"Ugh," Max groaned as she kicked the heavy cover off of her. Her skin felt hot and clammy and she wanted more than anything to cool herself off.
She had felt like she had run a marathon. She kept her eyes closed tight, willing herself back down into the relaxing otherworld of sleep.
Yet, she couldn't get comfortable. Max huffed and grumbled and she rolled herself over and yelped as she felt gravity reaching out and grasping her and roughly forcing down hard on the carpet.
She stared up at the ceiling, her vision blurry from hitting the back of her head on the floor. As her vision cleared, she noticed that the paint was different. Unfortunately, at that moment, the alarm clock beside the bed loudly made itself heard.
"Oh, no."
Max sat up straight and ignored the head rush that nearly overcame her. She looked straight down at her legs, now covered in light fuzz.
"Not again!" she cried.
*
Warren woke up just a few minutes before his alarm. He laid face down on his bed, his body moist from the restless sleep he endured throughout the night. Even with an ocean of sweat on his skin, he had refused to take his shirt off, both out of privacy and out of fear.
He couldn't remember any of his dreams, but he tried to lay his head back down on his pillow. He hoped that maybe he could extract just a few more precious minutes of sleep, but it wasn't meant to be, as he could hear footsteps leading to a crescendo at his door.
"Warren," his father called. "Are you awake?"
"I might as well be," Warred answered.
"Are you decent?"
"Yes," Warren replied through gritted teeth.
His father walked in through his bedroom door. He had already dressed himself up in his nicest suit. He had gelled his hair over, and he was wearing his "nice" glasses.
"I'm about to leave in a minute. I have a meeting to prepare for my campaign and I'll probably be gone all night."
Warren propped himself on his elbow. "You have to campaign? You're practically guaranteed to be reelected in this sleepy town."
Mayor Anthony Graham gave his son a small smile. "One can never be too sure." Then, his face turned serious. "I know you're off work after school. I want you to visit your grandmother today."
"Grandma?" Warren parroted. He loved his grandma, sure, but he had already made plans with his friends; he didn't want to cancel them. Plus, he had other things on his mind, like the surprising amount of warmth Brooke has been treating him with lately and the science project Ms. Grant had assigned them.
And there was also that one weird day that he chose not to think about.
"I don't know. I already have plans, and I have a project to work on, and-"
"Warren," Anthony cut him off. "I know you're busy. I was talking to her last night. I know your grandma and I don't see eye to eye, especially after Penny died a few years ago." He sighed then. Just the mention of his mother always made his father wistful. "Your grandma is the last of your grandparents, especially the last living relative you have on your mom's side. Just spend some time with her, okay?"
Warren took his turn to sigh. He was right, of course. He loved Grandma, for sure, but he hadn't spent time with her at all since school started. "Alright, I will."
Anthony nodded. "I'm going. You're responsible for the house tonight. Like I said, I'll be home late."
Warren had said goodbye, but his father had already left. That was fine by him. He and his dad weren't nearly as close as they had before his mother passed, and that was fine by Warren. I love yous weren't exchanged verbally, and if they were exchanged, they were by note. Warren never left notes for his dad.
Warren got dressed. He didn't care exactly what he wore, but he stared for an extra second on his arm, where he wrote the note. It felt like a lifetime since he had the strange experience. It had been so long, that his friends no longer commented on it. And, maybe, Warren should too. He should forget all about the bizarre body switching scenario. He should forget all about spending time in the girl's body.
But despite him, he couldn't. He kept dreaming about a life that wasn't his. He kept seeing things he had never seen before. He witnessed a sunset that was completely unfamiliar to him. But the main reason Warren couldn't let it go, is that he couldn't remember the girl's name.
It was forever on the tip of his tongue, just begging to be released from his mouth. But just when he was on the cusp of letting it out, it would fade away, like a loose grocery bag in the wind.
Warren finished getting dressed, brushed his teeth, and before he realized it he was already outside waiting for his friends to meet him. He felt he was on autopilot as Alyssa and Daniel approached him. He voiced a greeting and the three friends strolled their way to Blackwell.
