"Daniel, it's time to get out of bed!"

I always wake up to those words. Every time my sweet rest is stolen from me in a sudden commotion as my world comes to life. Every morning I always wake up looking straight into my uncaring ceiling. Still covered in those lame glow-in-the-dark stars, I won at an arcade back in the 3rd grade. I always wish I would wake up to something other than that uncaring ceiling. To wake up to anything but my Mom's excessive yelling.

"Come on, Daniel, it's time for school!" The words accentuated with a few hard knocks on my door.

"I'm coming, Mom!" I replied in my raspy, just woke up, voice.

It's always a pain in the ass to get out of bed. To get up and live just another dull day of my boring life. I take comfort in the sound of her feet, trudging down the steps. Looks like I would get a few extra minutes of sleep after all. After a few more minutes of pure bliss and my door is violently flung open.

"Daniel Alighieri, get you fatass out of bed already!" This new annoying high pitch voice came from none other than my charming younger sister, Julia.

"Julia, what did I say about opening the door!" I yelled back.

The words come out by reflex at this point. Every single part of this morning routine completely committed to muscle memory. What I wouldn't give for something new. Something to spice up my boring life. Instead, my only morning pleasure is looking at my bitch sister.

Julia was a rather good-looking girl for her age. Her body was remarkably curvaceous for a 16-year-old. With the long auburn hair and blue eyes that ran in the family, she made for a solid 7/10. Her nicely toned athletic body only helped show off her curves. Though her shapely body was utterly wasted on her terrible personality.

On the other hand, I was a solid 3/10 on the looks scale and had a body in the shape of a gourd. At least, if Julia's constant insults were to be believed. Not like it really mattered. I was never one for exercise, and seeing as there are no dragons and demons to hunt down in this world, I see no reason to start now.

I wish I could be transported to a fantasy world. To live like one of those anime protagonists who have everything handed to them. If only I could have a sexy childhood friend wake me up instead, or at least a sister who had a better personality than an unwashed sock. I could leave this shitty family behind to go on an adventure in another world. Maybe then my mornings wouldn't be such a drag. Sharp pain in my chest pulled me from my thoughts just in time to see my signed edition of "In Another World with my Magic Holy Sword" bounce off my stomach.

The bitch actually threw a book at me! My eyes shot to my sister. She simply gave me a scowl as I continued to glare daggers at her, failing to put my anger and astonishment into proper words. Our eyes locked in a wordless battle. Both of us trying to send as much despise and hatred as we could at the other. The staring contest was soon interrupted, however, as our Mother called us both down to breakfast.

"Daniel and Julia, hurry up before your eggs get cold!"

With a "tch," Julia finally evacuated from my doorway, and I made my way to get changed. I spent quite a while staring at my dresser, trying to think of what to wear, not like it mattered since my college has no dress code. After a fair amount of contemplation, I pulled on a black t-shirt and jeans and meandered out of my room. As I made my way down the steps, I was able to make out the tail end of an argument between my Father and older Brother.

"…how am I supposed to make any money in this economy? I can't pay rent if I don't have a job, and I can't get a job because your generation fucked everything up!" Tom's voice broke in and out as he shouted. I was honestly surprised I didn't hear Tom's angry rant earlier, considering the volume. Dad's deadpan voice soon responded.

"I'm not forcing you to find an apartment. You are welcome in my home for as long as you need to get on your feet. But as long as you stay here, you will obey my rules. This was and never will be up for debate."

Oh god, they were at it again. Every morning the same god damn argument. Tom's tall and thin form half-sitting and half-standing as he continued his shouting across the table. A stark contrast to Dad's calm and unbothered form merely eating away at his breakfast while he surfed the latest news on his phone. Tom and Dad could never see eye to eye, no matter the issue. Every day it was a new argument. "you're out too late at night." or "yes, you have to attend church with the rest of the family." or my personal favorite, "Why do you always smell like smoke when you come home?"

All of this was just an extra layer of fun to my already terrible life. Before anyone could notice my presence, I quickly scooped up my breakfast and took it straight back to my room.

Not like anyone in my family cared what happened to trash like me.

After I finished eating, and spent a fair amount of time surfing the internet. It was finally time for me to head to class. I unceremoniously powered down my PC and threw my half-charged laptop into my backpack. I grabbed the keys to the old beat-up van I drove and pushed my way through my family to the door.

My Mom let out a final "I love you, Daniel! Have a good day at school!" which I promptly ignored as I started the car.

Stolen novel; please report.

The drive to college was as dull as always, and I made it there in 15 minutes flat. As I made my way to my first class, intro to philosophy, I started daydreaming. Imagining what my life could have been like in another time. I could have been a hero. Slaying dragons and leading armies, winning hearts, and bringing peace to all the lands. I mean, honestly, any world with magic HAS to be about a thousand times better than this one.

I arrived a little over 5 minutes before class and was greeted by the sound of conversation and laughter as I made my way to my seat. My beautiful daydreams of courting princesses were swiftly ended as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Dan, how's it going." A cheerful baritone voice asked.

Oh, great, Zach found me.

"Pretty good. How about you?" I replied automatically.

