Chapter 1

A ring of smoke sails into the air, crashing into the wall dispersing in different directions. I sit at my computer, as smoke continues to drizzle from the freshly lit joint. The smell of inflamed cannabis fills my nostrils. Another puff sends me into a coughing fit. The bar to the loading screen inches closer to its destination. The draft takes the smoke out the window. Smoke is such a weird substance. It’s like air… but we can see it! I wonder what smoke looks like in outer space? Since there is no oxygen, can smoke even be in outer space!? Who knows…

With another puff, I send more smoke rings sailing through my room. I feel like I’m forgetting something. Finally the loading screen finishes. I take another rip off the joint and put it out. I then put on the VR headset, entering the world of Aratheon. I immerse myself within the fantasyland. I pull up the guild panel and see Crypto, Poogugh, Kolvar, and Veneranda are online.

‘Is Austin ever going to get back online?’ I message Veneranda.

‘Probably not when he’s getting laid by two sexy women.’

‘Whatever happened to bros before hoes!?’ I ask her.

‘Are you inferring that I’m a bro?’

‘No that’s not what I meant, I mean Padres before you sleep with two madres!’

‘Would you abide by those words if you had two sugar mama’s?’

‘Yeah, you’re probably right… If I had two sugar mama’s, I would be eating french toast every day with real maple syrup, not that Aunt Jemima shit!’ God what I would do for french toast right now! Especially with some cinnamon mixed in with the eggs. Oh that would taste amazing!

‘Are high right now?’ she asks.

‘As stoned as a kite!’

‘Why did I even have to ask…’

‘I don’t know, why did you ask?’

‘That was a rhetorical question, now let’s see if Crypto, Poogugh, and Kolvar want to run up to Chillshore real fast. I desperately need that staff that drops in the dungeons there.’ Veneranda replies.

“Justin are you almost ready to go?” I hear my mom yell. Ahh crap… I totally forgot I have to leave for the airport soon!

‘I can’t Sue, I’m leaving for my cousins.’ For some reason I thought that was tomorrow… Honestly, I don’t even know what day it is.

‘Oh fuck… I forgot!’ she sends.

‘I better get going, I’ll ttyl!’

Have fun! :)’

I finish logging off Aratheon and shut my computer down before grabbing my bag. I head downstairs to find my parents sipping coffee at the table. Both of them have tablet’s in hand, probably catching up on the news.

“I can’t believe all the craziness happening in L.A. right now,” my mother mentions. What’s she talking about… There is always craziness happening in L.A. “I’m almost hesitant about sending Justin to California…”

She finally looks up and notices I’ve entered the room. “Oh hey baby.”

“Hey mom! Hey Dad!”

“I know right!? Riots, power outs and the murder rates are through the roof.” My dad takes another sip of coffee. “There all claiming this ghost character is responsible. Morning Justin.”

Oh shit! The ghost! I remember seeing that video with it and this crazy ninja fighting.

“People will believe anything when they’re scared,” my mom replies.

“Actually, there’s footage of the Ghost! It’s fighting some ninja in all black,” I mention.

“Ninjas and Ghosts… What is this world coming to?” my mom sighs.

“Well it’s definitely more epic than it was before! Hopefully next we’ll finally have some aliens!” I grab an orange out of the refrigerator and start peeling it. “Are oranges named oranges because oranges are orange or is orange called orange because oranges are orange?”

“Son, how high are you?” my dad asks.

“No dad, it’s hi, how are you. And you suppose to say that at the beginning of the conversation…” I correct him. “And by the way, I’m doing great! Jeez it’s a good thing someone here is getting an education. Also, if oranges are called oranges, why aren’t lemons called yellows?”

Both my mom and dad slap their heads. “What?! These questions need answers!”

“Are you ready to go Justin?” my dad asks.

“I guess so…” I still can’t believe I’m moving to California for college. It’s too good to be true! Although, I have to live with my Aunt and my 3 cousins to save money, which isn’t so bad. The happy Walters family. Nisha, who is just a year younger than me, is pretty fun to hang with. We’ve done some pretty crazy things and have seen our fair share of trouble. Even though she’s huge into organized sports, which I’m not, she also likes to skateboard and surf, which we’ll be doing a lot of! Kyle, who is a year younger than Nisha, plays Aratheon, even though he’s not in my guild, we still have fun doing some player versus player and quests. Then there is Elizabeth… I don’t really think she likes me all that much, who can blame her with all the pranks Nisha and I have forced on her. One time we filled the entire floor of her room with plastic cups full of water. Took her forever to clean them up. That’s not all California’s got! Hopefully women! Maybe I can finally get a girlfriend! And of course, let’s not forget all of the weed dispensaries. It just sucks I won’t have my computer for awhile. Can’t take it on the plane…

After we load up my luggage in the car, we finally head out. We arrive at the airport and I say goodbye to my parents after I check in. “Honey, don’t forget to call me when you get there!” my mother yells as I wait in line for TSA.

The airport isn’t too busy, so the line for TSA isn’t that long. But still, TSA is a hassle and I’m still high as a rock at this point. It’s always been confusing to me. Do I take my belt off or not. Shoes or no shoes? Of course I forgot to take my phone out. Next thing I know, I’m getting frisked by some dude on a power trip. “Watch the hands man!” I complain.

After I finally get through TSA, I have another 2 hours before my flight takes off. It doesn’t take long before I’m on the plane and heading to Cali! Of course I’m listening to California Love all the way there. Such a classic!

Chapter 2

At long last… I have arrived in California! Santa Barbara baby! I walk out of the TSA and find my Aunt Barb and my cousins Nisha and Kyle waiting for me. They excitedly wave at me. “Hey guy…” Before I could even finish my sentence, Nisha runs up and practically strangles me with a hug. “I… I can’t breathe!”

“Oh ha! Sorry!” We both laugh. She looks as beautiful as ever, with her brown, shoulder-length hair. She has one of those faces that are hard to forget. Dark brown eyes that seem to glisten. A splash of freckles across her face and a smile that could charm an old Scrooge. “It’s great to see you! I’m so excited you’re staying with us!”

“I know right!?” I agree. “We’re going to have so much fun! It’ll be just like old times.”

“Oh my god! I can’t wait!” she shouts excitedly.

I see Kyle behind her and I step over to him and we slap hands. He’s as dorky as ever! With his curly brown hair, skinny as a twig and of course he’s wearing an Aratheon shirt! “Shyn! Nice shirt!”

“Vulwin!” he replies.

“God you guys are such nerds!” Nisha smirks.

“We’re actually geeks okay!” I say with a somewhat sarcastic tone. “Geeks play video games, nerds have their worms in books!”

“Don’t you mean noses in books?” my Aunt Barb asks. She looks like she could easily be Nisha’s older sister. The same brown hair, but slightly longer. They share the same eyes and of course the same gorgeous smile. However, that’s where the similarities end. Aunt Barb has a much curvier figure.

“No… then you’d be a booknose… duh! Jeeze…” Everyone laughs.

“It’s good to see you Justin,” Aunt Barb says.

“You too Aunt Barb. Thanks for letting me stay!”

“Oh no problem. You’re fun to have around.” she replies.

“Say, where’s Liz?” I ask.

“Oh she’s at Whitney’s house as usual,” Nisha remarks with a bit of annoyance.

Aunt Barb gives Nisha a look before glancing back over to me. “You must be hungry, how about we go out to eat?

“That sounds amazing! I’m starving. They only gave me peanuts on the plane! Can you believe that? 7-hour flight and all I get is peanuts?!” They all share a chuckle at that.

“Well Justin, since you’re our guess, where would you like to eat?” my aunt asks. “You can pick any restaurant you like.”

“Is that Chinese restaurant still here, the one with the mouth-watering crab rangoons!?!” I can just taste them now. Hard on the outside, nice and creamy on the inside. Just the way I like it.

“The one where you tried to drink soda through your nose?” Nisha asks. “Oh my god that was hilarious!”

“Yeah that one! By the way… I’m never doing that again.” I say, rubbing my nose. “It hurt so bad, just thinking about it causes my nostrils to burn.”

“Good times,” Nisha says.

We head out after I get my bag. Once we pile in aunt Barb’s car, it doesn’t take long before we arrive at the most amazing Chinese restaurant on the face of the planet.

As we walk in the waiter asks, “Would you like a table?”

“No, not at all, we came here to eat on the floor,” Nisha smirks. “Carpet for 4 please!”

I almost die of laughing. Some things never change.

“Nisha! Where are your manners?!” Aunt Barb scolds her.

The waiter takes us to our table and we all have a seat. I’m sitting next to Nisha and Kyle’s across from me with Aunt Barb next to him.

The waiter asks us for our drink orders.

“I’ll have a coke please!” Nisha says.

“Sorry we switched over to Pepsi products, is Pepsi okay?” the waiter asks.

“Is monopoly money okay?” Nisha asks. Kyle just about lost his shit. So did Aunt Barb, but not in the same way.

“Nisha!” Aunt Barb chides. “Pepsi will be just fine, and I’ll take a water please.”

“I’ll take a water as well,’ Kyle says.

“Water too please,” I tell the waiter. He nods and takes off once more.

“So Justin, how excited are you to finally be done with high school?” Aunt Barb asks.

“Oh yeah! Honestly I didn’t even think I was going to college. I had no idea I got in,” I reply.

“Yeah no kidding,” Nisha remarks. “I’m just as surprised as you!”

“Nisha!” Aunt Barb berated.

“Oh it’s cool. I didn’t think I was getting into any colleges with my GPA…” I say as I reach up to scratch the back of my neck. “Honestly, I don’t even remember applying…”

“Oh I’m sure your parents had something to do with it,” Aunt Barb adds. “They’re both alumni at Santa Barbara University.”

“Where is the waiter!?” Nisha asks impatiently. “I’m starving!”

“If you wait for a waiter, doesn’t that make you a waiter!?” I ask, causing Aunt Barb to giggle.

“If I’m a waiter I should at least get a tip!” Nisha demands.

“Don’t stare at the sun!” Kyle tells her.

“What?” she asks.

“You wanted a tip, well, don’t stare at the sun!” he replies. Everyone except Nisha chuckles. When did Kyle get so funny.

“Not the kind of tip I was looking for,” Nisha says.

“It’s crazy that there’s this giant thing in the sky all the time that we’re not supposed to look at!” I tell them.

Finally the waitress brings over our drinks and takes our orders. I order the drunken noodles and we get two orders of crab rangoons to split amongst the 4 of us. Nisha gets the Kung pow shrimp. Kyle orders the sweet and sour chicken, while Aunt Barb gets the Mongolian beef.

It doesn’t take that long before our food comes and we dig in.

After we finish eating we head over to their house. Once we get there Aunt Barb informs me that I’ll be sleeping in Kyle’s room on his couch, which is fine by me. Kyle’s room is pretty nice. He’s got a loft bed with a stand and tv underneath. A 3 person couch on the other side of the wall, and of course a desk with his computer next to the couch in the corner. The couch is nice and cozy, perfect for sleeping on.

I take my luggage in and set it down on the couch as Kyle comes in.

“So when are you going to join our guild?” I ask.

“You know those kids you play with are in middle school, right?” he informs me.

“Correction, they were in middle school, there freshman in high school starting in August!” I tell him. “Besides, they’re the best on the server. We’ve already got Chillshore on farm and we were the first guild to take down Vogthirm. Not all of them are middle schoolers. Sue and Austin just graduated high school with me, then there is Sue’s cousin Andy and his friends. Which I have no idea what grade they’re in to be honest.”

“And besides, a few of those ‘middle school kids’ are the most geared on the server currently,” I add.

“Have you ever actually even met them?” he asks.

“Well… not in person. We chat all the time in-game and what not. I know all their first names,” I say.

“Ha, well they’re a bunch of kids. They all live here in Santa Barbara.” Kyle says.

“Join the Nerd Herd! You know you want to!” I say in a rather deep voice. “It’s your destiny!”

Nisha walks in carrying two longboards. She changed into a pair of short shorts that show off her very toned and very tanned legs. “Yo, want to go for a ride?”

“Hell yeah! Can we stop by a dispensary? Please! They still won’t let you bring weed on a plane…” I beg just a little. I think it’s awfully stupid to legalize marijuana and not let you carry it on a plane.

“God I still can’t believe Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe let you smoke weed!” Kyle states in disbelief.

“I can, no offense, Joe and Linda are bigger stoners then you. At least they were.” Nisha says.

“None taken. I’ll take that as a compliment. I think…” I don’t know why it wouldn’t be.

“Anyways let’s go! By the way, a kid who’s in my grade is throwing a huge bonfire style party tomorrow, you’re coming!” Nisha tells me. “It will be so much fun!”

“Are you going Kyle?” I ask.

“I wasn’t really invited…” Kyle mentions.

“Huhhh. I suppose you can come…” Nisha mumbles.

“I don’t know… Parties aren’t really my thing…” he says.

“Oh come on Kyle!” I plea. “I don’t want to go if you’re not going.”

“Really!?” Nisha complains. “Kyle you’re coming. Besides Stacy’s going to be there. I know you’ve had a crush on her since the beginning of time. Just don’t drool over her…”

“Whoa… Hold up! The game just changed!” I shout with excitement. “Who’s this Stacy girl!? You never mentioned any girl named Stacy!”

“Dude, I’ve told you about Stacy a thousand times.” he says defensively. “Besides, she’s really not that into me.”

“You have?” I ask, scratching my head.

“Of course he has!” Nisha remarks. “It’s always Stacy Mills this, Stacy Mills that! There is never a day without Kyle asking about her!”

“I take it you’re friends with this Stacy Mills?” I ask Nisha.

“Of course, she’s one of my best friends since forever!” she states.

“Well Kyle, you’re going to have to introduce me to your future girlfriend!” I tease.

“Ha! There is no way in hell Kyle’s got a chance with Stacy!” Nisha laughs.

“Why not?” I ask.

“First off, she is drop dead gorgeous! Second, she’s way out of Kyle’s league and third, Kyle doesn’t have to balls to ask her out!” she smirks.

“Holy shit! This is your quest, Kyle! We are going to get Stacy Mills to be your girlfriend!” I slap Kyle on the shoulder. “This is why I’m here!”

“Someone’s been smoking too much weed,” Nisha jokes. “Like I said, Kyle doesn’t have a shot with Stacy.”

“We’ll see about that!”

“I guess so, anyways, are you ready to go?” Nisha asks.

