A/N: So after a lot of time, I am now back with something I've been working on for months. I've lost steam from Trust in Him and I found it hard to write the next chapter for it. While I've been wallowing in writer's block for TiH, I made it a point to do something on the side. That thing on the side is this.

Of Lies and Fantasies is an SI I've been writing for a long time now. This dates back to the first time I uploaded my first SI attempt on Final Fantasy IX called Fiction Project Chronicles (that one has been deleted as you can see in my Stories section, but I have an archived copy in my computer). I've reworked some of the things I've done on FPC and this is the result. The reason why I haven't uploaded anything from Of Lies and Fantasies is because I'm worried of the reception I'll get from it. Now I've managed to steel my nerves (and edit some of the first chapter) and uploaded the first one.

I'll upload the the second chapter in a few days.

Of Lies and Fantasies
Prologue: What Happens When You Complain About The Rain

You guys know how most people spend their summer vacations, right? Most people chill at home, lounge right in front of the TV and indulge themselves in all sorts of junk food. Sometimes, they would go to the mall, or other places located publicly, and hang out with their friends. Mine is somewhat different. If I could I'd write a book on how to correctly spend your summer vacation, but seeing that I lack the professional skills for such a thing I'd rather keep it to myself.

Let me tell you about myself before this story goes on. My name is Blake Skylark, I am the youngest of my family and I still go to school as a 7th grader with no goals extending to the far future. My most telling characteristic is that I have the rottenest of lucks in human history. I even have a broken right hand to prove it. My luck is worse than that woman who was the first to be hit by a meteorite, even worse than the guy who got struck by lightning seven times, and EVEN worse than the guy who happened to be in the same place when the atomic bomb was dropped.

TWICE.

Anyway, back to the story. Summer vacation just began a few weeks ago and I spent it the way any normal teenager would: sleeping. I was catching up on my sleep, something I needed after the very stressful year I just had. Said stress was attributed to my downfallen luck, as always.

I was awakened by a knock on my door. It happened when the afternoon sky started to seep into the horizon, meaning I was asleep for most of the day.

"What?" I groaned through my pillow.

"Are you ready?" The voice that spoke through the door sounded somewhat annoyed.

"Ready for what?"

"For the surprise trip." What surprise trip?

I only rolled in bed, putting my back towards the door. My silence somewhat hinted what the voice's suspicions were, so only a confirmation would suffice. The next thing I know, the door to my room opened and a slim figure walked in with her hands at her hips:

My older sister, Nina.

"I could see that you're beyond ready." She sighed as she shook her head at me. I tried to pull my bed's covers up to my head and continue sleeping, but my sister was determined to pull me out of bed even if it meant physically touching me.

"Leave me alone." I said upon my bedsheets being pulled away from me by my sister.

"You have to get ready now or you're going to be running around the house tomorrow, scrambling to get everything done." My big sister warned.

"Then I'll scramble tomorrow." I replied after I put myself underneath the protective covering of my bedsheets once again.

She could only sigh once again before exiting my room, only to come back in with a bag on wheels and placed it right beside my bed before leaving again. Once I was sure that she wasn't coming back in again, I pushed the covers away and sat up. I was now fully awake since I was disturbed from my slumber. Plus, the itch underneath my right hand's cast was starting to annoy me.

The trip she mentioned had been offhandedly spoken about here and there in the span of a week. Nothing had been revealed about it aside from it being a surprise and that it included friends. I was invited to it, unfortunately for me. Sometimes, Nina would talk about it on the phone with her friends, often excitedly from how it sounds. Guess they were looking forward to it.

I decided to humor my sister by pulling some clothes out of my closet to put in my bag. These included some shirts, pants, shorts, underwear, socks; the basic clothing needs of someone engaging in an event that needed them to be outdoors.

With no helpful knowledge about this trip, I went around my room and gathered my needed belongings that helps avoid boredom: PSP, MP3, and cell phone. While I did this, I noticed the mess that could be identified as my room.

Clothes sprawled on the floor, wires of phone and MP3 chargers tangled up all around my computer desk, PS1 and PS2 controller wires caught up with my Xbox 360 headset that made a bigger mess. Of course, my bed, which was occupied by me just a few seconds ago, looked like a tornado barreled over it. My room looked like a disaster area, one that hasn't been quarantined yet.

