Dusk (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 1 - Familiar Faces

I hate Nebraska.

I really, really do. I've hated it since I was old enough to know there were other states. I hate the name Nebraska. I hate its history. I hate its government. I hate the tornadoes. I hate the snow in the winter that buries you alive. I hate the ugly, gravel roads that lead to even uglier, boring buildings. I hate the overwhelming smell of cow shit that infests the state. I hate the lack of culture. I hate the hamburger pizzas and the rising obesity and heart disease rates. I hate the mosquitos and the potholes and I hate Pete Ricketts.

So, why did I live in Nebraska? You can thank my dad for that one. I'd lived there my whole life because of him. His company moved him over to Omaha to be the head of the sales department for their midwest region. What did his company do that's so important that he had to move to Nebraska? They sold vacuums. Yes, vacuums.

I eventually got over it. I'd adjusted, and it's not like I'd lived anywhere else. And in two years, I would hopefully never step foot in that god-forsaken state ever again.

My dad's regional sales job didn't pay him enough to send me to a four-year college right away. My mom was a philosophy professor at the local community college where I'd be headed the following August, and unfortunately, in this country educators don't make jack shit. So I'd be stuck at community college for two years before I could pick a college as far away from Nebraska as possible.

I know it seems like I was a negative person. But I enjoyed things too. Even though they made a poor decision to move to Nebraska, I loved my parents. My friends weren't bad either, I met them all through the government club I joined freshman year in high school.

Lucy. Her parents had named her after The Beatles song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." She coincidentally had a younger sister named Jude. Everyone thought they were being original when making the connection, they'd buy her corny joke gifts for Christmas. But she had a whole box of discarded fake diamonds she'd received, which Jude often took from to bedazzle her clothes and backpack.

Madison, like me, hated Nebraska, but she had moved in middle school from Portland. The only thing that changed more than her hair color was her temper, though that was usually for good reason.

And then there was Alex. I had a suspicion that he joined the government club to get closer to Madison and Lucy. But he ended up getting friend-zoned by both of them and for some reason stayed in the club. Alex would occasionally throw parties and had bought us all fake IDs for Christmas the previous year. Alex also happened to be on the basketball team. He played with Rowan Williams during his sophomore year when he made the varsity team.

My phone was buzzing. I opened my eyes and had a brief moment of calm before a rush of panic jolted me upright. I hadn't meant to fall asleep. Shit. I answered the call, ready for Lucy's frantic yelling over the speaker.

"Where are you? We're about to do the rehearsal walk, your parents are outside already!" I hastily slipped into my dress shoes and dashed out to the car, holding my cap down so it wouldn't fly off in the stormy wind that the Nebraskan gods thought was appropriate for my graduation day.

"I'm right around the corner, don't worry," I said, getting into my car, a 2004 Volkswagen Passat. My parents had bought it for me my sophomore year, but three weeks after they had, a tornado had thrown a large abandoned table into the hood, causing some damage to the engine. It'd been repaired, but it still made a lot of weird sounds and broke down more than usual.

"You liar I just heard the engine start— hurry!" Lucy hung up and I tossed my phone aside as I sped to the high school gym. Ten minutes and a few blown stop signs later, I pulled into the first open spot I found. I got out and recognized the car parked next to mine. It was a black, 2015 Mercedes-Benz. Rowan Williams's car.