Tome II of Chiller - Making Fiends

[Deblod100]

WARNING: This first post of this tome will be referencing and discussing IRL events concerning sexual violence, harassment, and abuse. This includes some icky stuff. Be advised.

((OOC: I got so uncomfortable while writing the things below, that I decided to spoiler it all together to spare your eyes. If anything that was mentioned above makes you uncomfortable, please avoid it.

[+] Very icky intro, CW from above apply

Ok...

Where in the actual fuck do I begin?

How did the middle of 2021 become a major shitshow!?

Tome II of Chiller - Making Fiends (August 2021 - December 2021)

I think I should get some stuff that wasn't mentioned out of the way, since there were some things that I didn't realize had happened, until the end of July of 2021.

2021 wasn't as worse as 2020, but it still had that lingering odor that made the cats and dogs repulsed in pain.

First most important thing to say.

Fuck you, Activision-Blizzard.

Sex pests.

That's what you fuckboys are.

Second off, let me get another content warning in here, since this is after the fallout of some sexual abuse.

This little inclusion of memory will be starting at the time where it was revealed that Chris-Chan did incest with his mother.

...

This tome is going to start on a dark note, isn't it?

Chapter 8 - August - Parasites

Here's the new rule for Chiller.

Fuck Activision-Blizzard.

Fuck them all.

Parasites.

That was what they were.

Parasites.

Rotten things that were poison to everything they touched.

Where did Mortimer need to begin, since he shat on CNN, he was going to do Activision-Blizzard next.

Oh yes... they were going on his shit-list.

MORTIMER'S HATE LIST:
1. Twitter checkmarks
2. Puddle of Mudd band
3. Bill Cosby
4. Steven Seagal
5. Richard Nixon
6. CNBC
7. Andrew Left
8. Activision-Blizzard

Though, let's be real. Sexual harassers and sex pests are nothing new. There was the whole MeToo thing, though this shit always happens. Top Gun unfortunately played a role in one major scandal.

Mortimer knew the deal on Jeffery Epstein, so did everyone else and how the ultra-powerful and ultra-elite had to kill him by making it look like a suicide to protect all of their most dirtiest and darkest secrets in the world.

The Activision-Blizzard edition was new to the internet space, but all of the raunchy and disgusting details were shown. You think that with Bill Cosby being exposed that people would grow to resent anything associated with him?

(Here's a cruel and ironic story, despite the allegations made against Cosby way back before 2014 to 2015, the one person who everyone listened to and believed about Cosby being a rapist was actually a guy. Hannibal did nothing wrong. He did the right thing in helping open up the accusations again against Cosby, but for allegations from a guy than a female victim of Cosby be taken seriously, well that's going to piss the victims off rightfully so.)

Turns out, there was a place called the "Cosby Suite" at BlizzCon. They even had a portrait of Cosby there with a bunch of incriminating people who happened to participate in that suite. Guess that they couldn't turn all of the Overwatch characters gay to save their asses.

Oh, here's something that should be mentioned and it's the thing that Mortimer hates the most with certain video-game related things, companies, media, etc.

It's projectors.

Projectors as in they claim to support countercultural causes, such as feminism, the LGBT+, and the racial minorities. They will easily bend backwards when they get accused of being offensive, so they do some "progressive" adjustments to make them seem diverse. They are not actual supporters for anything progressive. They are just suits that wanted to cater to their customers, knowing that image is important. They were never marginalized as the people that they were trying to cater to. The supposed "marginalized" allies being mostly white straight guys.

You sense where this is going, don't you?

Now, these projectors will present themselves as male feminists, but when it comes towards anything corporate or private, those facade of lies become invisible.

When you're a woman working in a company where all of the guys sexually harass you, including human resources, there's a major problem.

You get accusations, people try to present themselves as innocent all they want. Pests will do anything for saving some grace. You can change the gender and name of a NPC named after an accuser to hope to be absolved of your crimes, but that isn't going to work. You can remove all of the female sexy eye candy, the sexual jokes and references to former employees, along with anything that is considered racist and offensive now, but you supposed to be fixing up the company. Not your game.

