The patter of rain, the chill of the wind, the sounds of passing cars and their bright lights illuminating the darkness of the surrounding night. A young boy stands on the side of the road, frozen in time at the sight before him, his tearful eyes hidden by the fall of the rain on his face. A man holds his shoulders and speaks into his ear but the boy can not hear the words over his own heartbeat as he vaguely makes out the scene before him: the sight of red, a ruined shoe, a foot, and suddenly.. he awakes.

"Roy!" The shouting of a female voice jolts me awake. My eyes open in a panic, and a drop of sweat beads on my forehead. My vision is blurred somewhat as I gaze up at the face hovering above my own. I blink once to regain my focus and recognize the familiar face of my own mother.

"Damn it Roy, look at you. You're a mess!" My mom out to me at my pathetic sight. I'm still wearing my day clothes from yesterday, sprawled out on my messy bedroom floor full of clothes and loose trash such as cans of soda and chip bags.

I rise lazily to a sitting position and take in the sight of the darkened bedroom illuminated only by the light of the hall outside and the glimmer of my TV that displays the video game I was playing last night before I passed out onto my floor.

My mother frowns at me, "You didn't even take a shower last night did you? I don't understand why you simply accept living in such filth like this." She scolds at me.

My mother walks over to the window and pulls back on the blackout curtains to let in the sunlight. The sudden brightness makes my eyes to strain painfully causing me to try to shield them with my hand.

"Now, get yourself cleaned up and hurry downstairs for breakfast. You don't have much time before the bus comes." Without waiting for an answer she marches out of my bedroom with a huff, leaving me alone to follow her orders.

I sigh deeply, and rise to my feet, my back and shoulders are painfully stiffened from sleeping on the floor. I try to stretch them out, hearing a few satisfying pops of bone as I arch my back and stretch my arms behind my head. I gather together my school clothes from a nearby dresser and decide to do what was requested of me by my mother, though I do so reluctantly. "My memories always seem to find me in the shower..." I whisper to myself dejectedly.

I step into the bathroom and slip off my dirty clothes to start my shower. The hot water is soothing my skin, but my mind is another story, still foggy with the dream I had last night, a dream of a memory I wish I could forget.

I get cleaned up as asked and put on a fresh pair of school clothes before sitting down at the table to eat breakfast. My mother is doing some cleaning in the living room, listening to pop music. A modest breakfast of eggs and toast filled my plate and I ate all of the contents, grateful that I didn't lose my appetite at least.

I grab my school bag and give my mother a wave good bye and she does the same in return before returning to what she was doing.

A short ride to school, the noise of fellow students talking gleefully on the bus to one another, but I pay them no mind, the noise creates a chaos that feels more soothing to me than silence. It's a familiar chaos as I sit alone in the same seat I always pick, staring out the window as I space out to the noise.

"I'm tired." I whisper to myself, in one of my moments of self-assessment.

At school my life is more or less the same. I step inside the building, settle into my homeroom class and space out on my desk as I look out the window. Even in my own life I just feel like a background character.

I glance around the class, seeing the students who are excited about the new school year, seeing old friends and knowing that this is the final stretch of our lives as students and that next year we will become adults, deciding our own futures.

I glance back out the window, retreating back into my thoughts, 'What about me?' I think to myself. Do I even have a plan for my future? Do I even.. really care? Perhaps I'll just end up taking any old job and become an obscure figure in the wide world.

Most of the students, and even the teachers largely ignore me. I'm just a loner in this school, a total recluse. The gloomy kid that no one wants to socialize with or who is so quiet that they don't even notice. That's fine with me though, I enjoy the solitude, the not being noticed.

I feel a bump on my head, quickly the void of my mind snaps away and I turn to face the cause. My vision is greeted by the sight of short red hair and a massive goofy smile, "Hey man! You didn't come over yesterday, I was waiting for ya."