Warren allowed their voices to trail off as he cast his eyes to the sea. The air was warm, yet the coastal wind blew through the trio. In other words, the air felt nice. It was perfect weather for contemplating his future. His eyes traveled northwest to the wilderness. He felt some sadness seeing all the heavy machinery beginning to operate over there. It was yet another casualty of his father's wish to build a roadway to connect Arcadia Bay with the bigger towns around the area. The long term goal was to connect to Portland, maybe make Arcadia Bay an important port.
"Warren."
Warren snapped his head around to Alyssa, who looked back at him with an amused expression. "You weren't paying attention, were you?"
"Uh, I… No, I wasn't," he admitted sheepishly.
"You're more distracted than usual," Daniel chimed in unnecessarily.
Warren shrugged, "I've got a lot of things on my mind."
Daniel patted his shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear about that. Is there anything you want to talk about?"
"No," Warren insisted. "I'm fine, thanks."
"Well," Alyssa practically skipped in front of them. "How about a distraction?"
Warren smiled. "What do you mean?"
"Haven't you heard? There's gonna be a festival next month or so! It's been all over the news!"
Daniel laughed. "You think Warren watches the news? We can barely get him to answer texts nowadays!"
Warren's face flushed. "You know, you two have been dogging me pretty much the entire walk."
"You deserve it," Alyssa smirked. She turned back to continue their stroll. They might mess with him, but Warren knew neither one of his two friends wanted to be late to their classes. He and Daniel caught up to the girl, and they continued their way to the school.
"Anyway, yeah, there's gonna be a big festival sometime next month."
"Why's that? Nothing really special happens in May."
"Oh, boy," Daniel interjected. "You really don't know anything do you?"
Warren scoffed. "I know a lot of things. Things that matter, anyway."
"Don't sound so arrogant, Warren," Alyssa chirped. "Daniel has a point. You'd think the 'Future Nobel Prize Winner' Warren Graham would know about the huge comet passing by Arcadia Bay!"
Warren stopped suddenly. "A comet?"
"I knew that would wake him up," Daniel sniggered.
"Uhh, yeah!" Alyssa followed suit. "Apparently, a comet passes by the Earth every 1,200 years or so? Anyway, this comet is supposed to pass right over our heads!"
"So this festival is supposed to celebrate it?" Warren asked skeptically.
"Yep! Think of it like a huge watch party. Pretty much everybody is gonna want to come!"
"Huh," Warren muttered. The trio passed by the soccer field as well as some kids that had already arrived. Some groups stopped to glance over at Warren, but Warren averted his gaze.
Alyssa and Daniel continued to converse over the exciting subject at hand, but Warren allowed it to fade in the background. As cool as the comet was, Warren couldn't help but be overcome by a certain amount of anxiety. The comet didn't come as a surprise, and it felt as though Deja Vu was setting in.
A comet coming by Arcadia Bay? It was an absolute phenomenon that ordinarily he would instantly have gravitated to his interests. And yet, he felt as though he already knew somewhere in his soul that something was coming, and the comet was only part of it.
*
The school day was a pretty uninteresting one. The day passed by as if time was encased in gelatin. Warren endured all his classes, as he attempted to pay his due diligence to his studies, but he couldn't help but get lost in his own thoughts.
It was a daily routine at his point to go over his notes. At least, a certain page of his notes. The handwriting scrawled was not his own; it certainly wasn't any writing he realized. Maybe it was someone playing a prank on him, but unless they were playing some sort of long game, then that was an unlikely possibility.
And, of course, the photos on his camera. He kept all of them, trying to put together evidence of the strange events that took over his life. The only other notes he had were the eyewitness testimony from his friends and coworkers, but none of them have referenced that day in question.
It was all too confusing. He hoped this wasn't what people meant when people said "growing up is a time of change".
"Hey bro," a voice startled him out of his thoughts. He glanced above him, as the friendly stoner Justin looked down at him as the blonde stood over Warren at his desk. Warren smiled up at his acquaintance, and gestured to him to continue.
"Heard your pop was running for reelection."
"Uh," Warren scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess he is."
"Cool… cool. I had an idea. Ask your dad to stop cutting trees and put a dispensary in. I call it: 'Save the Trees, Raise the Herb'!"
Warren blushed. "That's… uh… cool. But, I don't know if my dad will listen… you see-"
Justin's face fell. "It's whatever, dude. It's not like I expected you to care."
