riven by maggie morris (best novels to read for students TXT) 📕

But, the truth was, deep down inside, I knew this was actually happening. I just didn’t want to accept it. So much for Bryce and I having a happy ending!

What I wanted to know was how the world was going to end. Was the world just going to plunge into darkness and be wiped away from the face of the universe? Or was it going to go into an “apocalyptic mode”, where the world is in chaos and there is little air and water? I needed answers!

Therefore, with nothing left to do, I decided to call my friend Ben from my old school, who was a sixteen-year-old genius.

I punched his number into my Nokia, which was the only type of phone my family could afford. I hummed a popular song while it dialed. After thirty seconds, his voicemail picked up, asking me to leave a message.

“Hey, Ben. It’s Alice. I’m sure you’ve seen and heard about all of the end-of-the-world stuff, and I was just wondering if you could tell me-how is this going to happen?” I went in to explain my theories, then hung up after asking him to call me back.

I need to know this. What was going to happen to the world when it ended?

 Two weeks after the accident, my parents and I were preparing for “doomsday”. So far, we’d rounded up seventy-two bottles of water, thirty flashlights, and bought three of those buckets that are supposed to supply you with thirty days worth of food. We didn’t have much, but it was all we could afford.

The apocalypse was the only thing people were talking about at school. I was for once able to join in the discussion, because Ben had finally called me back. He explained that the world would slowly go into darkness, and it would be extremely cold. Typical. My family and I were worried about food, and the apocalypse was affecting the temperature.

The sky got a little darker everyday, and I was starting to slack off of school. I’d skipped two days already, and instead went to an amusement park with Bryce. My parents were quitting their jobs the next week, and Bryce had just dropped out of school.

Basically, my whole world was falling apart. All of those dreams I’d had about becoming rich and having lots of kids were washed down the drain. All I had to look forward to were my moments with Bryce, Claire, and my parents.

But, I wouldn’t be spending much with Claire after I revealed to her that I was dating Bryce. We had to keep quiet at school and not show any PDA. It was hard on me, but I knew what would happen if Claire found out.

I thought about all of these things as I set up a bed in the cellar with my foster dad. We laid sheets on it, then a comforter. I smoothed it over and stepped back to look at our work.

“Good job, Alice. You can go to school now if you want,” he said. My parents were fine with me not going to school, and that day we had cut into half of it so we could prepare. But I didn’t want to go to school. I wanted to make-up that date that Bryce and I were supposed to have fourteen days ago.

Saying nothing, I left the basement. I headed to my room to call Bryce. He picked up immediately.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Were you waiting by the phone for me to call?” I asked.

“Maybe. Are you going to school today?”

“Nah, it’s too late in the day now. Besides, I have another idea,” I smiled.

“And?” Bryce wondered.

“You know that first ‘date’ that we had?” I absentmindedly stroked a strand of my hair and looked at myself from different angles in the mirror.

“Yes. The one where you got mugged?”

“That’s the one. I want to fix that and make it a better date.”

“Got it. Be there in ten.”

* * * * *

“How are you feeling about this whole ‘doomsday’ thing?” Bryce asked me gently, squeezing my knee.

“Well, it’s just really overwhelming. I had big plans for my life. I was going to become a scientist.”

“I wanted to be a graphic designer. But I guess that’s not happening.” He was silent for a minute. Then he spoke again. “Does Claire like me?”

I gasped. “How did you know? She’s not that obvious, is she?”

“I have my ways,” Bryce grinned. “New subject. What movie are we going to watch?”

“I was thinking The Zookeeper. I don’t want to watch a scary movie, because I’m just tired of life itself being so scary all the time.”
      “The Zookeeper it is, then.” Just then, we pulled into the parking lot. I stuffed some snacks from my purse inside my jacket to conceal them. We walked inside, hands intertwined.

While Bryce bought popcorn, my mind immediately went to the fact that this was our third date, counting the amusement park and our first "date". That meant that I wouldn’t be breaking my mom’s rules if I kissed him. I had a feeling that it would happen again.

Bryce handed the cashier a ten and told her to keep the change. Then, he motioned me to follow him and walked into the theater. The ads were already playing, but the theater was empty except for an elderly couple with a little kid, who I assumed was their grandchild.

We sat down in the middle of the middle row. A small drone flew overhead, probably looking for anyone from the last movie who might have stayed to watch The Zookeeper again.

