𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖘𝖍𝖔𝖙

School in Session

WEEK 2, OCTOBER 8

Nathan counted the heads of the people in the car. "You guys ready?" "Yeah!" They said in unison. He counted them to make sure everyone was there. Julian, Emma, Haylee, Russell, and Drake. 5 in total. He didn't count himself because he would stay behind.

He watched as they closed the doors of the van and drove off. He wondered if this would be the last time he saw them as he walked back into the house. "Be safe." He sighs as he walked back into the house to make some breakfast.

Lorenzo met Nathan at the door. "They gone?" "Yeah." "Don't worry, man. They'll be okay." He said as he patted him on the shoulder and closed the door behind him. He boarded it back up as they walked into the house. "You hungry?" "Yeah." "Me too. Let's make breakfast."

Haylee sipped her coffee as she looked out the raindrops falling down along the window. She remembered how life was before. Not wondering if she and her friends could die at any time. She sighed as she put her coffee onto the cup holder in the car.

"When are we gonna get there?" She asked. "Around 20 minutes," Emma replied as she took a turn onto the Queensboro Bridge. "I guess I'd take a nap then.." She said. "Yeah, but it's gonna be cut short, the college isn't that far since we don't have traffic." "As long as I get sleep."

*FLASHBACK*

The golden light of the sunset shined onto Haylee's face. She smiled at the sight of it. The clouds, the sky.. it looked beautiful. Life overall.. it felt so carefree compared to what was happening now. Just then, she felt someone eyeing her. She looked at Nathan who quickly looked away, and couldn't help but laugh a little.

She wondered what he was thinking before her sister interrupted. "Haylee, Nathan's mom gave me something, but I think I want you to have it." Kaylee handed the ice cream cone to Haylee, as she smiled at the kind gesture. She continued to watch the sunset as she would sometimes pause to lick her ice cream cone.

"Haylee.." A voice called out. She felt a finger tap her shoulder as she looked around. Neither Nathan or Kaylee did it. "Haylee!"

*PRESENT*

Haylee burst awake as she looked up. It was Russell waking her up. "Come on, we're here!" She quickly got up as she rubbed her eyes. "Already?" "Yeah." "Ok.." She grabbed her cup of coffee as she walked over to the campus. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the large campus. "This is massive!"

The castle-like structures towered over the kids as they looked up in amazement. "Amazing.." The group walked through the campus. "It's so cold," Julian said as he zipped his coat up and tightened his scarf up to his face. Suddenly, as soon as he said that, snowflakes started to fall from the sky.

The group looked up in shock as they watched the snowflakes fall and the wind rustle along their clothes. It felt solemn, and peaceful, for this moment.

*At the house*

The kids sat on the roof as something strange started to happen. Snow started to fall from the sky. It glistened in the blood moon's light as it's rays made the flakes glitter and shine. They got up and look around, watching the snowflakes descend onto the ground.

Alessandra and Kaylin snapped a few pictures, while some others just sat back and watched. They watched in awe. "This reminds me of Winter in 2020," Lorenzo said as he lifted his beanie further over his head. "Yeah, it kind of does." That thought brought back memories for Nathan as he started to space out while thinking about it.

*FLASHBACK*

The scene shifted to Nathan on his computer, talking to Lorenzo over a ZOOM meeting. Snow fell outside, the apartment decked out with Christmas decorations. He laughed as they played, and the feeling of a core memory with a friend solidified in this moment. "Hey, Lorenzo." "Yeah?" "I have an idea. Since we can't play in the snow in real life, let's just do it over call!"