Ch. 1
It was finally summer, and young people all over the country were celebrating their newfound freedom from the tyranny of school. Evan Matthews was included in that group, and in his case, it was a celebration of being free from school for good. Now eighteen years old and finished with his graduation, he would never have to set foot in a high school again. So far, this new age of possibilities for his life consisted solely of staying home and playing video games. He would sleep in, eat some food, and plop himself down in front of his TV to play. It had become so routine that he was starting to wear a spot out on the floor where he sat for hours every day. Evan was just settling into this routine once again when there was a knock at his door. He paused his game just as his mother entered the room.
“Plans for the day?” she said.
“Just this,” Evan said with a shrug. “Don’t really feel like doing much.”
“Given any more thought to what you’ll do next year?” she said.
“Not sure yet,” he said.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to go to college, but the clock’s ticking. You’ll need to get enrolled before too long if you do.”
“Yeah.”
It was a conversation they had gone through several times in the last few months. She was worried about his future, but Evan had no clue what he wanted to do. He had good grades, so college was always in the cards, but he just didn’t have any motivation for school any longer. That being said, getting a job wasn’t very appealing either.
“You know, I was talking to Josh’s mom earlier,” she said. “She told me Josh was having the guys over for a little party.”
“Yeah, I heard.”
“Why don’t you go? I’m sure it will be fun, and you might not get many more chances to see those boys once they leave for college.”
“Doesn’t really sound fun, so I’ll pass,” Evan said.
“…”
“Doubt they want me to come anyway,” he added.
He said the last part under his breath as he resumed playing his game. His eyes were glued to the screen, but he could see the concerned look on his mother’s face out of the corner of his eye. He hoped she would take the hint and just leave him alone, but he knew better.
“Evan,” she said. “I know things have been rough since graduation night.”
“…”
“But you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” she said. “Nobody ever thought you were to blame for what happened.”
Evan just shrugged his shoulders and continued playing his game.
“You do know that, right?”
Evan glanced at his mother briefly before returning his attention to the screen. She was looking at him like he was an injured baby deer. He knew it came from a place of love, but it was still embarrassing.
“You going out?” Evan said. “If you are, could you get me some more chips?”
His mom sighed and shook her head. They both knew he was avoiding the subject, but Evan really didn’t want to go down that road again.
“Yes, we’re going to make a grocery run,” she said. “Chips are on the list.”
“Ok, cool.”
“Alright,” she said stepping towards the door. “We’ll be leaving in a few. Call us if you remember anything you need while we’re gone.”
“Will do.”
“Love you!”
“Love you too.”
Evan heard the front door close five minutes later as his parents left to run errands. He continued playing his game for a little while after that, but it wasn’t as fun as it had been before his chat with his mother. He set the controller down and stared up at the bedroom ceiling for a while. He really wished she hadn’t brought all that up again.
It was something Evan should have been used to by now. Sometimes it seemed like it was all anyone wanted to talk to him about. His senior year had been difficult, but he knew if he could just get past it, he would be able to start a new, fresh chapter of his life. A chapter where he wouldn’t have to keep being reminded of past mistakes. But his graduation wasn’t the liberating moment he had hoped for.
Graduation night started off well. All the students were happy to have reached the end, parents were taking a thousand pictures, and there were no last-minute disasters. Evan walked down the aisle with his classmates and took a seat to listen to a few speeches, the first of which came from the principal. He said all the normal things about how amazing the students leaving the school were and how they had such bright futures ahead of them. But it was the end of his speech that changed everything for Evan.
“Not all of this year’s graduating class made it here tonight, however,” he said. “I am of course speaking of the late Amanda Porter. Her absence has been felt greatly over the last year, and we all miss her dearly. We wanted to include her in tonight’s ceremony, so we put together a little something to remember her by. So, I present to you, a short video memorial in her honor.”
The blood drained from Evan’s face immediately upon hearing that name. He sat frozen, staring at the seat in front of him as the video played. He couldn’t bring himself to look at the screen, but he did start to notice something else around him. Several of his classmates began to glance in his direction. He met a few of their eyes as he avoided watching the video. Most quickly turned away, but a few held firm. Evan shook as he imagined what they must be thinking.
The only saving grace was the short length of the video. It ended after a few minutes and earned a round of applause from the crowd. The rest of the ceremony proceeded as normal from there, but Evan couldn’t remember much of what had happened then. He had mentally checked out. It was about the only thing he could do to stop himself from causing a scene. He knew he had walked across the stage and received his diploma, but he had no idea how it had happened. The only thing he really remembered about that last part of the night was how the sneaky glances in his direction continued to pour in.
