A Map For Tomorrow

Chapter 1, Update 3

    *beep, beep, beep, beep, beep*
    Jack groans quietly as he rolls over, covering his head with his sheets to deafen the annoying and unwanted sound of the alarm clock's beeping.
  *beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep*
Much to his dismay, that did nothing. Realizing that it would not shut off on its own, he rolls over and raises his hand for the button in order to end the dreaded noise. He looks at the time. "1:17 pm." He says in a tired, lackluster tone. "A little earlier than I expected to wake up, but it works. I could've sworn I set the alarm for 2:17 pm, though." He sets down his phone and rolls back over.
    After lazing around for fifteen minutes, he finally decides grudgingly to roll out of bed and get ready to head to Colby's place. He slips on a pair of plain dark jeans, a navy blue t-shirt, and a black hoodie with the words "Not Today" printed white in a bold font. After he slips on his hoodie, he blows back the dark brown almost chestnut hair that had gotten in his face off to the side.
      Soon enough, he heard the buzz of his phone vibrating from the nightstand next to his bed. He casually walks over a couple steps to bend down and reach for it."wonder who it could be?" He thinks aloud sarcastically. Lo and behold, it's a call from Simon. "Thought it'd be Colby." Jack mumbles to himself. He picks up the phone. "Hey Simon, what's up?"
      "The sky, ya dumb idiot" Simon says from the other end in his awkwardly low voice. They both laugh as this has happened many times before.
      "Saw that one coming." Jack says with a sigh, but still chuckling a little. "But seriously, I thought it'd be Colby calling me this early."
      "Early? It's past 1 pm!" Simon exclaims. "Anyways, I didn't think you'd be awake yet, but I thought I would call anyways to check on you and your bad ideas."
      "Reassuring." Jack says flatly. "At least I'm actually going to be ready to leave my house by 2pm. For once in my life."
      "Does that incl-" Simon started to say.
      "That does NOT include school!" Jack snapped back. Causing Simon to laugh.
      "Saw that comin'. Anyways, I'll add Colby to this so he doesn't miss anything and doesn't think I'm ignoring him." Simon says.
      "Okay. Just don't let him scare me again like he did last night." Jack says, still tired because of his early wake up. He hears a click from the other end and Colby's voice comes in.
       "You're gonna get scared anyways, Jack o' Lantern." Colby jokingly says.
      "How did you even know what I said?" Jack questions.
      "Bestie telepathy." Colby says jokingly. Jack can tell Colby is smirking on the other end. Probably scrolling through the way to many memes on his phone. "Anyways you guys ready to head into the abyssal woods later?"
      "Maybe. Not sure. I still need to pack a small bag." Simon says.
      "Speaking of which, I should probably pack one now." Jack replies, getting up and grabbing a drawstring bag.
      "You've always liked exploring, haven't you Jack?" Asks Colby.
      A couple minutes pass and all they hear from Jack's end is shuffling. "Guess he's too in tune to packing right now he can't talk." Says Simon. "So Jack," He begins. "What all are you gonna be packing?
      "Not too much. Just a few flashlights, extra batteries, masks to put over our mouths and noses, a few plastic bags, bug spray, and a hat. What about you guys?" Says Jack, resting the can of bug spray in the bag.
      "I was really just gonna stick a flashlight in my back pocket and be done with packing." Simon replies.
      "Don't worry I'll bring some stuff you can use, and I'm sure Jack will back you up with some things." Colby adds. Jack grabs a carabiner and hooks it onto a small water bottle.
      "You guys might want to bring small water bottles with you. You might need them since we'll be walking in the woods." Jack reminds  them.
      "Gotcha, Jack!" Both Colby and Simon say at the same time.
      "Hey Colby I'll be headed to your house soon. I'll make sure I grab Jack on the way since I'll be going past his house on the way to yours anyways." Simon says. "So I'll log off for now. See you guys in an hour!" And with that, he gets off the call.
      "So now I wait for Simon to knock on the door." Jack sighs.
      "Meanwhile I wait longer for you guys to get to my house. I'll just scroll through Social media until you guys get here. I'll let you go for now, though. Sayonara!" Colby says his farewells and leaves the call. Jack leaves as well.
      He waits around for a bit for Simon to arrive. "Wait." He thinks. "Simon's gonna see that my family's gone. Won't he be curious as to where they are?" He thinks for a few minutes until he comes up with a temporary story. He opens his mouth to speak,but only to himself. "I'll just tell him they're out of town for the time being on a business trip. That should work for now." He sighs, hoping Simon won't see through his lie.
      *ding, dong* Jack hears the doorbell ring and rushes downstairs. *knock, knock, knock* Jack opens the door to see Simon. "That was quick." Jack says, making a small smile and looking Simon in the eyes. "I forgot how close you really live to me, but that was quicker than normal. How'd you get here so fast without a car?" Jack questions, laughing.
      "I rode here on my bike." Simon motions his thumb to the driveway, where he set his bike. "Makes everything quicker."

//983 words\\
Remember this is only the 3rd page. I'm not leaving you on any cliffhangers yet just let me finish the chapter before I do that.