A wave crashes on the jagged rocks by me, the spray getting on my face. It's cold and got the smell of rain on concrete. I close my eyes and stand there for a moment. Then, it all feels so real. I open them slowly, and take it all in. I'm by the ocean, just a few metres from the edge of it, where the waves reach high up with white caps. The skies are cloudy and the wind is rough. Up on the rocks to my left is a massive fortress of stone, like a castle in the dark ages. It's falling to pieces, and seems as though it's been standing there alone for decades. I step up a long path a ways, into a breach in a small stone wall, and the noise starts to fade away as I step into the mouth of the fortress.

It's a library, filled with ancient books and long, old wooden tables. Sitting on top of one is a kid. He's got a lit cigarette and is looking out at the storm behind me. He's waiting for me.

My steps echo out in a soothing rhythm, and jump up beside him, and face the ocean. The library fades to black, all I see are the waves lapping up at the cliffside path, framed like a moving painting by the hole in the wall. I look to my left and see him. He's got boots on, a rugged black denim jacket with his old hoodie underneath, from about 8 years ago. He's wearing the black shirt from the street fair, with his university hat covering his long hair.

He takes in the cigarette, and nearly whispers "Hey, Logan." He's still looking past me, and places the cigarette down at the edge of the table. I pick it up.

"I really wanted us to live in a fort like this one day. We'd all be finished up school and stuff, and we'd make our own little country on an island. We'd get you to be our chief scientist. I wasn't joking about the idea, but I thought it'd be a bit more crappy and less of a Dark Souls dungeon," I ramble on as I clumsily put the cigarette to my mouth and try smoking mid-sentence.

"You're still holding it like a joint," he sits leaning on one arm, with his other bent to his mouth with two fingers out, puckering his lips as much as possible.

I stifle a laugh, as I realize he's repeating a joke from ages ago. "You're just going through stuff I know, aren't you? Like you repeat jokes over an' over but right now you're just doing what I think you'd do?"

He pulls out another cigarette from his jacket and puts it in his mouth unlit. "You just broke it. All I say now is garbage, isn't it?" He looks a bit saddened. "I got you something." He produces a newish book from behind him. It's the same copy I borrowed from him a couple years ago. It's a copy of Catcher in the Rye. He hands it over.

"I'll see you later, Logan."

The castle starts to darken, like he just blew out all the candles in a room. It starts to blur, then I wake up on a bus alone on my seat. It's noisy with a bunch of younger guys in the back yelling over something on a phone, I think. I wipe away what's probably dried stuff on my cheek from sleeping.

I look across the bus and see Chris and Nathan. They're playing some game on a pair of DSs, playing right up until the school parking lot. They're completely oblivious to Eli, this short kid in our class pretty much stalking them from the seat behind them. The bus starts slowing down at the front of the school; everybody starts standing. The guys stop playing and sort of lumber over from the short roof.

"Like your beauty sleep?" Chris says in his usual mocking tone. He pulls out his phone with a pic of me, with a couple strips of paper dangling from my mouth.

I sit there for a few moments longer. I reach for my bag, sitting under the seat. It's got all my books in it, because what are lockers for? We all pile out, and I can see the front of the school before the tide pushes me past it. There should be a few metal letters saying "Aurora Public High School" on top the doors, but some guys are out painting over a space where Aurora should be. I missed what was probably an amazingly witty joke.

Inside, the normally bright orange hall is dark. Some kids, in my grade obviously, came over the weekend and scribbled "Grad 2k15" over the glass of the skylight. Nothing celebrates most of the class graduating like taking away from the dance budget.

I peel away from Chris and Nathan and make my way for the library. The sounds all fade away as the door swings shut quietly behind me. Autumn is at the main desk, looking as awesome as usual in her red-orange plaid shirt. She's typing in the computer what's probably from the overnight return clipboard.

"Hey Logan, dumping shit off again?" She glances at me again for a couple moments, and goes back to the keyboard. She doesn't care.

I lift my bag with all five texts making a boom as I plant them on the desk, with practised effort. I start tearing out texts for chem and 'Complete Hamlet'. They're Tuesday Logan's problem. I'm reaching for loose pens at the bottom to shove in my pocket when my fingers graze the edge of a soft cover book. It's got old pages. I rip it out from under my math book, and glimpse at the cover of my copy of Catcher in the Rye. My fingers tighten a bit. I leave Autumn most of my books messily not behind the counter. I can hear her yelling thanks behind me, but I don't care. I walk out into the hallway with an empty-ish backpack, with all the noise dying down. I think the bell went. My bag's still open, held shut with both my hands. Slowly I make my way to Mr. Tanner's room just outside the library.