“Totally!” I grab the board from Nisha and turn to Kyle “Dude, later we should start new characters and do some questing!”

“Yeah sounds fun,” he says as we leave.

Chapter 3

I follow Nisha outside and we hit the pavement. We soar down the slope of her road, picking up speed. We pass a bunch of different houses in her suburb. The wind flows through my hair giving me a fresh and cool sensation. Nisha is only a few lengths ahead of me. We ease past the curves and finally arrive at an intersection. I follow her as she takes a right at the stop sign. The road ahead is relatively flat, so I have to push off the ground to maintain my momentum. The view is ten times better than New York. It’s a sunny evening with a clear sky, we pass tons of palm trees and plants you’ll only find in Cali. I forgot how exhilarating it is out here.

The curves, the hills, the wind in your face! Nothing feels more real than right now. A few cars pass us by as we continue to fly down the street. Nisha slows down as we come up to a small bump in the road before a giant hill. “You ready for this east coast?”

“Hell Yeah! I was born for this!” I shout.

“Just remember to take a right at the bottom of the hill!” she shouts back.

With that being said, she lets gravity do the rest and I’m right behind her. We both quickly gain speed as we ascend down the hill. Soon we’re going so fast everything else is just a blur. As we get near the bottom, Nisha hugs the left side of the road and I follow suit. Just as she said, there is a road at the bottom of the hill and she hits it as smooth as possible. I on the other hand nearly hit a parked car. That was a close one. We continue on a bit, going through an underpass, taking a few more turns. We finally arrive at the dispensary.

Nisha takes a seat against the wall. “You’re not coming in?” I ask.

“Dude, I don’t turn 18 for a over a year.” she says.

“So, it’s not like they card at the door or anything, but whatever.”

I walk in and I’m blown away! The smell of fresh stinky weed hits my nostrils. “MMmm! That rich, green aroma… Nothing like starting your day the Marijuana Way! Am I right!?”

The security guard at the entrance, literally stares at me with zero expression.

“Hell yeah!” The guy behind the counter says. He’s wearing a tie-dye t-shirt with his long hair in a man bun as well as one hell of a beard. The place has only 2 other customers.

“You guys have no idea how much I am in need of some green!” They’ve got all kinds of different strands, smoking utensils, edibles, vape pens, everything you could possibly think of!

“Well you’re in luck today my man! A friend in need is a friend indeed. Or is it a friend with weed is a friend indeed? Either way, I can hook you up! As long as you got I.D. of course.”

“Ha, good thing I’ve got it right here!” I pull out my wallet and hand over my I.D.. Nisha was right, good thing she didn’t come in.

“Good deal, what can I get ya? We’ve got all kinds of different strands if the natural grass is what you’re looking for. We’ve also got vape pens, some good tasting oil and hash. Some real tasty edibles.” He gives me the full tour!

“Oh god! This is like a dream come true! I feel like a chubby kid in a candy shop. What kind of strands do you have?” I ask.

“Oh we’ve got everything you can think of!” He brings me over to the weed. “Kandy Kush, Lemon Sherbet, Purple Kush, Lemon Kush, Mango Kush, Green Crack, Blue Dream, Durban Poison, Gorilla Glue #4, True OG, Super Skunk,” He pulls out a few different nugs as he continues to list of different strands. “OG Kush, Master Kush, Dream Queen, Super Silver Haze, Star Dawg and a new one which is super potent Jack Here.”

“Dang, quite the selection! What do you recommend, man?” I ask.

“Depends what you’re looking for. If you want an indigo breed, Purple Kush is real nice! If you’re looking for a Sativa, I would definitely go with the Green Crack.” He pulls out both the Purple Kush and the Green Crack for me to look at. Then he eyes me as if he’s trying to decide on something. “Although, I promise you, you’ll never experience anything like Jack Here! It is so potent!”

“Can I get a little bit of all three?” I ask as I inspect the nugs. The Green Crack is a dense bud with tons of little orange hairs. The Purple Kush has a tinge of purple to it with tons of crystals.

“Oh most certainly. Want just a couple grams of each?”

“Yeah! That sounds great! Can I also get a few brownies? Oh and some of those cookies!”

“Now just a fair warning, ya gotta be careful with the Jack Here man! It’s an out of world experience. I guarantee it!”

“All right, cool! I’ll keep that in mind!”

“Here ya go man, it’ll be $60, I gave you a ⅛ altogether divided between the 3 different strands. You’ve 2 brownies and 2 cookies.” He hands me the bag as I hand him the money.

“Ah crap man I almost forgot! Can I get some joint papers and a lighter too.”

“Oh good thinking man! You would have been screwed!” He grabs the items and puts them in a bag. “Here ya go only $5.98.”

I hand him the cash and he hands me the bag. “Thanks man! You’re a lifesaver!”

“No problem, enjoy the haze!”

I head outside to find Nisha still waiting where I left her. I smile and hold up the bag. “Want to get high?”

“I don’t know, we’ve got summer camps with basketball and..”

I cut her off. “All I hear are excuses.”

“Oh shut up, we all can’t be hippie stoners like you.”

“You don’t have basketball today do you?”

“No..”

“What about tomorrow?”

“Nope..”

“Then let’s smoke a little weed.”

“Huh, I suppose, but let’s go somewhere else. I don’t want to get caught.”

“Well obviously! Where to?”

She whips out her phone and starts texting. After a few seconds, she gets a response. “Cool, I know a few friends who are down to smoke.”

“Awesome! You lead the way.”

Chapter 4

We hit the pavement with our boards, going down a few hills, around a few curves and we finally arrive at someone’s house. I follow Nisha up as she knocks on the door. A few moments later, a beautiful girl with a head full of lush black hair opens up. She’s in leggings that perfectly outline her amazing legs. A white t-shirt sticks to her tight stomach and you can see the outline of her bra. “Nisha!” she says as she pulls her into a hug.

“Trini!”

They break off from the hug and Nisha introduces us. “Trini this is my cousin Justin. Justin meet Trini Garcia.”

“It’s nice to meet you, any friend of Nisha is a friend of mine!” I smile.

“Anyone with weed is a friend indeed!” she responds.

“I like her!” I say to Nisha.

“Everyone likes Trini,” she responds, slapping Trini on the ass as she follows her into the house.

“I’m so sorry about your sister! I still can’t believe she’s gone.” Nisha says.

“I know… It’s been hard.”

“It felt like yesterday your mom and oldest sister past away. I swear tragedy strikes in three. Elaine will be missed.”

“Wait a sec… Your sister was Elaine Garcia. The author and blogger Elaine Garcia!?” I ask.

She nods silently. “Oh my god, I loved her murder mystery books! I’m so sorry she was murdered.”

Nisha punches me in the shoulder. “Justin!”

“Hey what did I say?”

“You don’t have to remind her that she was murdered.”

“It’s okay,” Trini says as two other girls walk into the room.

“By the way, I didn’t know you could read Justin,” Nisha remarks.

“Haha, very funny!” I mumble.

“Justin this is Sofia Sanchez and Lashun Valler,” Nisha says. They both tell me it’s nice to meet me and I do the same. Both Sofia and Lashun are beautiful. Sofia is also in really short shorts, which show off her thick thighs that have a nice caramel glow to them. Wow… Those shorts can barely contain all of that booty. Damn, Sofia is fine. She has on a t-shirt that tightly wraps around a rather large pair of breasts. She has one of those faces that could easily be on top of a magazine. Her dark black hair pulled up into a ponytail. Those dark eyes connect with mine and I think she caught me checking her out. Damn… So much for first impressions.

Lashun is just as gorgeous. She’s got on short basketball shorts that show off a pair of lean dark chocolate legs. She has on a cut off shit that reveals her very toned arms and you can almost make out her lean abs. She’s also got a beautiful smile. She has her hair done up in braids, and a dark pair of brown eyes that glisten.

“Soooo, shall we smoke some weed?” I ask after a long awkward silence.

“Hell yeah!” Sofia says. Her face lights up like the fourth of July with a beautiful smile. This girl is totally on my level.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Lashun replies, as she nervously bites her lip.

“Oh come on Lashun, basketball doesn’t even start for a few more months. Live a little.” Sofia responds with an agitated sigh.

“Yeah don’t be a wuss!” Trini says. “It’s just weed. It’s not going to kill you or anything”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I don’t want to pressure anyone into doing something they don’t want to.” I say.

“Hush Justin, if I’m smoking, she’s smoking,” Nisha says, folding her arms against her chest, raising one eyebrow.

“Alright fine, I’ll do it,” Lashun finally relents.

“Hell yeah!” Sofia says once again. “Trust me Lashun, this will be good for you.”

“Where are we doing this?” I ask.

“Let’s go out to the garage, my brother will be home any second,” Trini informs.

“Where is Horacio?” Nisha asks.

“Oh probably with his nerdy friends, being a bunch of losers,” Trini says. “I think they went down to Gennecho or whatever it’s called.”

“That’s a computer cafe, right?” Nisha asks.

“Yeah, they let you use their computers for free, I honestly don’t know how they make any money.” Sofia shrugs. Her eyes connect with mine and for a brief moment, she smiles at me. I give her smile in return and I follow her and the rest of them into Trini’s garage, which is pretty packed with boxes. I walk over to the bench against the wall and pull out the weed. “So I bought 3 different kinds. What do you guys want to smoke? I’ve got Green Crack, Purple Kush and something called… Jack Off I think.”

They all start giggling and I realize what I said.

“No wait… It’s Jack Here! not Jack Off.. my bad.” I correct, causing more giggles from them.

“I think we’re going to pass on the Jack Off,” Nisha says, causing more laughter.

“Yeah and I’m not so sure I want anything that has crack in the name as well,” Lashun says.

“So Purple Kush it is then,” I say. I take out the Purple Kush and start breaking it up.

“So, are you guys ready for round 2 of basketball camps next week?” Sofia asks.

“Fuck no!” Nisha says.

“Hell yeah!” Lashun retorts.

“Ehhh,” Trini sighs. After I finish breaking up enough weed for a joint, I grab out the papers.

“I have so many things I need to work on before the season starts,” Lashun explains. I take the crushed up weed and line it up in the center of the paper. Then I pull out a dollar bill and put the joint paper with the weed in it at the center of the dollar bill and fold it over and start to roll it back in forth. The weed starts to pack into a nice cylindrical shape.

“Yeah, since you’re just so terrible,” Sofia retorts with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Haha, yeah right! Lashun, what could you possibly have to work on!? You’re already the best in the state!” Nisha says. Once the weed is packed enough, I open the dollar bill and carefully wrap the joint tightly around the packed weed. Then I lick the edge of the paper and seal the joint shut.

“State pfff. She’s the best in the country!” Trini corrects. I twist off one end of the joint and take my lighter and use the flame to dry off the spit covered seal.

“I heard a rumor that there’s an incoming freshman that might give you a run for your money Lashun,” Sofia replies. Doesn’t take long to dry up the spit and now I’m left with the perfect joint.

“Yeah Sally Ban, she used to be my neighbor,” Lashun says.

“You mean Ban, as in Steven Ban’s little sister?!” Nisha asks.

“That’s her. She’s actually pretty cool.” Lashun replies. “Steve and James were good friends. So the four of us would hang out a lot.”

“How is James doing?” Nisha asks with a wild grin on her face. “I haven’t seen your brother in a such a long time! You should really bring him around more often!”

“Yeah! I wouldn’t mind seeing James either!” Trini adds. “Maybe without a shirt, if that’s at all possible.”

“Oh shut up you two,” Lashun says. “Besides James is actually going to college I guess. He wasn’t going to, but the new coach for the college recruited him.”

“All done, ready to get high as a cloud?” I ask them.

“Fuck yeah!” Sofia responds, with excitement.

“I guess…” Lashun mumbles.

I fire up the lighter and put the flame against the twisted end of the joint. The flame engulfs the paper, slowly catching the weed on fire. Setting the lighter down once the end starts to burn, I take a puff of the freshly lit joint. I let the smoke drizzle out my mouth and suck it up through my nose. I hold it in once it reaches my lungs and finally let it all out. I take one more puff then pass it to Nisha. With the smoke lingering in my mouth I open it up and let it all out once more, as it forms a cloud, I suck it back in.

“Damn, Nisha, your cousin is a pro!” Sofia says in amazement and gives me a wink as she scoots a little closer to me.

Nisha takes a puff and nearly dies of the coughing fits. Causing giggles from the other girls. “Obviously you didn’t get the stoner gene.” Sofia adds.

Nisha passes the joint to Lashun. She reluctantly takes a poll and also starts coughing before handing it to Trini. Trini takes a huge hit, but she can barely hold it in long enough before she erupts in coughs.

Sofia takes it from her and she doesn’t even hesitate before taking a rip. She inhales it as if it were oxygen. Then starts to blow o rings out with the smoke. “Damn girl! You’re calling me the pro when you can blow rings like that!” I tell her.

“What can I say, I have brothers who all smoke,” she said.

“Well next time we’ll have to blaze down with them,” I say.

“Oh they’re always down to get high,” she replies.

Sofia takes another hit before passing it to me. I give it a puff, and blow a couple of rings, before passing it onto Nisha once more. It’s more than halfway gone. “Did you guys know the word SWIMS is actually the word SWIMS upside down,” I ask. “Well.. Only if you capitalize all the letters.

“What??!” Trini questions. She ponders a second before her eyes lit up. “Holy shit… It is! Haha.”

Nisha rips it and once again she’s coughing up a storm.

“Mind blowing right!?” I ask.

Nisha hands Lashun the joint.

“Big whoop,” Lashun says.

“Well you know what?” I ask.

“What…” Lashun asks.

“Today is the oldest you’ve ever been, but the youngest you’ll ever be again…” I say as I make an explosion effect with my hands against my head. “Now if that doesn’t blow your mind…”

“I never thought about like that,” Trini says.

“Did you guys know that the Egyptians were the first to cultivate the Marijuana plant 10,000 years ago?” Nisha asks. “They had a ton of different uses for the plant, especially medicinal and spiritual. Also hemp fibers were used to craft a lot of their tools such as rope, sails and fabric.”

“Oh here we go again,” Sofia mumbles. “Another history lesson from Professor Nisha!”

“Oh come on!? How do you not find history interesting?” Nisha asks. “People who don’t know their history are bound to make the same mistakes.”

“I didn’t know you were such a history buff..” I tell her.

“She takes one ancient civ class and all of a sudden she’s a history fanatic,” Sofia says.