"I'll clean that up later." And by later I mean after I get home from the trip. I plugged in my three electronic devices, which took a while to do because they were all knotted up in a big ball of wires, and spent the rest of day trying to figure out what to do.

Going out of the house was out of the question. I was beyond ready. I just got out of bed and the day was already in the afternoon. It would be dark by the time I get to someplace interesting. Staying indoors would be the most ideal idea I could come up with. But that still left me with nothing to do.

Playing videogames would probably suffice. Xbox 360? My friends would probably be online at this time, but I really don't want to bombard my ears with explosions and mindless chatter from underdeveloped beings called pre-pubescent children. PS2? The only games I play there are Kingdom Hearts and Persona 4. Dungeon crawling and level grinding is not the most ideal way to start your day. PS1? Hmm… Maybe we can do something with that.

Opening the lid of the console, I was greeted by a game that I haven't seen in a while: Final Fantasy IX, disc 2 to be exact. Huh. When was the last time I played this? Probably sometime in the previous week. I know I've played this to death long ago, but I don't feel like playing this today. Well, good-bye FFIX, hello Tetris Plus. I chucked the disc over my shoulder and popped in my chosen game, then played it.

Over the course of the next 12 hours, I played various games, changed consoles, went up in the internet and downloaded some videos, ate, noisily tapped the keys on our family piano – to my sister's annoyance— and wandered around the dark hallways of my house. Overall, I stayed up all night after a lengthy sleep. Take a guess what happened next.

I was yawning, eyes ready to drop, the feeling of exhaustion trying to overwhelm me and I was being forced to wait outside of my house. Dressed in a white collared long sleeved shirt, black vest, red tie, dark brown jacket and blue jeans; I looked like a door-to-door salesman who was just notified that he got the boot.

"If you sleep right now it'll be impossible for me to wake you up." Nina said as she locked the door behind her, her bag packed with her necessities standing right beside her. I was leaning on mine, struggling to stay awake. "At least you packed."

"Ain't that a great accomplishment." I yawned. Sitting on the welcome doormat was the closest thing I could get as a bed with my tall rolling bag as my pillow. I tried napping there with the cold winds of dawn blowing over me. At least my jacket helped warm me up.

I could hear Nina's heels pace in front of me, her fingers constantly connecting with the dial pad on that old phone of hers, her words variably consisting of "Where are they?" and "What's taking them so long?" I was too busy staying awake to mind her.

While she was still busy checking her phone, I heard a very distant screeching of wheels as I tried nodding off. Was this our ride? Turns out it was. Nina was somewhat excited to see a seemingly familiar vehicle turn to our street. It was a big, white SUV, and weirdly enough, it was flashing its headlights as if sending a signal. It could probably fit eight people in. The car stopped in front of our house and some of its occupants exited to greet us.

"Sorry for the wait." The girl that exited the passenger's side said. I've seen her before. She's one of Nina's closest friends. "Someone didn't remember to wake up early."

She was referring to the guy who came out of the driver's seat. He was taller than your average person and looked like could swat a flying basketball out of the air. "Maybe next time you drive."

The two girls then chatted, possibly regarding the trip we were going to and what route to take. I just muted their voices out as they talked since the last thing I wanted to do was listen in on whatever they are talking about. God knows that every conversation girls have has something to do about accessories, hot fashion trends and the latest hunk of the day.

Anyways, all I wanted was to fall asleep somewhere soft and cozy and drown out the girl talk with an orchestra. I dragged my bag towards the car, making the large man look at me. "Hey. You Nina's brother?"

"Yes." I didn't know the guy, but if he wants to make small talk then I'll indulge in a bit of small talk. "Blake Skylark."

"Lionel Stanton." We shook hands. Actually calling his hands 'hands' would not justify the size of those things. "Have I seen you before?" I could only shrug my shoulders. A lot of people see other people, even if they are not paying attention. "Anyway, nice to meet you."

Lionel was, like me, not looking forward to this trip. His girlfriend, who I assume was the girl talking with Nina, notified him of his role in this trip as the designated driver just a few days ago. This only happened because he had a big car. And he tells me that he had planned to surprise his parents with a visit that would take him a day's drive. Poor guy. At least his parents were always home.

