Have you ever had a really good friend when you were younger? Whether from high school, elementary, or even daycare, and they disappeared without warning? Without leaving a clue?

Like most people, you would eventually move on. Though, you may wonder what happened to that person from time to time.

What if that person showed up mysteriously after years have passed? They became someone totally different? And unapproachable?

They seemed to have never known you, making you feel crazy to think that person was once your childhood friend. Then intensify that issue by having feelings for that special person, who seemed to have forgotten you.

That was Jay’s problem for the past two years. But everything started to change when he left school today with a golden ticket. He had no idea how someone slipped a ticket into his backpack without him noticing. But it had some words on it that nearly floored him.

Hello, Jay.

I know it’s been a while. And this is a lot to ask. But please come to my inner city mansion for my birthday. This ticket will see you past the guards and provide you access to the special afterparty. It’ll be thrilling to show you what I’ve been up to in secret.

With love,

Your Biggest Fan, YoAnna

That was one side of the golden ticket, a flexible and strangely metallic paper-thin note the size and shape of an envelope. It had a glimmering sheen to it, especially when you hold it up to the light. On the other side of the golden ticket was something that resonated deeply with Jay. It made him feel weird. And scared. And very thrilled.

You are Chosen.

“I hope you’re doing this on purpose,” Jay said as he got up from his seat on the bus, his stop coming up. “If you aren’t being funny and ironic about this, I’m gonna take you to a chocolate factory and drown you with all the references I know.”

Jay stepped off the bus with a big smile on his face and his golden ticket shimmering in his hand. It was a Friday night, the end of the first school week to Jay’s senior year. He was dressed in his best black hoodie as he walked up a clean street lined with the tallest and healthiest palm trees he’d ever seen. He was on the fancier side of his small and quirky city in Central Florida, and at the end of the street was his childhood friend’s inner city mansion.

She had another mansion on the city outskirts. Jay had never been to either. When they met in daycare years ago, he didn’t know she was filthy rich. That was back when she followed him around and watched him jump and flip from the highest places he could reach. It hadn’t just been Jay and her, either. Two others added to that childhood experience immortalized in Jay’s head. And out of all four, Jay had been the most jovial thrillseeker. And a bit weird, too.

“Rooftop Weirdo!”

Jay hunched over and slipped his golden ticket into his hoodie’s pouch. He looked away from the fancy red car squeaking to a stop beside him and searched for an escape. The giant homes here had tall walls, arrow-tipped fences, and serious electronic and live security. Climbing and parkouring away from his bullies might lead to worse trouble.

At least it wasn’t the basketball captain. Just one of his main goons. The basketball captain was worse compared to Billy. The main goon and three other sporty jerks jumped out of the car, leaving it idling. Billy wrapped an arm around Jay’s neck, having to reach down since Jay was one of the shortest boys at their school.

Billy leered with a big mug similar to a bulldog. Despite Jay's protests, the bully jerked Jay around and dug into the hoodie’s pouch.

“What’chu got there, Weirdo?” Billy asked, holding up Jay’s golden ticket. “Hey, how come yours is gold and metallic? All I got was a white papery one. And I had to pay for it!”

“You’re not Chosen,” Jay grunted, trying to push away from the neck hold.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Billy wrangled Jay behind a palm tree as partygoers drove by. Nobody stopped to help Jay. “I don’t care if you got a nickname, Weirdo. You’re still a little weeny loser.”

“And you’re a background character,” Jay spat.

Nicknames were a big deal at their high school. It carried a strange, almost magical weight to them.

Magic wasn’t real. Everyone knew that. Jay’s mom treated it as something that could exist, but Jay’s mom was weirder than him sometimes.

Still, things seemed weirdly magical at Jay’s high school. One of those magical things was having a nickname that stuck to you like glue. Nobody understood why that was a thing. It simply became such when their big and fancy new school opened up three years ago. It would only happen there and nowhere else, too. Then when the High School Queen arrived at the start of Jay’s tenth-grade year, nicknames blew up as a big deal at their school.

Jay had solidified his nickname for a stunt he pulled off in tenth grade two years ago. Thanks to bullies like Billy and the basketball captain, it hadn’t worked out as well as it should’ve. The bullies had spun what should’ve been Jay’s crowning and glorified achievement into something negative.