“I just find it interesting, that’s all,” Nisha says defensively.

Finally the joint makes it around once more and it’s now just a roach. “Well, I don’t know about you all, but I reached an altitude higher than any plane could ever fly,” I tell them all.

“Yeah… I am toast.” Nisha replied.

“Speaking of toast… I’m starving!” Sofia points out.

“We should order pizza!” Lashun says.

“That’s such a good idea!” Trini agrees.

“You ever realize that a pizza is round, but the box is square and a slice is triangular?” I ask.

“Ha, wow. The pizza industry really needs to brush up on their geometry.” Lashun laughs.

“So shall we split a pizza then?” Trini asks.

“Hell yeah! I’ll throw down for a pizza,” I say excitedly.

“Dude, we just ate Chinese, like, less than an hour ago,” Nisha states.

“But I’ve got the munchies… Don’t you?” I ask.

“Yeah kinda…” Nisha replies.

Just then we could hear the front door open and close. “Ah shit… Horacio is home. Hide the weed, that little shit might blab on us.” Trini rushes to grab an air freshener in the what I assume was a cleaning cabinet. I quickly put the weed all in the bag and put out the roach. “What should I do with this?”

“Ah, put it down the flood drain,” Trini says and I drop it down through the grate in the floor.

The room now smells like a mixture of tropical air freshener and weed, kind of like a pina colada with a hint of skunk. I follow them back into Trini’s living room. A chubby kid is rummaging through her kitchen. I can only assume it’s her brother Horacio. He’s wearing a cool Aratheon shirt though.

“Hey chubby cheeks. We’re ordering pizza, you want some?” Trini asks her brother.

“I told you to stop calling me that! But yeah, I’ll have some pizza.” he says.

“Do you have money to throw down?” She asks.

“Didn’t grandma give us money for food?” he responds.

“Oh Yeah! I forgot.” Trini’s face lights up with excitement.

“Oh hey Lashun!” A huge smile shows on Horacio’s face as he stiffens up when he sees her.

“Hey Horacio,” she replies.

“I… ah… I like what you did with your hair… Is that a new style?” Horacio spits out. Ha, he’s got the hots for her.

“Awe! Thank you, and it is actually.” Lashun twirls her hair around, showing off her braids.

“Get a grip loser and stop drooling all over Lashun,” Trini says to Horacio. “Why don’t you do something useful and order us some pizza.”

“I’m not drooling!” he angrily pouts as he quickly wipes his mouth. “What does everyone want on their pizza?”

“I’m good with whatever,” Lashun says. “Just no anchovies.”

“No pineapple for me!” Sofia says.

“What’s wrong with pineapple?” I ask.

“It doesn’t belong on a pizza!” she responds. “It’s a fruit!”

“I agree with her,” Trini comments.

“Whatever, I’ll eat anything you put on it,” I reply.

“Same here,” Nisha says.

“So… Should I just get two large supreme pizzas?” Horacio asks.

“Yeah that sounds good, let’s do one hand toss and the other pan,” Trini says.

Horacio grabs the phone and calls up the pizza place to put in the order as he walks to his room. I follow them into Trini’s living room and take a seat on her sofa. Sofia takes a seat right next to me and Trini sits on the other side of her. Lashun and Nisha take the love seat.

“So are you guys excited for Kevin’s party tomorrow night?” Nisha asks.

“Oh fuck yeah!” Sofia blurts out. “Are you going Justin?”

“Yeah, I think so,” I answer. “Kyle said he was coming, right?”

“I guess. You know he’s not going to be much fun…” Nisha mumbles.

“No way! Kyle’s coming? He never goes to any parties.” Trini mentions.

“I know right?” Nisha responds. “Justin thinks he can hook him up with Stacy.”

“Why? Does Kyle have a thing for Stacy?” Lashun asks.

“Oh my god Lashun, you are so oblivious to all things that are not basketball!” Sofia remarks. “It’s so obvious that he likes her.”

“I think Stacy and Kyle would make a cute couple,” Trini states. “Kyle is so adorable.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a thing for him,” Sofia implies.

“Well… I mean… you could do a lot worse, that’s for sure…” Trini responds.

“Hey, did you guys forget he’s my brother?!” Nisha spits out.

“So… Will you guys help me get them together?” I ask them. “I’m literally making it my mission to help Kyle get a girlfriend!”

“Of course!” Trini and Sofia both say at the same time.

“I think that’s so sweet you’re trying to help Kyle and Stacy get together,” Sofia says. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No…” I mutter.

“Really!? I can’t believe a nice guy like you doesn’t have a girlfriend!” Sofia says with a huge grin on her face as she scoots a little closer placing a hand on my thigh.

“Why? Are you implying something Sofia?” Nisha asks as her eyes pierce right through Sofia.

Just then someone knocks at the door.

“Pizza!” Trini announces, she jumps to her feet and grabs the cash her grandma left on the counter as she answers the door. The guy doesn’t talk much and they exchange the cash for the pizza.

Horacio comes out of his room, just as Trini closes the door with two large pizzas in her hands. She sets them down on the counter and everyone pounces.

“How much do I owe you?” I ask Trini.

“Oh don’t worry, it’s on my Grandma,” she says.

As I grab some pizza, I run into Horacio. “Cool shirt!” I compliment.

“Thanks! You play Aratheon?” he asks.

“Heck yeah! Not to brag or anything, I’m actually apart of the best guild in the game.” I was actually bragging. Heck if you got it, might as well flaunt it.

“Really? That’s cool,” he says and I feel like there was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. “So you’re in the Nerd Herd?”

“So you’ve heard of us?” I ask.

“I might have…” he says with a big grin. “What’s your player name?”

“I’m Vulwin,” I say.

“Ha, no way!” he says with excitement. “What are the odds! I’m Crypto!”

“No fucking way! Wow… I feel like an idiot,” I mutter, feeling a little embarrassed. I can’t believe this chubby kid is Crypto! He is the most geared player in the game, hands down. He’s only like 13 years old. Kyle wasn’t kidding! I never would have guessed. “It’s nice to finally meet you! It’s funny, you sound different in the VR.”

“Oh that’s because I use a voice modulator to make me sound just a tad older,” he explains.

“No way! That’s awesome!” This kid is savvy.

“Want to see my setup?” he asks.

“Do I want to see your setup?! Hell yeah I want to see your setup!” I answer.

“Oh my god, you guys are such nerds!” Trini says. “I can’t believe you play that stupid game.”

“Woah… Aratheon isn’t just a game! It’s the greatest thing since the internet!” I declare.

“Whatever…” Trini remarks.

I follow Horacio into his room, and wow… His setup is just fucking amazing. “Holy shit Crypto!”

He’s got two towers connected to each other and a laptop. A tri-monitor setup with 2 more monitors on top of them. Two keyboards and mouses. Both mouses are modded. One of the keyboards is modded as well. A VR headset is hooked up to the one computer. To top it all off, he has a tablet laying on his desk.

“Isn’t it amazing!?” he asks.

“How do you even keep it all straight?” I ask.

“Well, the tri-monitor setup is mostly for gaming, I built the rig a few months ago. My friend Jane’s parents are like top executives to a tech company. So she can pretty much get any parts you can think of. She’s in the guild too. Her name is Vacey.” He takes a seat in his chair and taps a key on both keyboards to take his computer off the screen saver. “The other computer I built recently is for mostly programming.”

He opens up his laptop and pulls up a website called ‘The Shadow Leaks’. “This is a project I’ve been working on with a few friends, including Jane. We post stories and videos of vigilantes. I’ve got the lowdown on the Ghost.”

“Really!? That’s so fucking tight!” I exclaim. This is unbelievable! This kid is a genius! No wonder he’s the most geared player in the game. “So what’s the lowdown?”

“Well… From what I can tell based on the videos and someone I know who’s seen him in person, he’s like a legit ghost with red burning eyes.”

“Wait… You know someone who’s seen it?”

“Yeah, Nylaathria! The Ghost killed her aunt who was a cop for the LAPD. She and her mom were meeting with a detective who worked with her aunt. They were at some restaurant before the power went out and riots started happening.” He leans in close. “She was taken hostage by some thug, but a ninja woman, we’re calling Shadow saved her life and killed the thug. But the ghost came out of nowhere and attacked them. If it wasn’t for Shadow they would have been dead.”

“I had no idea! That’s why she hasn’t been on lately! Shadow is a clever name though! I saw the video where she is fighting the ghost!” I tell him.

“Yeah, that blew up!” he says.

“Justin, we should probably head home.” Nisha yells down the hall.

“Alright,” I holler back.

“Well it’s cool to finally meet you in person Crypto!”

“Yeah, feel free to stop by anytime if you’re down to game or something,” he adds.

“For sure! I’m always down to game, I wasn’t able to bring my computer over so besides Kyle’s extra rig, I really don’t have anything to game on,” I explain to him.

“Oh don’t worry. There is this place that opened up not too long ago called Gennecho that will let you use their computers for free!” He mentions. “They got some nice hardware too.”

“Cool I’ll have to check it out!” I tell him. “I’m always down for some gaming. Well I guess I gotta go, later Crypto.”

“For sure,” he says. “Later Vulwin.”

I head out to the living room where all that’s left of the pizza is the boxes. I say my goodbyes, but before we could leave Sofia comes up to me, “So I’ll see you at the party tomorrow night?” she asks.

Before I could get a word out, Nisha interrupts. “We’re coming over tomorrow morning, so we’ll see you then.”

“Oh.. Cool, I guess I’ll see you both then,” she looks at me with a longing stare.

“Yeah, I can’t wait,” I reply and she smiles at me.

“Bye Sofia,” Nisha says as she slams her board down and takes off. She looks back at me, “are you coming Justin?”

“Yeah,” I say as I take one last look back at Sofia as she waves goodbye.

Then Nisha and I head back to Nisha’s house on our boards. Unfortunately we have to walk back up that hill. We were mostly silent the whole way back. “You know Sofia is totally into you, right?”

“Really?!” I ask.

“Definitely,” she says as we head in. Sofia is beautiful and she seems cool, definitely likes to smoke. I can totally see myself dating her.

I find Kyle on his computer wearing the VR headset. I scare the shit out of him. I take out my weed, my cookies and brownies and put them in my bag. We play some games for a bit before passing out.

Chapter 5

“Wakey Wakey hands off snakey!”

“Uuuhhh,” I groan as I roll over and all of a sudden fall to the floor. “Ouch!”

“Go away!” I hear Kyle mumble.

“Get up losers! We’ve got a busy day ahead of us! Lots to do before the party tonight,” Nisha says.

I get up off the floor and try to find my bearings.

“Woah there tiger… Someone was having a good dream!” Nisha points out.

I follow her eyes down and see a tent in my shorts. “Oh shit,” I gasp. Talk about embarrassing. I quickly try to hide my morning wood with my pillow.

“I’m going to… a.. Get breakfast. You guys better be up in 10 minutes. We’re going over to Trini’s as soon as you two get ready,” she says as she walks out.

I change into a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt as Kyle falls out of the loft. I take out a few nugs of the Jack Here, the joint papers and a lighter and throw them in my pocket. I head downstairs to find Nisha and Elizabeth arguing.

“You ate the last toaster strudel, you little brat!” Nisha shouts. “My name was on it!”

“Oh shut up, there’s more at the store!” Liz retorts. “Besides, mom bought them, you can’t claim them.”

“You are such a…” Nisha says before I interrupt

“Hey why don’t we grab some McDonalds on our way over to Trini’s.’

“Whatever,” she said before she storms upstairs.

“Hey Liz, missed ya yesterday.”

“Hey Justin, yeah I was over at Whitney’s house,” she explained. “God Nisha is such a bitch.”

“Oh come on, she’s your older sister.”

“Doesn’t mean she’s not a bitch, besides you always take her side.”

“That’s not true…”

“Yeah it is, it’s always been you and Nisha. And when you’re not hanging out with her, you’re with Kyle, which is fine by me,” she says as she leaves the kitchen, probably heading to her room. I mean, she’s right. It’s always been me and Nisha. But come on, we’re only like 2 years apart. We practically grew up together, before I moved to New York. And of course, Kyle was the one who got me into video games. By the time Liz was even old enough to do anything, Nisha and I already had our thing going on and for whatever reason the two of them just don’t get along. As much as Nisha bashes on Kyle, at least they can be in the same room together. I guess it is what it is.

Although, I got to say Liz is almost a younger version of Nisha. Besides for the hair color of course, Liz has a dirty blonde hair where Nisha’s is brown. Same color eyes though. And of course their personalities are almost spot on. Same attitude, sarcasm and all. No wonder they don’t get along.

Kyle finally stumbles downstairs. “I guess we’re going to Mcdeesy for breakfast.” I tell him.

“Sounds good to me. Where’s Nisha?”

“Uh, well she stormed upstairs after arguing with Liz.”

“What was it this time?”

“Liz ate the last toaster strudel.”

“Of course…”

Finally, Nisha came back downstairs. “Are you guys ready to go?!”

I look at Kyle and we both nod. We follow Nisha out and pile into a van. “Whose car is this?” I ask.

“Oh, it’s ours,” Nisha replies. “Kyle and I have to “share” it.”

“How is that going?” I ask.

“I don’t think it’s too bad,” Kyle says.

Nisha pulls out and we head down the road. Before long we arrive at a Mcdonalds drive through.

As we pull up to the speaker, Nisha orders an egg McMuffin meal and Kyle orders a McGriddle. I open the sliding back door to speak into the box when it’s my turn. “I’ll take a Bacon Egg and cheese McGriddle, a Sausage Egg McMuffin meal, 2 sausage burritos, and I think that’ll do it.”

“Holy shit Justin, why don’t you throw in the fucking sink while you’re at it,” Nisha remarks.

“Why would I want a kitchen sink?”

“Nevermind…” she says.

He gives us our total and I throw Nisha some money as she pulls around and pays at the next window. After we get our food, I demolish my McMuffin meal first. Then the McGriddle, which is heaven. “This McGriddle is like an orgasm in my mouth, it’s so fucking good!”

“Dude, McGriddles are the best!” Kyle says.

“Ehh, not my favorite,” Nisha objects. “A pancake sandwich just sounds weird.”

As we eat, Nisha continues down the road and it doesn’t take long before we arrive at Trini’s house.

“Uhhh, I’m so stuffed!” I sigh as we walk up to the door.

“No shit, you just ate 3 fucking meals for breakfast!” Nisha remarks.

