Echoes

***This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.***

**Need to edit the story so that they match OR do a 10 years ago with different experience/memory to include as a monster**

25 years ago

JR Alberts is in his first year of high school. He's not the most popular guy in school, but he's friendly, so he always has someone around him to talk to. At present, his best friend is JD. They've both known each other since middle school and have most of their classes together now, plus both of them have an acronym as a first name, so they naturally got along. Halfway into their first year in high school; however, a new girl, Emilia, moves to their school. Emilia looks like a prepubescent version of Lana Del Rey, but has a geeky attitude that meshes well with JR who is also a bit of a geek, but JD likes Emilia at first sight. The three of them bond very well together and towards the middle of the school year, are inseparable. When JD starts to like Emilia more, things begin to get complicated, because she is forming strong feelings for JR. This leads to a quarrel between JR and JD and leaves Emilia in the middle. Eventually, JR and JD have a falling out that leads to JR having to change schools.

15 years ago

It was officially the worst day of his life, JR Alberts stood outside the fence of his girlfriend's house while she was inside with her family and her ex-boyfriend. The previous day, JR and her had spent the night together cuddling in bed and talking about their future together and now, he was outside, being asked to leave by her mother and brother.

"Who is that guy by your car?", her brother had asked.

Oh yeah, that's Jake, JR's best friend and current bodyguard. Jake wasn't a terribly big guy, but what he lacked in stature, he made up for in heart. He looked like a young Hispanic Eazy-E. JR had seen Jake get in a fight when they were in middle school. They were in the locker room dressing up to go home after football practice when the quarterback came up and started messing with Jake. He was a friendly guy, but he had his limits like everyone else does and that quarterback had pushed him way beyond. Jake threw two punches that afternoon and Mr. Quarterback had taken one when he hit the floor. Jake was ready to throw another combination that night as he stood by the car, but walking away seemed like the best decision.

Calmer minds had prevailed, but JR couldn't help being himself, yelling out, "At least say goodbye!"

She didn't.

Present Day

"Okay, settle down class! I know it's the last day of school, but we still have work to do", JR said in an elevated tone.

It was the day before summer vacation; JR was a middle school teacher who taught Robotics, Computer Science, and the class he was in now, Investigating Careers. He was about to call on each student to come and have a private exit interview with him at his desk.

"We're going to start your exit interviews alphabetically; for everyone else whose not interviewing, sit and study your interview questions or do prodigy."

As JR was finishing up his interviews, he called on the final student, "Ms. Vega, are you ready?"

Vic Vega was one of his favorite students; she was thin with very long brown hair and a childish face. Her mind; however, was anything but childish. She would often "call out" JR on his mistakes during classroom discussion and engage in debates on hot topics that led them through half the class period, but he didn't mind. He enjoyed having discussions with his students. He loved teaching them about the world and what they could expect in the workplace and beyond. And they loved to tell JR about their struggles, rewards, and everything else in-between.