The following days settled into an almost soothing routine. Aiden discovered the simple pleasures of a normal teenage life: waking up without pain, going to classes, hanging out with Ed, coming home in the evening to do homework. It was so... ordinary. And after a life of illness followed by interdimensional adventures, ordinary had something deliciously comforting about it.
He hadn't been called back to his pocket dimension since leaving the hospital, and strangely, it didn't worry him. He was even beginning to wonder if all of that hadn't been an extraordinarily vivid dream caused by his coma.
But he had his improved stats to prove otherwise. His new strength and endurance were very real, and he had decided to take advantage of them to establish an exercise routine. Every morning at 6 AM, he did push-ups, sit-ups, and some stretches in his small living room. Nothing extraordinary, but his body responded remarkably well.
Even more interesting, he had started experimenting with what he called his "flame meditation." Sitting cross-legged on his bed, eyes closed, he tried to feel that vital energy that was supposed to flow within him. The first few days, he had felt nothing at all. Then, gradually, he had begun to perceive something, a very subtle warmth in his chest, like an ember smoldering.
The progress was microscopic, probably on the order of 0.001% per day, but it was there. His perception was slowly sharpening, his connection with this internal energy was imperceptibly strengthening.
That Thursday evening, he was walking with Ed toward the bus stop after classes when he suddenly realized he had forgotten his history textbook in his locker.
- "Shit! My American history book. I need it for tomorrow's exam."
Ed looked at his watch.
- "It's already 5:30 PM, the school's been closed for half an hour."
- "I know, but I can't show up to the exam without having reviewed. Mrs. Henderson is going to massacre me."
- "Can't you borrow mine tonight and give it back to me tomorrow morning?"
Aiden shook his head.
- "You live on the other side of town. By the time I make the round trip... No, I'll see if I can get mine."
Ed shrugged.
- "Whatever you want, man. I'm going home, I have a date with Netflix and a bag of Doritos. See you tomorrow!"
They parted ways, and Aiden walked back toward the school with determined steps. The building looked different in the evening, more imposing and mysterious. The hallways usually teeming with life were silent, the classrooms plunged in darkness.
He walked around the building, testing a few doors out of habit. All locked, obviously. He was about to turn back when his gaze fell on the first-floor windows. Most were closed, but there was one, the science classroom's, that had remained slightly open.
Aiden stopped and contemplated the window. In his previous life, he had never committed the slightest act of rebellion. Never skipped a class, never transgressed a rule, never taken the slightest unnecessary risk. He had been the model employee, the exemplary citizen, the perfect patient.
And where did that get me? he thought. A bland life and a premature death.
A mischievous smile stretched his lips. He was sixteen in a fit body, with improved physical abilities, and a second chance at living. Might as well take advantage of it to do at least one teenage stupid thing.
There was a large oak tree near the building whose branches extended toward the first-floor windows. Aiden had never been the climbing type, but with his new agility and increased strength, it might be worth trying.
He approached the tree and gripped the lowest branch. His arms lifted him effortlessly, a notable improvement from his memories as a clumsy teenager. Branch by branch, he climbed with an ease that amazed him.
Reaching the window's height, he found himself facing a more delicate challenge. He had to get from the branch to the window ledge, a jump of about five feet through empty air. In his previous life, he would never have dared. Now...
He took a deep breath and launched himself.
His hands gripped the ledge solidly, his feet found purchase against the brick wall. A few seconds of climbing later, he was pushing the window open and slipping into Mr. Rodriguez's science classroom.
- "Holy shit," he murmured, landing silently on the tiled floor. "I actually did that."
Adrenaline flowed through his veins like a drug. He had never felt this excitement of the forbidden, this pride in having accomplished something physically demanding. It was... intoxicating.
The nocturnal high school had a particular atmosphere. The familiar hallways became mysterious tunnels, lit only by security nightlights. His steps echoed softly on the linoleum as he headed toward his locker.
The textbook was exactly where he had left it. Mission accomplished. He was about to leave when a noise stopped him cold.
A muffled cry. Very faint, but distinct.
Aiden froze, all his senses on alert. The noise came from the end of the hallway, toward the literature classrooms. His first reflex was to run away, he had no business being here, and getting caught now would be catastrophic.
But the cry repeated, clearer this time. And there was something in it... something that didn't sound like pain or fear, but rather like...
Oh.
The realization hit him like a slap. He knew that type of sound from having heard it in some movies not quite appropriate for his age. Someone was... having fun in a classroom.
The mature and sensible side of his mind advised him to leave immediately. But adolescent curiosity, and perhaps a bit of voyeurism he didn't dare admit to himself, won out. He headed silently toward the source of the noise.
The door to room 237, Mr. Williams' English literature class, was ajar. The sounds were now perfectly audible and left no doubt about what was happening inside.
Aiden hesitated one last time, then gently pushed the door.
The spectacle that greeted him left him speechless. On Mr. Williams' desk, two silhouettes were moving in a dance as old as the world. He immediately recognized the girl, Jessica Martinez, a senior from the cheerleading team, and the boy who...
- "FUCK!"
The three voices rose simultaneously. Jessica and her partner—Derek something, a basketball player, froze upon seeing him, their eyes wide with shock and embarrassment.
Aiden and the two lovers stared at each other for what seemed like eternity, no one daring to move or speak. The situation was so surreal, so perfectly awkward, that Aiden almost burst into nervous laughter.
Finally, he slowly backed toward the door, his hands raised in a gesture of appeasement.
- "I... I didn't see anything. I was just passing by to get something and..."
The door creaked horribly loud when he closed it, breaking the deathly silence that had settled. The creak echoed throughout the hallway like a gong in a cathedral.
Subtle, Aiden. Very subtle.
He turned around and quickly headed toward the exit, his history textbook pressed against his chest. This little adventure had taken a turn he hadn't anticipated, and he was eager to...
BANG.
He collided head-on with someone around the corner of the hallway. Books and papers scattered across the floor in a dreadful crash.
- "Excuse me, I..."
He stopped short. In front of him, picking up her things with precise and controlled gestures, stood Victoria Ashford.
What is she doing here?
She straightened gracefully, her blonde hair perfectly in place despite the collision. Even in the hallway's dim light, she was dazzling. But her blue eyes fixed on him with an expression he couldn't decipher.
- "Victoria? What are you doing here?"
- "I forgot my book," she said simply, showing a thick volume on behavioral economics. "And you?"
Aiden waved his history textbook.
- "Same. Textbook for tomorrow's exam."
She nodded, as if finding themselves in a closed school at 6 PM was the most normal thing in the world. Then she walked past him with assured steps, heading toward the exit.
Aiden shrugged and resumed his route in the other direction. This evening was definitely full of surprises.
- "You meet a lot of people when it's closed," he muttered.
He had almost reached the window through which he planned to exit when a scream pierced the silence. A sharp scream, filled with pure panic.
It was definitely not the same type of scream he had heard earlier.
Aiden spun around sharply, his heart pounding. The scream came from the direction Victoria had gone.
- "Victoria!"
He dropped his textbook and started running through the dark hallways, guided by the echo of the terrified scream still resonating in his head. His steps hammered the linoleum while an icy fear settled in his chest.
Something was really wrong.