Chapter 1

Driving to school always makes me feel grateful. The view is beautiful, the music is great, and I'm in a very good mood. How did I get so lucky? I just got into my dream college and my current friend group does not seem in danger of imploding like every other one I've been in.

As usual, I sit down to read until Argentum taps me on the shoulder. They ask me what I'm reading, I give a short explanation and when the bell rings I head to class. Class is normal and at lunch I wait in line, get my food and then sit down with Argentum and Fallax. We play a fantasy card game and it so happens that this time I win. Everything seems to be going my way today.

Argentum asks, "Are you guys excited for the dance tonight?"

"Yeah," I reply.

"It's going to be super fun," Fallax replies.

"You and I are going to your house after school, right?" Argentum asks.

"Yep. That's the plan," I reply.

The last two periods seem to last forever. Luckily, my last period class is the only class that the three of us have together. We're doing independent work, so as soon as we finish Argentum and I goof off a bit. We look at strategies for the card game on the internet, debate their merits and drawbacks, and make jokes about what people online are doing obviously and egregiously wrong.

Eventually the final bell does ring. We go back to my house and play a few rounds of the card game, have some dinner, get some ice cream, and get dressed for the dance. When I head downstairs Argentum says I look beautiful but they're most likely just trying to be polite since we are strictly going together as friends, and we leave.

I'm not exactly popular, so I mostly stick with Argentum and Fallax. We make funny poses for pictures, sing the lyrics of the songs really loudly, jump around, and I even spin Argentum. The three of us point at each other during the songs as a joke. Until a song by one of my favorite singers comes on and Fallax gets bored of dancing. It's just me and Argentum almost screaming the lyrics, the only two people in the world, and it's not a joke at all.

Suddenly, the lights start flickering.