“It was so worth it,” I mumble as I pat my stomach. Nisha barges into Trini’s house without knocking.

Sofia and Lashun are sitting on each end of the three-person couch eating cereal and Trini is in the love seat, almost nothing has changed since last night. “Are you bitches ready to get fucked up!?” Nisha asks.

“Hell yeah!” Sofia says.

“God I can’t wait for tonight!” Trini says.

“Hey Justin!” Sofia waves excitedly.

“Hey Sofia!” I say as I wave back. “How’s it going?”

“Oh much better now that you’re here!” she says.

“Oh fucking get a room already!” Nisha whines.

“Hey Kyle, I can’t believe you’re actually coming to the party tonight!” Trini says.

“Hey Trini, yeah I’m just as surprised as you are,” he replies.

“Holy shit guys!” Lashun nearly spits out her captain crunch as she scrolls through her phone. “The school finally hired us a new coach!”

“No shit!” Nisha says. “Who is it?”

“His name is James Brooklin, he’s also going to be our gym teacher!” Lashun says. “The name sounds so familiar, I know I’ve heard it before.”

“That name does sound familiar!” Trini agrees.

“Hopefully, he’ll be better than the last coach,” Nisha remarks.

“Yeah, Mr. Crane was such a creep. He was constantly trying to get glimpses at us in the locker room,” Trini mentions.

“Yeah, and he was so touchy-feely, like when is it okay to slap a high school girl’s ass?” Lashun asks.

“Right!? Fuck him! I’m so glad he got fired!” Sofia says. “Not like he was that good of a coach anyways…”

“Sounds like a douchebag,” I voice my opinion.

“Oh total douchebag,” Nisha replies. “Anyways, is your brother going to come through with the alcohol Sofia?”

“Oh totally, don’t even worry! He’ll be over in about an hour,” she says.

“Awesome!” Nisha responds. “Tonight’s going to be a good night!”

“Anybody want to smoke some ganja?” I ask. “I brought some over just in case.”

“I’m good,” Lashun says.

“Yeah I think I’m going to pass for now,” Trini agrees. “Maybe later tonight.”

“Same here, I really just want to drink tonight,” Nisha adds in.

“I’ll smoke with you later tonight, once I get my buzz on,” Sofia says.

“Looks like it’s just you and me Kyle,” I tell him.

“Dude, no way! I can’t smoke!” Kyle declares. “Especially not tonight.”

“Oh come on Kyle, when’s the last time you and I blazed?” I asked.

“Dude I’ve never smoked before,” He says.

“I know, that’s exactly my point!”

“God damn Justin, can’t you go a few hours without smoking?” Nisha asks.

“Yeah… It’s not like I’m addicted or anything. You can’t get addicted to Mary Jane.” I inform her.

“Hey I got an idea, how about you hold off on smoking for a little bit and come help us pick out something nice to wear at the mall after we get our booze!” Sofia mentions. “In the meantime why don’t you come over here and have a seat.” She pats the cushion next to her.

“Sure, why not..” I take Sofia’s offer and sit down in between her and Lashun. She gave me a smile and scooted a little closer to me causing me to tense up. I’m definitely not used to having this kind of attention. She was still wearing shorts and a t-shirt from yesterday, but even then she was still gorgeous. We caught each other’s eye for a second before we both looked away. I can’t believe she likes me. I mean, she does like me, right?

“So Kyle, I hear you like Stacy?” Trini asks.

“Uhh… Who told you that?” he asked.

“Like it’s not obvious!” Nisha retorted.

“It’s totally fine Kyle, honestly you and Stacy would be perfect together,” Lashun mentions.

“Really?” he asks.

“Of course!” Sofia says. “Honestly, I’m pretty sure she likes you too.”

“No way! Really?” he asks once more.

“Trust me, she does,” Sofia repeats.

“Dude! Tonight’s your night! You have to ask her out!” I tell him.

“I don’t know…” Kyle mumbles.

“Stop being a pussy!” Nisha shouts at him. “Grow a pair and just talk to her.”

“I thought you said I had no chance with her!”

“Yeah, because you’re a pussy!” She says.

Just then Sofia’s phone buzzes. She picks it up and reads the text. “Oh shit yeah, Juan’s on his way over.”

“Hell yeah!” Nisha says. “What are we getting for booze!?”

“Tequila?” Trini asks.

“Eck, no way am I doing Tequila again after last time,” Lashun says.

“Fine..” Trini pouts as she folds her hands over her chest.

“Vodka?” Nisha asks.

“I’m good with vodka,” Lashun adds.

“Vodka doesn’t sound bad to me..” Sofia says as she sets her hand on my thigh. “What about you Justin, do you like vodka?”

“Honestly? I’ve never really drank before…” I admitted.

“What!? Really!?” Sofia gasped, giving my thigh a squeeze. I nodded in response. “How have you never drank before?”

“I guess I never really been to any parties before,” I tell her. “Never really got invited.”

“How is that possible? I mean who wouldn’t want to have you at the party? What about your friends? They don’t drink either?” Sofia quizzed me.

“Not really, where I went to school we have like 6,000 students in our high school. It’s pretty easy to go unnoticed. I usually hang out with my 2 best friends Sue and Austin.” I explained. “Outside of video games, and of course blazing, we never really did much else. I occasionally did some skateboarding, but that about sums it up.”

“Wow! And here I thought you were the experienced college-bound party kid,” she says.

“Ha, I mean, I guess looks can be deceiving,” I told her.

“Well tonight I’m going to pop that party cherry!” She winked at me as her hand left my thigh and slid into mine, interlocking our fingers together.

We all heard a knock at the door and Trini jumped to her feet to answer it. “Juan! Hey!”

“Hey Trini,” Juan said. Sofia pulled her hand away, quickly stood up and walked over to Juan.

“Come on in,” She replied.

“Thanks!” he said.

“Spits we got to make this quick, I’ve got shit to do today,” he told her.

“Okay okay, can you get us a half gal of vodka?” she asked.

“Anything specific?” he asked.

“Smirnoff I guess,” Sofia shrugged.

“Got cash?” he asked.

“Yeah sure,” she turns around and holds out her hand. “Okay people if you want some booze, pay up!”

I grab my wallet and pull out some cash and hand it to Sofia along with everyone else. She hands all the cash to her brother. “Is that good enough?”

“Yeah that’s fine, I’ll be back in a minute,” he says.

As we wait for him, Sofia and I sit back down on the couch. I give her the raised eyebrow look.

“What?” she asks.

“Spits?” I ask. Her cheeks instantly go red.

“Oh.. ha.. That’s just a nickname my family gave me..” She shrunk into the couch more. “There have been several instances where I start laughing when I’m taking a drink and I end up spitting everywhere.”

“Just a few instances?” Trini buts in.

“Okay! Okay, It’s happens a lot,” she muttered.

“Ha that’s funny, I’m going to have to put that to the test!”

“Don’t you dare!” she warned me.

“Or what?” I asked.

“I’ll make sure to spit all over you!” she laughed as she placed her hand back on my thigh.

It didn’t take long for her brother to come back with the alcohol. Once Trini, Sofia, and Lashun all changed we all piled into Nisha’s van and headed to the mall.

Chapter 6

It was a short drive to the mall, which was really a cluster of stores. And seeing how this is California, it was all outside. As we ventured the sidewalk. passing all kinds of stores, Sofia and I fell behind the group. We eventually entered a woman’s clothing store. Sofia started to browse the racks of dresses, she grabs a pretty yellow dress and holds it up to her figure. “What do you think?”

“I think it would look good on you,” I compliment her.

“Really?” she says with a hint of insecurity.

“Of course, but it doesn’t matter what I think. All that matters is what you think of the dress. Try it on and see how it makes you feel.” I say.

“How do you not have a girlfriend?” she asks.

“Truthfully, I have no idea. It’s not like I haven’t tried.”

“Okay… I have to ask…” She bit her lip as her eyes journeyed down my body and eventually making their way back to my gaze. “Do you honestly not know how cute you are?”

“You really think so?” I ask.

“Yeah! I’ve never met someone so honest and kind,” she says as her cheeks turn a rosy red color. I smile at her compliment.

“Really? Thanks!” I say as our eyes connect for a moment, a string of hair that wasn’t held in by the ponytail falls from her ear. I lightly brush it back. If I thought her cheeks were red before, they’re glowing now.

‘I’m… I’m going to go try this on,” she stutters. She starts to head towards the dressing room before looking back at me. “Are you coming? I need someone to tell me how it looks.”

“Ah… Yeah definitely,” I nervously spit out. I follow her to the dressing rooms and wait while she puts on the dress. After a few moments, the door to the dressing room opens and… “Wow…” She looked absolutely gorgeous. The yellow dress came down to the middle of her thigh. It wrapped tightly around her body, showing off her curves. She took out the band that held her hair up in a ponytail, so it all came down to her shoulders. The dress had spaghetti straps that mingled with the lace to her bra. The bright yellow dress perfectly contrasts her dark brown eyes.

“So.. you like it?” she asks hesitantly.

“Uh, I think you look beautiful in that dress… Not to say the dress makes you look beautiful,” I nervously start rambling. “You were beautiful before the dress, it just… It really brings out your eyes and..”

“Ha, you know you tend to ramble when you’re nervous,” she points out.

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m just not used to having someone as amazing as you to talk to,” I tell her. “It’s kind of nerve-racking.”

“Don’t apologize, I think it’s… cute.” She smiles at me, causing my stomach to cease up.

“There you guys are!”

We both look up to see Nisha and the rest of the group walking towards us. “Wow, damn girl, you look fine!” Trini points out.

“Thanks! I still have to pay for it,” she mutters as she grabs her elbow and tenses up. “Have you guys already picked out something to wear?”

“Trini and Nisha have,” Lashun says.

“Why don’t you change and pay and we’ll help Lashun find something cute,” Trini replies.

“Okay, sounds great!” Sofia says. She then goes back into the changing room.

“I’ll stay and wait with Sofia,” I tell the group.

“Okay Romeo,” Nisha teases, they then start browsing the store.

As Sofia heads into the dressing room to change, I quickly go find an identical dress and head up to the checkout. “My friend just tried on a dress just like this, I was wondering if I could pay for the dress she tried on? Here is the exact same dress, I think.”

“Yeah, that’s fine, but I’m going to have to take off the anti-theft lock from her dress,” a girl in a punk rock black and red plaid skirt, black t-shirt with overalls, fishnet stockings and a pair of black combat boots says and I nod that it’s fine.

She rings up the dress. “That’ll be $150.”

“What!? A hundred and fifty dollars for a dress?!” No fucking way!!! I take a deep swallow and hand her the credit card my parents gave me for “emergencies.” This is definitely an emergency! Finally, a girl likes me! I have to impress her, right!?

She hands me back the card and two receipts. I sign one and hand it back. “Should I just have her bring up the dress after she is finished in the dressing room?”

“Yeah and I’ll remove the anti-theft lock.” She takes the other dress and hangs it up on a rack behind her.

I head back to the dressing rooms as Sofia comes out in the clothes she had on, even so, she is still gorgeous. She gives me a smile and I return the favor. “I’m going to go pay for this and then you want to meet up with the group?”

“Sure,” I nod. I didn’t tell her because I wanted to surprise her.

We walked up to the checkout.

“Zita right?” Sofia asks the girl behind the cash register.

“Yeah, we had math class together last year,” Zita says. Sofia hands her the dress. The girl takes out the anti-theft lock and puts it in a bag and hands it back.

“Here is my card,” Sofia pulls out her card and hands it to the girl behind the counter.

“Your boyfriend already paid for it,” Zita says causing me to tense up. She called me her boyfriend!

“Really?” Sofia asks, looking back at me. I nod, knowing I’m probably blushing right now.

“Oh thank you! You didn’t have to do that!” she squills pulling me into a hug. I wrap my arms around her.

“Awe, aren’t you two adorable!” Sofia and I quickly break off as Lashun comes over with a dress in hand. We both awkwardly look around trying to act like nothing happened. Lashun hands Zita the dress.

“Hey, you work here?” Lashun asks.

“Yep,” Zita says. “$150 please.”

Lashun hands her a credit card and Zita rings her up and hands her the bag with her dress in it. “It’s nice to see you, I hope you enjoy the rest of the summer.”

“Are you guys hungry, do you want to hit up the food court?” Trini asks as she walks up to us with Kyle and Nisha behind her.

“Oh hell yeah!” I say.

“Are you kidding, we just ate not too long ago! How can you be hungry right now?” Nisha asks.

“I’m always hungry!”

“I could use a quick bite to eat as well,” Kyle adds.

“Yeah me too!” Lashun says.

“Fine let’s grab something at the food court,” Nisha relents.

We head down to the food court. “So who was that?” I ask Sofia.

“She’s just some girl we go to school with,” she replies.

“Yeah she kind of gets bullied by some of the girls on the dance team,” Lashun says.

“I heard she’s trans,” Nisha spits out. “At least that’s what the rumor was.”

“So! What’s wrong with being trans?” Trini asks.

“Nothing, that’s just what everybody is saying,” Nisha tries to explain.

“So Kyle and Justin, what are you guys planning on wearing to the party?” Sofia quickly changes the subject.

“I was planning on wearing just this,” I tell them.

“Yeah same here,” Kyle agrees.

“Really!?” They all say at the same time.

Kyle and I both look at each other. “What’s wrong with what we’re wearing?” I say.

“Yeah!?” Kyle adds.

“Come on guys, you both look like you just got out of bed,” Trini points out.

“Well, we did get out of bed, before we came to your house,” I retort.

“Right, that’s why you dumbasses need to shower and change into something nice,” Nisha bluntly puts it straight.

“After we get you guys something nice to wear of course,” Sofia says, winking at me. Oh great, now I have to spend money to buy clothes for me on top of the $150 for the dress I bought Sofia?! My parents are going to kill me. I’ll just have to get a job. I wonder if the dispensary is hiring…

“Yeah Kyle, if you really want to impress Stacy, you’ll want to look fresh,” Trini says to him. “Let us pick you both out something nice. You’ll be the best looking boys at the party.”

“Alright… Let’s get this over with,” Kyle sighed.

“Yeah…” I agreed.

“Oh come on, you boys act like its such a drag,” Sofia tells us as she slips an arm around my waist. “It’ll be fun. Just trust me!”

“Okay, yeah! Definitely!” I can now see the appeal in shopping for clothes, especially with Sofia. I also wrap my arm around her.

