Life doesn’t really have season premieres like a TV show, but I figured the start of a new semester was close. In Tower of Hate and Love, the best show ever made, season premieres picked up from all the wild cliffhangers the season left off on, brilliantly showcasing the entire cast and the new journeys that awaited them. I had TV (particularly Tower) on my mind on the first day of new classes, because it was about to have its midseason premiere after a production snafu halted the season halfway through in the fall. I was more excited for this than for class, partially because this would be the first season premiere, I’d be able to watch live with Oka after she’d finished watching all of Tower—the main series and the numerous spinoffs, the sweet lil trooper she is. All the Tower fans in our friend group got together to do a marathon when we were back in the dorms, to ring in the new year correctly and to wrap up Oka’s marathon run of the series. She let out a little gasp as the credits rolled on the latest spinoff of Tower of Hate and Love.
“And now you’re all caught up!” I said. “So proud of you!” I hugged her tight.
“Wow…I almost don’t know how to feel.” Oka said. “How long until new episodes?”
“Just a few weeks!” I said.
“This is going to be the longest few weeks of my life,” Oka said.
I got hit with a pang of discomfort, with the unknown in front of me.
“What do you think next semester will be like?” I asked.
“It better not suck, I have beam chasers.” Kalei said, high fiving Ko.
“Do you think we’ll still be friends next semester?” I asked. I kind of just blurted it out. It was a silly thought, something my anxiety brain conjured in a witch’s brew of fears that bubbled up in my tummy and escaped like an unwanted burp.
“Dude.” Kalei said. “Next semester is like, a few weeks away. Not to tempt fate or anything but I’m pretty sure we’re all still gonna be tight.” She sighed, then said in unison with Oka and Lillia, “‘Zeta worries more than she exciteds.’”
I blinked. “That's…we’re not making that a thing, are we?”
“It already is a thing, my dear Zates.” Kalei said.
“What…’exciteds’?” Marmalade asked. “Huh?”
“It’s oddly catchy.” Oka said.
“It’s not, really, it’s abhorrent grammar," Lillia said. "But it does accurately describe the mood when Zeta gets into a worry spiral. But not very accurate disregarding her excitement levels.”
“Yeah, I get very excited!” I said. “I say I excited as much, if not more, than I worry.”
“I still don’t get saying ‘exciteds.’” Marmalade said.
Another reason for our little party was to go over our schedules, which we’d gotten letters for much the same as our final grades.
“No choir for me this time, so it’ll be awesome!” Oka said, moving her envelope in front of her like it was a paper airplane. “Well, the rest of classes could suck, but I’m definitely getting an anti-suckage boost.”
“Please make sure you say ‘anti-suckage boost’ as much as possible from now on.” Kalei said, barely holding back her laughter.
Student: ZETA FALEUR
ID: 14419814
Age: 16
Gender: F
Winter/Spring Semester AB-816
1st Period: Void Practice C3C3 ADV | Physical Education for Cani Experience JUNEA
2nd Period: Literature 9B CORINANI
3rd Period: Void History and Studies B C1A4 ORCAS
4th Period: Arts TEACHER TBD
Lunch
5th Period: Mathematics 9B TEACHER TBD
6th Period: Social Studies 9B LETOH
7th Period: Cani Biology & Health 9 DIAST
It looked much the same as last semester, just in a different order. We’d be having void expeditions on Mondays and Wednesdays, gym on Tuesdays and Thursdays, then alternating which one got Friday each week.
“Why’d they bother sending these if they haven’t figured out two of our…you know what, I should stop expecting anything of this school.” Kalei said.
“Hold on, isn’t Corinani that one Wildfire Hearts teacher?” I asked. She was the one who gave a big speech with Kitty Kilander during finals.
“I guess we should’ve expected as much after she gave us copies of that book,” Lillia said, her tone saying ‘that book’ downright acidic.
“Did you read through it already?” Oka asked.
“Unfortunately, yes.” Lillia said bitterly, and left it at that.
I was up late at the apartment the weekend before classes started, continuing to ponder the start of a new semester as a season premiere. I guess the closest thing to a cliffhanger was Tik Moonheart’s request. But instead of being something like a villain finding a dagger that can destroy realities, my cliffhanger was just a looming thing like a doctor’s appointment. I knew by the end of my first week of classes, I’d have to make a choice about whether or not I would help Tik sort through memories of my parents to try and stop them from whatever they were doing. It was possible that they had something like an artifact that could destroy realities, making my real-life cliffhanger more dramatic, but even with how terrifying my parents were, I didn’t see it being that big. They felt more mundanely awful, which maybe undersold what they put me through or how I reacted when our attempt to view memories turned south in a scary way, but I couldn’t shake the dull feeling I had towards them as I thought about helping Tik. Like a bizarre combo of mundane and terrifying, an ice cream sundae of bad moods.
I had the notebook Tik gave me on my nightstand, but I only came up with a few questions. I had been scribbling some notes in it about our video club project, ideas I thought were pretty cool, but Tik probably would not find useful. I rolled away from it; my stomach hit with a pang of discomfort.
“Tummy hurt…” I muttered as I tossed and turned. I hoped I’d get a good night’s sleep, but it was the kind of hopeful wish for a good night’s sleep that inevitably led to a very bad one.
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