Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators and writers of Julie and the Phantoms (2020). I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made.

Rating: K+

Chapter 7

"Julie."

Julie slowly looks up from her desk at her calculus teacher, cringing at the disappointment in the woman's eyes.

"Yes?" she squeaks out.

"This is the second day in a row you haven't done your homework. I know you're still going through a tough time, but your school is really important. If you're struggling and need some extra time, you just have to let me know and we can work something out."

Julie nods. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. Just try and do better."

The words hurt Julie more than they should. She wishes she could tell the truth - that she spends all her free time these days trying to help three guys escape a video game they're trapped in. She faces death and pain every day when she goes home. Sorry if calculus doesn't seem so important in light of that. But she can't say any of that, so she simply keeps a low profile until the bell rings.

Julie's next class is dance. This is actually a class she enjoys. She and Flynn are in it together and it's easy and stress free. Nothing like getting to dance all her worries away.

"You look awful," Flynn says as they change into their workout clothes. "Like, even worse than this morning on the bus."

"I'm not sleeping well," Julie admits.

"Still having nightmares?"

Julie nods. It's the easiest explanation.

"Have you thought about seeing your therapist again? I know you don't like to go, but he did help you a lot."

"The nightmares don't have anything to do with my mom," Julie says. She laces her shoes up. "They're just stressful.

"At least there's nothing stressful about dance."

They step into the gym and line up. Their instructor runs them through their stretches. Julie is just leaning down to touch her toes when she spots the boy's P.E. class filing in. She stands up quickly, hyper aware of a certain blond boy in the middle.

Flynn looks over and raises her eyebrows suggestively.

"Alright, girls," their instructor says. "I've invited the boys into our class for the next couple weeks. Dancing is a great way to learn coordination, and the principal asked if we could perform a special homecoming dance next Saturday."

A mix of groans and excited squeals ring out. Julie feels like she's been punched in the stomach. To make matters worse, her instructor says, "You'll be able to choose your own partners."

The only thing worse than being in a boy-girl dance is getting to choose your own partner for the boy-girl dance. Julie has never had good luck with these things. A nice-looking guy who has a couple classes with Flynn walks over and asks to be her partner. Julie reaches out for Flynn's hands as she moves away.

"Don't leave me!" Julie calls, but Flynn just winks at her.

"Hey."

Julie whirls around, nearly running straight into Nick. "Oh. Hi."

He smiles. "Do you want to be my partner?"

"Uh, sure. Yeah. That would be great." Julie inwardly curses herself at her own awkwardness. Nick is just a friend, she reminds herself. He's dating Carrie. He's just being friendly. He probably knew no one else would ask to be my partner and felt bad.

"First step," their instructor says. "Snake to the side. Snake to the other side. Then step…"

Julie and Nick follow the instructions. Julie holds her breath whenever she has to touch Nick's hands. She's glad her dark complexion helps hide the redness of her cheeks.

"Wow," Nick says after he trips up on a series of steps. "You're really good at dancing."

"Uh, thanks. You're not too bad yourself."

Nick laughs. "You don't have to lie to protect my feelings."

Julie suppresses a smile. Nick spins her around and she runs into him when he doesn't step back. She clears her throat and steps away, ducking her head.

"Seriously, you might regret letting me be your partner."

Julie frowns. "Stop beating yourself up. Dancing is hard. I've been doing it for years. By the time the homecoming dance rolls around, you'll have it down no problem."

"Thanks, Julie." Nick reaches up and runs his hand through his hair. Julie tries and fails not to stare.

She fumbles around to try and change the subject before he notices. "Don't you ever dance with Carrie?"

Nick's face suddenly falls. "No," he says curtly. "And we never will. We broke up."

"Whaaaat?"

He smiles dryly. "I don't know if you've noticed, but she isn't exactly the nicest."

"No, never." Julie instantly cringes at how blatant her lie sounds, but Nick doesn't seem to notice or care. He shrugs and the expression that crosses his face shuts down the topic.

It takes the rest of the class period for Julie to build up the courage to tell Nick, "If you need anyone to talk to...like a friend...I'm here for you."

She hates how weak it sounds, but Nick looks happy. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Yeah." She pauses, then adds, "I know we don't talk that often, but you were so kind to me after my mom died, and...I just want to be able to be there for you as well."

"A break-up is hardly the same as what you went through. And all I did was treat you like a normal person."

"And you were one of the only people who did." She forces a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Nick."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Julie."

In the locker room, Flynn corners her immediately. "Julie! What was that all about?"

"Nick and Carrie broke up. I just told him I'd be there for him if he needed a friend."

"More like girlfriend," Flynn corrects, a grin on her face. "This is perfect. Homecoming is in less than two weeks. My girl might have a date this year!"

Julie glances around and then shushes her. "I don't want to rush anything. He just broke up with Carrie. He might not be ready for a relationship."

