Mandy got up earlier than usual on Sunday. It took her a few minutes to realize that no matter what she tried, she wasn’t falling back asleep to get more sleep. So she took a shower, got dressed, and decided to play her guitar until she got hungry or until Jeremy was going to pick her up for church. She started to write down the chords she wanted for her new song. Realizing that she could record what she had so far onto her computer, she decided to record the acoustic guitar part first, then the vocals so she could figure out the beat. She set up her laptop and entered the music-making program. It took her a while to record the acoustic guitar, but she replayed the song and was able to get the vocals on the first try.
She went out of her bedroom to fix herself breakfast. As she sat down at the dark-stained table, a strange feeling washed over her. She couldn’t tell what it was. But it made her act as though an intense shiver ran down her back. She stared into her bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and a flash appeared before her eyes. She had heard of people having visions. But she never had heard of it starting like this. The vision went like this…

Mandy was in a hallway, walking behind Jake, Alex, and Jeremy. The whiteboard ahead flashed the date of today, January 21st, 2009. All of the sudden, Mandy’s head left light and her vision went fuzzy. The room was spinning. She saw and felt herself fall to the ground, hitting her head hard on the ground. The vision put her in her body. Her eyes fluttered open to see and feel Jeremy holding her limp body close to the floor. “Mandy!” he was yelling. “Somebody get help!” Mandy’s eyelids were starting to shut again. “Hang on, Mandy,” Jeremy said to her. “Hang on…” Just like that, the vision was gone. Mandy managed to eat her breakfast before the fear and adrenaline kicked in. Her head started to hurt. Very little, but noticeable enough to be hard to ignore. Shaking the pain away, she cleaned up the dishes and turned on the TV to wait for Jeremy to pick her up.

*Ding Dong* Mandy opened the door and smiled. “Hey Jeremy. Come in,” she said with her cheery smile. Jeremy loved that about her. It was one of the reasons he had started dating her in the first place. “Well, looks like you’ve finally cleaned up the place,” Jeremy said. “You will never stop doing that, will you? You know I make sure this apartment is always clean,” she laughed. Her smile could only be described as infectious. It latched onto you and you wouldn’t be able to forget it either. “I can’t wait for the day when I finally get to kiss you as my wife,” he replied. “That smile kills me inside.” He pretended to clutch his chest, almost as if he was having a heart attack. “At least you know I won’t give in to the pressure,” she told him. “I’m trying to make an effort to wait for my future husband. That’s the gift I will give him on our wedding day, first kiss as man and wife.” “I hope I get to be that guy,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. “Well, as long as you don’t mess up and you propose to me when we’re older,” she replied, looking directly into his eyes,” You will be the lucky one.” She grabbed a reusable water bottle from the fridge and shoved it into her messenger bag. She tied her black Converse on before she grabbed her bag. Jeremy held open the door for her and they walked down the stairs together, holding hands. When they got down to his Prius in the underground parking garage, he held the door open for Mandy before getting in his own door. He started the car and drove out of the garage.

“Well, how have you been feeling lately?” Jeremy asked Mandy on their way to the church. Mandy didn’t respond. He looked over to see Mandy rubbing her head. “Are you okay?” he asked as he turned his head back to the road. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” she replied, taking her hand off the top of her head. “How have you been doing since the dream?” he asked her. Mandy looked out the window at the passing buildings. “Fine. I’m still depressed about it. But other than that, I’ve been doing well,” she replied. “Except for…” “Except for what?” Jeremy questioned. Mandy turned her head to face him. “Well…” she started, ”I was about to start eating my bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios this morning. I looked at the bowl and there was this weird flash before my eyes. It looked like a vision.” Jeremy’s expression became slightly concerned. “What was the vision about?” he asked her. “Well, it was about… Well, I’ll tell you later. It’s kind of hard to explain,” Mandy replied. Jeremy pulled his car into the church parking lot. As Jeremy opened Mandy’s car door for her, he spotted Alex and her boyfriend Jake, one of Jeremy’s fellow football players and a somewhat secret friend of Mandy’s, getting out of Jake’s car. “Hey guys!” he called out and waved. Both looked up and waved back. The two groups met up in the middle of the sidewalk. Jake had news. “You know how I’ve been trying to keep my friendship with Mandy a secret? No offense or anything, Mandy,” he told the group. “None taken,” Mandy replied. She knew how much Jake wanted to keep their friendship a secret. He would be teased like there’s no tomorrow if anyone found out. “Well,” he continued, “I’ve decided that tomorrow, I will tell the entire school that I’m friends with Mandy and that I’m proud of it. I will also defend Mandy.” The group of four started clapping. Jake took a little bow. “Oh, Jake!” Mandy said, overwhelmed with excitement. “I can’t believe you’d do that for me!” “Well, I decided that if people have a problem with it, then that’s their own fault. I’d rather do that than give up being friends with you,” Jake continued. “Thanks again,” Mandy said. The group began to enter the youth building.

Mandy, Jeremy, Alex (whose real name is Alexa), and Jake walked down the hall to the main room. The hall was dimmer than usual. The walls were a greenish-gray color and the carpet was a faded maroon color. Jake walked at the front of the group, Alex just a few steps behind him, Jeremy a few steps behind her, and finally Mandy, who was just taking her time. She looked straight ahead at the whiteboard that always listed the date. It was January 21st, 2009. No sooner had she looked at the board than she felt her head get light. Her vision went fuzzy and sure enough, the room began to spin. “Oh no!” she thought. Her body collapsed, her head hitting the floor hard. Jeremy heard the noise from behind him. He turned around to find his girlfriend on the ground, not moving. “Mandy!” he yelled. He ran over, kneeling beside her. “Mandy!” he yelled again. “Somebody get help!” Everyone else in the hall turned around to look at the scene unfolding. People began to pull out their cell phones to call 911. Mandy’s eyes fluttered open. “Mandy,” she heard. The voice sounded far off. She opened her eyes wider. She felt Jeremy holding her barely above the ground. “Mandy,” Jeremy repeated. “Hang on, Mandy. Hang on…” Mandy’s eyes shut again. Then the whole world turned pitch black…