Trying to act progressive towards your company isn't going to fix the sexual assault and harassment in your company. Especially the abuse and overworking that your workers face!

You think that it will save you after what happened with Blitzchung back at 2019?

Or how you paid all of the gullible game journalists to help shill your mobile game after it was booed when being announced?

Oh sure, you can play the "actually, you're just toxic" card to your critics, but you will just dig your own graves.

---

But, of course, even with such big news, people will always throw out distractions to try to deflect attention.

In the case of what CWC did?

It backfired for Activision-Blizzard, because now the whole internet have more problems that we are viewing first-hand.

It's strange, because Mortimer already knew who CWC was. Yes, they were having their life documented by obsessed "Christorians" 24/7, but Morty didn't give a shit about some autistic lolcow's life or their Sonichu webcomic. Then, you have the whole incest sexual assault allegations and boy... what a 50-car pile up.

Mortimer learnt of some context surrounding the incest incident, which became even more fucked up.

It's why he dreaded using Discord, since there are a lot of creeps and assholes on that platform. The whole context was that this group on Discord have been encouraging CWC to have sex with their mom with the end goal of having CWC kill themselves. It all fell apart, when one of the members got cold feet and leaked the plan.

You want to know what was horrifying?

The ringleader of this shit show was some femcel who was a psychopath who adopted and got animals killed. She reportedly drove a student in her university to suicide, which was probably why she was trying to do CWC next. The reason she was even in the university in the first place was because her father is connected to the military and her mother being a secret service agent.

This bitch was a complete monster and a parasite. So much so that Mortimer wasn't going to mention her fucking name.

---

Mortimer never felt so dead in his life.

He didn't know so much grotesque internet drama would be unhealthy for his brain. It was different than the first half of this year. The rest of 2021 was going to drag on for a century and possibly more.

All he can do was lay on his bed early in the middle of the night, despite it being summer, and wish that all of the sickness in this cruel world would fade away.

Mortimer wished for many things and he wished he was there in person to wish pity onto several people following recent events.

"...Someone needs to avenge the fallen. Just... someone..."

It was all that he could mutter, before he went to bed.

[Deblod100]

202.2 CHILLER FM:
NJ Legion Iced Tea - A Day To Remember

"Hey, Catherine? I think I'm in my emo phase now." Mortimer said to be honest with his sister.

"What? Now?" Catherine replied, while she talked with Mortimer outside to the laundromat with a basket of laundry. The two of them were each carrying laundry from their apartment to the laundromat at the center of all of the apartments at Skyline Heights. His mother wanted his kids to set up the laundry while she was busy with other chores, so it was Morty and Catherine to deal with it.

"I don't know. All of the internet shit is getting onto my nerves. Do you even play Overwatch anymore?" Mortimer asked his sister, while he carried the laundry basket down the street. "If you're going emo, are you going to stay like that when you get into high school?" Catherine mentioned and reminded him.

"Hey, maybe I was supposed to go emo when I got there. It caught up early for me." Mortimer said with some cynical sarcasm.
"Do people even get emo anymore?"
"People always get emo, Catherine. Why do you think My Chemical Romance is still relevant?"
"Morty, I'm not into music. You can't expect me to know every band."
"...Get an easy hobby, then." Mortimer said.

Both Mortimer and Catherine arrived at the laundromat, over to notice that the front of it was tagged with some graffiti. It looks like no one was inside the laundromat, despite it being open 24/7.
"What does this say?" Mortimer was wondering on what the tag meant. "You think I know anything about graffiti? I think we should head back." Catherine said to Mortimer, but he stopped her.

"Oh come on! We can't just walk our asses here and go back!"
"Morty, you don't think this is suspicious? You remember when we first moved here and someone barricaded themselves in there?"
"The cops handled it. It was only for one day. Come on." Mortimer said, opening the door for Catherine where he followed her inside.

The laundromat did have some people far in the back doing their laundry, but the guy that usually manned the desk was not there. Mortimer and Catherine set the baskets at where the washing machines were. The clothing in both baskets were separate, so that one pile was to use hot water while the other was cold. Mortimer dug into his pocket to insert the coins into the washing machines, so that the cycles can begin. Mortimer and Catherine left the baskets inside of the laundromat, before they left.