"But if he does ask, you'll say yes, right?"

Julie turns away. "It doesn't matter. I don't even know if he'll ask."

"Mmmhmm." Flynn flips her hair over her shoulder. "We'll see."

Jumping back into the game is as disorienting as ever. It takes Julie a few seconds to remember where the game left off.

"Hey, guys," she says, turning in her seat. The forest blurs by outside the windows.

"That's it?" Alex asks. "You're back already?"

"I was gone for almost a full day."

"What'd you do? In the real world." Reggie sighs. "I miss the real world. With pizza, burgers, and meatball subs."

"Ugh," Luke groans. "I would give one of my lives for a meatball sub right now."

"Hey," Alex says. "Not funny."

"It kinda is," Reggie disagrees.

"So what did you do today?" Luke asks.

"Not much. I went to school, got in trouble by my calculus teacher for not doing my homework - "

"Calculus?" Reggie wrinkles his nose. "You didn't tell us you were a genius."

"Oh, I'm not. Trust me."

"I'm so glad I dropped out of high school before I had to take calculus." Luke glances over at her. "It's not too late, you know."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm not dropping out of school because of one class. Then I had dance class and I found out Nick broke up with Carrie - "

"The mean girl, right?" Reggie smacks Alex's shoulder and grins. "And the scales of balance have been righted. Justice has been served!"

"Dude." Alex pushes him back. "We all know you secretly miss high school. If this Carrie showed up right now you'd date her."

"Probably," Reggie confesses. He meets Julie's eyes in the rearview mirror and grimaces. "Well, not if Julie has beef with her. I respect Julie too much for that."

"Thanks," Julie says dryly. She leans back in her seat and kicks her feet up on the dashboard. "It was a long day. I'm actually pretty tired."

"Please don't pass out on us again," Alex says, leaning forward between the seats. "I'm sure that Caleb guy is going to be after us now that we have the gem."

"Speaking of the devil," Luke mutters, staring into the mirror. He floors the accelerator and the vehicle lunges forward. "Julie, what does your map say?"

She pulls it out of the canister and unrolls it. "We're about to clear the forest. The plains are up ahead."

"Not good," Reggie says. "We're going to be open pickings once we clear the trees."

Julie glances in the mirror and sees the flash of the sun against metal. The roar of more than one motor fills the air as vehicles filled with Caleb's men begin to chase them through the forest. Where they came from, Julie isn't quite sure.

"Hold on tight!" Luke warns. They clear the trees and brush and burst out into the grassland. The grass is waist high in some places, hiding the truth of the plains.

"Watch out!" Alex shouts. Luke jerks the wheel to the side and narrowly avoids smashing straight into a herd of grazing zebras.

The cars on their tail fly out of the forests behind them. Julie curls up in her seat as the sound of machine guns ripples through the air. The back windshield shatters, raining down glass on Alex and Reggie.

"They have guns?!" Reggie screeches. "Not fair!"

Julie peeks up to see Luke swerve through groups of various animals: antelopes, lions, giraffes, elephants and zebras, among others. A small lake in the middle of the area serves as a neutral water source.

Another round of gunshots breaks through the front windshield. Julie covers her head with her hands.

"Anyone have any ideas?" Luke calls out as he once again jerks the vehicle in the opposite direction. "They're trying to flank us!"

Alex pops his head up. "Actually, I do!"

"What?"

"Stop the car!"

"Are you crazy?" Reggie shouts. "They'll gun us down!"

"Just do it! By the lake!"

Luke pulls up and hits the brakes. Dust kicks up as the car settles. Alex rolls out of the car and sprints towards the nearest animals - a group of zebras.

"What's he doing?" Julie asks. In the backseat, Reggie is covering his eyes with his hands.

"I can't watch," he moans.

Alex moves through the group of zebras, slapping their backsides. The animals rear and neigh. A of them paw the ground before taking off. Alex moves onto the next animals - the giraffes.

Julie and Luke watch in shocked awe as he works up the animals into a frenzy. He's just reached the elephants when the men chasing them swing around. Alex ducks behind the thick leg of an elephant and a few of the bullets pierce the mighty beast. Alex dives and rolls out of the way as the elephant trumpets in pain and anger. The entire herd of elephants - dozens of them - begin running towards the vehicles, their tusks lowered.

With the elephants committed to the cause, all the animals follow suit. Alex runs back to their vehicle as Caleb's men are chased and trampled by the dozens of wild animals.

"Floor it," he breathes as he slides inside and slams the door shut. Luke doesn't waste any time. He peels out, heading the opposite direction of the angry animals.

Reggie throws his arms around Alex. "I really thought we'd lost you there," he says. "How did you know that would happen?"

"I didn't," Alex says. "I just knew I had to do something and since my avatar is supposed to have animal powers, I figured I might as well try."