Before he could protest, Justin went back to his friends. It wasn't fair of him or others to assume that he didn't care, he did, but he knew that the others didn't know that his dad wouldn't listen. Anthony knew he was smart, he called him "his little prodigy" but his father always believed he knew what was best for his community. In other words, Anthony thought what he was doing was for the greater good, a necessary evil.
Warren glanced over at Evan, who wore a green "Save the Trees" shirt. He had been spearheading the anti-roadway movement for the past two weeks, along with Stella, who had declared they were no longer friends just the other day.
That rejection had hurt the worst. Not because she had broken off their friendship, but because when he had tried to convince her that he didn't agree with his father, she had refused to listen.
But maybe it was for the best. He had too many things on his plate.
The bell rang, and class had begun. Warren buried himself in Ms. Grant's lecture, as it was the only way he could think of to forget the altercation that just happened.
The class went by faster than he could have imagined. Ms. Grant turned on the projector overhead, and began a PowerPoint presentation of the comet that he and his friends had discussed. His eyes followed her through the presentation, but again his thoughts became lost.
It wasn't like him to tune out teachers during a lesson. Even less was it like him to not care about a project that would account for a fair percentage of his final grade, and yet, he couldn't seem to reel himself into Ms. Grant's lecture. This time he wasn't thinking of anything in particular, he was just zoning out.
This time of the day was the most relaxing to him. It was the time where everything made sense. He understood that with science, some people couldn't make two cents of it. But Warren was never that kind of person. Nearly every subject clicked with him, and felt fascinating.
Not to mention, Ms. Grant was one of the best teachers he had. She had a very relaxed style of teaching, and she was strict, yet fair. In other words, the 40ish minutes he spent in his science classes with Ms. Grant was his favorite 40ish minutes of the day.
"... and that's why I'm introducing a change of plans. Your final project is now," Ms. Grant pointed at the screen behind her, "This comet. I was you each of you to attend the festival, and I want you to take this once in a millennium opportunity to study this-"
"Giant space rock?" Trevor interjected, which caused an eruption of laughter from the other students.
Warren couldn't help but smile, and Ms. Grant laughed. "Yes, I suppose that's the simpler way of putting it. Luckily for us, we have the technology to predict the comet's trajectory, and, believe it or not, the 'giant space rock' will pass through our atmosphere and orbit directly over us!"
The class immediately began to vocalize their approval of Ms. Grant's information. Whether you cared about astronomy or the sciences at all, the teens couldn't help but marvel at their fortune to witness the tremendous event firsthand.
Ms. Grant waited for a few minutes for the excitement to quiet down. Warren could tell that she had something else she wanted to add, and he had a hunch it would simmer down the lighthearted mood the students seemed to share.
"Remember, that this comet is an opportunity and a responsibility. I managed to arrange some time to observe the comet, and I want each of you to meet us at our telescope. Each and every single one of you will take turns to analyze the comet. For your final, you will write an essay explaining your observations."
The entire class groaned. Not only will they be forced to take time away from hanging out with their friends during the festival, but they will be forced to do homework too?
"I know, I know. But, remember, this is an opportunity, as well as this is a responsibility. Imagine telling your kids and your grandchildren about your experience! And, not to worry, we will spend the next month learning about 'giant space rocks'."
Several more students complained, but there was nothing they could do. Ms. Grant had made up her mind, and none of them could argue with any of her points.
But with that announcement, the bell had rang, and the students were dismissed for the rest of the day. Warren stretched before dodging his way past the other teens that surrounded him. He hummed tunelessly as put his personal items away in his locker, his thoughts flooded with excitement over the upcoming event.
In truth, Warren was actually excited for this project. Ms. Grant had hit the nail on the head, this was an opportunity for him. Hell, if he knocked the essay out of the park, Ms. Grant might let him use it for his college essay!
As he mulled the thought over, he was approached by his two friends. "Hey, are you ready yet, slowpoke?"
Warren shut his locker and sighed. He had completely forgotten about his plans for after school, and had almost forgotten he had promised to go to his grandmother's.
"Sorry, Alyssa, but something came up."
"Is something wrong?" Daniel asked.
"No," Warren shook his head. "Grandma apparently wants to spend time with me, and Dad agreed. He told her I would head over after school today."
