Just as the sun began to rise over the horizon, its warm light crept through a window on the second floor of a home in the suburbs of Ashvale. The guy tossed and turned as he was disturbed by the piercing sounds from his alarm clock. His name was Kane Ellis, and like every other morning, he was bound to be late for class.
Kane was a tall and scrawny eighteen-year-old with dark, curly brown hair and eyes just as deep and dark.
He moaned and groaned at the thought of losing his precious sleep after a night of studying. If by studying we meant playing his favorite online MMORPG, then yeah, he was studying. The newest expansion of World of Warcraft was released a few months back and he had spent the night raiding the newest content in the hope of some sweet, sweet, loot. However, the loot gods did not smile upon him this time around, or the last few raids, for that matter.
After fighting his inherent urges to stay in bed, he finally rose up and used his collar to wipe the dried drool away from the corner of his mouth. He let out an exaggerated sigh while stretching his arms towards the ceiling.
He dressed in his usual attire, a plain black shirt and sweatpants, before heading downstairs to the kitchen to grab breakfast. His parents were nowhere in sight, but that was normal. They both worked at the hospital overnight and typically worked double shifts. His mother was a trauma surgeon, and his father was a nurse in the same hospital’s neurology department. The only time he would see them today would probably be at dinner if they weren’t completely wiped out after their shifts. As Kane drank his coffee, he made a mental note to check in on them around lunchtime to see if he needed to secure dinner for himself tonight. Better yet, he might just send a text now. He’d rather just know if he was spending his birthday alone tonight.
As he began to type the message, Kane felt a jolt to his brain and a sudden pounding headache. His vision began to fade in and out as he noticed something in his vision. That something was a window that he could barely make out.
Entity data corrupted.
Attempting restore of data… Restore complete.
Entity reintegration will be completed in 17 hours.
Please be advised that during this time, you will become more sensitive to mana and
…
Before Kane could make out the rest of what it said, it quickly disappeared with the headache as though it was never there.
“What the fuck was that?” Kane groaned as he rubbed his eyes. He had an idea what it was, but it made absolutely no sense. It reminded him of an alert or quest window from video games. However, how could that have happened in the real world?
Maybe it’s just from exhaustion and spending to much time online? Kane thought to himself as he tried putting this incident to the back of his mind. The only other reason he could think of was that he was about to jump off the deep end. His father might have an idea, but Kane didn’t really want to worry him— or get locked up in the psych ward for that matter. Kane had always been healthy, not the most athletic, but definitely healthy. Imagining something serious just suddenly popping up like this out of random was a terrifying prospect.
Kane grabbed his backpack, coffee mug, and egg sandwich before heading out the door. His breath fogged from the chilly October air as he sped down the street on his bike towards the main part of town. His neighborhood was on the town’s edge, tucked off a dirt road branching from the main street. Surrounding him were trees stretching as far as he could see, a reminder that his town sat nestled deep within a large forest. There was only one way in and out. Unless you wanted to go exploring your way through the forest.
It only took him about ten minutes arrive at his school, Ashvale High. It wasn’t a large campus, as there were only about a hundred or more students each school year. The school sports team weren’t much to write home about either. They rarely won any tournaments. As far as Kane could remember, in his time served, the football team never once made it to regionals, let alone nationals.
Walking inside, Kane noticed the hustle and bustle of students navigating or loitering around the hallways. As he continued down the hallway, he narrowly avoided being shoved by a student in the middle of some drama. From what Kane overheard, it seemed like someone was cheating on someone. Kane thought for a moment. He was a bit curious to see how this pans out; however, he thought that might be seen as tacky.
Kane turned himself around and noticed there was a blond-haired girl staring up at him with a smile. He took in the the color of her eyes, a deep sky blue that one would easily get lost in. This had become a ritual of sorts in the mornings before class. She’d always follow him along to class.
“Good morning, Dalia.” Kane smiled back a little awkwardly. He wasn’t one to typically smile, he always felt as though his smile was kind of creepy to people. So, he’d usually give a half smile if anything in return.
“Good morning Kane,” the girl beamed, “Are you heading to Physics Lab?”
Kane nodded and began walking. Dalia followed up quickly and took to his side.
“Unfortunately. I spent most of the night gaming again; and I completely forgot to do the pre-lab work before today.” Kane said, letting out a tired sigh. Dalia rolled her eyes.
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“Let me guess, you want to copy my work before class, is that right, Mr. Ellis?” Dalia said while playfully pushing her elbow into his side.
She wasn’t wrong, though. It wasn’t the first time Kane had to rely on her for answers to homework because he had been to neglectful to work on his schoolwork. Especially recently with the new expansion being out. He felt guilty for relying on her so much.