As we conversed, the door of the other passengers opened and out came three more people. One was a kid with a PSP in his hands, the other was a brown-haired girl I didn't know, and the last one was someone I actually knew. "Dude!"

That was a friendly signal. I popped my head around the car and saw him. Andrew King, my best friend. "Over here." I raised my hand as I walked up to him with my bag rolling behind me. "Don't be so loud or you'll wake up the neighbors."

"Well, you can't start your day without WAKING UP!" If you needed more indication, he yelled out those last two words, making the others on our yard look at him. I palmed my face in embarrassment. "So, how's it been dude? Haven't seen you in days."

"Isn't that the purpose of summer vacation? You don't get to see your friends." I deadpanned.

"Aw, c'mon." He then wrapped one arm around my shoulders forcefully, almost sending me toppling down to the grass, but good thing he had a grip on my shoulders. "Without me, you won't last a day."

"And what do you call what I've been doing for the past few weeks?" Andrew only chuckled at my question. He was always like that, being the guy who enjoys spending his time with friends, maybe a bit too much.

During the times this trip was mentioned to me, I was told to invite some friends that could come along. Only one was available. The others had other pressing issues to deal with, which were none of my business. Andrew agreed to come along. He was always available.

"Quite a car, eh?" Andrew was always interested in cars. He liked that British show Top Gear and that sparked his interest. Me? Not a big fan. I could only shrug in indifference.

"Speaking of car, what do you think of the people you rode with?" We both didn't know who these people were, so any information I could get from my friend, who at least spent some time with them during their drive here, would do me a big help. How? Well, for starters I don't want to get on their bad sides.

Andrew leaned towards me, trying to act secretively as if he's telling me something he didn't want the others to hear. "First off, the driver." Lionel. "He's pretty calm. Mellow dude, even when he was getting grilled by that redhead over there." He must be talking about the first girl. Note to self: Stay away from her.

"Go on."

"The kid's quiet. He thoroughly enjoys his games. Not a very chatty kid." I could tell. He's very much immersed in his PSP. "She's very friendly." Andrew pointed to the other girl. "We talked for quite a while. I'm sure I could get a date if I tried."

"Anything else?"

"One more thing. There was a guy snoozing on the back. Loudly, I might add." And with that, the briefing was finished. There was only one person, two if I count the sleeping guy, which I need to look out for or possibly stay away from. You don't know if or when they'll—

"HEY! ARE WE LEAVING OR WHAT!?"

…explode.

That was from the last person to come out of the car. He had bed hair, despite sleeping in the car, and looked horrible. Someone really needs to hose him down. I could tell that his behavior isn't getting any rave reviews from the others; even the kid looked up from his game, rolled his eyes, shook his head in disgust and went back to playing. I am going on a limb here and guess that they are related.

"Don't worry about him." The friendly girl Andrew was talking about must've seen my terrified-for-a-moment expression when Mr. Personality here popped out, so she came up to us and offered us some reassuring words. "He's harmless."

"If you say so." I'll call her out on it immediately if it turns out she's wrong.

Soon enough, Nina announced that it was time to leave. Lionel helped us load the bags into the car and we were placed into our seats. The car was able to fit eight people, two in the front and six at the back. That was unless the passengers were uber-thin, then we could fit eight in the back.

Lionel stayed up in front with the newly awakened passenger named Ramon. Nina, Lionel's girlfriend Miranda, and the kid named Zack sat in the middle. Andrew, the friendly girl named Alyssa and I were placed at the back. It was a good thing I was sitting near a window. The bad news was I had this totally unknown girl next to me. Well at least I had some sort of entertainment on me with my mp3 and PSP.

That was my plan until she started talking to me.

"What happened to your hand?"

Oh that. She pointed to my cast-wrapped right hand. My drowsiness must have made me forget about it. "It's broken."

"I could see that."

"I didn't mean to insult your skills of observation. And it's actually the wrist that's broken."

"How did it happen?"

It was one of those days. I removed my earphones and began telling her the story. "I was the water boy at a basketball game just a month ago—"

"He just signed up on that day." Andrew interrupted.

"Thanks for the input, Andrew," I looked over to him and see him smiling. "Anyway—"

"It was my idea."