Billy slammed Jay into the palm tree. The rough trunk dug into the back of his hoodie. It scraped a hole through the material and rubbed away some skin. Jay hissed a curse under his breath. He was wearing his best hoodie, and it was getting ruined.

“Let me see that thing.” A different bully snatched the ticket from Billy. “Yeah, this has to be a fake. Why would the High School Queen have an afterparty with the Rooftop Weirdo in it?”

Jay should keep his mouth shut. But he’d been keeping his mouth shut over the subject for too long. “Because I knew the High School Queen before she became that. YoAnna is an old friend of mine. So, give me back my ticket before I find my inner anime power and make you all kiss the street.”

Billy reached for Jay’s neck again, but Jay was prepared this time. He ducked under the tall jerk’s grab. Jay jumped at the guy with his ticket.

Jay threw everything he had into the jump with a ferocity he hadn’t shown in public before. Hell, he had never fought his bullies before.

But that golden ticket belonged to Jay. It was provided by someone special who meant for him to have it. Jay would be damned if he let the bulliest take the golden ticket from him.

A different bully caught Jay with a spartan kick against his side. Jay tripped and stumbled. He would’ve fallen if he didn’t roll with his momentum and cartwheeled back on balanced feet.

He refaced all four bullies, his eyes on the golden ticket. He made another go for it.

But the bullies were ready for him.

A minute later, Jay ended up on the street. He was all scuffed up and beaten and dirtied.

Billy and his friends laughed and hooted. They jumped back into their ride before driving ahead with Jay’s golden ticket.

Jay picked himself up. He looked down at his ruined hoodie. It was an expensive brand, too. He had worked hard for it, suffering his first summer job at the local burger joint rather than letting his mom buy it.

Jay wanted to start feeling independent and capable. Going from cheap hoodies to nice hoodies had been one of his attempts to be his own man. And in a cruel twist of fate, his hoodie got trashed, and his golden ticket was stolen.

Jay dragged his sorry self to the end of the street where a wide and spacious cul-de-sac waited. There were no other homes built around the cul-de-sac except for one. The area was dominated by YoAnna’s inner city mansion.

She had acres upon acres of land surrounding the mansion, too, so it sat further back away from the street. Milling around the area were kids from Jay’s high school or other high schools from all over Central Florida and beyond. A lot of kids wanted to get close to the richest and most famous girl around.

Jay blinked at the shiny and luxurious sedans and sports cars lying around the cul-de-sac and down the street he had walked to get here. Many of the vehicles were more expensive than his house.

Looking past that, Jay saw his closest friends hanging out on the sidewalk and away from the lines of kids waiting to get past the main gate guards. Mike and Lilith had nicknames, too. But theirs were true alpha status nicknames.

Mike was the Second Nerd. Lilith was the First Nerd. They were the top academic students in their senior class and some of the smartest kids in the city. They had proven it in competitions, Mike always coming second behind Lilith, who plowed through everyone in their way. They were childhood friends with Jay and YoAnna, too.

Mike and Lilith were waiting for Jay. They had golden tickets just like him and wouldn’t enter without him.

Jay felt ashamed that he had lost his ticket to some bullies.

Billy was at the front of the line, too. He waved around the golden ticket like a big and loud clown, pretending his name was Jay. He slipped in with his buddies without having to wait.

Jay felt his blood boil seeing that. And his feelings of being a loser grew, too.

He glanced at Mike and Lilith. They hadn’t spotted him yet. Then Jay looked at the mansion propped up on a small but significant hill. Various spotlights shone on the main building’s face to elevate it as a bigger deal than it already was.

It was luxurious. White. Gold. Black. Big and tall windows. Curly engravings and Greek-like columns. It had a whole epic feel to it. That was on theme with YoAnna as the High School Queen– epic, whimsical, mythical.

Hell, the estate even had a giant fancy fountain near the front of the building. The fountain statue was mostly white with black and gold accents, detailing a mystique woman upholding a round plate where a miniature city existed. Water fell from the sides of the lifted city, pouring over the face of the statue and following the contours of its womanly curves.

For some strange reason, Jay had a feeling this extravagant piece of wealth and art was a selective pick of YoAnna’s. It had an air of admiration to it. Maybe something deeper. Maybe love. Jay could only guess. He wouldn’t really know since he wasn’t going to get in. Without that ticket, he was pretty sure he had stopped being chosen.