Our world had died down with new technological innovations since Google was shut down after being sued by a powerful Russian leader for three trillion dollars. But, drones were not uncommon after they’d been made legal in the U.S. A few people owned hoverboards, but they were rare and expensive.

Bryce was entranced by the ad playing on the screen, which was for post-apocalypse supplies. So, I fixed myself in studying the little kid in front of us.

Her blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails, which we flopping around as she turned her head from left to right, scanning the theater. She was wearing a dress that looked like something Minnie Mouse would wear, with white polka-dots on a hot pink fabric. The girl’s eyes were a beautiful shade of blu-

“What are you thinking about?” Bryce asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“The little girl up there. I was thinking about how she’s so young, and she’s not going to get to live life to the fullest. There must be some way...some way to stop everything. I just don’t know how!” I yelled, frustrated. The old lady in front of me turned around and gave me a glare that could have sent Chuck Norris screaming for his parents.

Bryce put a gentle arm around my shoulder and turned me towards him.

“It’s not over yet, Alice. It’s not over until you stop trying. You can do something about it. You just have to stay strong and hold on.” He leaned in towards me.

This is the moment you’ve been waiting for for two weeks! I screamed in my head. I tilted my head the slightest bit, ready to greet him. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that made me jerk my head away.

Claire. She was standing there, popcorn in hand, mouth open wide.

“You!” She tried to say viciously, but it came out more like a warbled squeak. I blushed and looked at Bryce. He started to raise his eyebrows in apology, but then, just like that, disappeared.

“What the heck!” I screamed. The old people in front of me irritatedly picked up their granddaughter and walked out of the room. Claire’s mouth was still open, and it was even wider now. Suddenly, she spun around and took off running. I jumped up, spilling popcorn into my lap.

“Claire, wait!” I had no time to think about what had happened to Bryce before I gave chase to her.

I followed her all the way to the movie theater bathroom before she finally stopped running. She’d had mascara on eyes, but now it was all on her cheeks, courtesy of the tears streaming down her face.

“Why? Why, Alice? I thought we were friends!” She shouted.

“I’m really sorry, Claire.” She turned away.

“You could have told me. I would have understood,” she whispered.

“Would you?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Just shut up!” Claire grabbed the nearest item-which happened to be a paper towel. Lucky, in my case-and threw it at me.

“Claire, you’re overreacting!” I tried to soothe.

“‘You’re overreacting,’ she says,” Claire mimicked. “Well, how would you act in my place; you just caught your so-called ‘best friend’ about to make out with the guy that you liked, and then he just disappears out of thin air and the world is ending and-” She sobbed and collapsed on the floor. “I’m just so confused!”

I said nothing, just sat down on the floor also and gave her a big hug, ignoring the fact that I was touching the bathroom floor.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered in her ear, and hugged her tighter. “I’m a horrible friend. And frankly, I would act the same way if I was in your shoes.”

* * * * *

Claire wiped her face with the towel that I had provided her with. We were sitting in Bryce’s car, which he had left unlocked, cleaning her up and trying to figure out what had happened to Bryce.

She was still sniffling a bit, but she wasn’t as mad at me anymore, and she had gotten most of her tears out.

“So was I the only one who saw him disappear out of thin air?” Claire asked me.

“No, I saw that, too.”

“Should we call the police then?”

“Oh, sure. Like they’d believe two seniors that the boy they were fighting over randomly vanished,” I sulked. I must’ve looked pretty pouty, because Claire smiled weakly.

“If only it were that easy.”

“How are we going to get him back if we don’t know what happened to him? And what about his parents?” All of this was giving me a headache. I just wanted Bryce back, and for everything to be normal again.

“Wait: let me do a re-cap. So, you were dating the guy I liked-” At this she shot me a tiny glare. “-and he suddenly disappeared. Not like he ran out of the room, but like he was just sitting there, and, ‘poof!’, he’s gone. We have no idea where he went, no idea what happened to him, and absolutely no idea if we’ve gone crazy or not,” Claire recalled.

“Pretty much, “ I shrugged. “I feel like we should be more worried. I mean, it’s not everyday that someone is zapped out of the room, or who knows, maybe even the world. And I won’t let myself believe that this is magic. There has to be some scientific reasoning behind it.

I put my hands to my forehead and gave my temples a good massage. Then, I pulled off the cover in front of the ignition. I pressed the two wires together, and just like it did in Girl Scouts, the car started.

I sighed deeply