“Wow… Is that all it takes to get you to do stuff? Just have Sofia persuade you and now you’re excited?” Nisha asks. I guess she has a point. Sofia does have a way with words.

We stop at a surfer clothing shop. “Let’s stop in here and check it out!” Sofia perks up, she gives my waist a squeeze.

We enter the shop, which is full of surfboards, skateboards, surfer gear, and surfer brand clothing. It’s a pretty cool store. “Nisha, we should stop here later and check out these surfboards! I’m definitely going to be doing a lot of surfing while I’m here.”

“Obviously!” Nisha states. “Don’t worry though, I’ve got a spare board you can use, you don’t have to buy a new one. They’re pretty expensive.”

Sofia breaks away and starts browsing the different shirts. “Oh, this would look good on you!” She grabs a sleek grey, button up, long sleeve, collared shirt and walks over to me holding it up against my torso. “Yeah you need to try this on, but let me finds a nice pair of shorts to go with it.”

I follow her over to the shorts section. I see Trini, Lashun, and Nisha with Kyle. Each of them has a different outfit for him to try on. He looks like he’s having so much fun… That was sarcasm.

“Oh! This looks nice!” She pulls a pair of khaki shorts. “These will go perfectly with that shirt. Try these on.”

I follow her back to the dressing room. I step inside and put on the outfit she got for me. It fits like a glove, perfect size. I look in the mirror and even I think it looks good. I walk out to show Sofia and her face lights up. “Oh! My! GOD! You look great!”

“Uh, thanks! Not as good as you did in that yellow dress though.” Her cheeks instantly went red.

“For someone who has never had a girlfriend, you sure know how to flirt.” She places her hand on my chest and smiles at me. Even though there is a layer of fabric between her hand and my chest, I feel this weird tingling sensation where her hand is.

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was flirting…” I look away, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Justin don’t apologize. I like it,” she smiles and winks at me.

I smile back. “I’m going to quick change out of these and check out.”

“Okay.” Her hand slides down to my stomach before she lets go. I quickly jump back into the dressing room and change into my original clothes. I see Sofia join the rest of girls as they pin different shirts and shorts up against Kyle. I feel his pain, thank god my experience was short and sweet.

I went to check out and there was no one at the register, but there was a bell, which I rang of course. A cute blonde girl with dark brown eyes wearing a blue shirt and pair of short khaki shorts came out of the backroom.

“Stacy!! Since when have you worked here?!” Nisha almost shouted.

“Hey, Nisha! Oh, the whole gang’s here, how’s it going?” she asked almost hesitantly. “I started working here at the beginning of the summer.”

“Oh… I didn’t know that,” Nisha says.

“Well, I kind of didn’t really tell anyone,” Stacy says. “Oh hey Kyle! I didn’t see you there.”

“Hey, Stacy!” Kyle squeaked out. Holy shit! I just put two and two together. That’s Stacy Mills!? Wow… No wonder Kyle likes her, she’s beautiful. “Are you going to the party tonight?”

“Of course she’s going to the party tonight!” Nisha answers for her.

“Honestly, I was kind of going to skip the party tonight. Wait… are you going?” She asks Kyle.

“Ah yeah actually,” Kyle says.

“Since when do you go to parties?!” Stacy asks a little surprised.

“Well I don’t usually, but my cousin who I’m not sure if you met before is up and Nisha thought it would be a great idea for us to go out,” Kyle says.

“Stacy that’s Justin,” Nisha points over at me. “Justin this is Stacy Mills.”

“It’s nice to meet you! Kyle… I mean Nisha has told me a lot about you!” Damn it! God, I’m so stupid.

“Well it’s nice to meet you too Justin, here I can ring you up real fast,” Stacy says as she walks over. She grabs the clothes, rings them up and puts them in the bag. “That will be $75 please.”

I hand her the “emergency” credit card. She hands it back after she runs it through. Then she hands me the bag.

“So Stacy, what do you think looks better on Kyle?” Nisha asks. “The blue polo or the white one?”

Kyle gives a sharp look at Nisha. Stacy walks over to them and takes a look at the clothes. “Definitely the blue one!”

“Really?” Kyle asks.

“Yeah, I think blues your color,” she points out. “By the way, I totally didn’t know you were going to the party.”

“Neither did I.” She laughs at his words.

“I didn’t think you were the party type,” she says.

“Honestly, I’m not.”

“Me neither,” she says. Sofia walks over to me and gives me a smile as we both eavesdrop on their conversation.

“You should come, I mean who else is going to make fun of all stupid things drunk high school kids do with me?”

“You know, that actually sounds kind of fun.” She smiles at him. “I might take you up on that. By the way, if you’re going to go with the blue polo, you definitely want to wear these shorts with them.”

She grabs a pair of grey shorts and hands them to him. “Yeah definitely.”

An awkward silence fills the air. “Well Kyle you want to check out? We should get going…” Nisha says.

“Here let me ring you up real fast.” She grabs the clothes from Kyle and they head over to the cash register. She scans the items, neatly folds them up and bags them. “That’ll be $60.”

Kyle fumbles through his pockets to grab his wallet and hands her a card. She swipes it and hands it back along with the bag.

“So will I see you tonight?” Kyle asks.

“Yeah, I think so.” She gives Kyle a huge smile.

“Great, I can’t wait!”

“Me too!” she says.

We head out of the store with clothes in hand. “That was Stacy Mills!?” I ask.

“Yep!” Nisha answers.

“Dude, Kyle! She totally likes you!” I tell him.

“How do you know?” Kyle asks.

“God Kyle, you’re such a moron. I feel like the only person who doesn’t know that Stacy likes you is you,” Nisha brashly points out.

“Oh cut your brother some slack, love is a complicated thing,” Sofia says as she smiles at me.

“So true, now let’s get some food! I’m starving!” Lashun says.

“Lashun, you’re always hungry!” Nisha says. “I have no idea how you can eat so much and stay so fit!”

“It’s because I run 5 miles every morning with James,” she explains.

“Why the hell would you ever do that?” Sofia asks.

“Long distance running helps boost your stamina and endurance, so you can perform better later in the game, duh!” Lashun states.

“Does James need another running partner?” Trini asks. “I will definitely run with him. He runs with his shirt off right?”

“No… Just no… “ Lashun answers.

The food court isn’t very busy when we arrive. We all split up to get the food we all like. Sofia and I slowly walk around checking out the different food.

“What are you in the mood for?” I ask.

“Honestly, I could use a good burger and fries,” she says. “We always eat Hispanic food at my house.”

“I love Mexican food! Taco Bell is one of my favorite places to eat!”

“Ha, I wouldn’t call that Mexican, let alone Hispanic! One of these days you need to come over to my house and experience a real Hispanic dish,” she tells me. “My grandma can make a mean fried shredded beef empanadas.”

Wow, I’m an idiot… Obviously, Taco Bell isn’t authentic, what was I thinking, but those empanadas or whatever they are sound good. “I don’t know what that is, but it sounds delicious!”

“Well, what are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Eating dinner at your house?” I give her a big smile.

“If you’re lucky…” She returns the smile.

“So, where can we get a good burger?”

“Judging by the fact you consider Taco Bell to be your favorite Mexican restaurant, there is a McDonalds over there. But… if you want the best burger you’ll ever eat period, you need to try out this place.” We stop right in front of a vendor called Personal Burgers. I read over the menu and you can literally build your own burger. There are so many options, they even have stuffed burgers with even more options of what you want inside your burger. They also have some special burgers as well.

“Wow! Never seen something like this before. What are you getting?” I ask.

“What I always get, the volcano burger. I like my food spicy,” she says.

“Want to split an order of fries?” I ask.

“I don’t know.. Their fries are the best, it’s hard to share them,” she laughs. “I’m just kidding, I would love to share my fries with you.”

“Awesome!” I step up and order two volcano burgers, two drinks and an order of fries, which comes to $16.75. I think this is definitely considered another emergency. I mean, a man’s gotta eat. I hand the clerk the credit card, he swipes it and hands it back along with a recipe.

It doesn’t take long for them to finish our order and we head over to join up with the rest of the group. By the time we finish eating my phone goes off. “Ah crap, it’s my mom.”

‘Hi mom, how are you?’

‘Did someone forget to call when they landed?’

‘Yep, someone definitely forgot to call, whoever it was, it’s a good thing they have a wonderful mom to call them and remind them.’

I hear giggles from the group, I’m sure Nisha is just loving this right now.

‘Well, I hope that someone made it there safely and is settling in okay.’

‘Yeah, mom everything is going great! Can I call you back, I’m eating lunch with Nisha, Kyle, and all their friends.’

‘Are you going to remember this time?’

‘Yeah! I promise!’

‘Okay I love you, I’m glad you’re making new friends.’

‘Love you too, bye!’ I hang up on my mom before she gets a chance to drag on the conversation.

“So…”

“Did Justin forget to call his mommy?” Nisha teases, causing more laughter from everyone.

“Nope, someone else forgot,” I joke. “So, what now?”

“Well, we should probably head back to my place and get ready for tonight,” Trini says.

“And you two should go back to our house to shower and put on those new clothes before you come to Trini’s,” Nisha points out. “No one wants to smell you two. Then we will pregame and eventually make our way over to Chris’s house.”

And that’s exactly what we did. We went back to Trini’s house, the girls got out of the car and then Kyle and I went back to his house, showered, changed into our new clothes and found our way back to Trini’s house.

Chapter 7

As we walked in, Sofia was in a towel, obviously after just finishing her shower. Her caramel skin was glistening as streaks of water dripped down her curvy, yet toned legs and arms. Her hair was wrapped up in another towel. We both stared at each other, she was just as surprised as I was. Eventually, I turned away, giving her some privacy, at least from my eyes, as she slipped away into the hall.

Nisha was sitting on the couch in her new dress along with Trini. “Didn’t expect you guys over so soon. Did you even shower?”

“Obviously, we were gone for over an hour,” Kyle argues. I hear the sound of the shower starting up. Lashun must be just getting in.

Horacio walks out into the room. “Hey Justin! Hey Kyle!”

“Crypto!” I still can’t believe this kid is Crypto.

“Hey Horacio,” Kyle says.

“So… You guys are going to the party too? I would, but I got plans tonight…” he trails off.

“Don’t act like you were invited,” Trini says rather bluntly. “No one wants a chubby little 14-year-old at their party.”

“Ouch…” I sighed. “Maybe next time Crypto.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Trini says.

“Did you guys see the footage that got leaked of the Ghost?” Horacio asks.

“There’s more?” Kyle asks.

“You’re not talking about the one with the ninja, right?” I ask.

“Nope! Have you guys seen the clown videos that were popping up a few months ago?” he asks.

“Yeah, who hasn’t?” Kyle says.

“Someone leaked a new video this morning,” Horacio explains. “Apparently it was taking a few months ago. I think it was before the riots in LA. It’s better if you just watch it for yourself.”

“Oh my god, you guys are such fucking nerds!” Nisha mutters.

“Nisha we’ve already been through this… We’re Geeks! You’re the nerd Ms. Historian!” I retort, Trini giggles just a little.

“Yeah, sure! Why not,” Kyle says. We follow Horacio into his room. He takes a seat in his chair and pulls up his website The Shadow Leaks. The first video there is of the clown.

“I’ve never heard of this website before,” Kyle says.

“It’s something my friends and I have been working on,” he says. “Here it is, check this out.”

He clicks the play button. We can’t see anything, it’s too dark.

“Holy fuck!” I shout, as Kyle and I both jump back. The creepiest fucking clown I’ve ever seen appeared in the camera as a light flickered on and off. It was completely bald except for one orange spike of hair on top with white face paint covering its entire head. It had black diamonds painted on its eyes that came up to its forehead. Its mouth also had black paint in a triangle shape. And of course, its nose had a red color paint. It was smiling one of the most ghoulish smiles you could possibly imagine and you could see the nastiest rotten teeth.

I’m assuming this is a dude, he was wearing a dirty red shirt with white polka dots and one of those neck ruffle things, it had all these disgusting red stains on it. Oh fuck, are those blood stains? It also had blue jean overalls, that were torn with more blood stains.

What the fuck!? It had a knife with blood dripping off of it!

‘Hehe hello boys and girls!’ it spoke… Its voice was deep and crackling. ‘I have a special treat for you tonight. Heheha.’

The clown moved out of the way to show three tied up and gagged people. It appeared to be a family. A woman who might have been in her early 40’s. Next to her was a little girl! This is so fucked up. She looks like she’s not even 10 years old. On the other side of her is obviously her dad. He looks to be about the same age as the mom. The girl and her dad share the same blonde hair color. The mom had a dark brunette color hair. They all looked terrified. There were two more clowns behind them. Both just as sadistic looking as the first.

Ohhh shit! On the ground in the corner of what appeared to be a garage was a dead dog. Blood was everywhere. Now we know whose blood is on the knife.

‘We’re going to have some fun with these three,’ the first clown says. He walked over to the little girl and held the bloody knife to her face as tears were rolling down her cheeks. The mom and dad were both frantically struggling against their restraints.

“Dude this is so fucked up! I don’t know if I can watch this,” I tell them.

“Yeah, I don’t know about this,” Kyle agrees.

“Just keep watching, trust me,” Horacio says.

“I better not see these people die.” I continue to watch as the clown smears the knife against the the girl’s clothes. He bends down over her and drags his disgusting tongue across her cheek. The girl shut her eyes tightly, giving out a small whimper as her dad desperately tries to yell through his gags. The mother was trying to beg as she cried, but all you could hear were muffled whimpers.

You could see a smokey mist start to creep in behind the two clowns in the back. Either they didn’t notice or they already knew about it.

All of a sudden the lights went out. “What the!?” The first clown said.

Two burning red orbs appeared in the dark.

“Argghglll,” one of the clowns grunted. The lights flickered on for a split second revealing one of the most chilling things I’ve ever seen. The burning red orbs belonged what looked like the grim reaper. It was covered in a tattered cloak as the smokey mist surrounded it. It had what looked like it’s hand with long sharp talons coming out of the chest of the clown in the back left corner. It’s holding the clown’s bloody heart.

A look of terror appeared on the face of the clown next to them, which is almost impossible to imagine something that creepy feeling fear. What happened next was hard to follow. The lights once more flickered off and on. The ghost vanished! The dead clown was left standing for a few seconds before collapsing to the ground. Another flicker of the lights and it the reaper reappeared behind the second clown, the smokey mist seethed off it. Those sharp talons clamped around the clown’s neck and it ripped out his throat. The clown fell to the ground holding its neck, you could hear the sounds of him choking on his own blood and then it went silent.