“At least we’re stocked up on rum punch at home,” Jay said sadly, turning his back on the mansion and his friends.

They would be better off without him, Jay figured. He was the Rooftop Weirdo, more of a loser than a hero. He took one step to leave when a blue box flickered into his view suddenly.

You’ve been chosen—

Then it disappeared. Jay froze, staring at the air. He read as far as three words before the blue box and bolded white text disappeared.

What the hell was that?

Jay rubbed his eyes. He reached out and swiped at the air where the box had been. He felt nothing. He could only recall those first three words, especially the ‘chosen’ part.

It gave Jay a warm feeling inside of his chest. Like lighting up a small but warm ember. Whatever that weird blue box was, it reminded Jay there was more to him than a golden ticket. He shouldn’t accept getting stopped here. If he did, he’d go back to that craziness where his childhood friend existed in the same school but was worlds apart from him. And he couldn’t ask her out on a date if he let a damn golden ticket be the decider of his fate.

He was Jay Luckrun. One of the only two Luckruns he knew. And his name meant a lot to him and his mom. It meant they would never be short on luck. They would stay upright and keep running. And keep smiling in the face of adversity.

Jay cricked his neck and said, “Challenge accepted.”

Moments later, Jay wrapped his arms around Mike and Lilith and pulled his friends close. Mike jolted in surprise since he hadn’t seen Jay sneaking up. Lilith gave Jay an assessing look and frowned.

“Must I hurt someone, Jay?” Lilith asked as she fingered a hole in Jay’s hoodie. It had some of his blood on it from when Jay had gotten knocked down and scraped up along the street.

“I don’t want you to go on the lamb for murdering people,” Jay said. “You guys got your golden tickets?”

“Yeah, right here,” Mike said, revealing his. Lilith did the same. The tickets shimmered under the street lights, all gold and weirdly metallic. Like it came from another world.

Other than the individualized words with their names, each ticket had the same thing as Jay on one side: You are Chosen.

“Cool, you guys can get in easily. Mine got stolen, though.” Jay hushed both Mike and Lilith before they got too upset. Lilith, especially. “I’m not going to let that stop me.”

“If you wait here while we go inside, we can inform YoAnna and get you in. It’s only a ticket after all,” Mike said. He always had good logical ideas.

“Are you really going to wait and let whoever jacked your ticket get away with this?” Lilith asked with an edge. If Mike was Jay’s angel, Lilith was his devil.

Jay was nowhere near as smart as these two, and since they were practically family, he considered their words more than most people. They knew Jay well, too. Very well.

Jay grinned, which led to Mike groaning and Lilith chuckling.

“This is going to be another insane stunt, and I’m pretty sure it’ll end with you getting hurt like usual, Jay,” Mike said. “It feels like I’m in a teenage asylum around you two.”

“I’ll be the nurse,” Lilith said.

“Why not the doctor?” Jay asked.

“It’s easier to blame the doctor for potential malpractice when I need someone to play as a scapegoat,” Lilith said before turning to Mike. “Right, Doctor Zhou?”

Mike frowned.

“What if we start our own asylum where the patients and doctors are the same?” Jay patted his friends on the back, which wasn’t hard since they were as short as him, especially Lilith. “It’ll be a good racket, I swear. If not, we can blame Mike. Totally his idea.”

Mike groaned again. Lilith licked the front of her teeth, darkly amused.

Jay stepped ahead and rolled his neck around. He did the same for his joints. Getting his ass kicked had filled his body up with annoying hurts and needless soreness.

No worries, though. He’d been hurt way worse than this and still pulled off some daring stunts.

“I gotta get in there,” Jay said.

“All three of us need to get inside,” Mike said. “I’m too curious about why YoAnna’s been so distant and aloof. And beyond that, she seems like an impossible enigma.”

Lilith used her fingers to emphasize each point of strangeness regarding YoAnna: “She has more wealth than everyone in this city put together. She’s the main donor behind the construction and upkeep of our immensely luxurious school. She’s the ultimate decision maker behind school activities while making the principal look like a lap dog. She’s the secret Fourth Nerd nickname holder while having special private classes tailored for her alone. And she’s been pretending not to know us up until today with these golden tickets appearing mysteriously in our belongings.”

