Sunday, April 16th, Late Afternoon

“Hey there! Burrows 17. Mondays at 8PM.” The boy handed Rigel a flier.

Rigel held the flap open and let me inside. I didn’t feel like moving my arms. My hands, still dangling by my side. I still hadn’t put my phone in my pocket. I just didn’t feel like it.

There was only one person manning the booth. He had a boyish face. Perhaps a year ago, he would’ve been able to pass for a high school student. Around his neck, he wore a purple scarf.

“So, what do you want to try first? Galaga? Metal Slug?”

I just stood back as Rigel leaned in to inspect the various cabinets littering the inside of the tent. “Whoa… are these authentic?”

“A few of them are replicas. That we made,” the boy said, grinning. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah… how about this one? What's this?”

The boy with the purple scarf trotted over. “Ah! Tempest. Atari, 1981. ‘I must uneasy make, lest too light winning make the prize light.”

“What?”

“Good choice,” the boy said. “Here, let me get it booted up.” He knelt before the machine and dropped in a few quarters. He then reached around the side, pulled open a panel, and retrieved them. “Go ahead.”

“Lyra, wanna give it a try?” Rigel asked.

“So you can show off how much better you are after me?”

He grinned. “Sure, let’s go with that.”

I shrugged. A distraction couldn’t hurt. I left my phone on top of the cabinet countertop and took the controls. “So, how do you play?”

The boy pointed to the screen. “That ship is you. So you’re going to use this…” he grabbed my hand. I jolted.

“Easy, bud,” Rigel said.

“Right, right. So you’re going to use this, to spin the core around. And you press this to shoot, and dodge the cores.”

Sounds easy enough. He pushed another button, and the game began.

It didn’t last long. The screen was a nausea trip. The game was set to a mass of swirling lines and colors straight out of a hallucinogenic nightmare. I’d meant to lose on purpose, but I didn’t even need to try.

I blinked. The flashing lights died down. Game Over. I felt like my head was going to split in two.

The screen blinked to a high score page, all filled with the same name, “PLB.” I wonder if it was telling me that I was pleb.

I wobbled away from the screen. Rigel took hold of my hands to stabilize me.

“I’m gonna go… sit down, or something.”

“Sorry about that,” the boy said. “A lot of early arcade games were made before epilepsy was commonly understood.”

I’m not even epileptic. That was just… I felt like I was going to throw up.

Rigel handed me my phone, then turned back.

“Okay, your turn, Mr. Prodigy,” the game master said.

I wasn’t sure how long Rigel and I played for, switching back and forth, but by the time we stepped back outside, the sun was starting to set. My head hurt. But it kept me thinking about stuff other than… you know. There’s a bright side to everything. Happy thoughts.

“Sorry,” Rigel said. “I didn’t mean to keep you for that long.”

“It fine.” Not that I had any plans to begin with. That was a nice distraction. “So, anything else on your agenda, Mr. Prodigy?” I tapped his shoulder, and pointed. His head turned, driving his cheek onto my pointer finger. “Even prodigies fall for that one, huh?”

“Your hands are cold?”

“Only as cold as the abyss that is my soul.”

A large cloth obscured my vision, bounced off my face, and landed on the ground. It was his jacket.

“Oh. Oops.”

“It’s getting cold,” he said. “Go ahead.” So I did; it was far too big for me. Rigel started down the path back to the main plaza.

“So… about today.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for inviting me out,” I said. “Though, next time you’re gonna hang out with someone for a day, try not to stay in the 80s all day, yeah?”

He turned around and started walking backwards. “Are you saying… there will be a next time?”

“H-huh?”

“I want there to be a next time,” Rigel said. He stopped. The sky was a deep orange; the sun had set halfway. “And a time after that.”

“Wait, wait. Hold on.” This is so sudden!

“I want to date you, Lyra.”

The lamps had yet to turn on; the area seemed to darken around us. “Wait, wait, wait,” I said. “Where is this coming from?”

“That was supposed to be subtext of the whole… ‘you and me,’ thing, from earlier.” He rubbed the back of his head. “But, I guess… you didn’t get it.”

No kidding. I just hadn’t noticed. I had been so caught up with Anna and Sirius.

Could I imagine myself dating Rigel? No… not really. But he wasn’t unique in that regard-- I couldn’t imagine dating anyone.

But maybe that was the answer I needed. Maybe if Rigel was willing to take me… I shouldn’t miss this chance.

Rigel wasn’t a bad guy. I would say that, of the Ireilas members, I’d been the closest to him. And he noticed that I wasn’t feeling great.

He noticed. I like that in a guy. Despite his gruff exterior, I know he’s a big bag of insecurities on the inside. I relate to that. More than I’m comfortable admitting out loud.

And, he’s plenty good-looking, too. There were plenty of fans willing to date him.

Could we give it a try?

“Do you… like me?”

Rigel balled his fists. He took a deep breath, and looked up at me. “Would I ask you to date me if I didn’t?” His deep red eyes burned bright against the darkening orange sky.