“No! Get away from me!” The main clown screamed as the ghost stood over the dead clowns. The family went silent, the look of terror covered their faces.

The room went dark. You could hear the demented screams of the clown and some bone-chilling sounds of the ripping and tearing of flesh.

“Holy fuck!” I shouted as the lights went back on, showing the clown standing in front of the camera. Suddenly it’s body fell to the floor, revealing the demonic ghost holding its head. It let go of its head just as the lights went out for just a mere instant. You could hear the thud as the head it the floor just as the lights went back on. The ghost was gone, just like that. The family was left still tied up in the middle of the room frozen with fear.

“That was truly fucked up,” Kyle muttered.

“Was that the same ghost that fought the shadow?” I asked.

“What the hell is the shadow?” Kyle asked.

“The ninja that was in the last video fighting with the ghost,” I tell him.

“We started calling her the shadow,” Horacio says. “But yeah, I believe it’s the same ghost. They’re calling it all sorts of different names, everything from the Grim Reaper to the wrath of God.”

“They say it only goes after the wicked,” he continues. “But my friend Brittany claims it killed off an entire squad of police including her aunt and it tried to kill her as well. If it weren’t for the shadow, she would have been another one of its victims.”

“Then why didn’t it kill off the family?” Kyle asks.

“I don’t know,” Horacio says. His face scrunches up, looks as if he’s trying to figure out a good enough explanation for Kyle’s question. “Who knows what motivation a ghost has for killing people.”

“I bet the leader of the Promethean task force can take the Ghost on!” I say.

“No way! He’s just a wealthy guy with a bunch of awesome gadgets. There is no way he can take a Ghost who may or may not be the Grim Reaper!” Horacio argues.

“Have you seen what John Farrell can do?” I ask. “Did you see the video of the tornado? He literally generated an energy shield and prevented those people from being crushed by the bridge that collapsed.”

“So the Ghost can disappear completely and who knows what else he’s capable of doing,” Horacio adds. “Who knows, he might be able to phase through inanimate objects.”

“I doubt he could phase through that energy shield!” I argue. “What do you think Kyle?

“Dude, I don’t know,” He sighs. “Although, the ghost couldn’t beat that ninja, Shadow or whatever you’re calling it.”

“Yeah but… I guess you make a good point…” Horacio admits.

“Hey dweebs, are you losers ready to start pregaming!?” Nisha shouted as she walked down the hall towards us. I look at Kyle and he gives me a sigh. Nisha enters the room all dressed up in a black dress, with makeup and her hair all done up. The dress came down to her mid thighs, showing off her toned legs.

“Isn’t it a bit early?” Kyle asks.

“Is it ever too early to start drinking?” she asks. “Stop being a pussy, Kyle.”

Chapter 8

Kyle finally relents and we follow Nisha out to the living room. Trini and Lashun are sitting on opposite sides the three seater, Sofia is on the love seat. Nisha plops down in between Trini and Lashun.

“Hey Justin, pop a squat. I mixed you a drink.” She grabs one of the drinks in front of her and hands it to me as I sit down next to her on the love seat. She looks absolutely beautiful in that yellow dress. Her hair loose, but elegantly lays on the left side of her shoulder. She’s got on a glossy pink lipstick. And for some reason, her eyes seem to glisten.

“Thanks, wow you look amazing!” I tell her.

“You really think so!?”

“Absolutely!”

“Thanks!” She gives me a smile and leans a little closer to me.

“Let’s play a drinking game!” Nisha says.

“What do you have in mind?” Trini asks.

“Never have I ever?” Nisha asks.

“I’m down,” Sofia says.

“Sounds good to me,” Trini replies.

“You need to drink for this Kyle, so go make yourself one,” Nisha tells him.

“Okay fine,” Kyle relents as he gets up and heads over to the fridge.

“So how do you play this game?” I ask them.

“You’ve never played never have I ever?” Sofia asks and I shake my head.

“Wow, well… The game is played like this, we all take turns stating something we’ve never done. Like this, ‘never have I ever kissed a boy before,’ and whoever has kissed a boy has to drink.” Immediately Nisha takes a drink.

Everyone stares at Nisha. “What, we are playing aren’t we?” she asks. “Besides, you guys have never kissed a boy before?”

An awkward silence fell over the room. I look at Sofia and she takes a drink. “Nope, I’ve never kissed a boy before,” I declare. Everyone erupts into laughter and Sofia spits out her drink everywhere!

“Wow, haha! You weren’t kidding!” I laugh.

“I told you not to make me laugh when I’m drinking!” She says blushing. “Even though it’s your fault for making me laugh, I’ll go clean it up.”

“No, let me do it!” I smile as I get up and head over to the kitchen to grab some paper towel.

“Okay Nisha, spill the deets, who was it?” Trini asks.

“It may or may not have been the person who’s going to be the starting center this year… “ she says.

“No way! You kissed Arthur Johnson!?!” Lashun asks.

She nods confirming the question.

“Why would you kiss that asshole?” Kyle asks.

“Oh he’s not that bad,” Nisha says.

“When did this happen?” Sofia asks.

“Last year, he was practicing late one night, working on his post-up moves.” Nisha smiled as she sat back on the couch. “I challenged him to a game of 1 on 1. We ended up kissing.”

“No way!” Trini says.

“Who won?” Lashun asks.

“We never finished,” Nisha says with a wink.

“Justin, now it’s your turn!” Sofia tells me.

“Okay, ah… Never have I ever… drank before!” I smile at them all as they all take a drink.

“Wow… Tonight’s going to be a lot of firsts for you!” Sofia says as she gently elbows me.

“Kyle’s turn!” Trini says.

“Uh, never have I ever… Been to a party before!” he says. Everyone takes a drink besides Kyle and me.

“God, you guys are such losers!” Nisha says.

“My turn!” Trini says. “Never have I ever threw up during a game!”

Lashun takes a sip. “That was one game and I had the stomach flu.”

“I still can’t believe coach let you play!” Sofia says.

“That just goes to show how terrible of a coach he was,” Trini says.

“Okay, my turn,” Nisha says with the biggest grin. “Never have I ever made out with my pillow, pretending it was Stacy Mills!”

“Hey, you said you wouldn’t tell anyone about that!” Kyle says angrily!

“Oh Stacy! You’re such a good kisser!” Nisha pretends like she’s making out.

“I didn’t say that!” he argues.

“Awe Kyle, someone needs to drink!” Sofia says. Kyle hesitantly takes a sip of his drink.

“Okay Sofia, your turn!” Trini says.

She turns to me with a big smile. “Never have I ever kissed a girl before that wasn’t my mother!”

“You have too!” Trini says.

“I know, I know. I just wanted to see who here hasn’t kissed a girl before.” She says as she takes a drink along with Trini, Lashun, and Nisha. Kyle and I are the only two that didn’t take a drink.

“Wait a sec, you all have kissed a girl before?” I ask.

“Basketball camp, truth or dare,” Nisha says.

“You haven’t kissed a girl before?” Sofia asks me.

“Nope, I told you I never had a girlfriend before,” I say feeling a little embarrassed.

“Doesn’t mean you’ve never kissed a girl before,” she says.

“Okay Justin, your turn!” Nisha says.

“Hmmm, never have I ever had a sibling before.” I smile widely as everyone but me takes a drink.

“Never have I ever had a crush on my history teacher!” Kyle blurts out.

Nisha gives him a death stare. “You’ve read my journal! You little shit!”

“Oh my god!!! You have a crush on Mr. Clemons!?” Trini gasps.

“That’s why you’re such a history buff!” Sofia says. “You just want to get some extra time with the hunky teacher!”

“Someone needs to take a sip!” I say to Nisha. She bitterly takes a drink from her cup.

“It’s on Kyle, just wait until it’s my turn!” Nisha glares at Kyle.

“Maybe we should play a different game,” I suggest.

“Yeah, I agree,” Kyle says.

“Honestly, it’s getting a little late, maybe we should head over to the party?” Sofia asks.

“Oh my god! It’s almost 10! Let’s go!” Trini says.

“You fucking lucked out Kyle!” Nisha says. “But don’t think we’re even yet! Revenge is a dish best served cold!”

“Nisha, are you going to DDD?” Sofia asks.

“Fine…” she reluctantly says.

“What’s DDD mean?” I ask Sofia.

“Designated Drunk Driver…” she replies.

“Shouldn’t we just get an uber?” I ask.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’m a pro at this,” Nisha states. “Besides, I’m not even drunk, I barely even have buzz right now.”

“I don’t know about this, have you guys seen how she drives sober?” I ask.

“Oh shut up!” She blurts out.

“Yeah, I agree. Letting Nisha drive period is dangerous.” Kyle says.

“You both can feel free to stay here!” She replies.

“I guess we’re just going to have to risk it,” I tell Kyle.

“I’ll get the vodka!” Trini says.

“Good idea!” Sofia says. “We don’t want to forget that!’

We all pile into the minivan. Nisha drives while Kyle grabs shotgun. Trini and Lashun sit in the middle seats, leaving Sofia and I take in the back seat. She slides her fingers in with mine and I give her a smile. As we depart, Kyle feels free to commentate on Nisha’s driving.

“Your speed keeps varying, why don’t you put it on cruise control!?” he says.

“Kyle shut up! I know how to drive! This isn’t my first rodeo,” she responds.

“Sure seems like it!”

“You should see them during the holiday get-togethers,” I tell Sofia. She lets out a soft giggle, giving my hand a squeeze.

Chapter 9

It doesn’t take us long before we get to the house of the party. The house has a gate at the end of the driveway, but it’s wide open and tons of cars have filled up the rather long driveway. We park on the side of the road. “So whose house is this anyways?” I ask as we get out of the van.

“It’s our friend Amy’s boyfriend’s House. His name is Chris Smith.” Sofia pointed out, as she grabs my hand once we’re out of the van.

“He’s the starting quarterback for the football team,” Lashun says.

“Oh cool,” I mutter rather sarcastically. “A jock’s house.”

“Chris isn’t like that, he’s one of the nicest guys that goes to our school,” Sofia says. “He and Amy have been dating since middle school.”

“Yeah, they are literally the perfect couple!” Trini adds.

“I’m kind of surprised Chris is throwing a party, to be honest,” Lashun says. “He’s not really the party type.”

“He probably didn’t have a choice when the rest of his friends found out his parents were going to be gone,” Trini says.

We finally make our way up the rather long driveway to one of the biggest houses I’ve ever seen. Of course, when you live in New York, you don’t tend to see a lot of houses. Just large skyscrapers. This house was white, with a large garage and multiple additions. It had normal dark cobalt shingles instead of the clay tiles I’ve been seeing. The entire place was lit up and I could hear loud music coming from the house. “Chris must be loaded!” I comment.

“Most people who live in Santa Barbara are,” Sofia tells me.

As we head inside, the place is packed. “Amy!” I hear Nisha shout. A beautiful brunette in a short black dress runs up dragging a guy with the waviest hair I’ve ever seen.

“Nisha!” The girl who I presume to be Amy says. The two of them hug. “Hey Lashun, Trini, Sofia! Kyle! I didn’t expect to see you here!”

“Sofia, who’s this!?” Amy asks, referring to me.

“This is my cousin Justin!” Nisha says. “Justin meet Amy Powell and her boyfriend Chris Smith. This is his house.”

“Nice to meet you both!” I say.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too!” Amy says.

“Likewise, and welcome to my house!” Chris says. “So are the two of you dating?”

“Ummm…” I look at Sofia.

“Yes!” she cuts me off. She turns to me and gives me a wink. I’m definitely not going to argue.

“Cool!” Chris says. “Well, there is a keg out back by the bonfire, you’re welcome to hit the hot tub and pool if you like. It was nice meeting you.”

He turns to Amy. “I’m going to check on a few things. Be right back.”

“Okay babe,” Amy replies.

“So, shots?” Amy asks.

“Hell yeah!” Nisha replies.

“Might as well,” Trini says.

I turn to Sofia and she seems excited. We follow Amy through the crowd, into the kitchen.

“Holy shit! Kyle!” This big black kid shouts as he makes his way over to us.

“Hey Adam!” Kyle says to him.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. I was going to ask you, but I just assumed you were going to blow it off,” he says.

“Well my cousin’s up and Nisha forced me to come,” Kyle replies. “By this way this is Justin, he’s staying with us while he goes to college. Justin this is Adam Thiel.”

“Nice to meet you, man!” I tell him as we slap hands and he pulls me in for a half hug, back pat.

“Yeah, nice to meet you too,” Adam says, then he turns back to Kyle. “Dude, Stacy’s here and she was asking about you.”

“Really!?” Kyle perks up. “Where is she? What did she say?”

“Chillax man! Last I saw her, she was in the living room with Sarah,” he says.

Kyle turns to me. “Don’t look at me, go talk to her!”

“What should I say?” he asks.

“Dude, you think way too much into things. Just strike up a conversation with her.” Adam says.

“I’m going to need that shot…” Kyle mumbles.

“Hell yeah, let’s do a shot!” Adam says.

“Nisha and the others were about to do some in the kitchen, let’s hurry over there before they finish,” I tell them.

We head into the kitchen and meet up with the rest of them.

“There you are! I thought I lost you.” Sofia says to me. “We’re just about to do shots, here.”

She hands me a shot and one to Kyle. “Do you have one more for Adam?” Kyle asks.

“Hey Adam, I didn’t see you there,” Sofia says.

“Really!? I’m 6’5 and black how could you miss me?” he laughs.

“You make a good point,” she hands him her shot and grabs the bottle and another shot glass to pour herself one.

“You guys ready to fuck shit up this school year?” Nisha asks.

“Hell yeah!” everyone responds simultaneously.

She slams her shot down and we all follow suit.

“Adam! What the fuck!?” A girl yells behind us.

“Hey, Shreya!” Nisha shouts. “Want to do a shot?”

“Hey Nisha,” This petite black girl comes up and gives Nisha a hug. “I was waiting for Adam outside, he was supposed to meet me out at the bonfire!” She turns to Adam and gives him a death stare.

“I’m sorry! I was literally on my way over there when I ran into Kyle!” Adam says.

“Hey, Kyle! You came! Stacy’s been asking about you all night! I honestly didn’t think you were going to show up,” Shreya says.

