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Tyler Jane had arrived at the assembly early, always notorious for being on time and prompt. She sat towards the back of the auditorium, letting her long legs extend onto the seat in front of her and was inadvertently stretching her somewhat sore limbs. As a dancer, she was always finding ways to soothe her overused calves and quads, which is why she found herself more often than not conditioning muscles during class, lectures, and honestly whenever she got the chance. 

While she half-listened to Headmaster Wayman ramble on about meal times, she scrolled through the school’s social channels and couldn’t help but chuckle to herself at some of the things her peers were saying. Some mocked their “fearless leader”, poking fun at his choice of outfit or his weird stance at the microphone, and others just complained about how stupid this whole thing was. High schoolers were ruthless, and it made Tyler Jane feel slightly bad for the man. He was trying his best and obviously wasn’t the best public speaker by nature, so feeling guilty, she put down her phone and decided to pay attention for his sake. As she tuned back in, Wayman started talking about the holiday next week, one she had completely forgotten about until he brought it up: Halloween.

As he began to describe how the campus would be celebrating, a distant memory seemed to pull itself to the surface of the redhead’s consciousness and demand her attention. It felt like it was being dragged by weights, held back with resistance for a reason she couldn’t explain. But, nonetheless, it was there. A scene began to unfold inside her mind and it was as if she was just a passive observer.

Tyler Jane found herself in an empty house. A few dim lights revealed an inviting living room, but no one was home except for a young girl who couldn’t have been more than 11 years old. The girl had propped herself in front of a large window facing a suburban street, her long auburn hair having been haphazardly braided, assumedly done on her own. Tyler Jane couldn’t make out her face- it was blurred and abstract- but she knew that it was supposed to be some faraway version of herself. She was a bystander in her own narrative. 

Out the window, autumn leaves were piled on the ground, the trees growing bare as the seasons changed. Children paraded down the sidewalks with their parents in tow, dressed up and carrying baskets of goodies and treats. They were laughing and swinging their arms excitedly, clearly elated and enjoying the moment. And yet, the young girl found herself alone, and somehow, Tyler had a feeling that this was the case every year. 

Violently snapping out of her daydream, Tyler Jane’s legs slid off the chair and smacked down onto the floor, her shoes echoing on the hardwood. Her eyes quickly darted to her neighbors who gave her strange looks for causing an unnecessary distraction. Returning her gaze to the front of the room, the redhead let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding and failed to understand where that image had come from. Was it real? Or was it just a trope the imaginative girl created in her mind in response to the mention of the holiday. Regardless of how vivid it was, or how tangible it felt, she decided to pass it off as only a story and desperately tried to focus on the assembly instead. 

Within minutes, Headmaster Wayman had explained the scavenger hunt and dismissed the students to find out their teams on the bulletin boards outside the auditorium. The redhead quickly gathered her belongings and made a beeline for the exit, wanting nothing more than to get out of there and go back to her room.

After arriving at the lists, she scanned for her name and found it alongside the likes of Theodore Wallstrom and Bradley Barron. She didn’t know Theo well, but she had conversed with him once or twice in passing and had yet to really form an opinion about him. On the flipside, she was incredibly fond of Bradley and was excited that she and him got randomly paired together. The two often spent nights in the courtyard chatting and they just clicked well. He was a good friend and surely in a team challenge they’d excel together… or so she hoped. 

Now that the unknown of her team had been solved, she continued on her direct path back to the dorm. She’d find the two of them later to chat, but for now, she needed to be on her own. Why was she so startled by that daydream? She couldn’t put her finger on where it had come from and why it was so haunting. Shaking off the anxious feelings that were currently making themselves apparent, the redhead disappeared towards the residence hall.