I was hoping we could end our conversation there, but I had more than a few conversation killers at the ready just in case. Honestly, Zach doesn't deserve all the hate I give him. He's just one of "those" guys, you know. Zach has everything anyone could or would ever want. He's athletic, good-looking, charming, smart, and rich. Not to mention his girlfriend is hot as hell. I honestly don't understand why he wastes his time on someone like me. Cause God knows he isn't doing it to make friends with me. Maybe he lost a bet? Perhaps it's some form of practical joke or prank to give me a false sense of security? I don't know, but I'm not falling for it. No way.

As I take my seat, I am greeted by an awkward wave from my classmate Emma. Emma is in three of my classes and seems to always sit next to me. We study together sometimes, and she is about all the interaction I have with the opposite sex outside of my family. If only Emma was a bit better looking. Well, if she was, she wouldn't be wasting time with me. Emma has long, raven black hair and piercing green eyes that she often hides behind her glasses. Her skin is covered in acne, and she is about as flat as a surfboard. Firmly removing her from the eye candy category.

I promptly gave her a silent nod before proceeding to ignore her for the rest of the day. Emma opens her mouth to speak but is interrupted as the Professor enters and begins the class. I've always found philosophy pointless, but just in case, I give the Professor five minutes to say something interesting before I bust out my laptop and boot up solitaire. Of course, my Professor chooses to focus on Nicomachean ethics today. Just like they did for the past two weeks.

After a tiresome day at college only made better by the buffet-style dessert bar in the cafeteria. I tossed my backpack into the passenger seat of my old minivan and sped home. Now I'm quite the humble guy, but if I were to have a special talent, it would be my ability to simultaneously skid the minivan into the driveway while both unbuckling my seatbelt and putting on my backpack. I've never timed it, but I would be genuinely surprised if it took me more than five seconds to throw the car into park and be well on my way through the door of the house. From there, it's just a short walk up the stairs to my room.

My safe haven.

I burst into my room and throw my backpack on top of my mess of a desk. With my back freed, I fall face-first onto my unmade bed. I laid there for hours daydreaming. Wishing for something to change. It was odd; imagining myself living a better life wasn't new to me. Yet today, no matter how much I yearned for some great fantasy life in a world far from my own, as I stared up at the uncaring ceiling and those stupid glow in the dark stars, my future had never felt so bleak. That's when it all began. The once noisy house full of life instantly goes eerily silent, not for a moment but for what felt like an eternity. Such an all-encompassing silence should be impossible in this house, especially with my family. Mom should still be at home, and I know Tom hadn't left the house. Something was wrong.

Sweat gathered on my forehead. I involuntarily swallowed a gulp of dry air before letting out the breath I didn't know I was holding. Every hair on my body stuck up in warning. It was as If some invisible predator was watching my every move. Just waiting for its opportunity to strike.

I slowly made my way from my unmade bed to the far-off door. I make sure to creep by on my tiptoes trying to be as quiet as possible. To my surprise, I managed to make it across the room without making so much as a peep. Something is definitely wrong. I slowly wrap my hand around the doorknob and twist. Only it doesn't budge.

I really started to panic. Even when the door is locked, it budges a little. I finally threw stealth to the wind and yelled out to my family. Not a sound left my mouth as I silently screamed. I pounded on the door hard enough to bloody my hands. The adrenaline flooding through me numbed the pain. In an act of pure desperation, I even slam my shoulder into the wall, to no effect. No matter what I did, there was only silence. It all felt so…

Hopeless.

I slumped down onto the floor, exhausted from my brief frenzy. Before I could regain my breath, the lights began to flicker. At first, it was slow and rhythmic, yet soon it became frantic. The lights cycling off and on over and over until they finally give in to the pressure and break. A shower of sparks rained down on me before quickly fading into nothingness. Darkness envelopes the room, only interrupted by the faded glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.

A cold breeze trickled in from underneath the door. Like a cold, undead hand, it slowly felt its way around the room before finding purchase on my leg. The wind slowly wraps around my left leg. Its chilling touch piercing all the way to the bone.

No. No no no no no no no no no no!

This is bad! I can't tell why I know, but I do. I run from the door jumping onto the top of my bed, trying to get as far away as possible to no avail. The chilly arm moves up further. Now eating at my entire lower body. I cry out for help. Yet still, I can't make a sound. As if waiting for this opportunity, the wind rushes up and plunges deep into my throat and watery eyes. The cold tearing my body apart. I continued to panic and struggle. At this point, my body is so numb due to the cold that I can't even tell if I'm moving. My mind goes blank.

This is how I die. Shit, it's finally sinking in.

I'm going to die.

I really am going to die all alone in my room. I wonder how long it will take for my family to even notice I'm gone. I wonder if any of them will even mourn me. Julia surely won't. Hell, she'll be the first to dance on my grave. Tom will probably just get high with his buddies, pretend to mourn for a week, then pawn my room off to his next junkie girlfriend. Dad might not even hold a funeral. I'm sure he'd rather I disappear and never tarnish his reputation again. Mom. Mom might actually cry for me. What a waste those tears would be. What shitty final thoughts. I should've lived better. I could have been better. I could have changed. Well, not like it matters now.

The last thing I see is the fake starry sky of my ceiling as death's arm takes my eyes, and everything goes black.