Chapter 1

Nessa woke up. A good ol' day of college. With 8 am classes. She woke up at 7:30, and hurried up to class. Dressing up, brushing teeth, eating (it's important!), packing stuff, leaving, running towards the building, running up the stairs, and finally sitting down, huffing and puffing. It's 7:59, and half of the class is here. The teacher comes in at 8:05, and starts at 8:20. "Just in case everyone is on time", she said to herself, "I have to be on time too, so that I don't miss a single thing! This college thing has to be perfect!"

But her enthusiasm was waning, day by day. Exams, deadlines for assignments, they were so stressful. But it wasn't like she never had those in high school. There was just more work to do.

When morning classes were done, she joined her friends for lunch. Such a relief from four hours spent thinking. Just relaxing and eating and talking.

"Only one class left!" She thought. She went for the bathroom. She opened the door, and entered. "Oops, boys bathroom, she remarked in her mind. How could I not notice that?!" She went back out. The hallway looked a little different, but there was no time to reflect on that, since she was sort of late. She ran past a lot of students. They were only a blur to her. "Excuse me!" she kept saying. She arrived in the classroom, huffing and puffing. She looked around, no one she knew was in the classroom. She apologized, went back out of the classroom, and looked at the room number. It was the right one, but as she examined her surroundings, everything looked different. "What just happened?" she muttered to herself, and went back to the bathroom. She hesitantly entered, and got out again, in a desperate attempt. Nothing changed. She sat down on the floor of the hallway, putting her head in her hands. Did she just get lost in a similar building? Rationalizing this situation made her feel better. She put her hands down and lifted her head up. Two people were looking at her, concerned. "I'm fine!" she said in a high-pitched voice, and powerwalked to the exit. The building looked the same, from the outside. The inside looked different, though. How is this possible?

In the same building, a group of friends was getting impatient. Their buddy wasn't back from the restroom, and it was time to leave, as the college visit was over. One of them, while for him, had seen Nessa panic and was one of the two people concerned for her, but she did want her space. Although he was still wondering if she was okay. "I swear I'm gonna kill this dude." said another.

But it was, at that moment, physically impossible to kill him. Because he just wasn't there. He did go to the bathroom, but he also ended up somewhere else. When he came out, he tried to find his friends, but they were nowhere to be seen. So he tried texting them. People were staring at him, and he realized that when he tried to search for cell reception. "Why are they staring at me?" he thought.

"Cool gadget!" Someone said, going to a nearby classroom (and late I might add). People around him laughed. People thought he was just a nerd, but he was weirded out. "Never going to this college" he muttered, put his phone back in his pocket, and quickly walked out of the building. As he looked at everyone, he noticed some… Odd fashion choices. But it was none of his business, and he was going to go home.

He tried to find his car, but it was gone. He tried to call his friends, but he still couldn't! Being in another state, he couldn't just take the city bus; It was gonna cost him. "Excuse-me, do you have a phone?" he asked someone nearby, who looked at him like he asked for a spaceship. But the stranger regained their composure and said "There's a phone booth right there." pointing at a transparent phone box. "Thanks!" he replied, and went there. He looked up one of his friend's phone number on his contact list, and called him. No answer. He tried with each of his friends, and it was either someone else, straight to voicemail, or nothing again.

At that point, he started to freak out. He was left alone in another city, in another state that he didn't know anything of, and he couldn't even call his parents! Actually, could he? He tried calling his parents, and someone else answered, again. Yep, couldn't call his parents. Why did everyone change their phone number? Maybe it's a state thing? No, people in different states definitely can call one another. His battery was running out, and he decided to charge his phone in one of the halls, hoping no one would mock him for having one of the most used objects ever.