Here I Come

R1

[Student: Then you must know a lot about everyone in this school, right?]

[Spell: Correct.]

I noticed that he never replied instantly, unlike most computers like this. There was probably a human controlling him on the other end. Oh well, that didn't really concern me.

[Student: What do you know about Karter?]

[Spell: I thought you'd ask about him. The two of you were close before you moved to Hawaii, correct?]

[Student: Yeah. I was wondering why he had changed.]

[Spell: Humans tend to grow up.]

[Student: I know. But he's like a completely different person!]

[Spell: Puberty causes a lot of mental and physical changes in teenagers.]

[Student: I know! But I don't think that's all that happened. There must have been an event or something that triggered this change.]

[Spell: Yes, there was.]

[Student: What happened!?]

[Spell: I'm not authorized to say. There are some things in the world that even a computer prgram like myself avoids.]

[Student: Please tell me! I need to know!]

[Spell: To save him?]

[Student: Does he need saving?]

[Spell: Not anymore. Saving him is no longer an option.]

[Student: What do you mean?]

[Spell: Consider the Karter you knew dead.]

[Student: No.]

[Spell: You need to forget he ever existed.]

[Student: Never.]

[Spell: There's nothing you can do to help him.]

[Student: That's a lie.]

[Spell: I'm sorry.]

[Student: You know more, right?!!1! Tell me!! What happened???? How can I save him?!1??!]

[SPELL HAS DISCONNECTED THIS CHAT.]

I stared at the screen. "That... why didn't he... So useless."

Jenna put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry too. I didn't expect..."

"No, it's fine." It wasn't her. It was that stinking person behind Spell! Why couldn't he or she tell me what the fuck happened to Karter?

"Is it really?"

"No. Not at all. Why didn't..." My view of the screen blurred. "Why am I....always crying....? Why can't I reach him....?"

"Shh." She rubbed my shoulders. "It'll be okay. It's only been one day. What does Spell know anyways? I'd trust your word over an anonymous guy on the internet any day."

"Yeah." I nodded, and blinked away my tears. "Spell doesn't know anything. I can save Karter on my own."

With this new resolve, I mentally prepared myself for the next art class. I'd reach Karter, even if it killed me!

Go to chapter ___.