The Kiss that Tore the World Apart (Permanently On Hold)

Chapter 2

By the next morning, John had forgotten the strange incident in the park. His thoughts were occupied solely with Lyna Midan, his new girlfriend. He marveled at the fact that she had said yes to him, and they had even progressed far enough for a first kiss on their date in the park.

Excited to see her, he met at the point where their two routes to the school converged. He smiled when he saw her and she smiled at him. He held out his hand to her and they finished walking to school together.

"So did you see the news last night?" she asked him.

"Whatever that was, it was pretty bazare. I can't believe we didn't notice it."

"I didn't notice it either. I think we were suitably preoccupied at the time."

She smiled when she said this, a toothy grin that John had often admired from afar. And now she's smiling at me, he thought.

He'd had a crush on her ever since the first few months of high school. He first saw her in his History class, sitting two rows ahead of him. She wasn't the most beautiful girl in his school by most people's standards, but something about her carefree laughter while she chatted with her friends before class caught his attention. In the next few weeks after that it became apparent to John that she was intelligent as well. His infatuation had begun.

Now it was the beginning of April, eight months later, and John and Lyna were officially a couple.

"Just out of curiosity," John asked Lyna, "but why me? I've seen you turn down other guys."

"Well, most of the other guys who asked me weren't all that smart, or only want eye candy, or both. I always noticed how you think a lot, and even if you aren't the hottest guy in class, I thought I might be able to be happy with you. So I said yes."

"Wait, there was only a chance? And I'm not the hottest guy in class?" he teased.

"Well I think it was a good decision" she smiled.

They arrived at the school and he pecked her on the cheek before rushing off to his homeroom. His friend Rem slid down into the seat next to him. "Was that Lyna Midan I saw you kissing outside?"

"Yes."

"Well it took you long enough! So you finally asked her out."

"I finally got the nerve to ask her out on Friday. She said yes. I took her to the park yesterday. We kissed, dude!"

"Wait, wasn't the park where that weird thingshowed up? Did you guys see it?"

"We happened to be lip-locked at the time, but it was only few feet from us. Neither of us saw it."

"Man, it must have been a pretty good kiss for you to be oblivious to that."

Just then the bell rang and the homeroom teacher started passing out papers to the class.

"These are the list of available classes for next year. Your desired classes list isn't due until next month, but some electives require instructor signatures. You should be using this time to collect them and decide which classes you want to take next year."

"So what are you planning on taking next year?" Rem inquired.

"English, biology, and geometry, because they're required, and then History with Mr. Naar and art with Ms. Sra for fun. I plan on majoring in history when I go to college."

Just then, John noticed Rem staring out of the window. He followed his gaze and saw the hole that had just appeared outside the school. A few seconds later it was gone. The room erupted into chatter. Mr. Domlo, the homeroom teacher, fell backwards into his chair, shocked.