The lecture hall, like every other day, was packed, the sun streaming in on the left-hand side, making the whiteboard out front only half visible. Scribbles filled most of board already, and only half of the allotted time had elapsed. Shaking his head in frustration with the illegible scrawl, Norbert looked down at his book, hoping for it to go faster or for at least something to happen.
Norbert flicked to the front of his textbook staring at it. On the cover the words "Network Security 101" with the smiling teens looking back all with thumbs up obviously never having opened the book they were on. Faded by the sun, the cover being marred with the scars of the passage of time showing white, where the previous owners opened and closed the book, the spine nearly giving out, with duct tape attached to help bind everything together and a pinch of hope.
If only he could leave and watch the lecture later, but sadly participation in this subject was mandatory, the lecturer not recording anything at all and worst of all, the light shone on half the board, making it a complete waste of time. Frustrated, Norbert picked up the textbook, flicking through the pages looking for what was being explained, hoping he could see what he needed to understand.
Finally finding the appropriate section, he took out his notebook and pen and started examining the page facing him, ready to make notes, flipping his pen around in his hand again and again, and again and again. Looking up at the time, Norbert rested his head onto the desk, the clock not moving nearly enough since the last time he checked.
"Pss hey Norbert, watcha gonna do after we get out of here."
"I don't know … maybe do the assignment due next week for this subject we are doing? Something I know, Jack, that you have done jack all."
Jack smiled, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't get your knickers in a knot, ok, and keep it down before the lecturer notices."
Both started looking around, ensuring the lecturer had spotted neither or nobody was disturbed.
Thankfully everything was still quiet; the hair standing up on Norbert's and Jack's arms started falling, and listening back into the class.
"Sir, in the back, what are you doing there" the lecturer's voice droned out, creating a final hushed silence in the room. All eyes drilled into Norbert, hoping with all hope. Norbert turned around, looking behind with crossed fingers. Hoping he wasn't making a fool of himself.
Slowly turning around, heart beating in his chest Norbert saw what the commotion was about. With a sigh of relief, there lying on the ground out of his chair was Casper. Quickly he jumped and shouted for the entire class to hear.
"Did nobody else see that, the allowance of others to stand there?"
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The prattling continued, slowly only going to a whisper piercing the classroom with continued reference to things that were not meant to be there, the wizard's eyes showing the truth.
As he slowly slumped in his chair, panting hard like he ran a marathon, a circle suddenly appeared under Casper's chair. Norbert scanned around the room, mirroring everyone's look of shock as the same circles could also be seen. Before a word could be uttered, people in the class started winking one by one in flashes of light before Norbert was also bathed in light. Being consumed in darkness before he could even react.
Ejected from the darkness engulfed in light, Norbert was spinning through the air, the sun piercing his eyes. Wind rushing through his hair, cheeks pulled back from the wind whipping past him. Half blinded Norbert spread out his arms and legs to stop his frantic uncontrolled spinning, causing his lunch to go back up; he stared below him.
As far as the eye could see, a forest opened up to him. Lush and green and so dense he could not see the ground underneath it. Cutting through the forest like a vein of life was a flowing river meandering its way across the landscape. Norbert slapped his face, hoping to wake from his dream of the Amazon below him and wake up in the classroom with only five minutes left of class.
Sadly for Norbert, no matter how many times he slapped his face, he was not waking up; whether it would be a dream or not, Norbert faced reality; if he just waited, only several moments would be left in this world.
With the forest canopy rushing closer and closer every second looming towards him, spelling his doom, the river hidden by the surrounding lush trees and vines connecting them all into a massive web of bio mass, hoping the leaves would somehow soften his fall from being fatal, but fearing it would not be so. With nothing left to do, Norbert quickly prayed to Lady Luck that it would at least provide a landing soft enough that his body could be identified.
As the leaves started to rush towards him, neither he nor they moved out of each other's way. Looking down, he closed his eyes, waiting for it to happen, for his life to be snuffed out of him. He plummeted into the canopy.
Smashing through the canopy, he was hit with an explosion of sound before darkness once more surrounded him.
With the darkness came silence, a silence that was not stopping. Unable to move, Norbert was waiting, was this end? Is this what death is like, just a constant nothingness all around him, surrounded by black with no direction or change for the rest of the years until the cold death of the universe?
Well, thankfully for Norbert, it wasn't as Jack nudged him on the shoulder.
"Hey dude, time to get up and at them; need to get to the next class."
Norbert bolted awake, looking around himself and the emptying room; only a few more people were still sitting down and packing their things. The teacher left the room, with the next one setting up and unpacking his bag.
Norbert looked up at Jack, a smile and a wave of relief flooding his face.
"Man, I had the weirdest dream that I was falling to my death."
"Well, no wonder you played craft miner too long last night. No wonder you still felt like you were falling; too many fall maps to parkour around."
As Norbert slowly nodded and packed his books and laptop into his bag to head off for something to eat, a leaf fell off his head, the size of his palm slowly falling to the floor.
Quickly like a snake, Norbert plucked the leaf out of the air and shoved it into his pocket.