"She didn't call you and ask you?" Alyssa asked. "Why would she go through your dad? I thought they didn't like each other."
Warren shrugged. "They don't. I forgot to give her my number after I took myself off of Dad's plan. But I guess they agreed with each other for once."
"Hm," Alyssa muttered. "Not to be a dick, but couldn't you just tell them that you already made plans? Your Grandma is nice. She'd get it, even if your dad doesn't."
"I said the same thing, but Dad said I hadn't seen her since last summer, and he's kind of right."
"Your dad shouldn't guilt trip you," Daniel added. But at that moment, Alyssa's phone rang, and the three friends jumped a little.
"What a coincidence, it's my dad," Alyssa grumbled. She held the device up to her ear after pressing accept. "Hello?"
"Yeah, I know you have a meeting. Why do I have to help? Ugh, fine."
She shoved the phone back in her pocket. Her two friends looked at her inquisitively, and she just shook her head. She turned to Warren and huffed, "Your stupid dad is having his campaign meeting at my house. And Dad called to tell me they had already started drinking and Mom wants me to help with dinner. And she's already here to pick me up."
Warren tried to apologize while Daniel shuffled his feet nervously.
"It's whatever," Alyssa spat. She was obviously annoyed that she had to help take care of a few drunk middle aged men. "I hate men."
The two boys glanced at one another while Alyssa sighed. "Not you two… you know what I mean. I'm just pissed... I'll catch you two tomorrow."
She stormed off, leaving an awkward tension in the air. Daniel cleared his throat, and asked Warren if he was ready to walk home. Warren nodded in agreement, and the two began their journey back to Warren's.
Daniel walked with Warren, but the two didn't exchange any sort of dialogue while they made their way uptown. Warren really didn't know what to say, and it seemed his companion felt the same.
Warren could go into how frustrated he was with his dad, but what could he say? He had never been good with words, he always struggled in English classes. He could talk about his Grandma. He was worried for her and curious why she all of the sudden requested to see him, but he didn't want empty his anxieties out on his friend.
Daniel didn't say anything. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Warren was grateful for the silence though. Some part of him wanted to vent, but, mostly, he didn't feel like talking. He wanted the day over with.
*
Fifteen minutes later, and the boys had arrived at Warren's house and had gone their separate ways. The two hadn't exchanged more than two words until their goodbye, and Warren was, once again, grateful. Once he was gone, however, he missed Daniel's presence.
He inputted the combination to the garage, and stepped back to allow the door to open. He stepped around the clutter and made his way to his old bike, nestled in the corner. He unlocked the door to the house, threw his backpack inside, and returned to his bike. He rolled up his sleeves before stepping around the debris to his vehicle.
After some tricky maneuvering, he wrestled the bike out of the corner and towards the front of the garage. The bike was a light blue. It was Warren's favorite color, and the color of the car that Warren was slowly saving for.
He had the bike since he was eleven, but it had been some time since he had ridden it. But it was just as they say, you never forget how to ride a bike.
Within minutes, Warren was already on his way. He zipped past several neighborhoods as he made his way back to Blackwell and beyond. He took a side road that wrapped around Blackwell's dorms and slowed down.
Warren had broken into a little bit of a sweat, although, thankfully, he wasn't as soaked as he had been through the previous night's sleep. He had forgotten how good it felt to ride a bike, perhaps he should take the time to do it more often.
The boy rode lazily between the forest that encompassed the backyard of Blackwell Academy, and the dorms. He passed by the boy's dorm first, where he witnessed some boys tossing a football, but they didn't seem to pay him any attention. He rode past the girl's dorm, where he spotted several girls talking by the benches, and Stella herself sitting on the steps.
She looked up from her notes to look at him. Despite the conversation they had had a few days previously, Warren smiled and waved at her. After a moment of hesitation, Stella waved back. Warren wasn't sure if it was genuine or reluctance, but he was grateful at the very least.
He turned his head to look towards his destination, and immediately recognized he had to swerve to avoid Tobanga, the giant totem that was nestled in the back corner of the property.
Warren sighed in relief, thankful that he didn't crash his bike on the relic. Then, he blushed, as he thought he could hear giggles erupt from the gathering of girls that sat outside the dorms.
Quickly, Warren sped away, hoping that he could outrun any more feelings of humiliation.