The young man before me is Mark, and if I was to say I have any friends at all, he would be the closest thing. In fact, Mark is just about the only friend that I have.

I put on my best fake smile to hide the inner issues of my present psyche, "Hey, Mark. Sorry, I wasn't really feeling the best yesterday. Maybe we can hang out another time."

Mark looks at me with disappointed eyes and but doesn't lose that smile of his, "Come on man, I really want to show you this Dragon Conquest game I got. It seems like something right up your alley."

"I appreciate it, but I'm still stuck on this part on Master of Machine, I spent all night trying to get through it before passing out on the floor. The game is a lot harder than I expected it to be."

Mark gives me a playful nudge on my shoulder with a slight chuckle, "You'll get through it, you're an flexible guy and a gaming genius. Never once seen you give up a challenge."

The bell rings signaling the beginning of classes for the day. Mark gives me a friendly wave good bye before he steps out to go to his classroom.

Mark is a rather extroverted guy, he's friendly, cool, energetic, plays sports, not at all bad looking, and he's got the patience of a saint to be dealing with me and my firm introverted personality. We bonded over video games when we were kids in middle school when he saw me reading a gaming magazine, we hit it off and we've been friends every since.

The school day proceeds like it usually does, me spacing out in the middle of the class as I stare at the board where the teacher writes down the lessons. I'm not a bad student, my grades are about average and I do really well on tests, I just find school to be so painfully dull that I often find myself getting lost in my own little world and it also doesn't help that I often don't do my homework, making my grades being entirely supplemented through tests and assignments that are done within class. The school year only started about a week ago so I felt that I could stand to be a little laxed in my studies before I start getting back into the flow.

This is my life in school, by the bell, ringing throughout the day and bouncing from class to class, the monotony of a student's life.

I go to my locker to retrieve my books for the next class before I felt another nudge on top of my head. Something heavy is resting itself on the top of my cranium, I try not to move too much before I realize that Mark is behind me again and trying to delicately balance a book on my head. "Mark, what are you doing?" asked in vivid confusion.

Mark hovers his hands over the sides of the textbook on my head and watches closely to the balance of the book's weight, "Shh, I'm trying to see if you're a square, and so far the results are not good."

I get a tinge of annoyance at his jab, but know that this is just how Mark likes to tease people but I still grab the book from my head and thrust it to his chest, "I'm not a square, damn it. I'm just a recluse."

Mark chuckles, "Uh oh, I think made my dear old friend mad at me. Isn't that kind of the same thing though?" he teases again, "you might not be aware of this but I have a mission this school year, and that mission is to make you more fun and open. I'll get you out of your shell one of these days, just you watch and see!"

He jumps back theatrically to pose and show off his dedication to the bit, but doesn't realize his surroundings. I reach out to him to stop him but it's too late and he bumps right into a girl who was walking by to her next class. The girl drops her books she was holding onto the floor in surprise, it causes a minor scene in the immediate area.

Mark realizes his mistake and quickly helps the girl pick up her books, "Oh damn, I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching what I was doing," he says as he reaches for one of the books but the girl swats his hand and glares at him with fury.

Both my and Mark's eyes open wide when we see the angry face of none other than Aria herself, "I can handle it just fine, idiot!" She spits her words at Mark with venom as she collects the books herself and stands tall, as if she's in control of the entire situation, "Next time, make sure you watch where you're going. This is a school, not a children's playground." With a 'humph' she starts walking away, leaving the two of us with stunned expressions.

Mark slowly turns to me and his stunned face slowly turns into a smile, "Wow, I can't believe I bumped into Aria of all people, and boy is she as vicious as ever." He says with a shaky voice yet hidden beneath it is a tone of admiration.

Aria is a senior student like myself and Mark, however unlike the two of us she is widely popular. She is considered the princess of our class as she has amazing grades and most guys believe her to be rather attractive, she also used to play volleyball in the early years but stopped at some point for unknown reasons. She is usually gentle natured and outgoing when speaking to her friends and other girls, but she has been known to keep to herself and can have a short fuse when strangers, particularly boys step into her personal space.