“I’m hoping she’s inviting us to shed some light on most of our questions,” Mike said. “Let’s get those answers before you try to embarrass us all by asking her out, Jay.”

“Let’s get me in there so we can have our questions answered, then I’ll make a fool of myself like usual,” Jay said. “Come on, you guys know what to do.”

Three burly men dressed in black suits ensured everybody respected the lines at the front gate of the wide perimeter wall. Three sections with gold stanchions and black velvety rope marked where partygoers could enter depending on their tickets.

Everybody with white tickets had to wait in the big line that stretched far back down the neighborhood. Those with the black tickets had their own line that moved decently with a bit of wait time. The black ticket holders were the richest kids willing to drop big bucks for VIP access to YoAnna’s ballroom birthday party.

The golden ticket line was completely empty.

Mike and Lilith were well-to-do middle class. They wouldn’t have been able to afford the black tickets. And they wouldn’t have the patience for the white ticket lines. Without much bother, Jay’s friends walked up to that empty golden entrance, ignoring the dirty looks they got from the rich kids with the black tickets. The kids waiting in the giant white-ticket line looked at the top nerds with envy as the two exposed their golden tickets.

Some of the white-ticket holders begged to piggyback with Mike and Lilith. One golden ticket had gotten Billy and his friends through. Even if Mike was inclined to be nice, Lilith would refuse for them both. Mike could be soft while Lilith was hard.

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Mike cried out and fell when the guards started checking Jay’s friends. Mike started to convulse around, grabbing attention from other nearby guards and everyone else.

“I know what’s happening,” Lilith said, kneeling by Mike’s side to sell the ruse. “Jerking limbs. Body stiffness. Shortness of breath. Oh no, someone, please hurry! Give me a phone case or a piece of cloth! He might bite his tongue and drown in his own blood!”

The gate guards split their attention between the distraction and keeping everyone from sneaking past them. That included some of the guards standing on the perimeter wall as Jay dashed from behind a hedge, kicked his foot up, and scaled the far corner of the wall like a daring squirrel.

The top had pointy tips, but he had his hoodie off and wrapped around one hand to get over without too much pain. It was a tall wall, too, requiring every bit of energy he could muster. But once he got cleared, he landed on the wet grass, rolled to his feet, and got going from there. Quickly, too. There were too many guards and cameras for someone not to notice his entry.

After scrapping his nice hoodie, Jay only had a black tank top covering his torso now. Compared to some people at the party who dressed nicely, Jay didn’t fit in at all.

He ran for it anyway. He rushed across the wet grass, past gaggles of party goers, and to the fancy fountain near the mansion's front entrance.

More guards waited by the entrance, granting nobody access unless they had black or golden tickets. Or they had white tickets with winning numbers that got called in as part of some secret raffle, which gave white ticket holders desperate hope.

It was kind of funny to think about the extreme lengths people would go to see YoAnna. Jay was the type of person who would laugh at himself, of course. He didn’t mind the irony of his desperate situation to go see YoAnna.

Billy was strutting up to the front entrance, waving around the golden ticket where it could catch a party light beaming around. It glimmered brightly under the light.

Jay couldn’t take his eyes off that ticket.

He was in deep trouble if he got caught without it. The guards would treat him like a trespasser. But Jay would be in deep trouble if he tried and failed to take that ticket from Billy in a fight. Billy could claim that it belonged to him and—

Jay decided to stop thinking and do what he did best. Pull a stunt and keep it moving.

Jay ran and lunged, sticking his foot out with the best anti-bully move he knew after doing some research. He kicked the back of Billy’s knee, buckling him hard.

Billy hit the ground with a shout, still holding up Jay’s golden ticket.

Jay snatched it and ducked away from Billy’s bully gang. They chased, and Jay ran for it, leading them straight to the entrance guards. They came down from the front steps fast.

Jay had bullies on his back.

He had guards to his front.

And Jay was sober, so he didn’t have an ounce of chill in him. Jay ran harder and led everyone into one big crash of bodies. Pure chaos. Pure insanity.

Jay threw himself through the smallest gap he could find. He rolled across the gravel, scraping himself even more. He climbed the front entrance steps and sidestepped around a lunging guard. That guy tumbled down the steps and left Jay an open front door.

“Holy shit, look at Rooftop Weirdo go!” shouted a random onlooker.