After another quarter hour or so of riding, Warren was sensing that he was getting close to his destination. His Grandmother had always prefered to live out in the country. She would rather be away from the hustle and bustle of the small town community life, something that her and his father vehemently disagreed with.
Still, he was glad to see her. She was already sitting outside and knitting some delicate piece, as he laid his bike in the grass some meters away.
"Hey, Grandma," he called out.
Her place looked about the same he always remembered it. It was a low, brown building that would be ordinary by itself, but that was the most ordinary thing about it. The house and the surrounding area was decorated to the extreme with various wind chimes, knickknacks, and other assortments of items of belief.
In front of her lawn was a wide assortment of different flowers and plants. His Grandmother was always a caretaker and a provider. Most would say she was a very deeply spiritual and wistful woman.
"My grandson!" she cried out in greeting. She stood up slowly from her chair and hugged the breath out of her only grandchild. Warren returned the embrace, although much more softly.
Mrs. Graham was a small and dainty woman, though her looks had faded away over time. Still, she was a wonderfully bright woman, both in her intelligence and both in her features. Her shockingly white hair was pulled back into a tight bun, and her glasses hung down comically on her nose.
Grandma released him from her surprisingly strong hug and patted his cheek. "You look more like Penny with each passing day!"
"Uh, thanks, Grandma," he replied. He politely pulled himself away from his grandparents' touch, and embraced the comfort of a nearby wicker chair. "You haven't changed a bit."
"Oh, Warren, I'm changing every day, just like our world."
She was always saying something like this. Warren could figure out a lot of things, but his Grandma was always an enigma.
"No time to sit down, boy. I want to show you something."
With a surprising amount of speed, Grandma grabbed her grandson by the wrist, and implored him to stand. He reluctantly, yet politely obeyed as they stepped inside the house.
The house was very much the same on the inside on the outside. The house was cluttered, but not overwhelmingly so. His Grandmother was a collector but not a hoarder, at least in Warren's opinion. The one thing that she lacked, also in his opinion, was technology. Especially without a TV. He still, to this day, he could not figure out how she spent her days.
"What do you have to show me?"
His Grandmother didn't answer him. Instead, she continued to pull him through the house and out the sliding glass door his father installed to the outside back porch.
Outside, he spotted even more plants and various spiritual items, as well as the familiar stone path that led to… well… Warren had no idea where it led. He had always been forbidden from wandering that path, and Warren, even as a child, had never dared to upset or disappoint his Grandmother.
It all started with his Mom, who had loved and respected her mother to the fullest extent. He remembered once he asked Penny why her mom was so "weird". Penny had laughed and said, "she has a way about her, but she always seems to be right. And she's always looking out for you."
Needless to say, Warren couldn't help but be excited. He was venturing into the unknown. It was a question he had in the back of his mind since he was young, and now was the time he finally discovered the answer.
The grip on his wrist relaxed. It was as if his Grandma could tell that Warren had agreed to this adventure.
The duo walked several meters before reaching a curve. After rounding the curve, Grandma pushed past several various small trees to reach their destination.
What lied in front of them was nothing extraordinary. It was merely a simple shrine. A small concrete staircase of only three steps led to a small set of statues, three to be exact.
The statues stood tall, with their hands clasped behind them. Warren couldn't tell what gender they were, nor their features, all he could decipher was that they were human.
A question burned on his lips, yet before he could voice it, his Grandma's grip on his wrist tightened, and he allowed himself to be pulled up the small flight of stairs to the statues. Grandma pushed into the concrete just underneath the statue to open a hidden slate. There, she grabbed two small flowers, one pink and one blue.
Warren was completely puzzled why he was half-dragged to a shrine, only to retrieve two small flowers. They were barely even flowers. They were just the pink orifice of the flower. Barely was there a trace of green stem or anything of that nature. Warren wasn't a botanist; he had no idea what sort of plant his Grandmother was forcing into his open palm.
"Take this, Warren."
Warren allowed the delicate flower to be placed in his hand. He was extremely light weight, yet never seemed to move an inch, even in the pleasant breeze that drifted through the air around them.
"Now follow me."
Grandma had released Warren's wrist, which Warren was thankful for. Now, with flowers gingerly balanced in both of their palms, the duo descended the steps of the shrine and wandered their way south, even deeper into the wooded area surrounding the Graham property.
