1 Who?

Who was I before?

I guess that's a very simple question for most. Everyone's always thinking forward but sometimes when the nights went silent, I would lie in bed questioning my past. I don't remember the specifics anymore...

I only remember the countless nights I would spend crying in bed as the world overwhelmed me. The nights I would spend contemplating my very existence. The nights I would plan my death.

I would contemplate those who'd miss me, or lack thereof.

I had wasted sixteen years of my life as I trudged my way through the required schooling. My family never properly supported me. Never did they provide a shoulder to lean upon. I was alone. No friends to speak of, the quiet one.

Everything changed on my seventeenth birthday. I had been dozing off in class. My English teacher having long given up on me, ignored my behaviour as he taught "the good kids".

The Mana Apocalypse.

Who could've predicted something so outlandish, so impossible?

Yet the hell broke loose on the 24th of January 2020.

--=o-o=--

I was nodding in and out of consciousness as the P.A system blared, rousing me from my near-slumber.

"Will all the teachers please meet in the teacher's lounge. This is an emergency meeting. Students, please do not panic, we'll have everything figured out as soon as possible..." the principles voice both holding the usual domineering tone while having faint traces of badly concealed panic.

To my surprise, my ancient teacher who was clearly nearing his expiry date picked up on the urgency of the situation and quickly told us to stay in the class as he hobbled his way towards the teacher's lounge.

I knew absolutely no one in my class. They all turned to each other as they began to gossip about what could possibly be the cause of an emergency meeting. Naturally, they all ignored me as I hadn't even spoken in school in the past few months. Some of the jocks had quickly made their own theories, the captain of the basketball team quickly brought attention to himself as he spoke, "It must be a bear, from what I've heard, the last time they held an emergency meeting was when a mama black bear and her cub wandered onto school property. As long as we stay inside everything should be fine." his charisma oozed out of him as he very promptly settled the brewing chaos of the classroom.

What he said made sense, we lived on the side of a mountain, having spent most of our lives in Canada we had grown accustomed to nature in all its facets. The coyotes who'd sing in the middle of the night, or the trash-pandas who would visit neighbourhoods, raiding them of their garbage while managing to spread the trash across the road in the most aggravating way.

The class slowly began to escalate in volume as the youthful nature of teenagers began to spread like wildfire as they talked with their friends.

I quickly zoned out as I pulled out my phone,

'Mom: 25 Unread Messages'

Just as I read the alert, it continued to increase

'Mom: 26 Unread Messages'

The class rule had been for everyone to turn their phones off at the door whenever Mr. Old dude was teaching. Of course, nearly no one actually followed the rule, most of the students would just turn their phone to silent. The fossil of a teacher couldn't tell the difference so who'd really care.

I quickly unlocked my phone with the fingerprint sensor as I navigated to the Message app.

My mom had been absolutely spamming my phone, out of nowhere she had begun messaging me every few seconds. The number of messages steadily climbed.

"Are you safe?"

"Where are you?"

"Why can't I see your location?"

"Are you in class?"

"Why are you ignoring me!!?!"

"This is urgent!"

"Have you seen the news?"

The messages continued on, the list constantly growing, in total, they made very little sense.

"Calm down, I was in class. Just breathe and explain, you're worrying me..." I replied to my mom's surge of messages.

Without skipping a beat, my mom instantly replied, "Come home right now. It's an emergency!"

"I'm in the middle of class, the teachers are having a meeting I can't come right away" blatantly I lied, I had very little interest in school and would frequently skip, I'd even walk out of classes mid-lecture if I felt like it. I just didn't want to deal with my mom.

"Come home right now!!! It's of utmost urgency!"

"Alright, alright... I'll head home."

Seeing that the fossil had yet to return to the class, I simply stood up and walked out. Most of my classmates barely noticed that I outright stood up and left. Only a few odd gazes met my eyes as I maneuvered my way around the badly organized desks.

It didn't take long before I made my way to my locker. The hallways of the school were long and straight. My assigned locker was beside the office and therefore very close to the teacher's lounge. I didn't really care if anyone saw me so I slowly opened my locker, grabbed my motorcycle jacket and helmet before heading to the parking lot.

I had spent a very long time on modding out my bike. My bike started off as an XSR 700 before being converted into a Cafe Racer. One of the few decision in my life I was proud of. It was my one escape from reality. Whenever I had the chance I would go riding. As long as the roads were ahead of me, the wind blew through my hair, I was happy. I was blissful.

As I turned the ignition, the bike came to life. The soft purr of the engine brought a smile to my face as I headed home.

--=o-o=--

It didn't take long before I made my way home. When it came to riding I was a speed demon. It didn't help that all the roads between my school and home were very windy and well paved. It was only natural that I went as fast as I did.

As I pulled into the driveway, I saw my mom and dad both waiting inside the garage. They seemed genuinely scared.

We had an interesting relationship. My parents would often flip-flop between how they acted towards me. Sometimes they would pretend to care about me. Their facades falling apart as soon as any conversation got even remotely personal. They knew nothing about me. Then the other half of the time they barely noticed my existence. It was definitely hard on my psyche.

As soon as I parked the bike, my parents rushed up to me and hugged me. It felt weird, it had been well over half a year since last time they hugged me. Mentally I jested, 'Why all the fanfare, is the world ending? Who died?'

I refrained from actually saying it since last time I made a joke it quickly devolved into an hour-long lecture about insensitivity and how I shouldn't make inappropriate jokes.

"Come inside, we've got to talk..."

--=o-o=--

Leaving my gear on my bike, I followed my parents into the house, slightly behind them. The old familiar walls holding a few good memories but far more worse memories. The same old familiar smell hit my nose, both comforting yet clearly odd. The house overall was rather large for the area but it hadn't stood well against time. Cracks had slowly invaded the walls as the paint crumbled from the walls. It wasn't much but it was home.

Sitting at the dining table, was my mom and dad. They looked distressed as I joined them at the table. "Have you seen the news?" the light tone of dread covered her words as my mom spoke.

"I haven't used a T.V in ages. What's the buzz?"

Oblivious to the current worldwide panic, I spoke lightheartedly.

My dad spoke in a rather solemn tone, "Not quite sure but... most people think its the end of the world..."