“If he’s trying to pull a stunt with the Queen, the Divine Four will stop him,” said another onlooker. “Captain will beat him up!”

With Jay’s extravagant school, there could be personal nicknames or group nicknames. Some people even had multiple nicknames. Other than YoAnna as the High School Queen, the Divine Four were the most alpha beauties anyone could ever meet in high school. They were practically YoAnna’s attack dogs, too. They stopped most guys or girls who tried to approach YoAnna without being favored, even if the approachers were rich and famous.

The Divine Four girls were the reason Jay couldn’t close the gap before and talk to YoAnna. But tonight, Jay was feeling the incentive to toss caution to the wind and do the thing that made YoAnna his friend in the first place. Too bad he had to be sober for this, but he would certainly get some drinks when they laughed about this later.

He had his golden ticket back!

And a small army of guards chasing him from behind. It might be too late to show them his golden ticket before they roughed him up.

Jay crossed through the big and spacious foyer. He entered a giant ballroom with music blasting so loud it made his chest wobble. The ballroom was filled with people with black tickets that bought their way into this space. Many of them were people Jay didn’t recognize.

But he did recognize some other nicknamed kids from his school: Band Lead, Superjock, and the Junker Twins. He ran past them on his way to a table laden with drinks and food.

Jay caught a quick and blurry glimpse of YoAnna past a press of bodies and the colorful party lights. She was on a wide stage at the end of the ballroom. Propping her up was a gold regal throne surrounded by hundreds of sparkly gifts. The Divine Four stood at her sides, playing nice while being the last obstacle between YoAnna and everyone else.

Whelp! Time to test that.

Desperation and excitement kicked Jay into overdrive. He jumped onto a table. He ran across it and the next series of tables placed together as drinks and food spilled and fell away from his pounding feet. He nearly slipped a couple of times, having to twinkle-toe his way through the trip hazards. All his years of street dance and parkour were getting tested here, and Jay refused to fail as a wall of guards formed in front of the last table. The guards at his back closed in to keep Jay pinned.

They all failed to realize something. The importance of Jay’s name.

Luck.

Run.

Jay’s smile widened as he clenched his golden ticket between his teeth. He jumped off the last table and over the guards’ heads. He soared as the guards crashed together, reaching hands inches away from snatching him down to the ground. Jay grabbed a wall curtain and kept his legs up as he swung above like Tarzan.

The curtain was just long enough to swing him close to the stage. A narrow lane winding through the piles of gifts would serve as his entry point. He just needed to release the curtain at the apex of the swing and stick the landing.

You've been chosen to become a Champion of–

Blue box!

No!

Jay flailed through the air and missed the landing. He rolled with it, crashing through mini gift boxes covered in glitter and some medium gift boxes with heavy stuff inside.

He didn’t stay down for long. And the damn blue box disappeared again with its white text shenanigans.

Like a dauntless daredevil, Jay got to his feet. He hobbled down the narrow lane toward YoAnna. He wore his patented Luckrun smile. It might be a touch mad and looney at this point. He was high off adrenaline, his body throbbing all over.

The music stopped. Party lights shone on him. The people who knew him from high school cried out and cheered. The theatrics started to reach a crescendo.

The Rooftop Weirdo was here!

He ignored his cuts, scrapes, and hurts. He didn’t mind the glitter that covered his tank top and bare arms. He looked deranged, no doubt. But he was closer to YoAnna than he had in a while.

Jay could see her amazement on her beautiful face. And the memory of their friendship in her eyes.

Too bad she wasn’t calling off her attack dogs.

Fair enough.

He was literally crashing her party. He would have to get past the Divine Four, especially Casey, the Captain.

If he could dodge Casey’s karate, the others would be easy to avoid. Then he’d reached YoAnna at long last.

Casey kicked off her sparkly white stiletto heels and tore a rip in her tightly fitted dress. She strode quickly to put a hurting on Jay. And that would be easy for her. She both had beauty and brawn. She had a lot of height, too.

“Hi, we’ve been trying to contact you about your car’s extended warranty!” Jay shouted at the top of his lungs before Casey threw the first punch.

The joke should be weird enough to distract her as he got around her punch.

The punch was a feint.

Jay’s stomach burst with pain as if someone had hit him with a baseball bat. He bent over for a split second and nearly tasted Casey’s pedicure when she kicked for the second time.

