Authors of the Millennium

The just-risen sun painted a rosy hue across the sky. Thus, the tranquility of morning made it hard for Christian to get up. The choir of birds singing him a lullaby, as if the birds were casting a magic spell to him. He rubbed his bleary eyes, taking constant respiration for a few minutes. "I still have a lot of time before my shift." He said, releasing a big yawn while stretching his arms mid-air. He reached for his mobile phone located at the desk beside his bed. Pressing the power button, his lock screen welcomed him. "Read Write Outline" He read the set of words encoded. He felt relaxed, but not until he saw the time. "Did I just not wake up in accordance to my alarm?" He said to himself. He is an hour late already. Considering that he takes long showers, the fact that he loves to savor his food, it would take him ages. He groaned out of frustration, so he decided to send an e-mail to the company. An e-mail stating that he would be absent for this day, with a reason for; he is still sick. He exhaled a sigh of disappointment, as he goes back to his bed.

All of a sudden, his phone rings. It was Chelsea who is calling him. "What's her deal in the morning." He shrugged before answering the phone call. "What do- "He was cut off by an immediate response from the other line. "We're coming to your house." Christian was startled. He doesn't know what to react, or what to say. He couldn't find the right word. "W-what did you say?" He stuttered. "We are coming over," Chelsea replied. "What do you mean 'We'? Plus, I have a morning shift. I need to prepare now. I can't accompany you." He tried to lie. His sweats are running on his face because of nervousness. "Yeah right. We read your e-mail. We are coming over. No buts!" She ecstatically said. "Plus, Isaiah is on his way." She added before hanging up the phone call after delivering her message. Christian, who is on the other line, threw his phone at the bed. "I'm not prepared, and those three decided to visit here after a long time. What a great day ahead." He complained. Promptly, he heard a long chiming sound. It alarmed him. 'Is Isaiah here already?!' He panicked. He ambled towards the door, twisting the metal knob. He opened the door, and to his relief, it reveals a housekeeper carrying a pile of towels. "Thank Goodness!" He shouted. The housekeeper gave him a concerned look. 'You need help.' The housekeeper thought.

Now that he knew his colleagues are on their way, Christian left his phone at the bed and decided to help the housekeeper clean his messy room. At this rate, they will finish earlier than expected. Christian alone will take several hours to clean his room. Thanks to his luck, the housekeeper came today. For him, it doesn't matter if you come to his house. As long as you gave him prior notice because he dislikes being unprepared. He is unwilling to show his unorganized books, unfolded clothes, and a bunch of stacked papers. It's natural for an author to stock a pile of drafts, manuscripts, and other files. But for his case, he had no desire to show it at all. No exemptions, nor special cases. That is why Ezekiel and Christian bicker a lot. But in Ezekiel's perspective, it's not a big deal to crash in his author's place. He needed to check the author's situation. Also, Christian barely gives Ezekiel an update regarding his project. So, Ezekiel will personally ask for an update.

After a good amount of minutes cleaning, Christian heard his phone buzzed. He arched his back to grab his phone checking for notifications. "C. Sky made a group chat with 2 other friends." He read the notification. He opened the so-called group chat to see what is going on.

"Chelsea changed her nickname to L. Salvatore."

"L. Salvatore changed Isaiah's nickname to G. Riles."

"L. Salvatore changed Vinz' nickname to Luci D."

"L. Salvatore changed your nickname to T. Enou"

"L. Salvatore changed the group name to Authors of the Millennium."

Christian scanned the message slowly. He is not used to modern technology so he stared at the screen for a while. Ironic isn't it? He had a social media account but he doesn't know what is a group chat. "What is this?" He sent a message to the group chat. "A group chat obviously," Isaiah replied. He rolled his eyes, as he sends another message. "I mean, what is the purpose of this group chat."

"Obviously, for us to keep updating with each other. I knew an author who is reluctant to give an update to his editor. Shame." Chelsea attacked Christian, but Christian decided to ignore it.

"I think it's not necessary to create a group chat, we could send an e-mail to each other instead," Vinz replied. It made the Chelsea, Christian, and Isaiah laugh.

"Whatever you say," Chelsea replied. The four of them seem to be hooked up with the group chat. Christian did not notice that the housekeeper had left already. Vinz sent another message that made Christian startled. "We are already here in front of the building."

"That fast?! Go somewhere else first. I will message you when I'm ready." Christian replied. A few minutes had passed but he did not receive a reply from either one of them. By this time, Christian was agitated. "I didn't take a shower yet!" He rushed to his wardrobe to get decent clothes and headed directly to the comfort room. Who could have thought that Christian runs so fast?

Christian finished taking a bath way faster than he used, regularly. He furiously dries off his hair, wiping the excess water droplets on his body using a towel. He wore his clothes and combed his hair at a fast pace. He felt that something is wrong. If they already reached the facade of the building, his colleagues were supposed to arrive at his unit five minutes ago. But, there are no signs of them.

