July 6, 1994: Wednesday
School Day
The wheels rattled sharply against the pavement.
Noah Carter cruised down the school walkway on his skateboard, black hair neatly parted in a classic side style, the sides cleanly tapered. He wasn't going fast—just enough to feel free.
Then
Thump.
"Whoa—!"
The skateboard skidded sideways as Noah stumbled forward.
Lila gasped as she collided with him, both of them nearly falling before regaining balance.
For a moment, time stalled.
Noah straightened and froze.
(…Beautiful.)
The word slipped into his mind without permission.
Lila looked up, confused. "What?"
Noah blinked hard, face heating up. "I—I mean—are you okay, Lila?"
Lila stiffened.
"How did you know my name…?"
Noah swallowed. "Uh—well… you're kind of popular. You know that, right?"
Lila's gaze dropped slightly. "I know…"
Noah waved his hands quickly, panicking. "No, no! I mean, don't listen to those rumors. They're just rumors. People talk too much—haha…"
His laugh came out wrong. Too loud. Too forced.
He cleared his throat. "I'm Noah Carter."
He extended his hand with a casual little gesture, hoping it looked confident.
Lila stared at his hand.
Her chest tightened.
(Too close…)
(I don't like this…)
She took a step back.
Noah noticed immediately.
Awkward silence settled between them.
Slowly, Noah pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pocket. "Um… looks like class is starting."
He nodded too quickly. "Gotta go."
Without waiting for a response, he stepped onto his skateboard and pushed off, disappearing down the hallway.
Lila watched him leave, her heart pounding for reasons she didn't understand.
(…Why does it feel like something bad is going to happen?)
The bell rang.
Meanwhile on the other sides of the school
The gym lights flickered as practice wrapped up.
Sweat clung to Derek Williams's skin as he slung his towel over his shoulder and headed toward the locker room. His muscles ached, but it was the good kind, the kind that meant he'd pushed himself hard.
He was almost there when a voice cut through the echoing hallway.
"Derek… must be nice being Black."
Derek stopped.
Slowly, he turned.
Thomas stood near the lockers, leaning casually, arms crossed. White. Smirking. Like he'd just said something harmless.
Derek's jaw tightened. "Not now, Thomas."
He turned back, but Thomas wasn't done.
"I mean, come on," Thomas continued, chuckling. "You're gifted at basketball because you're Black."
The words hit harder than any shove.
Derek turned fully this time.
"What do you mean by that?" His voice was low. Controlled. Too controlled.
Thomas shrugged. "I'm just saying. Natural talent, right? It's kinda unfair."
(Unfair…?)
(You think this is a compliment?)
Derek stepped closer. "Say that again."
Thomas scoffed. "Why you getting mad? Everyone knows it's true."
Something snapped.
Derek shoved him.
Thomas stumbled back into the lockers with a loud clang, shock flashing across his face.
"Don't talk about me like that," Derek said, breathing hard. "You don't get to reduce me to something you don't understand."
The locker room went silent.
A few players stared. No one spoke.
Thomas straightened, rubbing his shoulder, anger replacing surprise. "You got issues, man."
Derek didn't answer.
He grabbed his bag and walked away, fists clenched so tight his knuckles burned.
(They always say it like it's nothing.)
(Like I didn't earn this.)
As Derek strode down the hallway, backpack slung over one shoulder, still feeling the heat of his earlier confrontation.
"Hey, Derek."
He glanced over, eyes narrowing slightly. "Jayce."
Jayce fell into step beside him, a concerned tilt to his head. "What's wrong with your face… you look like… you've got something going on."
Derek sighed, running a hand through his hair. "My dad… you know."
Jayce nodded slowly. "Oh yeah… I heard about it, man. Looks like it's true?"
Derek's lips tightened. "Yeah… my dad… sells some… fucking cocaine."
Jayce raised his eyebrows but stayed quiet, letting the words hang between them. He could see the weight pressing down on Derek, the anger, shame, and frustration all bundled together.
(This kid's tough… but there's pain here. Just like the others… the relic candidates are all broken in their own ways.) Jayce thought.
Derek kicked at a locker, making a loud clang echo down the hallway. "Everyone thinks I'm just some athlete… they don't see the rest of it."
Jayce nodded slowly. "I get it, man… I really do."
Derek said nothing. Just exhaled and kept walking, eyes forward.
As derek and jayce walking, they then saw tiffany reed
Ahead, a familiar figure caught their attention. Tiffany Reed, moving briskly down the corridor.
"Oh… Tiffany," Jayce said, his tone casual but alert.
"Can I talk to you?" Tiffany asked, eyes scanning him carefully.
Derek frowned, confusion and curiosity mixing. "What's going on?"
Jayce glanced at Tiffany, then back at Derek. "Uh… yeah. Me and Tiffany have something to talk about, right?"
Tiffany nodded slightly. "Yeah… some stuff."
Derek raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed but curious. Jayce looked at him, expression apologetic but firm.
"Um… see ya, man… at class," Jayce said quickly, forcing a small smile.
Derek crossed his arms, skeptical. "The class is already starting."
Jayce shrugged, pretending to be nonchalant. "Probably gonna skip one class… nothing major."
(Keep it casual… don't let him suspect too much… gotta keep the plan on track…) Jayce thought, glancing at Tiffany.
Tiffany's gaze stayed fixed on him, unreadable but sharp. (He's hiding something… but I'll get it out of him… eventually…)
After the parting ways
Jayce and Tiffany leaned against the rooftop railing, the wind tugging at their hair as the schoolyard below hummed with distant chatter.
"Where is Lila?" Jayce asked, scanning the horizon.
"You said Noah is one of the candidates," Tiffany replied, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. "And Lila might be the key to bring him to us… so, as we speak right now, she's still in the class with Noah, trying to get him."
"Oh, cool… we're now on the right track," Jayce said, a small grin tugging at his lips.
"So, the fifth candidate is Derek?" Tiffany asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, it's not him," Jayce said firmly.
"What do you mean it's not him?" Tiffany pressed.
"He can be," Jayce admitted, "but as of now… he can't. He's got too much going on in his head right now."
(In the original novel… it was supposed to be Tiffany, Lila, Noah, Ryan, Derek… but that only happened later, once Derek solved his own issues. If we wait for that, it'll be too late… so for now, I need to see Ryan today. Ryan is a geek, always believing in aliens and horror stuff… that's why he's perfect.) Jayce thought, shaking his head slightly at the memory.
"Hello? Are you listening?" Tiffany said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm listening," Jayce said quickly. "So it's not Derek… but he could still be an ally. We're going to recruit him and the others I have in mind… but the fifth candidate… it's Ryan."
"Ryan Watson… the one they call Geekiddy Ryan?" Tiffany asked, a hint of amusement in her tone.
Jayce nodded. "Yeah. He's perfect as a candidate. He's a geek, and that's exactly why he'll believe in the supernatural. He'll follow us without question once we convince him."
"That's… understandable," Tiffany said slowly, considering the plan.
"I know, right?" Jayce said with a small smirk. "Geek kids always believe in supernatural phenomena… that's how cra…." He coughed suddenly. "ahem… amazing they are."
Tiffany rolled her eyes, but there was a faint smile tugging at her lips.
(If we can get Lila to recruit Noah and I can convince Ryan, the relic activation plan actually might stand a chance…) Jayce thought, staring at the horizon.
To be continue