“I don’t know if I’ll let you see my work. I mean, maybe I would this time if you did me a favor.” Dalia flashed a mischievous smile, one that seemed almost devilish. Kane arched an eyebrow, clearly intrigued with a bit of worry.
Knowing her, she’ll likely push me out of my comfort zone. Hopefully, she doesn’t ask something completely ridiculous.
“… and what might that be?” Kane asked.
“Well, since you asked so nicely,” Dalia returned to her normal sweet smile, “My parents are out of town and my brother is throwing a really big party tonight. He said something about one of his football friends bringing a few kegs from their parent’s cellar. I was hoping you might be able to stop by and see me.” Dalia’s cheek flushed as she said the last part. Kane, hadn’t noticed and quickly followed up by shaking his head and letting out a long drawn out breath.
“You know how much I feel weird at those, right? I feel completely out of my element. I could maybe come over the next day instead and we could—”
“Netflix and chill?” Dalia smiled devilishly once again, before letting out a laugh. “Just teasing… My brother would be home anyway. You know how Chase get’s when I’m alone with a guy friend.”
“Annoying and overreaching?” Kane clarified.
“I would say ‘overprotective’ if anything. But seriously, I’ll let you copy off me this time, but, please at least try. I’d really like to see you tonight if you can.” Dalia look up at Kane pretending to pout. Kane gave up in that instance, there’s really no point in battling her once she gets an idea in her head. If he refused this time, she’d probably keep asking him throughout the day through text.
"Fine, fine. I'll swing by for a bit, but don't expect me to stay long. I’m just not great at parties," Kane said, quickly changing the subject. "So, about that pre-lab?"
“Here, just hurry up. Class starts in ten minutes.” Dalia said as she shuffled through her backpack to grab a pink folder labelled Physics and handed it to Kane.
Kane thanked her as he found an empty spot between lockers to sit between. He shuffled through his belongings to find his own sheet and began copying the answer. At the same time, he tried to make it look as his own original work.
“I’ll see you in class then,” Dalia said before walking away, leaving Kane to his own devices.
As the school day came to an end, Kane found himself sitting alone in the cafeteria courtyard. It was his free period and he had been craving a moment of silence and reflection. Something he wouldn’t be able to get in his homeroom. He thought back to this morning and the hallucination he had. As much as he was convinced it some sort of trick his mind was playing on him due to his self-imposed sleep deprivation. He also felt the message had been to real in the moment, especially how it was accompanied by a headache.
The message honestly did remind him of a video game dialog window. The same ones you’d see when interacting with an NPC, or non-playable character. It was often used as system alerts as well, such as a world boss appearing somewhere on the map or some kind of special zone quest you’d happen to run into when exploring hidden locations and chancing upon some scene or object of mystery. However, there was also a strange familiarity he felt towards it. Almost as though he’d seen it somewhere that wasn’t a video game before.
But then again, if this was real to him, did that mean there was something strange going on in his mind? Was he becoming sick with some mental ailment? Just thinking about this made him shiver in fear. The one thing that he feared, if anything, was not being able to control his own thoughts and slipping away from reality.
Kane’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden notification from his phone. It was his mother, responding to his text earlier.
8:04 AM
Me:
Hey, are you and dad going to be home tonight?
3:12 PM
Mom:
Yes, we’re both getting off early to celebrate. Want me to pick up a cake?
3:12 PM
Me:
That sounds great, if it’s not too much trouble.
3:13 PM
Me:
Also, ice cream or chocolate would be fine if you’re just grabbing something quick. Love ya!
And with that she’s probably back to work. It’s kind of odd they were both able to get off tonight. Did they have something planned? Kane wondered. It was rather rare that they could both get off to spend time with him. Normally it was just him and either his mother or father.
Noticing the time, Kane realized he was out here for longer than he’d wanted to be. School was going to be over in a few minutes, so he figured that he should start heading out anyway. It was the weekend, and he wanted to spend at least a little time with his parents before that party.
Kane then realized something crucial. He hadn’t asked his parents about going out tonight. He didn’t think it’d be an issue, but what if they wanted to do something like go to a movie or out for dinner? There’s also the case they could just say no as well. Even though he was turning eighteen, he was still living in their home. A part of Kane hoped they would say no, but he’d also hate breaking a promise to Dalia.
Kane pulled out his cellphone and began typing another message. Kane paused, and placed the phone back in his pocket.
It’ll probably be better if I ask later, during dinner. The party won’t be until nine anyway, so, there’s still plenty of time.
Kane stepped out of the cafeteria and into the hallway, now buzzing with students. At the end of the day, the space always felt chaotic—everyone packed in tight, rushing toward the main exit. Once outside, Kane walked to the bike rack, unlocked his bike, and pedaled away from the school, eager to escape the rush of the student body.