Say Hi to God.

Say hi to God.

It was the last thing he heard before his world went up in flames. His body exploded, along with everything around him. He could never imagine such intense pain coursing through him, his last moments alive. And all he focused on before it all came to an end, was the love of his life's face – pained with regret.

A loud ringing sound.

It was unbearably loud. The sound, that started off like a bomb's explosion, quickly melted into more like an annoying alarm clock.

!

JD gasped for air.

His eyes wide open, he shot right up in bed. Panting for air as if he'd been drowning, his gaze darted all around a room that wasn't familiar to him. It seemed like it'd be the type of room he would have, judging by the taste of the posters and other various things around... But things were neater, and there was more space to move around.

He looked down at his hands, expecting them to be charred and burned, but finding his skin all clean and intact. It wasn't just a dream... Just as much as this wasn't his real room.

Maybe he was hallucinating. Maybe this was life after death. He had no idea.

"Jason! Are you up yet?"

Again, he froze, eyes wide. It couldn't be...

The door opened, and there she stood. A woman with dark brown hair just passed her shoulders, light makeup and a navy blue dress. Her eyes were just as he remembered – warm and friendly.

"Mom...?" He choked out in shock.

"Honey, what's wrong? You don't want to be late – it's your first day of senior year." She smiled, "There's coffee and cereal on the table for you, c'mon." With a nod towards the kitchen, she walked down the hall.

JD placed a hand on his forehead, checking for any indication he wasn't off having a fever dream somewhere. Catching his reflection in a nearby mirror, nothing seemed off about his appearance. At least some things never changed.

He dressed himself in the usual grungy attire, just a band shirt and jeans, but then... a bombshell hit.

His usual jacket was nowhere to be found.

JD felt naked going to school with just a hoodie, but that was the closest he could get to his usual long jacket. He sat at the table across from his Father, who was reading the newspaper and sipping from a cup of hot coffee. They looked like the perfect TV family – nothing about this was normal to him.

"Son, you alright?" His Father pulled JD's attention back into reality with a question.

"Huh? Oh... yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." JD dismissed.

After breakfast and a goodbye from his parents, he headed out to his same old car, just parked in the driveway of their same old house. Elements that didn't change gave him just a little bit of comfort in this unusual world he'd been dropped into.

Driving to school, his mind couldn't wrap around why in the hell he was still alive. He gave up his life for Veronica! He exploded! He died! And now... he was here?

He wasn't the religious type... But maybe...

This was his second chance.

Maybe this wasn't the afterlife after all. Maybe this was just an alternate life. Maybe this was his chance to do something different.

But what...?

Suddenly, a girl appeared in the crosswalk in front of him.

He slammed his foot down on the break, just barely avoiding hitting her.