Amy checked her watch for what felt like the hundredth time.

She had told everyone to be at the deli at 6, but it was 6:25 and there was still no sign of anybody.

The only other people in the deli were the man at the counter, a waitress and a girl working on her laptop.

The waitress was already giving Amy strange looks, wondering why she was sitting there like an idiot for almost half an hour.

She looked at her watch again, deciding to leave if nobody turned up till 6:30.

The day was Tuesday, three days after the Saturday night Homecoming Dance.

She looked up hopefully when she heard footsteps, and saw Chris and Justin entering the deli.

She called their names and waved them over to the booth, still not sure how to begin the conversation, but thankfully Justin started talking first.

"Sorry we're late, but we couldn't ditch practice when states are so close", he said.

He looked around for a moment before following Chris into the booth.

"Where is everyone else? Did they already leave?", he asked.

"No", Amy sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You're the first ones here."

"So what do you think we should do?", Chris asked. "Should we wait or-"

He stopped as he saw Kat practically run into the deli and quickly sit down beside Amy.

"So", she put her hands on the table. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing", said Amy, shooting the three of them with an angry look. "These two just got here, and we're still waiting for Noah."

"I still don't see why you called us here", Chris spoke. "It's true we fainted at the same time, but why are you jumping to conclusions?"

"I'm not jumping to anything", said Amy quickly. "It happened twice, okay? It can't be a coincidence."

"Well maybe it was the food-", Chris began his argument.

"No it wasn't", said Kat shortly. "I asked around, and I'm sure nobody messed with the food."

"Then what?", said Justin. "There has to be some rational explanation."

"That's why I called you", said Amy, glaring at Chris. "We need to figure out what's happening."

"Look, I'll tell you what I know", said Kat. "On the night of the dance, I somehow got a headache, went outside to get some fresh air, and fainted."

She paused and looked around, waiting for the others to confirm her story.

"Yeah, the same thing happened to me", said Justin.

"Same here", Chris agreed.

"Me too", said Amy, nodding. "And then I felt perfectly fine, not confused or disoriented or anything. In fact, I felt better, stronger. That's not how you're supposed to feel after you faint, right?"

Everyone took a moment to digest this, trying to come up with their own explanation.

Just then, Noah slouched into the deli, and sat down next to Justin.

He felt the weight of everyone's stares, so he tried to get out of the spotlight by saying, "Uh, sorry I'm late. What were you saying?"

Amy rolled her eyes and began explaining, "We were talking about Homecoming, about how we all fainted. Remember that?"

"Yeah", said Noah. "Sure it was weird, but it's over now, right? And anyway, I don't think this is related to what happened yesterday, because they were two totally different experiences."

"You mean the map?", asked Justin nervously.

He looked around, "Did you see the map too?"

"What map?", asked Kat. "All I saw was like an alleyway or something. It was probably just the aisle between benches in the class, and I was definitely imagining things."

"Maybe", said Chris. "But did it feel like you were in the class, or did it feel like you were actually in the alley?"

"I don't know", she admitted. "My head was hurting a lot, I'm not sure what I felt."

"So can we agree this is odd?", said Amy.

"Consider it is", said Justin. "What are we going to do about it?"

"What can we possibly do?", asked Noah.

"We can't do nothing!", said Amy, standing up.

"Then what do you want us to say, Amy?", said Kat. "That we're all possessed by ghosts or something?"

"You're missing the point", Amy sighed, sitting back down.

"What is the point then?", Kat asked exasperatedly.

"The point is, I don't want this to keep happening. There has to be something we can do."

"There isn't", said Justin. "We don't have enough information, and if we tell anyone, they're definitely going to think we're being  paranoid."

"Ignore the problem and hope it goes away", said Noah. "That's your answer?"

"It's an answer because it works", said Chris, defending his friend. "You don't run to the hospital if your stomach hurts a little, do you? You wait for a while and it gets better."

"If that's your final answer", said Noah, getting up to leave, "This has been a huge waste of time."

“Anyway, I need to run,” said Chris, getting up. “I’m hosting a party this Friday, maybe we can talk more there if you want. I’ll text you guys the address.”

And as everyone else trailed out of the deli, some part of them couldn't help but agree with Noah.

Were they just wasting their time over this?

Or should they be taking this more seriously?

And what was 'this'?

A/N:

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