Sara Reece (2)

As Sara's Tesla cruised across the streets of Palo Alto, she pressed the voice command button on the Tesla's dashboard and said, "Call Gregory Reece." It rang over and over, stuck on repeat, haunting her like a broken record. "Of course," she chuckled as the automated voicemail started sounding. "Probably another long day of meetings. Classic." Despite that feeling welling in her stomach, she left him a long, heartfelt message, meaning every word. Then she checked the clock:

[7:54].

"God, this thing's slow!" Sara grabbed the steering wheel and considered turning off Autopilot. Still, the estimated arrival was 7:57, and with her current muscle memory and lack of practice, she'd risk a car crash and miss her chance forever. So she gripped the sensor, communicating her anger with her pulse, warning the vehicle that she was ready to scrap it for battery parts if it took one second longer than necessary.

It performed beautifully, getting her there as promised. She told it to stop, jumped out of the car, and then hit Autopark in a reflexive act of respect as she flew through the double doors, hugging her purple luggage to her chest. If anyone saw her, they'd probably think she had a bomb, but they had to catch her first, and they'd do that in the classroom.

5

Jason sat on his desk, talking to Mary Jansen. She was a total bitch, and he hated her black hair, but when she got a little tipsy at Raul's party and started rubbing against his crotch…. Yeah. He'd fuck her. Not actually. He had Sara, and he was faithful, but it was getting hard. They had been dating for about a year, and she hadn't put out, and it was getting really annoying. They were dating, right? It was like she didn't think his desires mattered at all. If he were anyone else, he would've left her. She needed to know that. On second thought, maybe he should flirt with Mary a little. Make Sara a bit jealous. Send her a little message: If you don't satisfy Jason's needs, he'll find someone who will. Not to be a dick. Just a reminder that relationships were two-way streets.

Jason's eyes glided to the V in Mary's blue blouse. She bit her lip in response. God, it'd be so easy.

"Where's Sara?" Mary asked, playing with the bottom of her skirt, subtly asking if he wanted her to lift.

Jason glanced at her hands and smirked. "Don't worry. She was just up a little late last night. She'll be here."

Mary's eyes narrowed. "Late? What's that supposed to mean?"

Jason shrugged and snuck another glance at her chest. "I'm just saying she was up late last night. You can interpret that however you—"

"Ahem!"

Jason's eyes jolted to the doorway and found Sara staring at him. She was pissed.

"I was up late thinking about you, Jason," Sara said. The classroom instantly came alive, buzzing with gossip queens and drama hounds.

Jason chuckled awkwardly, cheeks heating as he looked at everyone watching him. "Really? I was also thinking about—"

"We're over."

Sara strode right past him, rolling a carry-on through the classroom as if she was symbolically moving out.

Jason's eyes trembled when his classmates exploded in oohs and giggles as they pointed their phones at him and hit record. For a moment, he thought the humiliation would never end. As it turned out, it was actually short-lived. Within a second, the oohs got louder, directed elsewhere, fresh and terrifying like a pack of howling wolves.

He turned and found Sara sitting at Mary's desk, staring at Daniel Winters, a scrawny little imp who wore the same Bassnectar t-shirt three days a week like a loser. "Sup, Daniel?"

"I-I…. Hi," Daniel said, flitting his gaze around the room like a cornered animal. "Um, Sara? People are watching—"

"If anyone harasses you, I'll use my connections to destroy their lives!" Sara said, raising her voice.

As whispers spread through the room like a virus, Mary stomped over to Sara.

"Yes, Mary?" Sara asked, ignoring eye contact.

Mary folded her arms. "That's my desk."

"Was your desk," Sara corrected. "This is English class. Learn your tenses."

Mary's lip curled as the students trained their cameras on her, tapping the screens as they posted to Instagram, Facebook, and X. It left her livid. "Everyone just heard you saying you'd exploit your connections to harm them. That's a crime."

"So is abusing male servants. Didn't stop you."

Jason and Mary looked at each other in confusion. What the fuck was she talking about?

"Oh, right," Sara chuckled, "you don't have power yet. Spoiler alert: you turn into a total bitch."

Sara's "spoiler" sent the classroom spiraling into chaos. Ms. Shouts chose that moment to run into the room, diving head-first into the jaws of teenage pandemonium. "What's going on in here?"

"Daniel was getting bullied—as usual—so I sat here to prevent that," Sara said, turning to Mary. "Please have this bully take my chair."

"Young lady!" Ms. Shouts snapped, nervously looking at all the smartphones. "You can't just make accusations in front of the class!"

"Accusations? It's been going on all year. I'm happy to testify in court. I'm sure the superintendent would love to hear about it."

Ms. Shouts' eyes widened in horror, and she fell silent, looking around at all the phones recording. "We'll take this up after class. For now, put your phones away. Class is about to start."

Jason watched in a haze. What? Was Ms. Shouts really going to let her get away with it? Mary wasn't even bullying Daniel, and Sara threatened to exploit her connections to hurt her! He was so stunned that he said nothing, simply watching as Sara flicked her fingers at Mary in a fuck off sort of gesture.

"Tara—phone away!" Ms. Shouts said, turning to a grinning student, tapping at her screen. "Anyone who isn't in their chair by the time I—"

That's when it happened. Even years later, Jason still wouldn't have the words to explain exactly what happened that day.

It started with the floor glowing with geometric lines and symbols, like something out of Leonardo DaVinci's notebook. It was a circle layered with inner squares and lines and triangles, surrounded by these strange symbols right out of a DnD game guide. Then it seemed to pulse, and he was hit with this crushing energy that was hot but also not moving up parts of his body that shouldn't exist.

Later, he would learn it was a magical array and the feeling was mana, but it wasn't like the feeling he got from casting spells or arrays. It was far more intense and caused this strange synesthesia that blended thoughts with emotions and feelings. That made it impossible to think or really remember what exactly happened. But when he looked back at his girlfriend, he would've sworn—absolutely sworn—that he saw her smiling.

Then, the world turned white