Back outside, Mortimer noticed that there weren't any kids around at the playground in front of the laundromat. The last time he was here, there were still kids with their parents. Mortimer took a guess that it had to do with back-to-school related stuff.

---

Mortimer was in a tired mood to make himself a good lunch. His best solution was to eat a Lunchable grilled cheese that he served with jelly beans on the side. It was a lunch that Gordon Ramsey would shake his head at. He didn't know why he even considered eating such sugar and cardboard. He just wanted to lounge back and chill, though after he ate, he had to go back down to the laundromat to put the clothing into the dryers. His sister Catherine had to drive to her friend's place, so Mortimer was left to do the instructions from his mother by himself.

After he walked back to the laundromat, he didn't realize he was in a dangerous situation.

Mortimer entered the laundromat, having gone past several men with hoodies on, who noticed him. Mortimer went to the washing machines to throw the clothes into the dryers, though after he was done starting them, he turned to head back home. Only to be met with a guy with a hoodie and a bandana on, blocking the door out.

"Excu-ARGH!"

Some asshole shoved Mortimer down onto the floor, while another one appeared next to him.

"Who told you to trespass onto our turf, kid?" the bandana man said to him, while he got up.
"Trespass? This is a laundromat!"
"Didn't you read the sign?" the bandana man pointed to the graffiti that was visible out the window.
"What sign?"
"That thing you past is called a sign, dumbass!"

Mortimer turned to check the desk, but still no one was there. Mortimer turned back and-

"GAHHHH!"

Holy shit, this piece of shit just punched him. Square in the face. Mortimer can feel so much pain at his nose that his eyes were tearing up. "Get a lot of this crybaby, guys!" the bandana man kept saying.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? I DID NOTHING TO YOU PEOPLE!" Mortimer had a hand over his nose. He can feel some blood going down from a nostril.
"You trespass and you have beef with us! Now, beat it and tell your home boys to not fuck with us!" the bandana man forced Mortimer out of the laundromat, nearly shoving him onto the ground. When Mortimer looked up, he noticed some more thugs hanging around at the playground.

When the fuck did Skyline Heights become gang turf!?

Mortimer didn't want to risk it. He darted back to his apartment, hoping that his mother can help him.

---

After he got back and told his mother on what happened, her and some other neighbors went to the laundromat, only to see that the men had left. Mortimer had to keep his nose bandaged briefly, but it was something that was able to be healed in a few days. Still, it led to his mother to have Mortimer stay away from the laundromat and playground.

It turned out that the usual guy manning the station at the laundromat had retired at some bad timing. No one at the moment knew who these guys were, but they were harassing and provoking people at random times of the day. Some people were filing complaints, but it would take a while until the cops started to patrol within Skyline Heights.

Mortimer wanted to throw a punch so badly, though his arms were already jelly before he got jumped.

What did those thugs thought they were doing, anyways? It's not like they can convert their new laundromat into a cocaine factory.

[Deblod100]

It didn't really need a sequel.

Mortimer thought after he watched Don't Breathe 2. The main gripe that he had was that they made the old blind guy, who was the villain of the first film, into the main protagonist. Not as a villain protagonist, but from the way they made the film, they portrayed him as a hero, despite all of the shit he pulled in the first film. Yes, the main characters of the first film weren't "good" either, but they weren't full on sinister as the blind guy.

They did kill the blind guy's dog in this film, so it's his reason to go John Wick in the sequel.

Mortimer was trying to detox a bit from the web, though nothing on mainstream news was remarkable. It was more of new stories on Kirby and the Jeopardy host searching that got some people fired up.

His mother wanted him to check up on the laundry again.

It was only a couple of days after Mortimer got nailed by those punks, but from what his mother heard from her neighbor, there was going to be security there. She mentioned where the washing machines were that had their clothes and once again, his sister was unable to help him.

It could've been deja vu, had it not been only a short time.

Mortimer was once again heading down the street, checking the playground. No children, but then he saw that the gangbangers were there again. The increased security by the place didn't seem to go into effect.

Where were the kids? Morty guessed that since some assholes had taken over the playground and the laundromat next door, they were watching Dexter's Laboratory and My Life as a Teenage Robot, if those re-runs were still around.

