Of course it had to be you that had to go explore the forest preserve at 10PM at night. When your “friends” who you were (unusually) having a sleepover with had asked you to go explore the woods, you hesitantly agreed—you were too much of a people pleaser to say no. And now you were stuck here, using your phone flashlight to see, overwhelmed by the darkness and the sounds of yelling, the bridge you’re standing on creaking and rushing water. The people you were having a sleepover with had run away from you as soon as you entered the thick wooded area. Why did you even agree to this? You were still in junior high—you couldn’t die yet.

Hands shaking, you couldn’t remember which direction was out, so you just walked the way that you were facing. You could feel your heart pounding out of your chest. The screams got louder, though, and suddenly you saw smoke. Hopefully, you walked towards it, and saw a circular opening in the trees, about 100 feet wide and long each. There was a campfire in the middle with jackets strewn about and lawn chairs on the ground, and you recognized where—or who—the hoots were coming from.

At your future high school, there were currently four students that were known for being chaotic and disruptive—Arianna Lopez, Riya Parikh, Joshua Okiro and Ethan Jeong. Peering in between the trees, you saw Arianna chasing Ethan around while Riya sat on the ground near the fire, scrolling on her phone. Where was Joshua? Suddenly you felt srong hands push you from behind, and a deep voice reverberated behind you—Joshua.

“Look who I found. A trespasser.”