"Thank you, Andrew." There was more force in my voice as I gave him a look. "So, the game was at the school of the other team. Our team was struggling to get the lead in the third quarter because of one of the other team's key players, a very big guy, good defender and quick for his size. They can't get through him and they were getting desperate. During one of the plays, one of the guys plows through one of the other team's and a foul wasn't called. This sparked a fight between the two and the rest of both teams had to separate them."

"Wow." Alyssa was obviously getting hooked into the story.

"If that wasn't enough, the crowd got riled up and went crazy. They basically rioted. I got caught up in the chaos that I didn't notice the hulking center of the home team lift me up and threw me. I landed badly, heard the crack, and wailed like a child."

"So that's where I recognized you!" I hear Lionel say from the front of the vehicle. "I play for the team, man. You were the wailing waterboy with the messed up wrist that had to be helped out." Great, I've been recognized. You know you don't have it made when you're recognized as 'the wailing waterboy'.

I heard Andrew chuckling on his side of the car. When asked what was funny, he said, "It kinda sounds like a joke, until you see the cast."

"Why would someone just throw another person?" The girl asked.

"I dunno. Must be the steroids they were feeding him affecting his brain functions." Now that was an appropriate time to chuckle, or even laugh, which Alyssa did.

"I think I've heard of that thing before. Probably from the school newspaper."

"Hmm. Probably…" And that was where the drowsiness hit. I excused myself from the conversation, put my earphones on and slept with a soft lullaby playing on repeat.

Over the course of a few hours, the car maintained a fast pace in the highway we were traveling on. I would wake up a few times, seeing the terrain change from about 8 lanes of asphalt to four with a number of farms in the background to a bushy forest-esque place. We stopped once at a rest stop due to the insistent requests of Ramon, who failed to empty his bladder before the start of this trip. There we stocked up on food and gas and continued down the road.

The others were quite chatty and loud as the trip went on. I could hear laughing, stories being shared and various conversation topics discussed between them as I continuously drifted between consciousness and dreamland. Andrew could be heard telling jokes amongst the people we barely knew, Miranda dishing some dirt on her professors, Lionel sharing some of his personal experience in basketball and Ramon recalling one of his pranks. So he's a prankster, eh?

Flat asphalt was replaced with bumpy roads that probably have not been repaired for years. A bump in the road sent me flying making my head hit the roof. It was funny for a moment, until it happened to Ramon, who told everyone else put to on their seatbelts. Soon enough, we got out of Bumpy City and into a much better road.

Time passed while I enjoyed what sleep I could get. Maybe it was a good decision for me to stay up all night. I know I don't enjoy long drives in a car filled with people, especially if I knew more about them than my sister, which amounts to the equal space in a brochure. Andrew enjoys a situation like this, not me. I often wonder why he still hangs around me.

But despite all of that, I have this little bit of hope in me that I would enjoy this place we were going; A small part of me wants this thing to be something I'll like.

Nobody has said a word about it while I was awake. Perhaps only a few people here know about it. If it's a surprise to all of us, then I hope it'll be a good one.

"Whoa!"

The word echoed as the car suddenly went from a leisurely drive a la Jeremy Clarkson to James May levels of slowness. I jolted awake as the driver apologized for almost giving everyone whiplash.

"We're almost there. Just a few more minutes." That was Ramon sounding excited. Some of the passengers also shared his sentiments. Zack even took a glance of the road ahead of us.

"Hey," Andrew looked like he heard someone kick a puppy. "Whatever you do, keep calm."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Trust me. Just enjoy today like it was the first time you started living. Calm and easy..."

As Andrew rambled on, I looked over to Alyssa and see her shaking her head looking somewhat uncomfortable. What is happening? I look over to the middle, where I had a clear view of where we were going. As soon as my eyes managed to send the visual signal to my brain, they widened in both surprise and anger.

And with that, the little hope of me enjoying this trip died.

It was a beach. The sun, some sand and salty ocean water; filled with people playing around in the skimpiest of attires just to show off their attractive assets or to cool off in the sea in a warm day like this because they can't afford a swimming pool. I just realized it at that moment that that was the destination. It was the last place I wanted to be in.

"Alright! Time to get wet!" Funny, I can't do that. I was morally obligated to avoid such a scenario because of the contract I signed with my broken right wrist.

