitia I think.

“No one cares if you drink beer or some guy’s cu…” Beth tried to start again.

“Okay then, why don’t we all go inside and say hi to Damien. I’m sure he’s eager to see all of us too right? Haha.” Scott tried valiantly to redirect, but his forced out laughter made it clear how much he was struggling.

“You’re right, this right here, is a waste of my time. Let’s go.” Jackie said, walking away with her group without even having to look at them.

“What a gigantic bi…” Beth once again tried to start before being interrupted by Scott.

“Come on Beth, I know how you feel, but ignore her and focus on the reason we actually came here huh.”

“Scott’s right, Beth. However annoying or punchable Jackie et al are, getting into it with her will just end up badly for us. Not her.” I told Beth emphatically.

“Fine, fine, you guys are right, she’s not worth it. She’d probably just drown me in an army of lawyers and paperwork if I ever bothered to beat that stupid smug sneer off of her stupid smug face.” Beth replied with almost a snarl by the time she finished talking.

“Come on guys, let's head on inside with everyone else then.” I said to them both.

The crowd around us was also wandering off now that the entertainment we were providing them was over.

“Yeah, let's do it!” Scott announced happily as he wrapped an arm around me in a tight shoulder hug.

I couldn’t help but smile with an irritating blush popping up on my cheeks.

“Oh, also Jenni, you can just store your uhh bike in my van, if you want.” Scott offered.

“Oh, thanks.” I told him.

Having quickly done that, our little trio marched our way down the long drive and towards Damien’s house and the increasingly loud party we were headed towards.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Once we were about ten feet or so from the door though, the most inexplicable and bewildering thing happened to me.

Warning! - Entering a Zone of Conjunction

A bright blue box seemed to pop out of thin air and float before me. I had also suddenly stopped walking forward, causing both my friends to turn and look back at me.

“What the f…” I tried to say before the text in the floating box continued.

Commencing Emergency Induction…

“What the actual f-ing f…” I tried to say aloud again before I was also again interrupted, this time by one of my friends who was now standing right next to me.

“Jenni, are you okay?” Beth asked with a deeply concerned look. Scott, who had also stopped and was looking back at me with a troubled and perplexed expression on his face.

“I have absolutely no fricking idea…” I told them absently as I kept reading the floating words over and over again.

It was then I felt a sharp pain start to build up inside my head that then worked its way out and down throughout the rest of my body. It felt like the worst muscle cramp I’d ever had in my whole entire life, but all over my body and all at once.

I had fallen to my knees and my hands were grasping onto my head as my mouth hung open in silent pain.

“Jesus fucking Christ Jennifer, are you okay!” Beth exclaimed loudly as she dropped down beside me to hold on to me tightly.

I was in too much pain to think let alone respond.

Scott quickly joined Beth, but he had only rested his hand firmly on the vacant shoulder Beth wasn’t currently occupying.

“Jenni, what's going on? Do you need help? Should we call someone?” Scott asked me pleadingly.

And just as quickly as the pain came on, it was gone. What I was left with was a new line of text in the bright blue box that was still hovering right in front of my face.

Welcome Jennifer Morrow, to the Akashic Record.

I couldn’t even say anything at this point, I just sat there limply reading and not understanding the new line of text my brain was somehow showing me.

Had I gone crazy? Did my mind officially snap? I must have, what other explanation was there?

Still sitting on the ground trying to recover and somehow figure out what was going on, my two friends and the blue text box all said something to me at the same time.

“Jenni, are you alright now?” Beth asked me with heart wrenching worry still in her voice.

“Do you still want us to call someone?” Scott asked again even more desperately.

Calculating Initial Physical and Metaphysical Statistical Parameters…

I was starting to feel a little better physically, but my disorientation and unease had still lingered if not grown.

“I have no idea what that was or what’s going on.” I told my two bewildered, but still concerned friends.

“Are you feeling okay now, you sound better?” Beth asked while still tightly holding on to me like a desperate koala.

“I still think it might be a good idea to call someone. That looked like it was a seizure or something, I dunno.” Scott offered while slowly removing his hand from my shoulder.

“A seizure!?” Beth shot a look of both fear and also a little bit of anger at Scott’s theory.

“I’m just saying I don’t know what that was, but it didn’t look good.” Scott responded.

“I don’t think it was a seizure, but then again I don’t know what it was.” I told them while again reading over the now small paragraph of text in the blue box before me.

Once I had read it over for the umpteenth time, a long list of new text appeared.

-Status- Name: Jennifer River Morrow Species: Human Age: 17 Health: 102 Stamina: 106 Mana: 123 Level: Rank: Strength: 55 F Dexterity: 65 F Constitution: 45 F Mind: 80 F Spirit: 50 F Aura: 55 F Luck: 60 F

“I think I’m going crazy.” I confessed aloud to my friends.

“W-what do you mean?” Beth asked me fearfully.

“I’m seeing things. Do you guys see this too?” Asked them while looking back and forth between them.

“See what?” Scott asked quietly.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t know what you’re talking about Jenni.” Beth told me with a pained expression on her face. Her eyes were starting to become a little bit red around the edges and it looked like she was about to start crying at any moment.

“You guys don’t see this bright blue box with words on it, floating in front of me?”

“No…?” Scott replied skeptically while trying to look around the area in front of my face.

“I’m sorry Jenni, but no, I don’t see anything like that.” Beth told me with the pain all the more clear in her voice.

“Oh.” I muttered weakly.

Generating First Class...

Another foreign sensation started to build up inside my head once more.

“Oh fricking frick, not again.” I groaned pitifully to the renewed concerned looks of my two nearby friends.

This time though the accompanying feeling wasn’t nearly as bad or pronounced. It stayed localized to my head, my eyes, and the chest area around where my heart was, and thankfully it only felt like a slight itchy feeling this time.

Class: Magi

Essence: Shadow

“Class? Magi? Essence?” I asked aloud.

This prompted Beth and Scott to look at each other in confusion.

“What the actual frick is happening to me?!”