"Boo!"
As usual my only two friends, Anthony and William, tried to give me a jumpscare.
"That wasn't funny,"
I said while turning toward Anthony, who for reasons I still cannot understand insisted on wearing the brightest clothes possible, colors so loud they almost hurt the eyes.
He was almost as tall as me, yet somehow carried the maturity of a fourteen-year-old trapped inside the body of a nineteen-year-old.
"Just so you know, I wasn't part of this, Justin," William said while stepping forward and raising both hands defensively.
He was easily the most intelligent person in our group, although his appearance never helped that reputation, because the round glasses and his strangely long hairstyle made him look like a slightly overinflated sausage that had somehow wandered into college.
I ignored both of them and walked out of the lecture hall, knowing very well they would follow me anyway.
My mind was still stuck on the lecture.
"What is it, Justin?" Anthony asked while placing a hand on my shoulder as we stepped into the corridor.
"Ah, he must be thinking about the lecture," William said while stopping directly in front of me and tilting his head with curiosity. "Am I right?"
I looked at him for a moment before answering.
"You know," I said slowly while glancing at both of them, "my mom used to tell me stories about the world before 2072. She never talked about the earthquake or the ice age, but she always said people could live naturally up to at least eighty years if they stayed healthy."
Anthony let out a short laugh.
"Tch. Your mom must have been bluffing," he said while shaking his head.
"We would love to hear more of those stories from her, Justin," he added casually while walking ahead and laughing to himself, while William allowed a faint smirk to appear on his face.
That hurt more than I expected.
Anthony did not mean it that way, I knew that, but hearing someone laugh about my mother pulled a memory out of me that I had tried very hard to bury.
William noticed the change in my expression almost instantly and quietly gestured for Anthony to stop talking.
Without saying anything I turned away and started walking, the grief already visible in my eyes.
My friends realized their mistake quickly.
"Hey… sorry man," Anthony said while catching up beside me.
"Yeah, he's an idiot but he didn't mean it," William added while nudging Anthony with his elbow.
They both offered to treat me at the café nearby. When I refused, they simply ignored my answer.
Before I could react, Anthony grabbed one of my arms while William grabbed the other and both of them suddenly began running toward the café like two criminals escaping a robbery.
"Guys—!"
I barely had time to protest before they lifted me completely off the ground, William holding my legs while Anthony grabbed my upper body as they carried me across the walkway like a piece of luggage.
They had done this many times before. I have always been a sensitive person, so moments like this happened more often than I liked to admit. To be honest, I usually enjoyed the ride.
But after a few minutes something felt wrong.
"Guys… stop," I said weakly while they continued running, although my voice probably never reached them through their laughter.
Then suddenly everything began to blur. The world around me faded, and a strange sensation spread through my body as if something invisible had forced its way inside me and started tearing through every nerve at once.
"Justin! Justin!"
I could hear my friends shouting my name somewhere far away, yet my body refused to respond.
I could not move.
I could not speak.
Within seconds the darkness swallowed everything.
Little did I know that my life was about to take a turn so sharp that I would never forget this day for the rest of my existence.