*Yawns*
"When is this class going to end?" Johan murmured to himself, his head propped heavily on his hand. The morning lecture continued, the professor's voice a distant buzz. Dawn had barely broken when their 6 a.m. class started, and now, two and a half hours later, Johan's will to live was fading with the chalk dust in the sunbeams.
He nudged the figure slumped next to him. "Yo, Jack! Are you awake?"
Snores
"..."
"I guess not."
After what seemed like an eternity, salvation came.
*Ringgg!!!!!*
*Sighs*
"Hah, finally!"
The 8:30 bell shattered the monotony.
Johan stood, his joints cracking, and made his way to Shin and Jin, who were packing their bags.
"Yo!"
"Hey, what's up?" Shin said.
"Good morning,Jin!" Johan chirped.
"Morning.Where's Jack?" Jin asked, looking around.
Johan thumbed over his shoulder. "Still sleeping."
Jin's eyes widened."To sleep through Old Man Haskill's lecture? He's braver than I thought."
"Wake him up.We're burning daylight."
Jin marched over and clapped a hand on Jack's back. "Jack! Good morning, bro!"
Jack jolted upright. Before him stood Jin—tall, curly-haired, and grinning.
"F-F-Fuck you!!!"Jack sttutred, wiping drool from his chin.
"Let's go,"Jin said, laughing.
"Where?"
"To the usual place.The backyard."
Shin and Johan were already in the hallway, carried by the tide of students finally set free. The pale morning light felt glorious.
"Just finished a novel last night," Shin said as they descended the side stairs.
"Any good?"Johan asked.
"Great start,weak ending."
Behind them, Jin guided a disoriented Jack through the crowd. They pushed through a heavy fire door at the back of the building, emerging into the secluded concrete backyard. It was their spot—shaded by the main building, hidden from the teachers' lot, always quiet.
The cool morning air was a relief. Johan leaned against the sun-warmed brick, the first genuine peace since he'd woken up. Jack stumbled to a bench and laid back down.
"Nap, Part Two?" Jin asked.
"Don't...tempt me," Jack mumbled from behind his arm.
Just as Johan began to appreciate the quiet, the heavy fire door banged open again.
"Delivery for the living dead!" announced a booming voice. It was Vasco, their fifth, balancing a cardboard tray with five paper cups of iced coffee and a bag of warm, sugar-dusted doughnuts.
"You are a saint," Jack declared, rising from the bench like a man resurrected.
Vasco distributed the spoils, his easy smile wide. "Heard the bell. Figured you'd be back here."
With the sugar rush imminent, Johan's earlier thought returned. He glanced at Shin. "You know, about that novel... the librarian entering books. Sometimes I think about that. What if we could just... step into another story? A fantasy one. No 6 a.m. lectures, just... adventures."
Shin took a thoughtful sip of coffee. "A portal in the backyard? I'd take it. Even a bad fantasy life has to be more exciting than Haskill's Chemistry."
"Whoa, whoa," Jin interjected, leaning in. "If we're picking fantasy lives, I'm not some side-character librarian. I'm the charismatic rogue. Swords, treasure, the works."
From his bench, Jack spoke through a mouthful of doughnut. "Hard pass. My fantasy is the sleepy herbalist in a remote village. You all go fight the dragon. I'll be here, napping in a sunbeam, growing the medicinal plot."
Vasco laughed. "And I'd be the blacksmith. No drama, just a good, honest forge. Someone's got to fix your rogue's broken sword, Jin."
Johan smiled, watching his friends cast themselves into a story only they could see.
Suddenly,as if to answer their wish a magic array with shimmering gold light was activated under their feet.