Evan felt judged and blamed by his peers just like he had at the beginning of the school year. It had lessened as the year went by, but the tribute video stirred up everyone’s emotions again. Combine that with pressure from his family to make something of his life, and it was no wonder his anxiety was at an all-time high. It was a lot for anyone to handle, but Evan was still a teenager, just taking his first steps into adulthood. His response to it all was to shut down and escape into games. But even a game junkie like Evan knew that wasn’t a good response to his problems. That was probably why he couldn’t keep playing after talking with his mom. Zoning out again for the day was making him feel too guilty.
Evan decided he would do what his parents wanted and look at some prospects for his future. He grabbed his laptop and went downstairs to browse in comfort. The family’s two dogs, a pug and a golden lab, were excited to see him, but they quickly returned to napping when he settled into his spot on the living room couch. Evan got to work browsing for jobs online. He was looking at jobs that appealed to him and paying attention to what the requirements were for candidates. The hope was that he might find the perfect job that required no degree, but it would have also been fine finding a job that might finally inspire him to pursue further education.
Evan scrolled job postings for half an hour before he had all he could take. It never took long. He decided he needed a break and went to get a snack from the kitchen. The two dogs excitedly followed him knowing his destination and hoping for a treat of their own. Normally the two would be stuck to his mother, but they would settle for him when nobody else was around. He was fending off the two dogs from the cookies he had acquired when there was a knock at the front door. He was annoyed knowing that it was most likely someone selling something. Normally, he would never be the one answering the door, but he felt obligated to with his parents away.
Evan opened the door to find a group of four strangers. Three of them were wearing black suits. The fourth was a raven-haired woman wearing a white summer dress and a matching wide brimmed hat. It was the woman in the dress that spoke first.
“Hello,” she said. “Are you Evan Matthews?”
“Uhh, yeah, I am,” he said. “What’s up?’
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Evan. My name is Mariana Vaduva. My associates and I were hoping to talk to you about an exciting opportunity we have for you that we think you will be most interested in.”
Evan wanted to just close the door in their faces and be done with it, but he thought that would be too rude. He was also curious about how these people knew his name. There weren’t many visitors that showed up at the house looking for him after all.
“What kind of opportunity?” he said.
“Might we come inside and discuss it?”
Evan wasn’t curious enough to let four strangers into his home, though. He had seen enough crime documentaries to be wary of where that mistake might lead.
“I don’t think so. I’m not interested in buying anything right now anyway. Thanks, though.”
Evan moved to close the door after waving goodbye, but one of the men standing next to Mariana quickly reached out a hand and stopped the door from closing any further. Evan was startled by the sudden move and stepped back.
“It’s ok!” Mariana said. She pulled the man back and frowned at him.
“You don’t need to worry,” she continued. “We work for the government, and we just want a moment of your time to talk, that’s all.”
Evan was on edge after the abrupt actions from the man. He thought he was going to be the victim of a violent home invasion for a second there. But the woman who introduced herself as Mariana didn’t seem to want that. And they worked for the government? That was fine, but he still couldn’t bring himself to invite them in, even if they did look like the men in black.
“Here, show him your ID,” she said motioning to the man beside her.
The man pulled out a wallet and held it out for Evan to see. He cautiously leaned forward to read what was presented. He could see a picture of the man on his doorstep, along with the words Department of Defense. Evan’s eyes got big as he realized calling them the men in black might not have been far from the truth.
“May we come inside?” Mariana said when Evan didn’t say anything.
Evan thought for a second before nodding. He opened the door and allowed the four visitors to enter. The two dogs had been calm and barely moved while he talked to the guests on the patio. They were usually well behaved when visitors showed up, so he didn’t think there would be any issues. However, as the dogs observed the visitors walking in, they started to go crazy. They jumped off the couch and hunched their backs as they barked repeatedly. They even started to whine and slowly back away like they were afraid of something. Evan noticed that they were mostly directing their attentions towards Mariana. He didn’t know what had gotten into them, but there wouldn’t be any way to have a conversation with all the noise.
“I’m sorry, they aren’t usually like this,” he said. “Let me put them outside.”
The dogs were all too happy to follow Evan to the back of the house where he let them out for some fresh air. When he returned to the living room, he found the four visitors standing around waiting for him.
“You can sit wherever,” he told them, motioning to the couches and recliners around the room. He himself took a seat in a recliner usually reserved for his dad.
“So, what’s going on?” he asked. “Am I in trouble for something?”
“Oh no,” Mariana said. “You haven’t done anything wrong, I promise. We only came here today to give you an invitation.”
Mariana smiled wide as she spoke. Evan couldn’t help taking note of how attractive she was. There did not seem to be a flaw in her appearance anywhere he looked. He was getting so lost in admiring her that he almost missed what she said next.
“Evan,” she said. “We are here to offer you an exciting scholastic opportunity that we think will be a great fit for you.”
“Like, a scholarship for college, or something?” he said.
“Yes,” she said. “An invitation to a very prestigious academic institution that only admits the most unique of students.”
“…”
“We want you to come to Monstrum Academy,” she said.