The car was then parked and everyone got off in a can't-wait-to-make-sand-angels manner that they almost tripped over each other. I was the only one who didn't want to get out of the car.

"Hey," I looked to the door and saw Alyssa of all people trying to get me out of this car. "You alright?"

"Does it look like I'm alright? Right now, I'm as offended as Napoleon being called short."

"He IS short."

"Shorter than the guys he was painted with!" My voice rose over such a trivial thing. "I'm gonna call for a cab, give the driver a hundred bucks and tell him to get me away from here."

Alyssa climbed into the car after I said that. Andrew was right behind her, but he didn't get in. "C'mon, you don't have to mope in here just because you can't swim."

"Yeah." Andrew said from outside. "You can do it in your room in there." He pointed to the small structure everyone else was going to.

"I'm so glad you're helping." I said sarcastically. "You know, they could have told me that we were going to a beach before we left. I could have stayed at home instead."

"But you wouldn't be having fun if you stayed behind." Alyssa tried to put this whole thing in a positive light, but staying home had a lot of positive possibilities too.

"I'd have TONS of fun. Videogames, internet, cable, house parties, and that's just counting off from one hand." Because I can't count with the other one.

She put her hands on my cast, looked at me with convincing determination and said, "I once met a guy in one of my karate classes. He had a younger brother who was crippled because of a robbery-gone-wrong."

"And he took up defense classes so it never happens to him." I interrupted her, hoping that the clichéd story ends there.

"No, that's not the point. The point is, the younger brother moved on in regards to his injury. He didn't let it hinder him from doing anything like participating in special marathons, sky diving, and going to the beach." I'm pretty sure she just put that last one to encourage me. And it was working.

"Is there a slight chance that this 'younger brother' had a broken hand?"

"He's paralyzed from the waist down." Well that was depressing to hear.

All of us were silent for a moment, contemplating about this younger brother and his horrible condition and how I didn't need to know about it. "And what do you get out of this?" I broke the silence with a question.

"It kinda makes me happy to help people out." She smiled. "Now come on. Do you still want to call that cab?"

"No." I scoffed. "I'm not gonna let a kid in a wheelchair show me up." With that, the two of us got out of the SUV and on to the sand. Just the feeling of sand underneath my shoes made me feel uneasy, with the ocean as a backdrop was not making it better. The cheerfulness of the others was not making it better.

Even as I walk on this grainy surface, I feel that nothing could insult me more than an invitation to swim. Unless they were blind or stupid, they should avoid saying that to someone with a cast. Hell, any person in a cast should never be near any body of water ever. My blood is still boiling that I could tell.

"Is he alright?" I heard a soft voice speak beside us. It was Zack, the PSP playing kid. What does he mean by that? I don't have anything against water; I just don't want it on me.

"Nothing short of traumatized." Alyssa jokingly responded.

Zack pressed most of his hand on his face upon hearing this and sighed. "My brother thought this would be funny." Who? "My brother, Ramon." He pointed to the teenager cracking jokes with Nina and Lionel, who weren't sharing his sense of humor.

"Your brother is an ass." Well said, Alyssa. Even Zack agrees.

Well, at least I know now who did it. I couldn't do anything to him now, but let's just save that in the 'grudge corner' and schedule my revenge soon. Before I could start on that, Nina and Lionel began telling us that they divided the group into two because there were two rooms available for us. Lionel, Miranda, Ramon and Nina were going stay in one room while the rest, meaning me, Alyssa, Andrew and Zack, were occupying the other.

"And get comfy. We'll be here for three days, so you guys better find your sleeping space." Three days? This is worse. "Our other friends will be arriving soon and we'll fit some of them in if there's space." Someone just push me into the sea and let me drown. I just want to be out of here.

Settling down on the white-sheet covered bed in the room I was assigned, I found it hard not to think about the ocean when it's just half a mile away outside. Andrew, Zack and Alyssa dropped their bags right beside the bed and took a look around of the room. It wasn't bad looking. Decorated with sea shells and painted with an underwater theme, the room was hospitable and spacious. There was a bed opposite to the front door and porch and a TV set the size of an average computer monitor. The bathroom connected our room with the other room, which was a good idea to put one big set of people under one roof in two rooms. It's only bad news when one of each other's groups had to use the bathroom. Something that came as a surprise to me was that we had an air-conditioned room.