My phone rang. I jumped up. My heart was racing. For how long? From the cold, being startled, or the confession? A combination of all three? The caller ID read: Anna.

My eyes flicked to it, then to Rigel. After a long moment’s hesitation, he said, “Go ahead.”

As I reached to answer, the answering machine did it for me. A minute later, a string of texts.

“S-Sorry,” I said. “Give me a second.”

[Anna] lyra

im

going to tell him.

whats a good place

I glanced back at Rigel. This wasn’t fair to him. I should type as fast as I can. But what’s a good place on campus for a confession?

There was a place that I’d always wanted Sirius to take me. It’s a stage I’ve seen in my fantasies a hundred times over. I hands were physically shaking.

The astronomy building. [Lyra]

The orof of th eastronomy building

*Roof

you cand oi t

It’s happening. It’s really happening. My limbs were still quaking as I turned back to Rigel. My breathing was heavy one second, shallow pants the next. My head, spinning. I blinked. My cheeks were wet.

Rigel stepped over and placed one hand on my chin. His eyes were dull… defeated. The sun had set.

“I-I’m s…”

He let go without saying a word. I let my hands fall by my sides. The jacket slipped from my shoulders, down my arms. I caught it before it feel to the ground, and thrust it into his hands.

“S-s-sorr--”

My breathing was far too unsteady to say anything coherent. Pathetic. Can’t even apologize properly. I handed it back to him, and walked past him, and walked faster, and broke into a run, and into a sprint.

I ran.

My feet were taking me uphill. Past the main plaza, past the Physics building. Further uphill.

The Astronomy building. I wasn’t sure why I was running their. My feet burned under the strain.

No, that’s a lie. I knew exactly why I wanted to go there. I want to see Sirius. I want to tell him. I want to say something, anything.

I want to be acknowledged. Just once. Just this once!

I stopped in front of the main entrance. I’m… I’m the worst. Beads of sweat rolled down my chin. Or were they tears? I couldn’t tell.

I threw the door open and bolted up the stairs.

The rooftop was a single clearing, surrounded by smaller sheds of equipment. I pushed the door open, to reveal a sky full of stars. The moon, a little over half-full, sat suspended over Anna’s form. Before them, the lamps and lights of the campus flickered to life. There were no lamps or lights on the roof, just moonlit silhouettes. Two wanderers engulfed in a sea of stars.

I threw myself behind one of the equipment sheds as I watched.

He planted his feet, balled his fists, and straightened, and looked directly at her. “I’m in love with you, Anna. You are my muse.”

I blinked. Tears. The rooftop was frigid.

It was hard to see Anna’s face- it was dark, and my eyes were clouded with water- but she was no longer wearing that stoic mask.

Anna was smiling. Radiant. That much I could tell. So I closed my eyes again, placed my forehead against the cold wall, and clamped my hands over my mouth.

“I… I feel the same way. I love you… I love you too!” She pulled him into a hug.

What am I doing?

I stood. I should go.

And that’s when I heard the scream.

“Anna!” Sirius yelled. “You!”

“S-Sirius…” my sister’s voice sounded like a choke. “R-run!”

I jumped out from where I hid. Behind Anna, a dark form. It backed away; Anna collapsed. A dark pool of red appeared below her. The figure was holding a dripping knife, and retreated into the shadows, behind one of the sheds.

“Hold on… I’m going to try to stop the bleeding--” he said.

“Sirius! Watch out!”

The figure rushed past me, knocking me over, and struck again. I dove, and grabbed Sirius, and a sharp pain tore through my abdomen.

“L-Lyra?”

I screamed. There was a sickening snapping sensation. I could feel one of my ribs breaking under the force.

The figure pulled out the knife. It was slightly bent, and dribbling deep crimson. They flicked the knife’s blade. I felt sickly droplets splatter across my face. My knees buckled. The ground was cold, then warm, and wet, and sticky, and red. My heart was racing, but it felt like an eternity between each beat.

“Oh my god…” Sirius was paralyzed.

“Go…” I croaked. My whole body was at once on fire, and at once numbing. “R-Run!”

The figure lunged again.

“G-Guh…”

As Sirius collapsed, my vision started to go dark. “A-a-an-na…” My heart beat once. I waited, prayed, wished, desperately, that it would beat again. It did… and it hurt… it hurts… it hurts! Oh god…

The moment I was stabbed, my phone had been knocked out of my pocket, on the ground beside me. The last thing I saw before blacking out was its screen flickering.

A number on a red background ticked once.

Sunday, April 16th. Early Morning

I woke up with a start.

I sat up. My breathing was harsh. Oh my god.

The clubroom seemed to glow, a faint yellow. I was lying on the ground, in front of a row of five music instruments and stands. Past them, there was a couch and coffee table, pushed to the side of the room. I reached into my pocket and palmed my phone.

The screen was red. ‘9 Remaining.’

W-what is going on?

The door opened.

“Guten morgen!”