Jack In The Box

2

Morning light runs in through the blinds.

A groan escapes my lips and I pull the cover over my head.

The lights aren't the brightest they will be today, but my eyes already struggle to open with the beams of light hitting them from behind the blinds

I groggily get up and make my way to the closet, picking up the tablet

"Hmm... casual." I say into the device

A picture of my potential outfits pop up

"Hmmm.. outfit four." I choose

The closet lights up and I hold out my arms. Within seconds, the clothes have scanned onto my body

"A little warm, but whatever. I'm gonna be late." I grab my phone and walk out into the kitchen, grabbing a apple and a protein shake from the fridge.

"Bye mom, love ya!" I call, giving her a side hug with the apple in my mouth and shake in my hand

She mumbles a goodbye, busy with her crossword puzzle

My hair is left in all of its messy purple glory, and I hurry out the door to get to school

"Hey, Jack!" A familiar voice calls

I turn around to see Mary-Anne, a short asian girl with jawline-length pink hair, the roots grown out.

She breathes heavily, probably from running up the all of the stairs

I take the apple out of my mouth. "Hey, Mary. What's up?" I smile, still chewing the fruit

She pushes up her round big glasses, the small brown eyes behind them also adjusting to the morning light. "Oh, nothing. Just thought I'd come say hi. Wanna walk with me?" She smiled sweetly

I nod, and we walk in comfortable silence down the sidewalk to a huge brick building

Beatrice High

The only high school around, it's much too big for its 540 students.

As we approach the school, I notice s large group of kids surrounding someone

Mary and I exchange looks, then walk in the direction of the kids, curious if something interesting was happening

And yes there was

In the middle of the circle, stood Jasper King

And someone we didn't recognize