They drive for a few more hours. After the close encounter with Caleb's men, they're all wide awake and alert. When night falls, they make camp by a small grove of trees in the middle of the plains. Alex uses his nature abilities to start a fire in the middle. Julie and Reggie clean out the glass from the vehicle and gather up their packs and a few blankets. Luke uses his avatar's strength to rip a few branches off the trees to create a barrier on their open sides. It's not much, but hopefully it will deter any wild animals from getting too close.

As they gather around the warmth of the fire, Julie realizes she'll have to spend the night here. If she pauses the game no time will pass. She either has to stay awake all night in Jumanji time and hope it's only a few hours in her real life or she risks falling asleep and losing control over her avatar.

After a quick dinner, the boys start laying out their bedrolls and blankets. Luke tries to hand her one, and she shakes her head.

"I'll take watch. Can't sleep, remember?"

"Oh." He frowns. "That sucks."

"It'll be fine. One of us should stay awake anyway." Julie takes a blanket off his pile and wraps it around her shoulders. "Get a good night's rest. If I see anything, I'll wake you up."

The grassland is strangely peaceful at night. The moon shines bright up ahead. The fire crackles and spits out sparks. In the distance, she can hear the sound of animals. In their protective circle, she feels safe.

Julie leans back against the vehicle and tries to sort her thoughts out. Everything in her life has been absolutely crazy these past three days. She's been running full speed ahead and hasn't gotten a chance to sort things through.

It all started when she was cleaning out her mom's studio. It was probably the hardest thing she's ever done. Honestly, Julie didn't even feel like she was truly ready. She only did it because she wanted so desperately to prove to her dad that she was ready. Even though she didn't think she could handle it, she did. Julie has felt like the pain from her mother's death hasn't been weighing as heavily on her.

Of course, that could be in part because she has a much more pressing concern in the present. Julie still doesn't understand why she even picked up the video game. She wonders how it even came to be in her garage. If the boys started it a month before her and used the same console then how on earth did it get to her property?

That's probably not the right question, though. Of all her questions about the game, the last thing she'd ask about is how it ended up in her hands. Her first priority would be questions like how the video game sucked her and the boys in, why she can control the game but the boys can't, and who the fifth avatar in use is and where he or she is.

Then there's her life outside of the game - her real life. Although Flynn has forgiven her about the music program thing, she knows that Flynn is still sad that she isn't even trying. Her dad, too. Her grades in all her classes are suffering because of all the time she spends in the video game and now she has the whole Nick-as-her-dance-partner on top of it all.

Julie can't believe that out of all her entire life, the game decided to suck her in now. If it wasn't for the game, she would be ecstatic about Nick paying her attention and being her dance partner. She would be freaking out over the possibility of him asking her to the homecoming dance. Nick's been her distant crush for over a year now.

But something made her hesitate when Flynn asked if she would go to the dance with Nick. It's nothing to do with Nick - he's as great as ever. No, it has to do with a certain video game guy that Julie happens to be spending a lot of time with now.

In the dim light of the fire, Julie searches out Luke. She can't deny having a tiny crush on him. It's hard not to with the way he looks at her with big, friendly eyes. She's only known him for a few days but she can't deny the way they vibe with each other. And of course it doesn't help that his avatar is attractive. She wonders if she would still feel this way if he had Alex's avatar.

The problem is that Julie doesn't know the guys outside of the video game. Liking someone for their body is shallow, but bodies also define so much of what a person is like. The way someone moves, the way their faces morph into different expressions, the way a person styles themself - those aren't necessarily shallow. People express themselves through their bodies. How much are the avatars interfering with the boys' personalities? Luke seems pretty confident, but is that part of his avatar's leadership skills?

Even Reggie - his avatar is supposed to be a serious fighter. He's obviously a huge goofball, but his avatar's resting face is grim and solemn and scary. And obviously his avatar is a girl. Julie highly doubts that Reggie has the same gymnastic abilities as his game character.

Julie knows her crush on Luke is stupid. Still, she wonders if they'll ever meet each other in real life. She wants to know he really looks like - what they all really look like. She wants to see their band perform; maybe they'll get a second shot at the Orpheum and they'll give her a backstage pass. If she gets them through this alive, it's the least they can do.

For now, Julie is just going to focus on getting them out of the game. She'll keep her real life and this game separate. If Nick asks her out, she'll say yes. If the boys get out of the game and she stays in touch with them, then she'll deal with that.

Julie wraps the blanket tighter around her shoulders. She knows that she should be freaking out that she's living half her life in a video game. She should be running to her therapist to make sure that she isn't hallucinating it all. But this can't just be a dream. It's too realistic.

Sitting around this fire, listening to the soft breathing of the sleeping boys, she feels more at peace than she has since her mother died.