It seems like I'm drowning already.

Andrew commented about the room's interior design, which made me want to sock him with my casted right hand. At least the bed didn't have water in it; the only saving grace of this below-average room.

"Dibs on the bed!" Zack and Andrew almost declared simultaneously. They both barely missed me as they dived onto the bed and sighed relaxingly with their faces snuggling with the pillows. Hearing such jolliness right now was grating.

"You can fit three people here, you know." Andrew informed me.

"If you don't mind the sausage-fest, then I'll be the third." I said while I stood near the foot of the bed.

"Sausage-fest?" Bless your innocent mind, Zack. Good thing your brother has not yet corrupted your soul.

"Where am I going to sleep? On the floor?" Alyssa reacted negatively to our agreement.

"Yes." The three of us said; mine sounding monotone compared to the two's response. Obviously, she disagreed, and she made it evident by mumbling something about children.

The first hour of our first day there consisted of us lounging around and resting, the latter we deserved more after being on the road for hours. Everyone in the room I was in was busy rearranging the insides of their bags, checking if they did bring what they needed. You know things like sunscreen, goggles, the upper half of their bikini. I know there was one thing I didn't bring with me: my swimming shorts.

Yes, I'm still butt hurt about being in a beach. I know I sound like a dope complaining about something he didn't order for. If I was of age, I'd drink my sorrows away like any other average human being with a problem. Actually, I am, but that's not the point.

As time passed, I noticed that the sky was getting darker. Strange, because last night the weather man said that it would be sunny all day today. There weren't much clouds forming earlier too. Some of the people hanging around the beach noticed it too and decided to call it a day. Ramon noticed it too, pointing it out that they should go swimming while few of the visitors were leaving. There were about to agree, until the Chinese food arrived.

"Sweet!" I heard Lionel's voice from the other room declare. Without missing a beat, Andrew and his always empty stomach rushed out of the door to greet the delivery guy and help lighten his load. Everyone was eating their respective box of Chinese food out on the porch, which I was inclined to join because I don't want the room smelling like noodles and chicken dumplings. We took our time with our food with the sole exception of Ramon, who didn't care for basic swimming logic as he raced to the ocean with his small box in hand, ready to swim in his shorts. I heard Miranda call him an idiot under her breath. I once again agree.

I stared into the small container in my hands after I was done. It barely had anything in it, just some tiny bits of meat and the often missed noodle in the corner. I had nothing to do but mope around the porch and in my assigned room. That was the plan I had thought of as I disposed of the box, yet that changed when Zack approached me with a big black bag.

"Can you help me with this?" Help with what? "My PS1." Apparently, a small bird told him that I had a PS1 and that certain bird must have suggested that I can help putting it in working order. I only agreed to help him out because, 1) He has a lousy brother, and 2) I had nothing to do.

It took me about 5 minutes to connect the right wires to the TV from the console and insert the controllers on their respective ports. With one press of a button, the Sony Computer Entertainment logo appeared on the screen.

"Thanks." You should be thanking me for not being like your dick of a brother. "Do you want to play?"

"No thanks. I'll just wallow in self-pity over there." I said pointing to the bed. Getting on it and crawling over a magazine reading Andrew, I plopped down on a pillow with a sigh. Also, I kicked Andrew hard enough to send him over the floor. I saw that grin he had on his face and I knew that he was the one who opened his mouth about my owning of a PS1. This sent him into a laughing fit.

"No rough housing, children." Alyssa warned us with a wag of her finger. She was answered by a chorus of 'Yes, Mom'. Alyssa knelt down in front of her bag and grabbed something before excusing herself from the room once again and entered the bathroom.

I was too occupied in my own troubles to comment about this, or too busy suffocating Andrew's laughter with a pillow to even care. Zack didn't notice what was happening behind him as he launched a missile towards Tiny in a game of Crash Team Racing.

"You having fun?" I sarcastically asked Andrew as I forced the pillow on his face.

"More fun than you'll ever have!" That just makes me want to choke you more. "At least I'll be able to enjoy this place even more than you."

"Don't you dare rub it in," I told him, pulling the pillow away from his face, letting him breathe in the sea salt in the air.

