//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: New World, Friends, and Life // by Warrios //------------------------------// Chapter 1 POV: Michael I was driving home late at night. The moon was high in the sky. It was a pretty good day at work. I guess. My girlfriend, Sara, broke up with me and left me to look for another man. I don’t really know why, she just up and left. Poof! Out of my life. She did not even give an explanation. I try not to think about it. I was listening to Power 96 on the radio. It is my favorite radio station. They play songs that I really like. I listen to Pandora Radio often too. A lot of Rock n’ Roll, Metal, Rap, and others. Music was a really awesome addition to my life. If I ever heard a song on the radio, but they never mention the song name nor the artist. So I concentrate on the lyrics, listening for any lines that repeat then go home and hit YouTube and go on a research spree. Then purchase and add them to my iTunes Library, and iPhone. It was around 10 o’ clock at night. I was starting to get a little drowsy due to my tiredness starting to creep up on me. I start to think back to the day when I met Sara. It was at a Starbucks shop, around two hours before I had to go to work . . . Flashback, September 15, 2012 I walked into Starbucks, with the stench of coffee hitting my nostrils. Strange, I love the smell of coffee, but I just hate the taste. I can see men and women on laptops, using the store’s free wifi service to get projects done. I walk up to order what I usually do: A medium sized beverage of Hot-Chocolate. All of my buddies question my strange appetite for either a Diet Soda or Hot-Chocolate in the morning. They always ask, ‘Why don’t you just drink coffee?’ and they just get a shrug and a reply with ‘Dunno, it’s just my thing.’ As I go to walk out the door to my car I notice a young lady, having troubles with her laptop. She seems to be struggling with something. “Why won’t this work?” I can hear her mumble. I decide to approach and see if she needs any assistance. “Need any help miss?” I ask her. She looks up, whatever her problem is making her unnerving. “Ummm – Yes I am. I can’t seem to get my laptop working.” “What seems to be the problem?” I ask curiously. She hesitates for a second and responds, “I can’t get the wifi service to work here. I tried everything in my base of knowledge, but still nothing.” I believe I know the problem… “Is if alright if I help? I’ve had a lot of computer experience. I can get problem fixed for you.” She looks at me again, and seems to be lost in thought. She is probably thinking if she should trust me. I do understand if she doesn’t need any. A lot of people try to get into people’s laptops and computers nowadays. I remember my friend using the wifi service at a hospital to play some video games while he was waiting to be released. He found out a few days later his account got hacked. He was really devastated when that happened. Alas, he got the problem fixed and all went back to normal. “Sure. I would love some help” she replies happily. . I sit across from her and she slides her laptop over to me. I fiddled around with it. I had a slight smug on my face when all she really needed to do was restart the laptop. I got the wifi working and turned it around to show her. “You just had to restart the laptop. I’ve had this problem before. No biggie.” She had a slight embarrassed blush on her face. She chuckled and thanked me. “Hehe, Thanks. I guess I don’t have THAT much experience with computers. . .” I replied with a smirk on my face. “Sure thing. I get these kinds of problems where I work.” She smiles at me. “Thanks again, Mr . . .?” “Michael. Michael Scott and it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss . . .” I respond with my hand held out to her in an offer of a handshake. “Names Sara Smith, and great to meet you too Michael.” She shakes my hand. I get a good look at her now. She has light colored skin, with bright blue eyes and long black hair brushed straight. She was wearing black shirt that seemed to fit her well, and she was also wearing makeup on her face, making her look more beautiful. She looks really cute. . . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Hour Later. . . We had a nice chat for awhile, getting to know each other. She worked as a waitress at an Italian restaurant. The name of the restaurant was Olive Garden. Hmm… sounds interesting. I might have to go there sometime and try their food. She lived in her own place that her parents helped her get. “It’s not that big, but it is a good house to live in.” she tells me. I told her about myself as well. We were really getting along with each other. I take a look at my watch and see it’s been an hour. I have to get to work. “It’s been nice meeting you, Sara. I have to get to work or the boss will be on my ass about being late.” She giggles at the comment. “Ha! I know the feeling.” She looks at me in the eyes and smiles. “Um… are you doing anything this weekend? How about dinner?” I was pretty shocked by this. Although why would I say no? “Sure. Where?” I ask. “I was thinking of a restaurant downtown. I hear the foods pretty good. Is it okay with you?” She says. That sounds pretty good. I don’t know much restaurants. “Yeah, sounds great!” I reply with a smile. “I’ll pick you up. How about… 7 o’ clock?” “It’s a date.” She says excitingly. We give each other our numbers and say goodbye and go our separate ways. Now I have a date. Sweet! This is going to be great! Now then, note to self: Make sure to find something flamboyant to wear. End of Flashback -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to Reality Tears start to come to my eyes as I continue to think about Sara. I need to stop this. She dumped me. She doesn’t want to do anything with me anymore. It’s over. I need to stop the theatrics. Find another girl to fall in love with. She was just one girl. There’s around what – a few million on the planet? I put my attention back to the road. I looked toward the clock to see it was around 11:00 at night. The street was pretty much empty. Everyone is home, in their beds, or having dinner with their family. As I drive, I look toward the sky; the moon was full, illuminating the ground with its soft light. I smile. My mother used to always bring me outside and we look up to the sky, enjoying the view of the stars. Nowadays, you cannot see the starts due to light pollution from the city’s. Around an hour later, my eyes were getting heavy. I still had around ten minutes until I arrive to my home. I never left so late at night, I always make sure I am home at a certain time so I can get enough sleep and be wide awake when I get up the next day. Sheesh, it’s a little foggy out tonight isn’t it? It’s never been this foggy out. I could barely see two feet in front of me! Just as a safety precaution I turned on my emergency lights to notify people that there’s someone driving in front of them. The light seemed to dim a little as well. When did it get so dark? I brighten my headlights a bit, but it doesn’t seem to help. But, it wasn’t going to be needed for what happened next. Just as I brightened my headlights, I squint my eyes to see some sort of a figure emerge from the fog. Is that…? Oh what the fuck! I mentally cursed. I slam my foot on the breaks. My car careened to the left. I clenched my eyes closed, waiting for impact. I open my eyes slowly, I avoided the tree I was about to collide with. CRASH! Right into another tree. My body went forward as my vehicle collided with the tree. I hit my head on the steering wheel. Hard. Man this is going to hurt in the morning . . . Thank god for seatbelts or I would be launched through the windshield becoming a red part of the pavement . . . or grass. I was so tired; I didn’t really process what happened. It went by so quick. I fell asleep, with my head on the steering wheel. End of Chapter 1