He moved off her kicking line just enough for her foot to brush past his cheek. An opening to slip by her appeared while she recovered from the missed kick. He tried to take that escape route.

It was a trap.

The bigger, taller, super athletic blonde phenom cracked Jay on the cheek with a double jab. Not the worst of hits, but the lightning-fast punches certainly dazed and staggered him. His heels teetered at the edge of the stage.

He could blurrily see YoAnna’s shape still sitting on her gold throne. So close. Oh, so close.

“Wait, I got my golden ticket!” Jay moaned, waving the ticket up so it could shine in the light.

“I don’t care!” Casey shouted at the end of a heavy straight punch. Her fist blew up Jay’s nose in a spray of blood and snot, sending him flying off the stage.

Everything was pain, weightlessness, and a strange cloudy high where everything stopped mattering except Jay’s drifting consciousness. He felt like the center of the world and loved every bit of the crazy journey.

Then Jay blinked awake, finding himself wholly okay. No blood. No broken nose. No fear of Casey beating his ass in front of a large crowd of social elitists. Who would record everything and roast him online for years to come.

Hell, he felt better than all right. He was lying on a really comfy sofa.

“So, it was all a dream, huh?” Jay chuckled in disbelief.

Of course.

He could be fearless and zany in situations where most people would freeze. But Jay wondered if he’d ever be brave enough to face YoAnna and close the gap between him and her that seemed so astronomically huge.

“Maybe I’m not special enough,” Jay said.

He let that sink in for a bit. The angst was like drinking black coffee.

“Is it okay for me to interrupt your distress?” Asked an alluring, sultry, and powerful voice.

No way. No freaking way. Jay blinked and took a wider look around him.

He was resting on a sofa that was probably worth a lot of money. The room around him had big paintings, a watercolor mural of a woman’s face, and dim chandelier lighting.

If he listened closely, he could still hear the party music and partygoers roaring from somewhere below.

Jay slowly sat up and set his feet on the ground. He looked ahead.

Sitting on another sofa across from him was someone who seemed like they had come from another world.

YoAnna had flawless skin. Height and curves. Her bountiful golden hair flowed like a lion’s mane around her perfect face and shapely body. She oozed an ethereal beauty that couldn’t exist in real life– like a real Disney Princess walking out of the movies rather than the amusement parks. Depending on the light, her eyes could look mysteriously dark, inviting you to see something that shouldn’t exist. Or her eyes would lighten into a color beyond amber, so yellow they seemed like two pools of liquid sunshine.

Unreal.

But in those eyes, Jay recognized his childhood friend.

Jay watched her recross her long legs, parting the cut along her glittery gold dress and showing a lot of her thigh.

“Hello, Jay,” YoAnna greeted.

Jay had a brief flashback to when they were little. She had always given him the same greeting. Hello, Jay. Then he’d find an adventure or some trouble or do flips around the playground. And she’d follow him around cheerfully, seeming like another happy brat at daycare.

She wasn’t another brat anymore. It would be easy to melt and become a feeble wimp in front of her. Yoanna had grown up to be the most beautiful girl ever. But Jay mustered every ounce of manly pride he had in him and gave YoAnna a hard look.

“You’re a jerk,” Jay said.

YoAnna flinched back in shock, her hand held to her chest.

“You remembered me, but you kept away,” Jay accused. “Okay, I get it if you don’t want to be around Rooftop Weirdo. My nickname got a stink to it. But Mike and Lilith?” Jay shook his head. “Mike’s hurt, by the way. You two were PBnJ bros. And you used to sit with Lilith when she couldn’t play kickball or anything. What the hell, YoAnna?”

A long stretch of silence passed between them.

“It was for the best until I was ready,” YoAnna said.

“Ready for what?” Jay asked, feeling shaky and sick. He was making an awful impression if he wanted to transition from childhood friends to more than friends with her.

“My seventeenth birthday, and the great challenges and changes that’ll come with it.” YoAnna stood. Jay got to his feet, feeling this weird pull to act. To play a part. It was hard to resist.

His nervous tension grew as he looked up at YoAnna. Way up. She was amazonian. And she wore high heels that cost more than some of the luxury cars outside. Those shoes could buy five versions of his house.

“Jay,” she called softly, resting a hand on his shoulder. It felt heavy. “Big hypothetical.”