"At least you get to spend most of your time in an air conditioned room with a Playstation hooked up to the TV."

"What's 10 feet of space ever good for? Plus, I doubt Zack has any good games."

As if on cue, Zack pushed the bag his PS1 was in earlier towards us and looked over his shoulder. "Here's my games." He nodded, as if answering me unconsciously if I could see what his games were. I opened the bag and found various CD cases with the cover pictures of various games. Zack only brought a few with him, but he sure brought games that would probably last until we leave.

The bad side of this: you could only count the games he brought with one hand. Let's name them, shall we. Crash Team Racing, Spyro: Ripto's Rage, a Tomb Raider game, Final Fantasy IX and Tetris. Okay, you can count the discs with both hands, but the number of games still uses one hand only.

Andrew saw the Final Fantasy IX case and immediately picking it up. "Don't you have a copy of this back home?" I nodded as I looked at the Tomb raider game with interest. "Didn't you play the hell out of that game too?" Another nod from me.

"Really now?" We both turned our heads to the bathroom door and saw Alyssa, who changed into a bikini top and shorts combo. "I used to play Final Fantasy IX too." She rubbed the back of her head, probably thinking why she's the only one who wanted to go for a swim. One moment later, she asks. Her two able-bodied roommates just shrugged while I raised my casted right hand. "Sorry about that."

Sometimes, people are so insensitive to others that they don't know they actually were until you point it out.

"Somehow I find that surprising." I said.

"About what?" Regarding you playing Final Fantasy IX. "Oh that. I used to play it all the time. Finished it about three times; the third being a 100% run."

Who was she trying to impress by saying that? That could only mean you have a lot more free time than most people. If you wanted to impress, then you should have said you did it on Mt. Everest.

"No need to be such a jerk about it." Andrew whispered to me. I think I might have mumbled some of that out loud, but it seems Alyssa didn't hear it as she went for her bag again. "Anyway, I'm gonna get changed too." Now my best friend was leaving me for the ocean. Thanks for being there when I needed you, pal.

With Andrew gone, I tried to entertain myself with some paper I found in a drawer while listening to my mp3. I tried making a crane origami, but my memory failed me and it looked like anything but a crane. Giving up with the origami, my attention now went to my PSP. Hoping that it would at least help me through about two hours, I flicked the switch on and waited for the screen to activate. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. The PSP had been on sleep this entire time on one of the menus in Persona 3 Portable and the battery was dangerously low. Someone had touched my beloved PSP. There was only one culprit.

"ANDREW!" I marched right in front of the bathroom door and proceeded to pound on it. All I heard from the other side were giggles and him trying to calm me down, albeit sounding like he was enjoying what I was doing to the door. Then I heard the door open and some footsteps quickly dashing away. He used the door in the other room and ran out.

"Be careful with that." That was Alyssa. "If you break anything you'll have to pay for it."

I wanted to say that I have enough money to pay for the broken door and buy them a better one, but I didn't feel like answering. Instead, I just plopped back down on the bed and grumbled some very adult words to myself.

"Is he done?" Zack asked me, referring to Andrew's usage of the bathroom. I nodded. He then turned off his game, put the controller down, and took some clothes out of his own bag. Not you too, Zack.

"I'm going to go swimming!" He gleefully declared as he charged into the bathroom. Great. My PSP is nearly dead, my best friend is out somewhere I can't be, and I'm all alone with nothing to entertain me with. I guess I could lull myself to sleep with my mp3, but I've been asleep for most of the trip and I don't even know how long that lasted.

Then an idea popped into my head as I turned my sights to a CD case in one of Zack's bags.

Final Fantasy IX. Maybe I can play it and see where I'll want to go kill myself out of boredom. "Hey Zack!" I made my voice loud enough so Zack can hear me through the door. "Is it okay if I used your Playstation?"

He popped his head out of the bathroom for a moment. With one look towards me he must have seen Final Fantasy IX in my hands and then nodded. "Sure." One second later, he was back in the bathroom.

"Sweetness." I popped in one of the discs, not caring which one it was because I'll be exchanging it for another when I load a save file, and started playing. The solemn title theme greeted me with the company logo before I got to the actual title screen. That song always warms my heart.

