Juan’s eyes burned from staring at the screen all day, but he couldn’t stop reading now. Just a little further, he promised himself, scrolling down to estimate how many pages awaited him. He checked the time, 10:47 p.m. Could he finish before Trin got home?

He already preread the project his chemistry class would complete on the beach tomorrow, and moved on to preview the properties of water. This class's assigned labs annoyed him. He took courses online to get his degree faster, but the scheduled labs in this class slowed him down.

Juan didn’t even need chemistry for his major, but his community college required each graduate to earn a lab credit. So he decided to bite the bullet and finish the lab during his first semester. He checked ProfessorAssessor.com before he registering for classes to figure out which lab teacher would be best for an economics major, and Professor Green’s reviews beat out the competition.

Professor Green, albeit a bit old-school, seemed fair. Juan just turned sixteen, one of the youngest students on campus, but Professor Green treated him the same as the adult students. Many of the women in the chemistry class, nursing majors, were twice or even thrice Juan’s age. He tried to ignore the obvious age difference when studying alongside them during labs, an easy feat since he kept to himself out of habit.

Buckling down, Juan locked his eyes back on the screen. He ignored a sidebar ad for the new GameStation V, and read on. Water is asymmetrical, charged with a positive and negative side, and therefore polar. It can break down most polar compounds, which is why it’s called the universal solvent. The rest got technical, but implied water molecules acted like a magnet, positive on one side, negative on another.

Even when visibly still, water molecules are in constant motion with each other, he read. Juan looked at the half-empty, chipped cup of water on his desk. Seemed still. He leaned in, squinting at the water through the glass. Move, he goaded.

Zoning out, Juan almost missed his sister’s steps as she walked down the hallway, approaching their unit’s door. The building’s thin walls kept no secrets. Trin fumbled with her keys before unlocking the door, dropping them into her purse and kicking her shoes off at the door.

“Hey bro!” she called, releasing a long-held sigh and taking two steps into the kitchen. She unloaded an armful of leftovers into the fridge and then stretched her fingers, adding, “It was asada night at La Casa. Lots of your favorite here!”

Juan just nodded, diving deeper into his reading. He wanted to finish this chapter tonight, so he wouldn’t be caught off-guard during tomorrow’s lab. But Trin seemed intent on enjoying the scant time her busy schedule left her with him. She extended her stretch to her whole body and ambled into the living room, stopping a couple feet behind Juan.

“Hellooo?!” she called out, waving a hand in front of his face. He rolled his eyes, breaking the staredown with his monitor. “Earth to Juan. Paging Dr. Hong, you’re needed in the living room, stat,” she continued, finding no end of pleasure in this.

“Okay, okay!” he interrupted, scooting away from his desk. He made sure not to knock her over the couch bisecting the room behind them. He swiveled and saw her lips droop into a frown. Ah, I’ve done it now, Juan thought, leaping up and giving his sister a conciliatory hug.

“Sorry Trin, welcome home,” he finished after giving her a squeeze. Sometimes being so deep in his studies, with her gone for so long each day, made him forget how much she meant to him. “Thanks for bringing home the bacon,” he quipped, realizing the sudden emptiness in his stomach.

He pulled out his phone to check his LifeLink, and then ate while Trin changed out of her work clothes and showered. Just as Juan thought about getting back to his studies, his sister suggested, “Wanna play some A&A?”

Angels and Archdemons. Trin’s favorite game, she used to play it with dad all the time before ... the accident. Of course, not the new GameStation V version. The siblings held onto their parents’ GameStation II through thick and thin; Trin even let him play Angels and Archdemons with her despite it being an adult-rated game.

Juan sighed - he wanted to get back to his reading so he could graduate faster. Trin spent years working two thankless jobs just so they could stay afloat. He wanted to finish his degree and start working hard so she wouldn’t have to. But the happy gleam in her eye... Plus the scheduled labs meant he couldn’t finish this course for a couple months anyways.

“Okay, sure,” he relented with a nod. He cleaned the dishes while she set up the game. Scrubbing his fork, Juan dreamed of the day when he made enough money to buy Trin her own GameStation V, and a big house to play it in.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

They scrolled past their dad’s file and pulled up Trin’s save, getting comfortable on the couch. The two loaded into the Librarium, the Angels’ headquarters in their divine stand against the archdemons.

As they readied their gear, Juan thought back to his earlier reading about water, and considered switching up his character’s build before they left the library. He’d never messed around with Water abilities before; they just didn’t appeal to him.

“Hey, sometime this millennium,” Trin complained with an exhausted gasp. She always felt comfortable playing as the fallen angel class, passing out healing and debuffs like candy, and never needed extra time to consider her options.

