The Switch

Part 1

It was a normal morning for Nathan. He got up at 6:00, showered (a little too long, granted), brushed through his thick yellow hair, got dressed, and began preparing his backpack for the school day ahead of him. It was a casual Monday morning, just like any other. The weekend before had been uneventful, as it mostly consisted of Nathan playing video games in bed and texting his girlfriend, Beverly.

Ah, Beverly. The highlight of his life, fueling his will to live with every text message he received. They could talk for hours about nothing in particular, which was very therapeutic to him after having some stuff happen to him because of "friends". Anyways, they were really close.

She was probably the only thing that made him look forward to the week ahead of him. There were at least three tests, a project due in science, and trying to meet the standards of his father, Jesse Houck. Nathan lived with his father and his girlfriend, Sasha, who he had mixed feelings about, but it was whatever.

As he finished stuffing his backpack with textbooks and art supplies, he heard the thudding of footsteps to his room and the loud opening of his door. His sister, Lauren, stepped forth, her black and grey jacket wrinkled and gross smelling.

"Lauren?? What the heck? What if I was changing, how many times have I told you to knock first!" He said in frustration, trying to shoo her out so he could finish.

"Hold on!" She groaned, shoving him. "Dad said to take Colette out!" She said, then huffed and walked out. Colette was Nathan's dog, a Maltese and Yorkshire Terrier mix. Nathan always took her out in the morning, so it was especially annoying that Lauren found the need to remind him every day. He muttered something under his breath and then slung his puffy red jacket on, grabbed his backpack, and walked into the living room.

He caught a glimpse of his dad entering his room but didn't think much of it. He clipped the red leash onto Colette's collar after getting her to settle down, then headed out into the crisp winter air. It nipped against his face, making him shiver. He hated the cold, he was always easily chilled. The warmth of spring and summer was way more soothing and refreshing to him. He saw Lauren smirk from the window of the front door as he made his way down the driveway.

~~~

"Bye, Nathan. Have a good day." His father said before Nathan shut the car door and began walking to the front of the school. He usually arrived earlier than his friends, but today he had run a little late due to Lauren not being able to find her folder, again. Nathan sighed and tugged his headphones back on his ears, playing one of his favorite songs.

All the seventh and eighth graders hung out in the cafeteria before they were dismissed to their homerooms. As they didn't have assigned seats, everyone kind of placed themselves in little groups with people they tolerated. Nathan's pals sat at the table farthest from the door straight ahead, a little to the left. He stifled a lanky grin seeing Beverly, Ryan, and Joe. Ryan and Beverly were arguing over a rubber band.

"Nathan!" Ryan squealed, his hands twiddling his hair, like always. His round, blue glasses framed his circular face, which was bright red. Like always. Some people called him red-face-Ryan. Nathan waved at Beverly before sitting next to her, tossing his navy blue backpack on the ground by his stool.

"Wuss poppin'?" Joe greeted, giving a peace sign, which Nathan returned lankily. "Heya amigo. Wuss poppin'?" He said, giving the dorky finger guns.

"Hey Bev~" He wiggled his eyebrows. She snapped and pointed, nodding his head with a funny expression, making him laugh. "Did you guys hear? For some reason, the power's been acting up around town."

Joe's expression hardened. "Yeah," He muttered. "Apparently my mom's work is closed because some lights exploded and messed up the machinery." They all frowned, the mood killed by now. A girl with light blond hair, a black and green hoodie, and a Dungeons and Dragons shirt walked behind them, yelling some vine that they had all seen before. Beverly laughed, saying "Oh gosh," in between muffled laughter. That was Eliza, also their friend. Beverly, Eliza, Joe, and Nathan played DnD together after school every once in a while.

"Guys, do you think that'll happen here?" Ryan asked a bit later, giving Nathan chills. "Hopefully not," he responded. "That would be the worst. But we'd get a free day out of it." He joked, trying to get some levity into the conversation. It seemed to work as they sat up a little more, their eyes lifting again.

After a few minutes of talking about random things, more people had sat by them. Giovani, a boy with thick hair that was pulled back in a bun, Adam, a boy with dirty blond hair and freckles, and Oliver, Adam's boyfriend, who had curly red hair and lots of freckles.

Two teachers, Mr. Daniels and Mr. McKenzie were talking to each other only a few feet from their table, whispering things with a pale expression. Nathan's hearing wasn't that sharp so he could only make out a few words: Power, intercom, and kids.

Nathan shuddered, those three phrases did not seem like they went well together. Beverly had an eyebrow raised in suspicion in their direction, but no one else seemed to notice.

Before he could bring it up the teachers yelled at them to go on their way, the wave of students pushing the group into the hallway. Nathan felt an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of his stomach.