“I’m listening,” he grunted, straining under the weight of her hand for some reason.

“If I were to tell you I’m magical, godly, and choosing a group our age to fight against the System Apocalypse, how would you take it? You are the first in our school to hear this, too.”

That sounded like a generic anime plot. Jay would be down to watch it with her. But he kept his mouth shut rather than blurt that out. He stayed quiet for the next series of thoughts that grew ridiculous as time waned.

It was hard to think in YoAnna’s presence. It made Jay feel weak. Like he was going to collapse. And he didn’t want to be in that position right in front of YoAnna.

It could not be helped.

Jay dropped to his knees, feeling ashamed and thrilled. It felt proper to kneel to YoAnna. Maybe he should stay at her feet until she ordered him around and–

“Nope,” Jay said. “Nope, nope, nope.” He got to one foot. Then he got to the next and stood back up. “That’s a big nope.”

YoAnna tilted her head to the side, studying him curiously. “That was a press of my divinity, Jay. Do you realize how impressive it is to resist it? I always knew your willpower is greater than most.”

“Can I skip past these scary tests?” Jay asked heatedly. “I got beat up by bullies. Had to parkour around your guards. Then I got my pride mugged by Casey. And now I’m suffering through your weird psycho stuff after losing my ticket again!” He checked his person and pockets. The ticket must’ve fallen when he got punched off the stage. “Yup, the ticket is gone. Again.”

All this so he could date her.

“Not weird psycho stuff. It’s my divinity,” YoAnna said neutrally. “And, yes, I see. That has been a lot, hasn’t it? I’m sorry about that. I should’ve known the challenges keeping you from me would mount up quickly. The effects of Chance, when pitted against you, is more potent than it should be with a Systemless mortal.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying, but I’ve been through a lot, like playing a part in a crazy action-packed story!” Jay shouted, his disturbed mood flaring until it started to shift with realization.

He examined his face and body with his hands. Nothing ached. No blood. He should be in pain. But he wasn’t. He couldn’t find any scrapes, marks, or anything he’d suffered to get to YoAnna. It was all gone. And none of what he’d experienced was a dream, either. It had all been real.

“I healed you,” YoAnna said. “I wanted you to be okay after letting you get hurt like that. The challenges you faced were significant enough to keep me from interceding but not critical enough to prevent me from healing you afterward.”

“Okay, okay, okay,” Jay said with a slightly looney smile, still confused by what YoAnna was saying. “Let’s test you in return. Show me magic. Make something shine. That’s the easiest–”

YoAnna’s entire body emitted a white-gold glow that was nearly as blinding as looking at the sun. Then the light dimmed and left Jay temporarily blinded until his vision readjusted to the room’s soft lighting again.

Huh.

That was… huh.

Jay blinked rapidly.

“Can you lift things with your mind?” he asked.

“No, unfortunately,” she said. “I haven't trained that set of powers yet. But I’m good at challenging an object's molecular bonds and finding it wanting.”

“That doesn’t sound magical,” Jay countered.

“Science and magic can merge at certain points and– oh, look there. A perfectly suitable sofa.”

Jay looked at the fancy sofa with the soft cushions, pillows, and wooden frame. It looked like something Jay would turn into a nice napping spot.

YoAnna moved beside him and used her well-manicured finger to direct where Jay looked. “Observe my eyes.” Her eyes flashed bright gold. “Observe the sofa.”

She pointed.

The sofa disintegrated.

It fell as a pile of dust, shavings, and super fine particles that would probably get lost in the carpet for years.

Jay nodded slowly as YoAnna’s revelation started to slam home. He could feel the onset of outrage, surprise, fear, nervousness, mania, and the urge to run away. Because she might not be his childhood friend anymore. She might be a radioactive monster who escaped from a secret government site and–

“Nah,” Jay said.

“No?”

“I’m thinking too hard,” Jay said, letting his stormy feelings settle. “Gonna go with my whims.”

“And those are?”

“I believe you.”

YoAnna turned to face him, her silky dress flowing dreamily around her. The corners of her luscious and pillowy lips tucked upward. Then they widened into a beaming smile like no other, her eyes twinkling with golden mirth. It was a moment a picture couldn’t fully replicate. It was too magical.