Inside, there's only a small bunch of people. Chris and Nathan are still playing DS in the back corner. There's also Krista and Megan sitting with them, with cards strewn out in front of them. A pile's probably set aside for Eli. I sit by Chis and Nathan.

"It's never too late to join our speedrun, sorta. First one to catch Giratina gets $50," Chris says obviously more focused on the game. Nathan's even more focused, he's not talking at all.

I silently sit there the best I can and I pull out my book, trying to be quiet about it. It's no good.

"You still read Jayden's book? Isn't once good enough?" Nathan's finally out of his game, looking at me with, maybe melancholy. I nod slightly and open it up. It's got Jayden's sketches all over. There's some Shakespeare quotes, a shittily drawn horse, the flag of the country we were gonna make. It looks the same. I start flipping my way through it all, as bunches of black scribbling go past. Jay must've spent hours reading and days scribbling junk. My thumb sticks at the front cover. It juts out a bit, and my thumb is stuck between the pages. I see another note behind the cover. It's almost like Jay's writing.

13+ for history

76 for now

77+ for the rest

It's sort of scribbled in there, like he's drunk. I don't remember this at all. He must've written it in my book before he left, while sitting in the back seat of the Intrepid. I flip through to 76. It's got a sketch of a cliffside, like my dream. I'm standing in the ocean spray, I see through the hole and see Jayden sitting, a little cigarette in his mouth. Maybe I was drunk, sketched this ages ago, but there's no typing here for Catcher, just a sketch and Jay's writing.

Mr. Tanner doesn't come back to see you first period. At 9:15 am, the lockdown alarm goes off as the new chemistry teacher presses the wrong button to turn on the intercom. Alex comes up through smoker's alley to sell cigarettes to Eli. Eli doesn't show, so Alex knocks on the glass of the math classroom. Police officer Constable Kenney drives up with a gun pulled on her. On Apr. 6, at 9:19 am, Alex is killed by a gunshot to the neck.

There's a drawing of her lying by the window outside, sketched in black ink.

Today is Apr. 5th, Monday. This isn't Jay's writing. It's a sick prank from grad students.

I look up at the clock. 9:13. I shiver and try to stand, but I start to shake uncontrollably. Everything gets a little cold. Nathan's beside me now, he has a hand on me. "What's going on, Logan?" He's looking at me all serious. I look forward to the window beside the teacher's desk. Nobody's there. It's 9:14.

I start my walk to the window. I can feel Nathan watching from behind. Behind it, a line of pine trees hides the dirt road behind the school, Smoker's alley. I can see behind it an old wooden fence, all chipped from years of kids clawing over to the store. Between a pair of trees, I can see her. Alex is leaning at the fence, flicking out a cigarette, and starting to walk over. She wears a big black jacket from her dad, and a blue beanie barely covering her long hair. She's just at the window to knock, when a siren goes off over the intercom. She starts a little, but knocks anyway, looking at me and pointing to the back, mouthing "Eli". She probably thinks it's a fire alarm. She hasn't been here in years.

Nathan's there beside me now. He's looking at me, like I'm supposed to explain. I get to the centre of the room. 9:15. I start to panic. I'm already in the hallway when Nathan and Chris start calling me out. Chris yells something like "Come back!" I keep going down the hall, as all the remaining students littering the hall start piling into class rooms. I'm walking passed the library to the office, when Mr. Tanner stops me.

"Logan, shouldn't you be with Nathan and Chris right about now? Let's go." He's an older guy, I can see him stressed out under all the white beard. Behind him, I see a young blonde lady behind the glass in front of the office pacing back and forth, as the secretary scrambles about a panel behind her desk. I try walking past, to try and get inside the office, when Mr. Tanner's grips my shoulder. "It's a false alarm, but you gotta get to the classroom anyway. Come on." He's got his arms out now, ushering me back. The clock behind him in the office says 9:17. I break from him and I sprint the other way back to the main entrance. He calls out something as I leave.

Outside, I hear a single siren coming down the road as I burst onto the street. A cop car starts driving through the front entrance to the left, making its way around the lot. As it turns infront of me and is just about to pass, I step in front of it. The tires screech, and out steps Constable Kenney. She looks scared, and I think she's crying.

"Move aside, Logan! There's an armed woman on the North side of the school. Move!" She doesn't bother waiting for me to move, as she stumbles onto the lot. She places her hand on her hip, and starts across the street to the trees. Behind them is Alex. Without waiting, I take my bag and slam it into the side of the car. The right passenger window shatters, and my books spew into the car and the parking lot. Kenney jumps, looking back in surprise. Behind her, I can see Alex run behind the school in panic. Kenney turns back into the trees, and after several minutes, after the alarms stop, she comes back from the other side of the school calmly. She tells me to get into the car, shaking a little. As we drive about the school in a mess of a car, I can see Alex looking out Tanner's window, safe.