When Lightning Strikes

Blackouts

A N D R E S

I reached down to scoop up a fallen Cheetos bag off the floor of the steaming hot black top. You could see the ripples of heat lifting off the concrete under the blistering heat of the sun. This kind of heat was really uncommon in Berkeley, and it definitely struck me as odd.

"This is the worst punishment ever." I looked up and saw Theo holding up a ripped condom wrapper, nose wrinkled. Jax was holding up the other half of the condom-wrapper equation.

"Agreed." She stuffed it in her barely-filled bag. The fluffy haired girl wrinkled her nose at Theo, then stuffed God knows what into her own bag. If only I knew her name. Then describing her wouldn't be so god damn hard.

"Hey," I looked up at the girl standing above me. I guess I spaced out, yet again. "You're Andres, right?" She was tall, and her fluffy hair looked like a halo around her head. But that effect was washed out by the sarcastic smile on her face. "Yeah, so I was wondering--"

"Alright, enough chitter-chatter. More work, less talk. I'm going to go to the teacher's lounge to get my coat. And I expect all of this," Ms. Allston motioned to the piles of trash around her, now being blown away by the quickly-rising wind. "To be gone and in those stupid bags of yours." And with that, she stalked off toward the main building, the wind making her hair flutter about her head, and her silk red blouse bright against the gray cement of the blacktop.
"I just don't get it." Siph plopped himself down on Ms. Allston's lawn chair, "One minute, she's the nicest person in the world and the next--" he made a little gesture with his hands and added sound effects of an explosion, "Now she's the spawn of Satan." As the wind picked up, a candy wrapper rolled across the blacktop like a tumbleweed. That's weird, I thought, it was hot as hell a moment ago. My thoughts were interrupted by a distant crack of thunder.

We all looked up, worry creasing our foreheads as we all wondered how this storm had picked up so abnormally quickly. Another crack of thunder. A bright light to the left, and my head whipped towards it. I looked up at the sky, fear clear in my eyes. Then there was one final clap, and a blinding bright light shot dow, engulfing us in pure, freezing cold energy. Then like in any good action movie, everything fell into slow motion. My arms flailed like a rag-doll, and my Adventure time T-Shirt burned into ash and slowly fell to the ground, while my body was thrust even higher in the air. I screamed, my eyes flashing blue, but my voice was muted above the shriek of lightning ricocheting around my head. And abruptly, my arms searching for something, anything, substantial to hold on to, I dropped to the ground.

And everything.

Went.

Black.