The Key Keepers

Chapter 3: Jordan part 2

I stand in the middle of the room, feeling every eye on me. "Hi, my name is Jordan," I begin, trying to keep my voice steady. "Uh, I'm eighteen years old, and I just moved here."

The teacher nods, offering a polite smile. "Thank you for introducing yourself, Jordan. You can sit next to Caleb over there."

I glance around the classroom, searching for Caleb. A guy looks up from his book when he hears his name. That must be him, I think. I walk over and sit down next to him, placing my books on the table in front of me.

Before I can even settle in, he turns to me with a friendly expression. "Hello, I'm Caleb. Nice to meet you."

"Hey, nice to meet you too," I reply, relieved that he seems nice. My curiosity gets the better of me as I notice the book in his hand. "What are you reading?" I ask.

Caleb glances at the cover before answering, "Oh, it's called The Only Way Outside. It's about a guy named Xander who gets locked up in a room but discovers he has the power to make portals. The catch is, they only lead him to another room."

"That's cool,".

"Yeah, this is the third time I'm reading it."

"Damn, so you really like reading, don't you?"

"I do. When I'm reading a book, it feels like I've just opened a portal to another place."

After class, I head to the cafeteria. When I get there, I spot Caleb sitting alone, so I walk over to join him.

"Is this seat taken?" I ask.

"No, you can sit here," he replies.

As Caleb and I talk, a tall white guy with brown hair approaches from behind him.

"Hey nerd, I see you made a new friend."

Something about the way he speaks makes me think they aren't exactly friends.

"Jonah, can you just leave me alone?" Caleb says, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, what? I'm just talking to you. I'm not doing anything wrong, right?"

After finishing his sentence, Jonah knocks Caleb's juice onto the ground, and his friends start laughing.

"Hey, I think he just asked you to leave him alone," I say, stepping in.

Jonah looks up from Caleb and glares at me.

"Did I ask you anything? 'Cause I think I was talking to Caleb here," he snaps.

"Jordan, just let it go," Caleb mutters.

I glance at Caleb, then back at Jonah. Before anything else can happen, the bell rings, signaling that recess is over.

"Next time, you won't be so lucky," Jonah says as he walks away.

After a few more hours of school, I head home to get ready for my shift at the diner.

Since I just started working there, I'm only assigned to washing dishes and taking out the trash. As I lift the lid of the dumpster to toss in a garbage bag, I notice something at the bottom. When I reach in to grab it, the object floats up into the air, glowing so brightly that I have to cover my eyes. As the light fades, I can finally see what it is—a golden key, but not an ordinary one. It looks like those old-fashioned keys you see in movies, but this one has five small stones set into it, each a different color. One stone is blue like the ocean, giving off a calming vibe. The second is green, reminding me of nature. The third stone is purple, giving off a mysterious, cosmic energy. The fourth is orange, like fire, and the last one, placed in the center of the key, is red like blood—just like the eyes of the man I saw in my dream. When i saw the key floating I feel like it is calling me.

I step forward, reaching out to touch the key. The moment my fingers make contact, a blinding white light engulfs me.