Guys have been known to try to ask her out but many of them would end up feeling her wrath in the attempt. Even Mark has a minor thing for her but has the good sense to not push his luck. As for me, I don't particularly have feelings for anyone.

"Yea well," I say to Mark, "you did just bump into her after all. I wouldn't be surprised if she called upon the legions of hell to render righteous punishment against the guy who dared touch her."

I see a chill run down Mark's spine, assuming he's envisioning the same thing as me of a vision of Aria on her hellish throne pointing a scepter at Mark issuing the command, 'Get him!'

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He shakes his head and turns around to frantically reply, "Come on dude! Don't joke like that, you'll give me a heart attack!"

By the school day's end I start to pack up my things and sling my bag over my back. As I prepare to leave the classroom an announcement comes through on the school's intercom system. "A reminder to all senior students, those who are still interested in enrolling in the Partnership program, tomorrow is your last day to do so. I repeat, all senior students who are still interested in enrolling in the Partnership program, tomorrow is the last day that we will accept applications."

The Partnership program, an ambitious experimental program created by the government. With the growing rise of technology, life becomes more convenient every year, because of this it's been viewed that the youth of today have a growing detachment from reality as they develop a dependency on their devices. This, in their minds, leads to young adults having troubles building personal relationships, interacting with the world around them, broadening their horizons, and finding fulfillment, as well as creating a generation of degenerates who enter society feeling willfully unprepared. So, the Partnership program was born.

Participating schools give senior students the choice to enroll into the program for extra credit. During the program students are paired together into partners and even given a small apartment for them to live in. These partners live together in close proximity in a fully funded residence where they're expected to follow strict rules and adhere to the various demands that will be made of them throughout the program, all in the effort to combat the growing concerns revolving around today's youth, and they do all this for the rest of their senior year.

There are many understandably obvious concerns about the nature of the program and the results so far have been mixed, but there are many who truly believe this program is a good way to enrich the lives of its participants and help prepare them for a better attitude towards their future. As for me however..

"I said, I don't want to do it!" I'm sitting at the dinner table with my parents who are increasingly upset over my current lifestyle. For the past several days they've been arguing with me about participating in the Partnership program because they feel that I am too closed off from the outside world, and in truth, I concede that they have a point, "It's my decision to make! I'm just not comfortable being made to live alongside someone I don't even know and being told what to do."

My father crosses his arms in front of his chest as he glares at me angrily, "Roy, all you do anymore is stay held up in your room. Ever since you started high school you've been spiraling into a mess of man who doesn't care about his life. You can't lie to me, son, I know that's exactly what's going on."

I grit my teeth in annoyance over his assessment, even though he was partially spot on. I used to be much more alive and active, until.. one summer, something happened.. something bad.. something that I just can't shake off and forget about. It happened the year before entering high school and ever since then I haven't been my old self, but I didn't care. I was perfectly fine with continuing to go on as I was.

"That's not for you to decide," I continue to argue angrily, "It's my future after all. Shouldn't be my decision how I choose to live my life?"

My mother chimes in next, "Because we want a better future for you, Roy. Something that isn't about being cooped up in your dark room, playing video games until you pass out. I nearly cried when I saw you this morning, how far my son had fallen."

My father speaks up again, "You're joining that program, Roy. Some time away from this house and having to take care of yourself a little will do you some good. Your partner might even help you out of your shell and show you more to life than the path you're taking now. This is your final warning, boy, if you don't join that program, then me and your mother will take matters into our own hands. Things will change in this house and the day you graduate, you will be on your own. We will no longer support you."

My eyes open wide at my father's declaration, taking in the shock at how easily he just said those words." You'd.. really just abandon me like that? Your own son?"

