Birthday Party

Aaron, a 17-year-old student, had just left his classroom when school ended. It was now 15:21, and he had to be home by 15:35. So he rushed out of class, despite the fact that it had taken its toll on him, and rushed to the bus stop, which was about 3 minutes away from school. He could walk or run there in a minute, but he was already exhausted after running inside the school for half a minute.

Huff, huff, huff.

'No matter what, I can't be late!' He thought and ran for his life, unconcerned about his calves, which were inflicting severe pain on him.

After a frantic sprint, he arrived at the bus stop, where the bus was already waiting for passengers. He quickly boarded, and fortunately, there were not many students on board, so he was able to secure a seat for himself.

The bus would take him about 7 minutes from school to his house, but if there aren't many stops and traffic, it could easily get there in 4 minutes. He just hoped he'd get there 5 minutes before he had to leave.

...

When he arrived at the bus stop near his house, he took his phone from his pocket and checked the time. 15:27.

He was relieved he wasn't late and put his phone back in his pocket. His house is three minutes away from the bus stop, so he quickly walked there, checking the time every now and then.

When he arrived at his house, he took his keys, opened the door, and entered. He removed his shoes first, followed by his jacket. He entered the living room by opening the door at the end of the corridor.

He shut the door behind him and tossed his schoolbag to the ground. He quickly glanced at the clock in the living room and noticed that it was only about five minutes until it was 35.

'I'll have to change quickly because these look far too casual. I'll also have to put on some perfume. However, first...' He dashed to the bathroom, which he needed to use every day after school.

He got out a minute later and ran upstairs to his room, which was on the third floor, the last floor. He felt like sleeping right away, but he didn't want to miss out on the important event that was happening in half an hour.

He also noticed that he was the only one at home, so he assumed that everyone was at work or school.

He quickly entered his room, went to his closet, and opened it. There weren't many clothes available for him, but he didn't want too many, so he was content with what he had.

He took new black pants, a black t-shirt, and a grey sweater after quickly going through all of the clothes there. He immediately removed his clothes. He didn't have any big windows, and if they looked at him, they'd probably just look away anyway, so he quickly put on his new clothes and looked at his phone once more.

'It's 15:33 already. All right, I'm ready to get started.'

He relaxed a little after realizing he was ready and decided to wait in the living room to get ready for everything later. He exited his room and went downstairs.

Stephanie, his mother, returned home from shopping at the same time. She had several bags with her and placed them all on the table next to her. She also carefully removed one bag and placed it on the table, which she would immediately place in the refrigerator.

"Mom?" He inquired, trying to determine if it was indeed her.

"Oh, Aaron. Are you already at home?" She spoke as she looked up the stairs to see her oldest son coming downstairs.

She couldn't greet him as usual because she was opening all the bags, so she gave him a small smile and continued.

'She's really looking forward to it, isn't she? I guess it's because of him,' he thought for a moment before approaching his mother.

"Can I help you?" He inquired while checking everything. Balloons, a tablecloth, snacks, drinks, plastic glasses, confetti, and even a birthday cake were among the items he noticed.

'She is fully prepared for Jason's birthday party. I suppose it makes sense because she wants him to have a good time on his birthday, huh?' He pondered.

Yes. Jason, a 12-year-old boy, celebrates his birthday today. He would finally be 13, something he had wished for since he was a kid. He was still at school until 16:20, so they had plenty of time to get everything ready.

Jason would be returning home with his school friends, so they needed to get everything ready before they arrived. Jason was aware that it was his birthday today and that there would be a celebration.

'Let's get started,' he said as he carefully opened everything and assisted his mother in putting everything back in its place.

--

The time is currently 16:18. Jason was on his way back home at any moment. It wasn't exactly at 16:20, so they shouldn't expect him to show up at that time.

His father, Leon, and his older sister Sarah had been home since before 4 p.m. and were waiting for Jason to arrive. Leon was in the kitchen, and Sarah was upstairs in her room, where she was not bothering them.

DING DONG DING DONG

The doorbell rang. Stephanie was the first to stand up and make her way to the front door, where she greeted Jason and his friends.

As they removed their shoes and jackets, they could be heard chatting inside the corridor. They all entered one by one, with the first being a black-haired boy.

They were all pretty shy when they saw Jason's parents, so once inside, they just waited for the party to start.

"Let's drink something first, then you guys can do whatever you want," Stephanie said as she motioned for them to sit down.

They all sat down and began talking amongst themselves, and they were ecstatic about it. Stephanie began by serving drinks and asking which ones they preferred.

After that, Jason suggested that they play something first. Stephanie simply nodded and moved toward the kitchen at his suggestion.

She quickly took a glass for herself and drank some water, assuming that the day would be long with all the kids playing and such.

They had just finished playing and chatting when the clock struck two hours. It was already 18:00, and the sky had darkened.

"You wanted to see a movie, didn't you? Tell me which one you want, and I'll put it on." She said this as she took the remote and turned on Netflix.

"What do you want to watch?" He exclaimed with glee.

They were all recommending other films that Jason might enjoy.

After some deliberation, they all agreed on a comedy film about two friends traveling around the world and meeting various types of people.

When everything was in place, they turned off the lights and sat down. Stephanie then took a step back and sat on one of the available couches. Leon, on the other hand, had already left because he had more work to do today.

While they were all enjoying, laughing, and watching, Aaron was laying down on his bed, staring at the white ceiling, which had turned black because the lights had been turned off.

"Sigh. I'm totally bored." He spoke as he turned around, attempting to find a comfortable position.

It didn't completely work, so he took his phone and began scrolling through his social media.

[The new organization XxxxXx has made its debut in the World of Legends!]

[How to Lose Weight by Eating Only This Pill! Buy four and receive a 50% discount!]

[World of Legends has just reached 60 million global players!]

[Player ZzzzZz has left gaming and is now only...]

He received a variety of articles on a variety of topics. He simply scrolled through them, uninterested.

[You have received 1 new message]

"Hm?" He quickly clicked on it and saw a text from [Anonymous] and assumed it was some promotional nonsense, but he read it anyway because he was bored.

[Congratulations! You've been chosen to participate in our test! The test will be held at the Infinite Tower, which you must pass in order to complete this test. Once the test is completed, you will undoubtedly change as you desire! Please proceed by clicking on the following link: > www.infinitetower.test.it.]

[PS: Please think about it carefully. Make no rash decisions and exercise extreme caution at all times. You are the only one who is important. Good luck!]

"This looks to be suspicious." After reading the message, he stated.

'How do they know my phone number? So, whatever. I'll simply ignore this-' He came to a halt and read it again.

Again and again. And, once more, for the last time.

"...." He hesitated to click on the link.

"Fuck it." When he clicked on the link, he was taken to a page that said [Start] and nothing else. He, too, clicked on it and waited to see what would happen.