The Phoenices Volume 1 - Expired

Chapter 2 - Reilly

My first good dream of the night was shattered with the blaring tune of my alarm clock, and my mind quickly erased all but the feeling of unease from my mind. I quickly stood, trying to wake myself up from my restless sleep, when I heard a loud yelp from beneath me. I jumped, quickly moving to the other side of the room when I realized it was Chloe barking at me cause I stepped on her tail. I started laughing, leaning down to scratch her ears.

"Sorry puppy," I whispered to her in a baby voice, standing to head to the bathroom, pulling my hair up and throwing some mascara on. I stared at myself in the mirror for a good five minutes before heading back into my room to find something else to wear. If I was going to die in twenty-one days, I was going to look hot for my last couple weeks on Earth. Reaching into my closet, I shoved top after top aside, until I finally picked a loose, flowy, ¾ length sleeved sweater and a pair of black leggings. I grabbed my black knee-high leather boots, pulling the heel onto my foot before zipping them up the inside of my thigh. I checked the time, and quickly drew on a sharp wing before throwing my backpack over my shoulder and heading into the chilly early-November air to get a ride to school. I pulled my arms into my sleeves as I walked into the building, the cold air rushing up the bottom of the top, dappling my arms and back with goosebumps. Stepping out of the truck onto the pavement I didn't stumble, the heels of my boots were scraping against the cement. The large golden hoops I was wearing brushed against my neck, the cold metal sending shivers down my arms. I refused to let my arms cross my body, that displayed my lack of confidence. I readjusted my bag on my shoulders, pulling open the door to be greeted with a blast of artificial warmth. Heading down the stairs, it felt like all eyes were on me, but I knew it was only my imagination. I tossed my bag onto our lunch table, a smile plastered across my face, trying to display my confidence for everyone to see as I sat, crossing my legs and elegantly batting my eyes. "How's life guys," I blatantly question, gently resting my head on my fingertips. I glanced around the table, and everyone was staring at me. This was exactly the reaction I had wanted. No one was used to seeing me glammed up, even for homecoming I wore minimal makeup and a modest, plain dress. My feet were clad in black tennis shoes.

"This is... new," stuttered Elizabeth, gesturing to my face and clothes, "Why the sudden change?"

"Well, I figured I would go out with a bang," I answered her, laughing at her puzzled face before holding out my left wrist for her to read. Her face darkened, and she pulled up her sleeve showing me hers. We had the same date. "How many people do you know have this date?" I asked her.

"So far, just you." I could hear an edge of panic spearing through her tone. "What do you think is going to happen?"

"I have no idea, but I think we should go see if anyone else has the same date as us. Just in case." I stood, turning to scan the cafeteria for people who were carrying the same dark expression I knew I wore only the day before. Elizabeth pointed out one of the junior girls, who was normally an activity hub, now sitting alone, a grim look on her face as she absentmindedly ran her thumb over her wrist. I made eye contact with Elizabeth, and that one look said it all. We quickly headed over to the girl, flanking her.

"Oh, um hi can I help you?" she stuttered uncomfortably.

"Show us your date," Elizabeth and I chorused, each holding out our dates. I recognized the look of disbelief on her face as she slowly pulled up her sleeve, revealing yet another November 21st, 2017.

"Why are so many people from our school going to die on the 21st," I wondered aloud, my eyes drifting to the ceiling and my hand absentmindedly going to my other wrist. The girl suddenly stood straight up, grabbed both of our hands and dragged us through the crowded cafeteria, shoving people out of the way to get through faster. We exited the commons, and headed towards the farthest girls bathroom.

"We need to get our stuff before we go, class starts in less than 10 minutes," Elizabeth protested, pointing back at the lunchroom behind her.

"You're going to die in 20 days, do you think school work really matters right now," she growled, gripping our wrists harder not really giving us an option to follow her or not.

"Hey what's your name?" I requested, my eyebrows slightly raised.

"Marissa," she supplied, glancing over her shoulder at me, her pace slowing very slightly for not more than 2 seconds. We continued on, closer and closer to the dark bathroom, the one where all the druggies went to smoke and the whores went to, well, you get the picture. The smell hit me as soon as I entered, a mixture of spray deodorant, perfume, air fresheners, and weed. I glanced around looking for a source of any of them, but there was nothing to be found. The bathroom was actually quite clean, although the flickering light made the whole thing feel rather ominous. The second thing I noticed after the scent was that there was not another soul in the bathroom. It was us three, and only us three.

"Aren't we going to try to find if anyone else has the date?" questioned Elizabeth, her forehead creased in frustration and anticipation.

"Yeah, really. We need to know how many people die on this day so we can try to prevent it," I added, leaning into my hip and cocking one eyebrow.

"There's no need, I've already found the majority of them by hacking into the school computer. It's just a matter of time before people begin to realize that there are about 40 people in our school with the same dates on their wrists, and that's when panic sets in." Marissa whisper-yelled at us, seemingly angry at something, probably us. "You two are the first to actually try to do something about it, although I'm almost positive that other people have discovered that one or two other people have the same date. I know for a fact one of the secretaries had a panic attack the day he arrived here, his date is the 21st as well and he had to record all the dates so that teachers knew why any specific student wasn't here if they die during their high school career."

"How many people in our school die before graduation?" I asked, my eyes wide due to the implication of a large number.

"The people who die on the 21st. They are the people who die before graduation. Also one senior dies a week and a half before he is due to graduate, he's probably gonna get drunk or something and die in a car accident, knowing him." Marissa muttered, shaking her head slowly. I glanced over at Elizabeth, only to see her staring at the tiling on the floor, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"How could 40 teachers and students from one school all die on the same day?" She asked herself out loud, her blonde frizzy hair falling into her face as her jaw moved, "Something must happen at the school that day," she continued.

"What could possibly happen at our school that would result in the deaths of 40 people," I commented snarkily, my brain supplying answers for my own question, many unrealistic and impossible, but four or five that could realistically happen. "Okay, there's a lot of stuff that could happen. How are we going to prevent this? I don't know about you, but I want to have at least one glow-up in my life." I spin on my heel, heading out into the hallway as the warning bell rings, signaling that it's time to head to class.

A/N: 1263 words according to NaNoWriMo