“Hey Shreya, I honestly wasn’t planning on coming, but my cousin’s staying with us and Nisha forced me to tag along,” Kyle replied. “By the way, this is Justin, my cousin. Justin this is Shreya, Adam’s girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you!” I say.

“You as well!” she responds.

“By the way, what did Stacy say? Do you know where she is?” Kyle asks.

“Dude! Just go talk to her! She’s probably with Sarah or Stephanie,” Adam sighs.

“Yeah, I was just with her and she was outside with them,” Shreya says.

Kyle looks at me as if I need to give him permission or something. “Don’t look at me, go out there and talk to her!” I tell him.

“I need another shot…” Kyle says.

“Oh my god…” I sigh. I walk over to Nisha, who is currently holding the vodka and grab it from her. Then grab the shot glass on the table and pour him another shot and hand it to him. “Take the shot and then go talk to her!”

“Okay! Okay…” He slams the shot and then he stumbles through the kitchen and gives us one last questionable look, before walking out the sliding doors.

“Is Kyle finally going to talk to Stacy?” Sofia asks and I nod in response.

“Who’s down for some sparring?!” Some dude shouts from the other side of the room. “We’re setting up some fights outside! I’ll take any of you pussies on!”

“What the fuck! Can Bret seriously go a day without trying to fight someone?” Shreya muttered.

“Adam! You down to for a little sparring?” The guy makes his way over here. He’s ripped from what I can tell.

“Brett, no one wants to fight right now! Just chill and enjoy the party,” Adam tells him.

“Ahh come on, don’t be a pussy. Who’s this guy?” Brett asks referring to me.

“That happens to be my cousin and no he isn’t going to fight you!” Nisha says as she gets in between us.

“Yeah I’m more of a lover, not a fighter,” I add.

“Whatever…” Brett says as he walks away.

“Sorry about Brett, he’s wound up too tight,” Adam says.

“It’s cool,” I say.

“Babe, let’s go out to the bonfire!” Shreya says.

“Alright, sure..” Adam replies as she pulls him behind her.

“Hey, do you want to go out and check the bonfire as well?” Sofia asks me.

“Ah, sure!” I reply as she grabs my hand and leads me outside onto a wood patio. There are just as many people outside as there was inside. There was a hot tub underneath an awning the right just as you step outside. It was already full of people in it. Just beyond the hot tub was a fire pit which has one long bench wrapped around it. Several people are relaxed on the bench, including Kyle, Stacy, Adam, and Shreya along with a few other people.

Past the fire pit is a set of stairs that leads down to the sandy beach. There’s a group of guys down there in a circle, hooting and howling. We head over to the fire pit.

“Hey, Sofia!” Stacy says.

“Hey, Stacy!” Sofia smiles and gives me a glance as Kyle and Stacy are sitting next to each other holding hands.

“Sofia!” This girl sitting on the other side of Stacy says.

“Hey, Michelle! Sarah! Stephanie! Nice to see you all are having a good time.” Sofia says. “This is Justin, he’s Kyle and Nisha’s cousin.”

We take a seat across from them. “It’s nice to meet you all,” I say.

“Yeah definitely, Nisha said you were coming over to stay with them,” Says the girl who I presume is Michelle.

“Yeah I’m attending Santa Barbara University in the fall,” I tell them.

“Cool…” she says. “Nisha also said you like to smoke MJ… Is that true? Because the night would be a lot better with a little bit of weed.”

“Haha, I guess she was right about that. If you guys want to smoke, I can roll a joint.” I tell them. “I did bring some just in case. Although only brought the stuff that was apparently mind-blowing.”

“Is it that Jack off stuff?” Sofia ask.

“Haha yeah that stuff,” I laugh. “The guy at the dispensary said we would never experience anything like it. It’s and I quote, ‘outta of this world!”

“Now we’re talking!” Michelle said as she licked her lips. “I’m down to get my mind blown!”

“Alright, I’ll roll it up!” I say.

I reach in my pocket and pull out my weed and pull out my bag. I take out the weed and a dollar along with the joint wraps. I break up the weed and roll a joint almost identical to last time. Then I grab the lighter and spark it.

“Ummm, I smell some weed!” Says some kid in the hot tub behind us. I hear a splash and the shuffling of feet. This guy soaking wet in just shorts steps in front of me just as I take a long hard rip. “I knew I smelt some Mary J! I don’t know who you are, but you’re my new best friend! The name is Bear Hiatt by the way!”

What an awesome name! Why couldn’t my parents give me a name like that?

“Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised. Wherever there is weed, you’re sure to be nearby.” Michelle smirks.

“Oh don’t act like you aren’t glad to see me!” He says as I hand the joint over to Sofia. “So do you mind if I get in on this?”

“No, not at all!” I reply.

“Awesome!” he shouts. Sofia hits it and then hands it to him. He takes a big long rip and then offers it to Kyle. Kyle shakes his head and Stacy also passes.

“Suit yourselves,” Michelle says as she eagerly grabs the joint and takes a big rip. The joint makes its way back to me and I take another rip before passing it to Sofia. It barely makes a third round before it’s a mere roach.

“Damn… This is some good shit!” Bear says.

“Yeah, I only hit it twice and I’m high as hell!” Michelle adds.

“Ahhh, crap!” Bear says. “I left my booze somewhere.”

“You know…” I say as I look up at the night sky, which is oddly clear. “Whenever I fuck up bad, I just remember that somewhere, an ant just brought borax laced food back to his queen and killed his entire family.”

“Yeah, that’s true, I guess it could always be worse,” he replies. The stars are so vivid and bright. We can’t be the only planet with life in this universe. “I’m just glad our bodies don’t shit while we are asleep.”

“Ew! That’s so gross!” one of the girls sitting next to Michelle says.

“I think we should take a moment and be grateful for that!” he continues. “I mean come on! How many times have you woken up just in time to go to the bathroom?”

“Honestly, I’ve woken up probably over 10,000 times and I’m still not used to it,” I add.

“You know what’s crazy?” Sofia asks. “Bodies are weird! I can run, jump, wakeboard, do cartwheels, play piano, and type 90 words per minute, but if I brush my teeth with the wrong hand… It’s like time slows down while my brain tries to process what the actual hell is going on!”

That’s a good point. I mean I feel like I’m pretty much ambidextrous, but if I try to write with my left hand, it comes out like garbage. Hmmm. I remember hearing something about the left side of the brain controlling the right side of the body…

“Holy shit!” I gasp. “I have finally discovered what’s wrong with my brain!”

“Ha… What’s that?” Sofia asks.

“On the left side, there is nothing right, and on the right side, there is nothing left!”

“Where do you come up with the words that come out your mouth?” she asks.

“I have a feeling they come from my brain, but I’m not entirely sure!” She laughs at that.

“Bear! Dude Zach Easley just got here!” some guy shouted from the house.

“Oh no shit! That kid is the fucking man!” Bear says. “Well, thanks for the smoke down! I owe ya one!”

Bear takes off into the house.

“Who’s Zach Easley?” I ask Sofia.

“Oh he’s a sophomore who pulled off one of the best pranks ever last year,” she says. “Do you want to go somewhere private to talk? I wouldn’t mind hearing more of those words of yours!”

“Ah sure… Yeah definitely! Where do you want to go?”

She stands up and extends her hand. “I don’t know, let’s just find somewhere where we can be alone…”

I grab her hand and follow her, we head back into the house and up the stairs. She finds a door and opens it to see if anyone’s inside, then she drags me in and shuts the door behind her. The room looks like it belongs to a girl. “This definitely isn’t Chris’s room…”

“This must be his little sister’s room, I think her name is Alisha… or Felisha maybe,” she says.

Looking around the room, the walls are a light pink color. Her bed has nice white sheets and is filled with stuff animals. She’s got a white desk and on top of it is a few comic books. “She’s into comics! That’s cool.”

“I’m not sure, but I think she hangs out with Horacio. I think I’ve seen her with him and a bunch of others,” she says. Maybe she plays Aratheon… I think I remember someone that’s real name was Felisha.

“So Spits…” I smile at her with the biggest grin I can muster as I sit down on the bed. “Any other nicknames I should be aware of?”

“Maybe,” She slily gives me a mischievous smirk as she sits down next to me. “That information doesn’t come free.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah it’s going to cost you a kiss,” She says as she stares into my eyes. Our faces are so close I can feel her breath.

“Hmmm, that’s a pretty steep price, but I think I can cover it.” She smiles and closes her eyes. I lean in just enough for our lips to touch. I bring my hand up against her cheek. Her tongue slips between my lips as she places her hand on my thigh. She pulls back just enough to look in my eyes.

“I don’t want this to be just a one-time thing…” she says.

“Me neither! I really like you!”

“Me too!” Her face lights up with a smile and she leans back in with a deep passionate kiss. We both fall to the bed.

She grabs my forearm, tracing her fingers until the wrap around my wrist and places my hand on the bare skin of her thigh. She starts to guide my fingers up her skirt.

All of a sudden red and blue lights start flashing out the window. I pull back and glance up to see cop cars at the end of the driveway. “Oh shit! The police are here!”

“Fuck! I can’t get in trouble! Especially with basketball.” She panics.

“Let’s see if we can find the others and make a run for it back to the car!” I quickly grab Sofia’s hand and make our way downstairs. Everyone is scattering in every direction.

“The cops are here!” someone yells.

I pull Sofia outside to find Nisha with Trini and Lashun. “Where’s Kyle?” I ask.

“I don’t know! He was with Stacy the last time I saw him. I think they went down to the beach!” Nisha spits out. She was clearly freaking out. “We can’t afford to get in trouble.”

“You guys try to make a break for it! See if you can sneak into the neighbor’s lawn. I’ll go find Kyle and Stacy!” I tell them.

“But what if you get caught?” Sofia asks.

“I can’t leave Kyle!” I tell her. “Just go with them and I’ll find you once I get Kyle and Stacy.”

She gives me a quick nod and they take off towards the neighbors. I start to sprint down to the beach. He’s nowhere to be found. I start running down the beach to see if they strolled further down, but nothing. Turning back I see flashlights come out to the beach. Ah, crap… Their starting to search the beach.

Where the hell could Kyle be? I have to get out of here or they’re going to catch me. I notice a wide dirt path leading off the beach. It looks like a dried up river. Screw it! There is really no other option at this point. I make my way down there, constantly looking over my shoulder. There is a cluster of trees that make it look sort of like a tunnel. At this point, I’m desperate to find someplace to hide, I don’t know how much longer I can keep up this pace.

I quickly look back, but I don’t see anyone following me. Just as I turn my head. SMACK!

I collapse backward and land on my ass. “What the fuck?!”

Oh, fuck that hurt. I look up, but I don’t see anything in front of me. I climb back to my feet and reach out. My hand hits something. Instantly a fucking entrance appears in front of me as if a door just slid open. What the literal fuck!? The guy that sold me this weed wasn’t kidding. I must be high as a kite right now. I walk inside the entrance and the door closes behind me. Oh shit!

What the fuck am I doing!? I continue down the hallway, which has metallic walls. I enter a room with two chairs surrounded by all sorts of screens, buttons, and thingamajigs. Just beyond the chairs is a giant window. Am I in a fucking spaceship? Holy shit! Aliens do exist!

I rush up to the chairs and sit in the one on the left. This is literally the best day of my life! Although… What if these aliens are the hostile kind? Hmmm. Wonder what this button does? It’s blinking. I click it and all of a sudden the ship lights up and I hear a loud noise. A strange voice says some weird words. I look around to find no one here. Did I just activate the engines? Oh, fuck! Why did I have to push the button!

The ship starts to lift off the ground. Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! How do I stop it!? I hit another button. There the voice is again and it says something I don’t understand. Suddenly the ship’s engines grow louder and it shoots forward pinning me in the seat. This can’t be happening!

The ship continues to ascend upward at an increasing speed. This is not good! I’m never smoking weed ever again! We just broke out of the Earth’s atmosphere. Ah shit.

Without warning, the ship bursts with energy, and springs forward, faster than anything I can ever imagine. The only thing I can see outside is this array of light. Did it just pull a Star Wars and go into hyperspace? Oh fuck, this can’t be happening! I just got a girlfriend… I think. We never really cleared that up.

—

What feels like a large amount of time has passed since I’ve been on this ship and yet we are still traveling at speeds I can’t possibly imagine. I feel completely sober at this point. I think at some point I must have dozed off in the cockpit. This feels like a dream. A somewhat awesome, but equally awful dream.

I reach in my pocket and my fingers pump across my bag of weed, joints and the lighter. Might as well, it looks like I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I break up the weed and roll up another joint. Then I light it up.

After a few puffs, I come to the realization that I may never get back home. Or this all could actually be a dream. I hope it’s the later. That would be a wicked dream. Although, if it is a dream then I never actually kissed Sofia. On the other hand, if it isn’t a dream, then I probably won’t ever see her again. This is so fucked up.

Huh… We were finally connecting! At least I finally get to meet some aliens. I hope their not flesh-eating carnivores…

—

Beep Beep Beep.

What’s going on!? Where am I?! Damn it! It wasn’t a dream, I’m still on the spaceship. I must have dozed off again.

Beep Beep Beep.

I look down at the controls to see what’s making the strange beeping sound. There is a button blinking and hit it without thinking. A hologram shoots up, with the strangest looking face I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to make out the features because the hologram wasn’t in color, but it had large black eyes. It started speaking words I couldn’t understand. The hologram disappears.

All of a sudden the ship immediately slows down and a large world comes into view surrounded by giant spaceships. My ship continues on its path to the closest ship. I’m freaking out right now. This isn’t going to be good.

These ships were huge! They were freakishly long and the closer my ship got to one of them, the bigger the got. There were so many of them. They surrounded the planet. The back of the ship was massive, but the front came to a point. It had a large tower-like structure that came up from the center of the back. Almost like a star destroyer but more rounded. Definitely similar in size. It has different shades of grey. The ship was finally about to land within the hanger of this massive frigate.

My ship landed and pretty much powered down. I made my way to the back where the entrance was. As the door opened up a battalion of armed aliens that looked like the one in the hologram stood in front of me, all armed with what I assumed were guns. They all had green skin and looked nearly identical with black armor. I slowly raised my hands. “Ah. It looks like there’s been a misunderstanding. My name is Justin and I’m from Earth. I mean you no harm!”

One of them started speaking, I couldn’t understand a word he was saying.