Warren trailed behind his Grandmother, who seemed to have slowed down since their trek to the shrine. Warren wasn't sure if it was because Grandma was confident she had captured Warren's interest, or if she had simply become tired. Nevertheless, the two strolled at a relaxed pace through the woods.
Neither of them said anything as they made their journey. Questions were indeed on Warren's mind, but none of them fought to the forefront. Mostly, he wanted to find out what the purpose of their venture was before he bombarded his Grandmother with questions.
It took a lot longer than Warren had thought. Luckily, it was springtime, and the air was simply beautiful. Birds were singing in the trees, and the sun flared bright through the leaves. It was a wonderful walk.
After at least an hour, they arrived. It was a small river that streamed west downhill. The water was surprisingly clear, even if it was still brown from decades of erosion.
"Where are we?" he asked simply.
"This is Graham River," his Grandma said simply. "This river has been a part of our family for generations, just as much as Arcadia Bay. And as long as time allows us, it will remain our river. Eventually, it empties into the ocean, and it is our job to take care of it."
Warren raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying that this is why Mom kept her last name? I can't believe we own a river."
His Grandmother smiled mischievously. "I may have had something to do with it. But, yes. I pleaded with Penny to keep the Graham name. Our family has been an important part of Arcadia Bay for thousands of years."
"Like Dad being the mayor?" he asked in disbelief.
She shot him a reproachful look. "I'm not talking about politics. The last person I want to be in charge of the town is your father," she shook her head, shooing away the thought. "No, Warren. I-"
She started coughing uncontrollably. She pushed out her hand to prevent the flower from getting damaged, and she bawled her other hand into a fist to stop the spread from getting out further. Warren panicked. He started to put his flower down to help somehow, but Grandma clapped him on the back to prevent the action.
Warren stood, his shoulder blade aching from the contact. But after a few more seconds, the coughing receded.
Grandma sighed, her cheeks flushed from the effort. Warren began to ask if she was okay, and Grandma instantly nodded, insisting that she was just getting over an illness and that she will be fine.
Warren wasn't quite sure he believed her, but he let the moment pass. Slowly, but surely, Grandma's coughing fit halted.
"Now," Grandma took a deep, shaky breath and took a step to the river. "Now is the time. Warren, come over."
Warren followed the instructions. The two crouched down on their knees at the river bed. Grandma carefully placed her flower on the river, and she motioned that she wanted Warren to do the same.
The two watched the flowers freely drift down the river. Warren couldn't help but stare as one flower separated from the other. The blue flower stayed, stuck on a rock and the pink drifted past. The blue remained stuck in one place until it found its way. Somehow, the blue nearly caught up with the pink, and they drifted off into the horizon.
Grandma struggled to stand, until Warren helped her to her feet. Grandma sighed, he could tell she was exhausted from their journey.
"Thank you, Warren," she took a deep, haggard breath as she regained her bearings.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I'll be fine. Let's go home. I will need you to come back tomorrow."
Warren mulled it over. "I think I have to work early tomorrow… but I can head over after work, if you need me to."
Grandma nodded. Sweat had begun to develop on her forehead, but she stubbornly had begun walking back to the household. Warren followed, but after a few minutes, he grabbed and held her elbow, and Grandma didn't argue.
The two navigated the woods wordlessly. But after about half an hour, Grandma had stopped to rest at a nearby tree. The sun had begun to go down, and Warren knew that he should get her home before it fell completely.
Warren offered to carry her back, and thankfully Grandma agreed. She carried her piggyback style all the way home, which was surprisingly easy given how lightweight his Grandma was.
After they arrived, Grandma hugged him, thanked him, and kissed his cheek. Warren promised to come back the next day, and he sped off on his bike to go home and relax.
He was incredibly relieved to come home, especially to an empty house. He took a shower and did his homework. He tried to keep concern for his Grandma and curiosity over the events that happened in just that day, but he couldn't stop thinking about everything over and over.
He took the time to set some alarms and reminders to go to bed early, to wake up early for work, and to head to Grandma's, before he spent the time playing some video games to unwind. Finally, it was time for bed, where he couldn't stop thinking about the upcoming comet, and what it could mean for his future.