You open your eyes. The world comes into view.
You're in the inside of what seems to be a dark limousine. The only light is from the dim blue lamp above. The windows are covered in fog. You don't know where you were previously and you don't know where you're headed.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
There is an old man in a suit seated at the front. He has wide eyes and a hunched back, yet he seems calm. By his side is a young woman with golden eyes and a long black ponytail. She had a bright smile that felt strange in the place she was in.
"It seems our guest has a very interesting destiny…" The old man chuckled. "...My name is Igor. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." Igor slightly raised his head, motioning towards the rest of the car. "This is a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room only those bound by a contract may enter. It may be that such a fate awaits you in the future."
"Now then...why don't you introduce yourself?"
You hesitate. Why would you give a complete stranger your name? But...it would be rude not to. You begin to speak.
"My name...My name is Romeo Rendez."
Igor nodded. "I see...now, how about we take a look at your future?" He places his hands above the table in front of him. There is a glow that lights up the room, and then, a deck of cards that sit underneath the man's palm. Igor looks back up at you. "Do you believe in fortune telling?" he asks.
You shake your head nervously.
"Each reading is done with the same cards, yet each outcome is different." He chuckles. "It's just like life, isn't it?" Igor flips over one of the cards. On the card is a crumbling tower being struck by lighting. "Hm...The Tower in the upright position represents the immediate future. It seems a terrible catastrophe is imminent. The card indicating the future beyond that is…" He flips over another card. It shows a crescent moon with a lobster above. "...The Moon, in the upright position. It represents mystery and hesitation. Very interesting indeed."
"It seems you will encounter a great misfortune soon, and a mystery will be imposed upon you. In the coming days, you will enter a contract of some sort, after which you will return here. The coming year is a turning point in your destiny...if the mystery is unsolved…" He pauses. "...Your future may be forever lost. My duty is to provide assistance to our guests to make sure that does not happen."
Igor suddenly looks surprised. "Ah! I have neglected to introduce my assistant to you." He turns to the smiling girl. "This is Yuka, a resident of the place."
"My name is Yuka. I am here to accompany you on your journey."
Igor turns back to you. "We shall attend to details another time. Until then, farewell…"
The world around you begins to fade to black. You still have questions! But, there is nothing you can do now, as everything is now dark. There is a voice that slowly begins to get louder…
"Hey! Wake up!" The bus driver yelled. Romeo woke up with a shock.
"Finally, you woke up. Get off the bus kid, this is the last stop."
"The...last stop?" He groggily sat up, before suddenly realizing what was going on. "Shoot! Sorry, I'll be going now!" Romeo rushed to grab his bag and guitar case and bolted out of the bus. At this rate, it'd take forever for him to get back to school. But...he was too embarrassed to call his mom again.
Romeo ran through the streets of Tengoku, a small town in the middle of nowhere. He passed by the same folks he's seen everyday, the same trees, the same buildings, the same sky. It had all grown stale. The boy suddenly realized: he hadn't eaten since he woke up. Great. He looked around, there was a gas station nearby and he had enough money for at least a bag of chips. He walked inside. Romeo looked around for something to get and headed to the check out.
"And now, back to the scandal revolving around Haruka Mikan." Romeo looked at the small tv on the counter. "The scandal involves the enka star Misuzu Hiigari, preparing to tour overseas. Tarou Namatame, a council secretary in the Inaba region whom she married just last year, is now under suspicion of an affair with the well known news reporter Haruka Mikan!"
On the TV showed a woman with orange round hair, which was tied into a bun. She wore a blue blazer with an orange undershirt. Romeo recognized that woman before, she was always on the news, kindly chatting with others, he'd least expect this to happen!
'Man..' Romeo thought, 'It must suck being the center of attention.'
He walked out of the gas station store with his snack in hand. He supposed it'd do for now. A young grey haired gas station attendant walked up to him.
"Hey! You're in highschool, right?"
"Oh! Uh, yeah."
"Neat! Y'know, we're looking for some part-time help right now. If you somehow have some free time, why don't you think about working here? It's cool if you're still a student."
He thought about declining, but to be honest, it's not like he had much to do these days.
"I'll think about it!"
The employee smiled and stuck out their hand. "Great!" The two shook hands. As the gas station attendant walked away, Romeo began to feel...nauseous. He figured it was nothing and continued to try to get to school on time.
Finally, he had arrived at the gates of Megamix High. He looked at his watch. 10 o' clock. Romeo sighed. He's been more late before. He walked through the gate as he started his day.
The door slid open as the average looking teen stood in the doorway. All eyes looked at him.
"Rendez! You're late! Go sit down."
"Y-yes! Sorry…"
Romeo walked to his seat and sat down. The nauseous feeling from earlier had gone away, but he hoped it came back so he could go home early.
The rest of the day was a blur. It was hard to pay attention when nothing at all changed. It would be the same people and the same classes for the whole year. Thinking about it just made Romeo want to go to sleep. At least there was one person who made it bearable.
"What's in that head of yours today?"
The only person he could really call his friend. Julia Voz. Her chin rested on the back of her chair, as she waited for his response.
"Nothing. Just thinking about..stuff."
"Like what? Are you worried about any stray footballs?" The two laughed.
"No way! At least, I hope there's not!"
They laughed even harder at their inside joke, just like the students around them, laughing at their own.
Julia stopped, and then stared out the window. She seemed to be deep in thought. It wasn't anything new. Even if the two were extremely close, no one ever knew exactly what goes on in Julia's head, not even Romeo. Before he could ask anything, Julia spoke up.
"Don't you miss summer break already?"
"Huh?" He thought for a minute. "Of course! It went by too fast! It's like they're making summer shorter every year..."
She giggled at his reaction before returning to her blank look.
Romeo accepted the time that passed. However, he still wondered. Was that the only thing on her mind?
The rest of the day passed by as usual, sitting through boring classes and dozing off. Finally, it was time for him to leave. Romeo waved goodbye to his friend as he headed home, the day had been exhausting. He walked out the door to see the blinding sun peek through the grey clouds. The wind blew through his brown hair and he took a deep breath. Nothing like fresh air. Lots of other students walked by, chatting.
"Did you hear what happened on the news?"
"About the reporter, right?"
"I wonder what's gonna happen to her career now.."
Everyone had been talking about that lately. He ignored it and enjoyed the air as he walked home.
"I'm home." Romeo said, taking his shoes off.
"Welcome back! How was your day?" His mother responded. She was reaching for something in the closet but it looked like she would fall at any moment.
"Do you need any help?"
"Huh? No, don't worry! I may be old, but I can handle things myself!" She chuckled, as the stool underneath her shook. Romeo headed towards his room.
He opened the door and stood in the doorway. He made sure to keep his room as neat as possible, however, no matter how hard he tried, there was always sheet music on the floor, waiting to be picked up. On the walls were soccer posters that had been hung up for years. He dropped his bag in a corner and placed his guitar case in its proper place. Romeo searched his desk for something to read, before deciding on a comic book about urban legends and falling onto his bed, enjoying the silence of his room.