“I’m going, I’m going,” Juan consoled, closing his ability tree. The two jumped into the game, vanquishing various mini-bosses on Trin’s favorite challenge dungeon.

Juan glanced over at his sister; her jaw agape, immersed in the game as she mashed buttons, executing combo after combo. He knew how hard she worked as a waitress, and how much she looked forward to their little decompression sessions. He tried his best, but never felt like he could keep up with Trin when it came to A&A. She used to play with dad, after all.

A couple hours passed, and after they beat the dungeon’s final boss Juan checked his Water tree, eager to spend an Ability Point he just earned. Trin’s snoring distracted him before he could make a decision. Sighing, he grabbed a blanket and tossed it over her, saving the game and considering his next move.

I could keep studying. Or… He checked his phone; 1:24 a.m. Let’s see, the lab starts at 10:30 on the beach tomorrow morning, so I’ll need to wake up at 8:30 to catch the bus…

----------------------------------------

The morning sun burned his eyes too, much brighter than his monitor.

Juan arrived at the beach in time, paired up with a nursing student old enough to be his aunt. He wished he’d slept on the couch, but Trin stuck to it like an archdemon’s curse, and wouldn’t wake no matter how much Juan shook her. He hated sleeping on the floor, but felt even more uncomfortable sleeping in her bed.

Professor Green wasted no time priming the class for the lesson once everyone gathered, enthusiasm lacing his practiced speech.

“Now everyone,” he started, adjusting his egg-shaped glasses. “We’ve been learning chemistry is all about equilibrium. Many of you are moving on to organic chemistry, and will see this applied to biological systems. Others, where are my materials science students at?” Professor Green led, prompting a half dozen to raise their hands.

“This is just as important to you, pioneers of hydrocarbon.” The professor stroked his five o’clock shadow as he stressed the importance of equilibrium, encouraging students to be mindful and creative as they completed their assignment. Soon he dismissed them to explore the beach, and the myriad systems of equilibrium within.

Juan finished the first half of the lab with no problems. His partner did most of the legwork, while he hovered nearby and offered occasional corrections. Soon lunchtime came around - he unpacked and chewed over some cold asada strips on the wooden pier overlooking the waterfront.

The rest of the class gathered here for lunch too, chatting over the break. Juan kept an open ear to most of their conversations, but paid especial attention to Margo, one of the younger aspiring nurses. She and another girl talked alongside each other, at times eyeing a pair of older guys sitting at the end of the dock.

Juan didn’t know much about forming friendships in real life, but being friends with people on LifeLink told him enough. He knew Margo and one of those guys, Jake, were dating from their relationship statuses, and the pictures they tagged of each other.

Jake sat on the end of the pier, thumbing through pictures on his phone with his lab partner Lucas. Just then, Lucas laughed about something Jake swiped through.

Juan didn’t know how, but he felt time slow down all at once. Something was … coming. Juan knew what would happen, even now: Margot would approach, Jake would laugh after some arrogant remark, then she’d grab his phone and throw it in the water.

Sure enough, a blushing Margot approached the men. Jake snickered under his breath.

Margot elbowed in, looking at his phone’s screen and grimacing. “You said you wouldn’t show anyone!” she screamed, horrified. Jake just smirked.

“I said I wouldn’t show anyone at school. Are we at school?” Jake asked, pulling his phone away.

No, don’t, Juan thought to Margot, but she didn’t hear him. Just as he visualized, she tore Jake’s phone out of his hand and tossed it into the water.

Time dilated as Juan pondered his next move. By the angels, why did you have to do that?!

Jake stood still, like someone knocked the wind out of him. He cast a forlorn glance to his phone before turning back to Margot, his eyes flashing red and his fangs -

Wait, what? His fangs?!

Juan rubbed his eyes, was this a dream? No, sure as night follows day, Jake’s eyes glowed red and exuded a baleful menace, fangs replacing his teeth.

“Pitiful mortal!” the fake Jake shouted, grabbing Margot by the waist. “Die with the rest of your wretched lot!” Jake’s muscles bulged with supernatural vigor, lifting Margot and throwing her over the edge of the pier.

Juan froze, a victim of circumstance. A sudden splashing sound woke him from his stupor, and he focused on his surroundings again.

“Students! Get back!” Professor Green called, leaping forward from out of nowhere. He mimed the sign of the cross and mumbled some mumbo jumbo under his breath, facing down against the red-eyed Jake.

What is that, Latin? Juan thought to himself, before snapping back to reality with the sound of Margot’s scream.

“Help!” she cried, floundering in the water twenty feet below the dock’s edge. “I can’t swim!”

Juan leaned over the rail, spotting Margot about to go under.

No!

That’s when it happened.