My father nods without hesitation, "It's for your own good. If you don't want to care about your life, then my son is already dead."

The words stab daggers into my heart. 'My son is already dead' it echoes into my mind and nearly brings me to tears, but I hold them back. I can see that the words also hurt my mother but she doesn't make any effort to dispute them. What they see in me is different from what I see. To me, I'm just someone who wants to float on the river of life, riding on a raft, alone but content with wherever the currents take me. To my parents however, I'm drowning in that river, a man overboard, and I can either reach up for a hand or allow myself to sink deeper.

I lay awake in bed that night, crushed by their view of me. Though the words were harsh, I am fully aware that my parents only want the best for me. They've done so much for me throughout my life and have always supported my decisions, but this time it's different. I know that my father will make good on his threat if I don't do what they say and join the program. I roll to my side, staring off into the darkness of my room. I find it difficult falling asleep like this, my heart heavy over everything that was said at dinner. 'My son is already dead.' The words echo again, over and over. "Dead, huh?" I whisper to myself in the darkness, this time a tear actually falls down my face, "well... maybe a little bit."

Several days later

I closed my locker at the end of another school day, heaving a deep sigh of regret over the fact that I gave in and submitted my application for the program after the discussion with my parents and today is the day that our pairings get announced. For the past couple days Mark has been teasing me nonstop over me joining the Partnership program, "So, are you excited to meet the lucky person you get to be paired with?" He says as he nudges me with his elbow in the hallway.

"Not really," I reply to him, "and no one would be lucky to have me as their partner. You on the other hand would probably have a blast in this program."

"Nah, thanks but no thanks," Mark crosses his arms as he firmly announces his outright refusal, "I don't want that kind of baggage and be stuck with some random person I don't even know and having to be someone's guinea pig and have do little dances for them while pretending to care about the person I'm assigned with. I think for you though this could be a good excuse for you to get out a little."

"Now you're sounding just like my parents." I say with an exasperated sigh.

The intercom comes on again with another school announcement, "All Partnership program participants, please make your way to classroom 314 for your assignment. I repeat, all Partnership program participants please make your way to classroom 314 for your assignment."

At the words of the announcement I can start to feel my stomach starting to churn as I hold my head down in shame, "I really hate this... Why do I have to suffer through this humiliation?"

Mark smirks amusingly and locks his arm in mine and drags me towards the designated classroom, "You'll be fine. I'll at least walk you there, don't think you're going to chicken out on this one."

The closer we get to the classroom the more sickened I start to feel at the prospect of my impending future. Being stuck in a confined space with a complete stranger every day for the rest of my senior year. Thoughts begin to swell in my head over the kind of person I might be paired with, they could be a total brat who tries to boss me around, or a know-it-all who'll flaunt their intellect at me like it's a competition, or even someone who is just so cold and reserved that every day I'll feel the icy stare of their disdain.

Mark halts in his tracks as his eyes open wide, I'm too far gone into my head to even notice until Mark delivers his patented nudge-my-head method to wake me up before I realize what he's staring at: the princess, Aria, stepping into classroom 314 for the Partnership program.

"Woah," he says, "never would have guessed that someone like her would be so open to participating in something like this."

"Yea," I nod in agreement, my eyes widening as even I was shocked by this turn of events, "no kidding."

"Hey, maybe you'll get her for a partner."

I look at Mark in utter shock and grip his mouth shut with my hand, "Don't you dare joke like that or I'll kill you! What if some deity is listening to you or something!"

He chuckles loudly, but it sounds muffled through my hand over his mouth, "Sorry, sorry, anyways!" He pulls me in front of him and pushes me forward. "Now, get your ass in there and get to work!" He says with his trademark big goofy grin.

I don't respond as I begrudgingly walk towards and enter the classroom. There are a fair amount of students within the class, however, due to my profile no one really takes notice of me entering the classroom. I go to find an empty desk far away from the others and settle into it as I wait to hear the news of my fate. "Hopefully there's an odd number of participants so that I won't have to be paired with anyone and can just go home and say 'welp, I tried'."

