Chapter 1

I walked into my apartment with my black book bag strap over my aching shoulder. I dropped off my bag in my room, before following the comforting scent of pasta emitting from the kitchen. 

"Smells good Rachel" I commented, walking into the kitchen area. 

"Thanks, the lasagna is almost done, can you set the table?".

"Sure".

I went over to the brown wooden cupboards and opened one that was labelled 'cups'. 

"Will Caleigh be joining us for dinner?". 

"No, she's in Radio until 7:00 PM" replied Rachel, adding a spoonful of mighty Caesar dressing to the red bowl of chopped lettuce, bacon bits and croutons. I grabbed 2 glass cups and set them on the island countertop while Rachel mixed the Caesar salad together. I set out the cutlery and the jug of water. 

"Do you have any plans for this weekend?" asked Rachel, handing me the large bowl of salad.

 "Yeah, tomorrow afternoon I have a kids party to go to" I replied, setting the bowl on the counter in between my seat and Rachel's. 

"What about you?". 

Suddenly her watch beeped. 

"I unfortunately don't have anything planned" explained Rachel as she silenced her watch.

She went over to the stove, slipped on some Plaid oven mitts and opened the oven door. 

"But I was thinking maybe you and I could watch a movie together tomorrow night, since we don't hang out like we used to". 

Rachel grabbed the pan of lasagna and set it on the stove top. 

"What do you mean? I'm hanging out with you right now". 

My roommate grabbed a sharp knife out of the knife drawer and began to cut the pasta and equal squares.

"Yes, but ever since you got that part time magician job you haven't been around". 

"What about Caleigh? Isn't she here during the day?". 

Rachel handed me a small plate of her homemade lasagna. 

"No, she likes to go visit Gino at his place" she sighed.

 Rachel placed her plate on her spot. 

"So, what have you been doing on your spare time while I'm busy practicing magic tricks?" I asked as I plopped some Caesar salad on my plate with tongs. 

"Just watching a lot of movies and reading books to preoccupy myself".

Rachel served herself some salad before I said grace. After the quick blessing we both dug into our meals. 

"Wow this is really good" I said, chewing on a cheesy piece of golden colored slice of lasagna. 

"It's a good thing you told me about the fact that I'm not spending enough time with you. Maybe on Sunday, you could teach me how to make butter chicken from scratch".

Rachel took another bite of her lasagna. 

"But you have church in the morning". 

"That's okay. I don't mind skipping one church service just to have fun with my best friend".

 A huge smile spread across her face.

"I guess I better go to No frills or Walmart to get all the ingredients we need. I'll go after dinner". 

"And while you do that, I'll wash the dishes" I offered. 

"Good idea". 

We both ate the rest of our dinner in peace.

Once Rachel was done, she got ready to go out shopping while I cleared the island counter and started filling the sink with hot, soapy water. My roommate grabbed the shopping list off the fridge.

 "See you when I get back" said Rachel, as she headed out the door. 

"Bye!" I called back to her.

 Once the sink was almost full, I turned off the faucet, carefully placed the dishes in the sink and set out the dish mat.

Then I pulled out my phone from my back jean pocket and pressed play on my 'favorite songs' playlist. After cranking up the volume, I set it down on the island counter and plunged my hands into the hot bubbly water, beginning to scrub off the food scraps with a plaid dishcloth. Once I scrubbed and rinsed the 2 plates, cups and the cutlery, I set the clean dishes on the mat and began to dry and put them away.

While I was doing that the song on my phone suddenly changed.

 What is this music? 

I put the 2 circular red plates away into the labelled cupboard, before going over to my phone. I tapped on the screen and read the song title that popped up underneath the time and date. 

Doctor Strange Theme: Strange Days Ahead. 

That's weird, I don't have this song on my pop playlist. 

I swiped across the screen to switch the song when a number pad came up and asked me to pluck in my password.

But I had never set a password on my phone. 

I clicked some numbers just to see if I could correctly guess the code, but failed to get in. 

Well, that's just great. Now I'm stuck with this song on loop, I thought as I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

 Maybe Rachel can help me. 

I drained the sink, wiped down the island counter and put away the dish mat, before going to my room.

I set my phone on my nightstand and plopped down on my bed, starting to unpack my school bag for the weekend. Pulling out my Canon digital camera, I carefully placed it on my dresser, next to my photography and graphic design book. 

Man, I'm so tired. I stayed up late last night finishing my logo assignment for my graphic design class.

Collapsing back onto my bed, I rolled onto my side and closed my tired eyes. 

Just for a minute, I thought. 

Just until...