He could just head back home and tell his mom that the punks were back again, but...

...

...No.

Fuck that.

He was Mortimer Schaub.

He wasn't going to let some assholes push him down again.

Mortimer marched forward, though the bandana man was back and blocked the door to the laundromat.

"We told you to beat it, kid!"
"I'm just trying to dry some laundry..."
"We said beat it!" the bandana kid looked like he was about to shove him.
"I'm just trying to dry some laundry..."
"Is that all you can say now?"

Mortimer gave him a dirty look.

"Why didn't you guys stay after you forced me out last time? You left after the cops came back!" Mortimer said, but then he felt one of the gangbangers grab him from behind and brought him closer to the bandana man.
"We're no pussies! You think we are cowards, kids?!" the bandana man asked him.

Ok, Mortimer realized that these guys were most likely going to kill him.

Wait, was bandana man having some dilated pupils?

Opioids or meth? Which one was it?

"Hey, come... come on, man! What is it that gets you guys mad? Is... is it the whole incel thing? You're gonna the whole women aren't real thing and that they don't know how to perceive the world the right way-"
"SHUT UP, KID! I SAID THAT THIS IS OUR TURF!" the bandana man removed his bandana and Mortimer can see his mouth. Some visible tooth decay and black gums.

Yep, this guy was using meth. There's the chance that some of these fellows were on the same batch too.

"Maybe you should just march home and go watch your Star Trek episodes, kid!" the meth-mouth said.
"Do I look like a Trekkie? I'm not even going to the convention this month." Mortimer said, trying to de-escalate things a bit.
"Oh wait, I bet he goes home and plays his toys! Has to get his big boy pants on!" the meth-mouth continued, making sure his boys were laughing.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Mortimer said, but the meth-mouth kept spitting vitriol to him.
"Oh boys look! He has a potty mouth now!" the meth-mouth laughed his head off.
"Really? Well... well... You're gonna be banned from this place after they arrest your asses! Like... like how not even the furries would want you!" Mortimer said to him, but the guy behind him shoved him down onto the ground again.

"Hang on, boys! Let's give the kid a chance! I bet he's a real tough guy like us!"

Mortimer didn't know why, but he wished he had a knife on him. Like a kitchen knife that he could've borrowed from the kitchen. Maybe he was just viewing these lowlifes as parasites, which they were. He had his hands free and he was kneeling on the ground, but in his attempt to prove his worth to these thugs, Mortimer jerked his hand up with a balled fist in an attempt to punch one of them.

That punch struck nothing when one of the guys stepped out of the way.

The meth-mouth responded by forcing Mortimer with his back on the ground with his foot on his chest.

"See! You're not tough to hang with us!" the meth-mouth said. Mortimer felt some of his spit go onto his face. Mortimer was pissed, but he still want to get the last word.

"You are not tough! You're just parasites!"
"Parasites, huh? I think we see some parasites appearing when we're done with you!" the meth-mouth looked ready to drive his foot into Mortimer's face, but...

...It turns out that there is a god.

The sound of a police siren was heard. Everyone turned to see a police car driving towards them on the street.
"YOU RATTED US OUT!?" the meth-mouth yelled at Mortimer.
"You rattled yourself out! They came after you started harassing us!"

"Book it!" someone else yelled, to which the meth-mouth got his foot off of Morty, so he can take off running away from the laundromat, while the police car chased after them. Another police car followed close by. Mortimer blinked. At least, he wasn't dead. He got himself up and dusted at his clothes. It was less worse than getting his nose busted, but he went inside to check up on the laundry like his mother ordered him to. When he noticed that the laundromat's restroom had its door open, Morty looked inside to see a meth pipe on the floor by the toilet.

These gangbangers weren't even wannabes. Just junkies who were miserable to gang up on others.

Mortimer went to the washing machines to send the clothes into the dryers.

[Deblod100]

He forgot that he had a high school that he was supposed to go to.

Well, not today. It was student orientation for freshmen. His mother drove him over to the school in question, so he can make himself known that he was attending.