When I picked the most recent save file Zack made, he had already managed to clear disc 1 and was starting off in disc 2. Sweet! My favorite part of the game. So after changing discs again, I started off with Steiner in control. I was so busy with the game that I failed to notice Zack exit the bathroom and head off into the beach. Have fun while I'm having fun here.

A half hour, a boss fight and some adventuring in Treno passed and I was still absorbed in the game. Though, I did notice the sky getting darker than before. I'm pretty sure a tiny bit of rain isn't gonna stop any of these beach heads. They'll LOVE it. At least I have a roof over my head.

Then, as I was guiding my characters through Gargan Roo, operating the necessary switches and levers so the Gargant's presence could be summoned, something weird started happening. The TV started emitting this static noise as the visuals started flipping out. The Playstation suddenly shorted out and gave off an electric an electric current that traveled to the controller in my hand.

"Shit! Fuck! Crap!" I cursed a few more times as I began shaking my hands in pain. The hairs on my arms were standing up like crazy. How the hell is that possible!? Are Playstations capable of short circuiting themselves to a point where they shock the player's controller and hands? God, that stings.

I have to let Zack know. It's going to be inevitable for him to know that his Playstation just broke. Better tell him now than later.

"Zack!" I shouted after exiting the cabin room I was in. I spotted the kid on the beach playing with the sand along with his brother. He was trying to build something in the sand, but his jerk of a brother kept kicking at his work while laughing and thinking that he's a comical genius.

The wind outside was blowing a chilly breeze, making me pull my jacket closer to myself. The sky seemed to get darker and darker as time passed. If my prediction that rain is going to fall soon is going to happen, I'd maybe want an umbrella in my hands before I go and tell Zack. Good thing there was one conveniently abandoned on our porch. As soon as I grab it and head towards the beach, a girl— probably Miranda—started shouting about bringing it back after I was done.

"Hey, where are you going?" I passed Alyssa as I made my way towards Zack.

" ,shockedmeandIthinkit'sirreparable." My words came out so fast that Alyssa wasn't able to understand what I was trying to say, but I didn't have time for jibber-jabber. I have to tell Zack before anything else happens.

And then thunder boomed across the sky. I wasn't taking any more chances. I opened the umbrella and made a beeline for the actual owner of the Playstation. Alyssa, concerned or just confused, followed.

"Zack! Your Playstation broke!" I shouted at his direction, hoping that he would hear. What it did do is grab the kid's attention. I could hear him saying 'What?'I wanted to repeat what I just said, but being this close to the ocean was making me uncomfortable. "YOUR PLAYSTATION BROKE!" I pointed to the cabin.

That made Zack abandon what he was doing with his brother and run towards the cabin. Mission accomplished. Now all I need to do is get back indoors before it's too late.

"Hey look, it's raining!" Fuck.

"Mind if I squeeze in here with you? I just dried myself." Alyssa asked as she stepped under the umbrella with me, partially holding onto the umbrella handle and my casted arm. Whatever, as long as I'm dry.

Thunder once again boomed up in the heavens and the rain started intensifying, making me hurry a bit faster, almost leaving Alyssa in the mercy of the raindrops. "Hey wait up."

"I can't wait up. The rain is coming down really hard right now and I DO NOT WANT to be under it." I told her as she caught up. This was not really the place for me. Look at the beach, people dancing under the rain, swimming in the ocean, beach volleyball, and other fun activities. Everyone out here is having a blast and I'm the only one with an umbrella.

"You really don't need to hurry," said the girl trying to squeeze into the space underneath the umbrella. "It's not like you're going to get struck by lightning." The sky above us cracked with thunder just as the wind stared to blow against us. Good thing I managed to hold on to the umbrella so it didn't fly away.

I shook my head at her. She thinks that lightning is the thing I'm worried about. Lightning is the last thing I'm worried about. What I'm worried about is getting wet. I told her this in a mocking tone just to emphasize my point. "Besides, lightning doesn't strike a person in a place like this. People near anything large and metallic or in an open field have more of a chance of getting hit."

Unfortunately, fate seemed to like torturing me because the moment I hear another instant of thunder booming above us, a flash from out of nowhere almost blinds me and I feel this intense sensation on my arm before it instantly coursed through my body like a current powering an electrical device.

Before I even knew it, I was on the ground, blacked out.