Christian looked at his phone to check for updates, but there were none. "Where are you guys? Aren't you supposed to be here five minutes ago?" He asked. "It was a joke, Christian. Don't tell me you actually fell for it?" Isaiah replied. Christian furrowed his brows. Irritation is consuming his slender body, as his thoughts kept telling him to terminate them. "They like to fool around, don't they?" He said, annoyed.

During freshmen days, Christian was constantly the subject of amusement and mockery at their campus. Unfortunately, after separating from his high school friends, he had a hard time making friends since he was so introverted. But, he tends to ignore those negative comments and focus on pursuing his passion.

Creative Writing is one of his subjects. His professor asked them to group themselves in fours. Students who knew each other formed a group together. He looked around the four-cornered room to see if he could join a group. Sadly, he couldn't find any and it seems that every group is already filled with four people. But because of his luck, someone tapped his shoulder and asked him if he belongs to any existing groups. He shook his head as a response making the girl cheered. "We are complete!" The professor glanced on his watch as he tries to grab the student's attention. "Please settle down. For the introductory activity, I asked you to form a group that consists of four students. Anyone who doesn't have a group, please raise your hand." The professor said. He waited for a little number of seconds before proceeding. "For this activity, I want you to create a one-shot story. I don't want to see a bland story. I want to see colors, life, and emotions. Understood?" He continued. "Oh, the one-shot story must be three-thousand to five-thousand-word count. You may use the main library to work with. You may now go." He added. Christian felt someone is tugging his sleeves. It was the girl who let him join her group. "Come on, we don't have the luxury to slack off." She said. Christian took his belongings, following his group towards the library.

The group of students occupied a working station with their respective laptops. "So have you guys come up with a plot?" The girl asked while tapping his fingers on the desk. Christian shook his head along with the two other guys. "Come on, it won't hurt if you guys speak." She chuckled. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Chelsea Sky." She introduced. Chelsea tapped the other guy's shoulder as an indication that it is his turn. At first, the guy was hesitant but Chelsea is someone you can't say no to. "I'm Vinz, Vinz Davidson." The guy named Vinz introduced. Christian looked at the guy next to him waiting for his introduction. "Isaiah, Isaiah Jonas." The guy named Isaiah plainly said. Christian gulped before speaking. "I'm- "He was about to introduce himself but Chelsea cut him off. "Okay, let's work with our one-shot." She smirked. Christian looked at his groupmates confused as if he was so innocent. The three laugh at Christian's naiveté, and it made Christian embarrassed. "I'm just kidding, introduce yourself." She said while rubbing Christian's back. "I'm Christian Simoune." He finally introduced himself. The four of them end up laughing.

"Thank goodness we finished on time." Chelsea sighed in relief. An hour had passed, the four of them finished the activity that their professor had given. "Should we submit it already?" Isaiah suggested. Chelsea shook his head and it made the three boys confused. "Not until I write our group name." She cheerfully stated as she starts to write something on the printed manuscript. Christian, Isaiah, and Vinz gave each other looks. A look that implies that they don't get what is running on her mind. They tried to take a peek but Chelsea was already finished. "Done! The name of our group is The Authors of the Millennium." She said with full of confidence by raising the printed manuscript in the air. The guys did not respond for a second but laugh afterward. "What's so funny?" She asked. "Nothing." Isaiah scoffed. "Let's pass this manuscript before it would have a deduction," Isaiah added. They both went back to their room to pass the finished one-shot story. Even though the one-shot that they made is raw, they are still proud of it. They put a lot of effort and dedication into it.

After quite some time reading the student's one-shot stories, the professor bid his goodbye to the students. "See you next meeting. Also, the group of Ms. Sky, I have something to talk to your group about. Follow me." He said as he exits the room. The four of them are unsure of what to react to. Half of them were scared, and the others were happy. "Maybe he acknowledged our work." Vinz frankly said, but Chelsea disagrees. "No, maybe he called us out because it's bad." Chelsea retaliated. "Guys if we are not going now, we'll be in trouble for real," Isaiah said. They immediately stood up and ran towards their professor.

"This is good. I couldn't believe that you guys were able to write something like this despite the fact that you just met." The professor exclaimed. "But every author needs an editor." He said. The professor stood up from his seat while holding the printed manuscript. "This one-shot had a lot of potentials. I wanted to edit, or per se work on this project but I have tons of paper to finish. I want you guys to find an editor." He said. The four of them exited the faculty with a smile on their face. Having someone who acknowledged your work is truly heart-melting.

After a lot of time, Christian heard his doorbell buzzed again. He got up from his bed, leaving the book he was reading, and headed towards the door. He grabbed the metal knob, opening the door. "I'm glad that the four of us finally meet." A girl exclaimed.

They reached his unit. They are here. The Authors of the Millennium