Two others came up to me and just like that I was thrown to the ground and my hands were bound behind my back. What the fuck did I do to deserve that? They patted me down and took out my phone, bag of weed, joints and the lighter. “Hey, those are mine!”

They dragged me off towards the far end of the hanger, where a rather large blast door was. It opened up into a long hall. They continued to take me down the hallway. We took several turns. God this can’t be happening. This must be a nightmare. Finally, we stopped in front of another blast door.

It opened to what appeared to be an office, I think. An almost identical alien was sitting behind the desk. They dropped me on my knees. The aliens that dragged me here were now speaking to it. It just stared at me. Those pitch-black eyes pierced right through me. These things are much more freaky up close, now that I have a better look at them. They have almost plated skin with different shades of green. Its chin was a darker shade then it’s cheeks and forehead. There was an almost black plate just about its eyes. It too was wearing black plated armor. It said a few words, then suddenly a sharp pain stabbed me in the back of the neck. “AAhhhh!”

“You mean to tell me that this creature here, stole Unit C1231’s ship and came here?” The alien spoke. Holy shit! I can understand it. “Now why would it steal one of our ships and bring it back to us?”

“Look, there’s been a big misunderstanding. I just stumbled upon this ship and accidentally turned on some kind of autopilot.” I explain to them.

“It must be lying. It surely intended to steal the ship!” the alien behind me on the right spoke.

“Regardless, we must set an example to anyone else who thinks they can make off with one of our ships. Take him down to the prison world. We’ll see how long it can survive down there.”

“Wait, that doesn’t sound good!” I cry out.

“Shut up fleshy!” One of them said as they picked me up by my arms and dragged me back out the door. “Good thing a transport is about to take off in a trisec. The sooner we get this fleshy off our hands the better.”

“I don’t give this fleshy a dusec with the criminals imprisoned there.” the other alien says.

“Please, this was just an accident!” I say.

“Shut up fleshy! Or you’ll meet your death sooner!” the one on the right threatens.

We arrive back at the hanger. There was another ship where they were loading what I assume was prisoners, they were all bound by some kind of crazy futuristic cuffs. There were so many different kinds of aliens. It’s crazy! Big ones, small ones, ones with horns, some had spikes and others had tentacles.

The two aliens that were dragging me halted next to two others who were looked to be in charge. “Captain wants this one down there as well.”

“Fine! Put it in the prison garbs and load it up with the others.” The two aliens that dragged me here took off as another grabbed me and cut off my clothes. I was completely naked in front of all these aliens. They undid my bindings for split second and handed me this blue jumpsuit. “Put this on!”

I did as I was told, then they put the cuffs back on me, this time at least they put them on in front. Then they led me behind the other aliens in cuffs. Before I knew it, I was sitting next to some weird looking wolf boy. “What are you in for?” it asks me.

“I guess I stole one of their spaceships…” I say. “And you?”

“Dealing sheeaff…” it tells me. “Listen… I’ve heard some bad stories about this place, It’s like a free for all down there with some pretty bad cooka’s down there.”

“What’s a cooka?” I ask.

“You know, bad guys…” he replies. “Some words don’t translate well.”

“Anyways, you look like you can hold your own, we should stick together. You know… Team up?” He adds.

“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!” I tell him. “I’m Justin by the way, what’s your name?”

“The names Keef,” he says.

“Oh like the crystals off a marijuana plant?!” I ask.

“I don’t know what that is,” Keef replies.

“Nevermind,” I tell him.

The shuttle takes off and it doesn’t take long before we land on the planet below. They bring us off the ship in a single file line. The base we landed on is surrounded by giant walls and two huge towers. It had one huge stronghold with tons of guards everywhere. The same green face aliens with black armor. They led us out to the gate, which had a small gate next to a much larger gate. We stopped just in front of the small gate.

“Listen up scum, this is the prison world. Once you step outside these gates, you are no longer our problem.” The guard told us that stood at the gate. “As a common courtesy, the small space of land just outside is referred by the inmates as a safe space during the day. I recommend you take advantage of it because once you step outside it, it becomes a free for all and you’re just as likely to become another inmate’s dinner or their plaything. Of course, nowhere is safe come nightfall.”

“Let’s get on with it then.” He added. One by one, they took our cuffs off and shoved us through the small gate. As I got outside of the gate, the “safe space” was nothing but a bunch of broken down buildings.

“Fresh Meat!” I heard something scream off in the distance. This isn’t fucking happening! I’m going to die here! My heart is beating faster than I can handle. All sorts of freaky looking aliens come out of the woodwork to look at us.

“I’m taking the first Fleshy!” This giant bull looking creature comes up to us. He’s got what looks like a female human-looking alien naked and bound to his torso. She barely looks alive. The bull is completely naked and his massive dick is dangling between his giant hoof feet. That thing must be at least 12 inches and flaccid, if not longer.

“Oh please don’t take me! This is the one you want!” Keef points at me as he takes off. So much for sticking together. I bolt the opposite direction.

“Your mine!” The minotaur looking, creature, yells as he chases off after me. I thought this was supposed to be a safe zone! I don’t feel very safe! And I sure don’t want to end up like that poor creature bound to that things torso. God only knows what she has to endure.

I run through a tight dark alley in a cluster of buildings. “Hey there, come with us! we’ll keep you safe!” This little bald creature says to me. It stands about 4 feet tall, with pointy elf-like ears. Its skin is a dark dirty shade of blue. Its eyes are rather large for its head with bright green irises. It’s oddly cute but slightly terrifying. “Come with me and we will protect you. we promise!” It says.

Something feels very wrong about this creature. It keeps referring to itself in a plural tense. I only see one of these things. “If you touch the fleshy, it’ll be the last thing you ever touch.” Says a very feminine, yet very aggressively threatening voice.

A woman steps out from the shadows with a blaster pointed right at the creature. She is also wearing all black armor only her armor has a red orb in the middle of her chest. But unlike those other aliens, her skin is a dark charcoal grey color. She’s got long white hair, tied up in a braided ponytail. She is wearing some kind of device over her right eye. “Awwww, we sorry, we didn’t know!” the creature says as it takes off.

The woman steps closer to me. “Come with me if you want to live,” she says. Oddly I trust her. The fact that she is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen probably is the reason why. Without hesitation, I follow her out. Holy shit! She has a tail! As we walk out of the alley the Minotaur sees us.

“Hey! That fleshy is mine! I need a new cock sleeve!” It yells. A shiver runs down my spine, just imagining it ramming that massive cock in my ass terrifies me. That poor creature bound to its torso must have suffered all of it.

“Touch him and you die,” She points her blaster at the bull and it backs down. “Listen up, this one is mine, anyone who even looks at it will die a most painful death. Understood?”

There were several other aliens in the vicinity and they all took a step back.

Her tail wrapped around my wrist and she started to drag me outside of the broken down outpost. As we entered the woods, which kind of reminds me of earth, I see that same creature that tried to convince me to come with it. This time it has Keef with it. I look closely as more of those creatures pop up from the bushes and they jump on him. I can hear his screams as they tear him apart. “Oh my god!” I can’t watch anymore.

The dark woman leads me further into the woods, finally, we stop. She looks around until she is certain no one has seen us. She then leans down and pokes the air. Suddenly a bike looking thing appears. Only it doesn’t have any wheels. Just the body. She hits a button and it starts up hovering over the ground. She jumps on and grabs me and lifts me behind her with her tail as it wraps around my waist. She is much stronger than she looks.

As soon as my butt hits the seat we take off. For being a prisoner in this prison world, she is sure geared to the teeth with weapons and vehicles. We zig through tree after tree. Barely weaving through openings. We’re going so fast I can barely see the stuff around us.

We finally stop near this steep hill, that pretty much goes straight up. She gets off the bike and I do as well. Then she hits a button and it vanishes. She looks at the boulder and then points her hand at it. All of a sudden it moves a few feet. Holy shit! This woman can move things with her mind!

Behind the boulder is a tunnel. I follow her down the tunnel. She flicks her wrist and the boulder moves back over the entrance. What the fuck is going on!? As we climb down the tunnel, I start to see a light. Finally, we enter this large cavity. The light came from what I can assume is a computer. It looks like a large cylindrical suitcase that opens up into a laptop. The screen is split into 20 different squares. Each square has a different feed of what looks like the woods. Holy shit! It must be the prison! There is also this weird looking machine. Kinda looks like a drill.

“You are a rare find amongst the filth,” she says as she takes off the gadget on her eye. “I’ve been on this planet for far too long, I could use a good piece of ass like you.”

“Uhh, thanks I guess. Wait. What do you mean by that?” Does she want to have sex with me?

“Listen, you’re exactly the sort of thing I’m going to enjoy fucking. So here’s how it’s going to go. You can either be my plaything for the time being or… I’m sure that “Minotaur” would love a new cock sleeve.” She smirked and licked her lips. I was pretty much stuck between a rock and a hard spot. Obviously, I really have no choice. It’s between having sex with her, who is actually very attractive for being an alien or being a “cock sleeve” to that bull. I shudder just imagining what that woman is suffering through, being bound to that thing! And it could be worse, well that’s debatable, but I could end up like Keef. She did save my neck out there.

“When you put it like that, it’s not much of a choice,” I admit.

“Good to see you’re aware of your situation,” she smirks. “I would hate to see a hot toy like you go to waste by being a meal to the Kliphs or ruined by that Selnar.”

“Now why don’t you take those blue rags off and let me get a good look at you…” She licks her lips as her glowing crystal blue eyes flossed up and down my body. Those eyes are entrancing, they feel like they can see into my soul. It’s very unsettling.

I don’t see any other option right now. It’s either do what she says or be a bull’s cock sleeve or alien chow. That’s right! What the fuck was that!? I look around and glance back at her. Her smile has grown wicked. What are you waiting for?

I hear her voice, but her lips aren’t moving! What the fuck is going on? Can she communicate telepathically? I can do much more than that Justin! Oh my god! She knows my name! Can she read my mind? She nods as if she’s answering my question. A shiver goes down my spine. She takes a step closer as she hits the red glowing orb in the middle of her chest. Her armor disintegrates, leaving her completely naked. My eyes journey down her dark skin, taking in all of her body from her rather supple breast to the giant cock between those tone, muscular legs. Wait a sec. She has a cock? Holy shit, she has a cock! And it’s huge! At least 9 or 10 inches.

Now let’s take a look inside your mind and see just who you really are…

All of a sudden I open my eyes and I’m opening a gift, it’s a spaceship! My dad gave me this when I was 7. He was such a huge geek for sci-fi and fantasy.

Darkness takes over and I can feel hands pulling off my clothes. Suddenly I’m with Nisha and we’re at that Chinese restaurant. She’s daring me to snort my drink through my nose and of course, I go through with it. It burns like hell as soon as the carbonated beverage hit my nostrils.

Once again everything goes dark, I can feel those hands go across my naked body, grabbing my ass. The touch of lips against my neck. Something wraps around my waist.

Without warning, I open my eyes and I’m with Kyle and he’s showing me this new game called Aratheon. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Once you put on the VR headset, you immerse yourself in an entirely different world. The memory fades away and I’m on my stomach, my ass cheeks are being spread apart and something wet and warm is poking my butthole. A groan escapes my lips. Before I can say anything, I’m with my parents and we are loading up the car. We’re moving to New York, my mom got a job there. Nisha and Kyle look so sad. Liz is there! I hug them all before I get in the car. They wave as we drive off.

Relax, this will only hurt for a second… That voice! Awwhhhhe! Something is trying to force its way up my ass! It hurts so bad! It’s so big! FUCK! I feel hands trying to pull my ass cheeks apart as a fucking spear is being rammed up my ass. At least that’s what it feels like. I grunt out in agony.

I blink and it’s my first day at the public school in New York. This kid in some really dirty looking cloths was being shoved against the locker. It’s Austin! I push the bully and tell him to leave the kid alone. One of the kids punch me in the stomach, dropping me to my knees and they walk away. Austin thanks me as he helps me up. Hmmm… Interesting! Why would you help that boy you don’t even know when you knew they were going to gang up on you as well? I feel a weight on top of me. A hand wraps around my neck. Her hand! She’s on top of me! I can feel her breasts against my back and her cock is lodged deep inside my ass. She pulls out and thrusts it back in deeper. “Ahhh!” I groan.

The bell rings and it’s lunchtime. Austin and I grab food from the cafeteria. We’re looking for an empty seat, but all the tables are full. There is this goth girl sitting by herself near the corner of the cafeteria. Austin and I both shrug and we decide to go sit by her. Her name is Sue. She lets us sit at her table. I feel the hot breath against my neck and I’m pulled back to reality as my ass gets impaled. She withdraws her cock before slamming it back in. Her hand squeezes my neck before moving down my chest. She gives my nipple a pinch. “Fuck!” I gasp as her cock rails deep inside me. Something wraps around my neck again. It’s her tail!

“Yeah it’s going to cost you a kiss,” She says as she stares into my eyes. It’s Sofia! We’re back at the party! Our faces are so close I can feel her breath.

“Hmmm, that’s a pretty steep price, but I think I can cover it.” I hear myself saying. It’s like the words are coming out of my mouth, but I’m not the one saying them. She smiles and closes her eyes. I lean in just enough for our lips to touch. Hmmm, you like this girl.

Her thrusts are starting to quicken as she pushes her massive member deep down my ass. I feel so full! She pulls it out all the way to the tip, leaving a void where her cock was. Though not for long… With one hard thrust, her cock is back inside me. “Huuuhhhhhh! Fuck!” I grunt. It still hurts like hell, but I also feel something else. A mounting pleasure that grows with every thrust.

Your memories are delicious.. almost as good as your ass. Her hand gives my butt cheek a good squeeze as she plunges her giant cock deep down my anus, sending ripples of pain mixed with pleasure. Her tail tightens around my neck, making it hard for me to breathe. I’m going to cum! Her voice screams inside my head. Her cock grows harder. I can feel every vein as she slowly pulls it out of my ass, just leaving the tip inside. With one last thrust, she lodges her cock deep inside me. I feel her balls against mine. Suddenly her cock starts pulsing. I’m cumming! Take all of my seed!

I feel a hot liquid paint the inside of my ass. In an instant, my life up until this point flashes through my mind. Every memory, every experience, all of it until this moment. It was the most explosive, mind-blowing pleasure I have ever felt. I feel her lips against the back of my neck. We are going to have so much fun together! Her voice whispers as if it’s my own thought with the sound of her vocals. She gives my ass a slap as darkness consumes my mind. I feel so tired…

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