The doors slammed open. Jay leaped back when Casey and the rest of the Divine Four stormed inside. They had other mean girls hanging in the back, dutifully waiting for orders.

“Queen, can I escort Rooftop Weirdo now?” Casey asked curtly. “I’ll be more gentle if you need me to be.”

“No,” YoAnna said. “I must apologize. The nature of our relationship is deceiving, and that is my fault. Rooftop is a childhood friend. So are First Nerd and Second Nerd. They’ll be a part of the afterparty. They have golden tickets for a reason, so please hold back from brutalizing my Chosen, would you?”

Her voice rumbled mightily at the mention of chosen.

All the mean girls gaped.

“Uh, yes, I’ll hold back,” Casey said stiffly.

YoAnna tapped her chin in thought. “Also, please bring me the Junker Twins, Superjock, and Band Lead.” YoAnna squinted in concentration. “And they’ll be a visitor at the front entrance. He’ll describe himself as a known associate of mine. He is to be dubbed Spook. He has a golden ticket, too. Bring him to me, please.”

Jay had never heard of that guy. Was he new to their high school?

“Then what?” Casey looked like she was sucking on a lemon.

“Have everyone else leave my mansion, please. I’m done with the birthday festivities. It was a nice distraction, but my work and our true purposes await us,” YoAnna ordered. “The four of you will be staying, of course. Captain, Financier, Planner, J-Prez. Is that understood?”

The chosen girls nodded rapidly. They even pulled out their golden tickets from their purses, clutching the precious items. Those things meant the world to them.

“The afterparty will be a small but important affair between the twelve of you and me,” YoAnna continued. “Now see to it that my will is done, please.”

The Divine Four and their henchgirls ran out to follow YoAnna’s orders. Jay watched in thoughtful silence.

“But I don’t have a golden ticket,” he said.

“It was only a ticket. Just me having fun,” YoAnna said. “I watched Willy Wonka last week and thought it would be clever. If lost, Mike could have informed me of your ordeal. I would have called the guards to escort you.”

Jay smiled. YoAnna smirked. They both knew that would be a lame entrance for Jay. Where was the fun in that?

“The Divine Four are going to lose it when I reveal you’re a secret goofball,” he said.

“Not if I always keep aloof and seemingly in control,” YoAnna replied.

Jay snorted.

YoAnna let out a small piglet chuckle. It sounded just like her from daycare.

Jay couldn’t hold it in anymore. It was time to ask the big question. It was time to put himself out there like always.

YoAnna cut him off before he made his move.

“I can’t wait anymore, Jay,” YoAnna said huskily, her voice exciting him. “I’ve wanted you for quite some time. I’ve wanted you desperately. The moment you drew close, you had me exposing parts of me I should’ve waited to show you.”

Oh.

Oh wow.

This was going places faster than he’d expected.

Jay couldn’t stop the big cheesy grin from crossing his face. What should he say? He needed a cool line. He needed the best line. And–

You've been chosen to become a Champion of YoAnna Sainte-Rhythms– the Godling of Challenge and Change– and your universe’s sole Multiverse System Guide. Accepting this offer will put you under allegiance and service to the Multiverse Protectorate Pantheon. This allegiance grants you easier access to the pantheon’s holdings and support from its leader, YoAnna, and those who follow her and are associates of the Protectorates. Do you accept the offer, Yes or No?

THE BLUE BOX!

It appeared right between him and YoAnna. And it stayed with its bolded white text this time around.

Jay read it fully, amazed by all the information it gave.

“Jay,” YoAnna chirped excitedly with a clap. “Will you be my first Champion?”

“Uh.”

“And fight monsters, dungeons, and the cruelly powerful forces that wish to tear up our universe?” YoAnna smiled wider.

Jay blinked.

YoAnna pressed forward with a zany and slightly zealous pressure. It was a far cry from the aloofness of the mythical High School Queen and the goofiness of the secret childhood friend. She was more than those things. She was also a godly saleswoman, apparently.

“This one and only limited-time offer will come with magical powers that’ll bend reality,” she sang with a melodious tune. “And you could be the awesome hero of your dreams. The icon of men. The desire of women. One of the most powerful around. All of this could be yours if you agree to be a Champion of my pantheon and fight the System Apocalypse.”

Jay opened and closed his mouth. He was speechless in front of this divine creature. It couldn’t be helped. That was a really good sales pitch.