My hopes were dashed however when the counselor in charge of overseeing the program in this school steps inside the class, a middle aged woman with cheerful air about her, crushing my very dreams with a single statement, "Good afternoon everyone, my how lucky is it to have a full even number of participants this year!"

I bang my head against the top of the desk in defeat, "Thanks universe," I whisper to myself, "really phoning in on the Roy hate train today."

The teacher continues speaking to the rest of the class with a friendly smile, "Now then, thank you all for participating in this program, I'm really excited to help you all become better, functioning adults in your days to come and I hope you can look back on this experience in the future with satisfaction. My name is Mrs. Chavana. I have your pairings right here in front of me, so let's go ahead and start the main event before we get into the nit and gritty details of this program."

And so the dreaded moment came, Mrs. Chavana started calling out names one by one, students raising their hands in response to their names being called. Some of the pairings already start standing next to each other as she calls them out as if it is something natural to do in this situation. The tension in my muscles increases, my anxiety churns my stomach into a tornado of nausea as I know that somewhere on the list is my name. My ears perk up when I hear the next one, "Aria Joyce."

I look about the class as I see Aria, the princess, raise her hand, "Present." She announces.

Mrs. Chavana nods her head, "Very good, and your partner is.."

My heart starts to sink, Mrs. Chavana puts an intended dramatic pause at the end of her sentences and it's playing havoc on my damn emotions. 'I'd feel sorry for anyone to have Aria as a partner,' I think to myself, 'I certainly really hope that person isn't-'

"Roy Walker."

And just like that, my heart stopped. My mind could not process the words that came out of that devil of a woman's mouth.

"Is there a Roy Walker here?" She repeats again. The other students look around for the person, but because of my reclusive nature and tendency to blend into the background, it seems that no one here really notices me at first and I would very much like to continue with that trend but know that I have no choice but to respond.

"Roy Walker, come on, speak up, don't be shy." she repeats again in her happy tone.

'Stop saying my name, damn it.' I whisper in my own head, trying to believe this to be some kind of mistake, but I know I have to respond eventually.

Sighing deeply and raising my hand, "I'm right here, ma'am."

The other students turn to my voice and some are even surprised to even discover that someone was sitting there behind them to begin with.

"Thank you for being here, Roy." She says cheerfully as she continues down the list of names. 'This woman... is definitely a devil in disguise,' I think to myself again.

In the midst of the name calling I notice Aria staring into my direction, as if waiting for me to react in some way, but the opposite goes for me as I sit there staring at her hoping that she stays right over there.

Imagine my anxiety when in the middle of calling names she steps away from the desk she was sitting in and starts walking in my direction. The gazes of some of the students following her as she walks towards me like a person on a mission before coming to a full stop next to my desk.

"Roy Walker?" She asks as if she hadn't already just learned my name from the roll call earlier.

I try to look up at her but her steely gaze disarms me and I feel my own want to avoid her eyes as much as possible, "Y-yea? What's up?" I ask in a nervous sweat, thinking about how I'd like to be anywhere but here right now, even in the pits of an active volcano, or on the front lines of some major battlefield.

She leans down slightly to try to meet me at my level as I remain sitting down, her eyes still never moving from my own, but it helps me to give her a more focused attention. "Looks like we're partners now," She says in a nonchalant kind of way, "Let's do our best, alright?"

She surprises me with her openness. While I was sure that she would find some kind of apprehension to the situation of being paired with someone like me or show off that fiery nature of hers, she instead spoke calmly and clearly and without a hint of malice or disdain.

My body relaxed slightly and I met her gaze with my own. I nod my head in agreement, "Y-yea, lets."

That was the day that my whole world started to change. The day where the lonely recluse and the school princess became partners.