Mortimer had a black face mask on, since even though they gave the all-clear to everyone that they are allowed to be physically on campus, you can never be better safe than sorry.

"You sure that I'm going here? Looks too much like my middle school." Mortimer commented, while he was in the car with his mother.

"Mortimer, don't be silly. This was where your sister Catherine went to. It's from her time at Media Arts was why she has the job she has now!" his mother explained. Fair point. Though, from the outside when they pulled up to the parking lot, Mortimer saw how there were a lot of space for all sorts of athletic fields. They parked in guest parking, so the two can get out.

"You're gonna follow me?" Mortimer realized that his mother was going to leave the car and not just drop him off.

"I want to visit your special education teacher, Mrs. Richmond! She helped your sister with her possible career goals before she went off to college." his mother cheerfully said to him.

"Right... You said that they are having everyone go visit the gym for orientation?" Mortimer asked his mother quick to confirm, to which she gave a nod.

"Don't forget to check for where your classes are, Morty! You have enough time after your orientation to explore the school! Don't forget to text me after you done!" his mother said, before he was left alone.

"Yeah... thanks for... getting me up to date... and whatever." Mortimer said to himself.

Mortimer exited the parking lot and went up into the main campus. What was this joint? He walked past a baseball diamond, a football field, and a soccer pitch. Did his mother park all the way at the far side of school?

Wait, no. He can see the crowds of students ahead. It looked like they were signing in and stuff in front of one building. This must be the gymnasium. Mortimer was recalling the last time he was in his middle school gymnasium, but this looked like a bigger gym than back at middle school.

"Huh." Mortimer realized that he both stood and didn't stood out. Some people were going to see him as a delinquent. He wished that he didn't look like a parasite, despite wearing some dark casual clothing in the middle of the Las Vegas sun like a goth kid on vacation.

"Let's see if I can get myself signed in and not look like an asshole..."

[Deblod100]

Mortimer walked among the crowds, surveying them like they were a pack of sheep.

"Ok... Deep breathes. You are going to be among these kids for like 4 years. You need to calm down." Mortimer thought to himself, when he walked to a student helper at a desk with sign-in sheets. Mortimer cleared his throat under his face mask. "Hi, is there a Mortimer Schaub on that list?"

"Mortimer Scab?"

"It's Schaub." Mortimer corrected them.

Morty got a little name badge and a brochure for him to read up on what a supposed wonderful school he will be attending.

Looking back, I could've done something differently by introducing myself early. But what would be the point?

There were hundred of other guys like me.

They looked tough. Looking like they were going against the corrupt authority like me.

Everyone likes to hang out with a bad boy. All the girls like someone who can make them live fast and dangerous.

Had I not found friends and not encountered any other emos of my class, I might have went the way of the delinquents.

Deep down, everyone is a rebel fighting for some cause. Even if they can't find it. They want to be part of something that can change the world for the better.

It turned out that the students were only signing up by the gym, before they all had to go into the auditorium, so that everyone can get a fancy speech or two from the school's principal Evangeline “Angie” Winegarden. Mortimer did a double take when he saw his lesbian goth principal, since this wasn't what he imagined from the amount of athletic hype at this school. Mortimer started to read the brochure to get a firm idea on what he was up against, though he tried to listen to what Winegarden had to say.

The whole group of students also got a speech from their Vice Principal Mario-

Oh. He he.

Actually, his name is Patrick Misel, but Mortimer can see how he looked like the Italian plumber. He managed to be much shorter than Winegarden. That's something.

Anyways, let's look at this brochure and see what Mortimer was dealing with...

"Southwest Red Rock, also known as Red Rock, is part of an initiative within the state of Nevada to provide a state-of-the-art modern secure education facility for the youth... Hm." Mortimer kept reading the brochure to himself. It looks like this school got a lot of state and local government funds, if the facilities were meant to be state-of-the-art to cater to students. This was enough of a budget to fund a small university. "Popular" was a buzzword in this brochure. Red Rock is endorsed by the Mayor of Las Vegas herself to be the crown jewel of the new education initiative with its emphasis on sports. Nothing seemed like it was supposed to feel like a prison, but Mortimer had some guesses with the auditorium he was in. Yes, it was nice to be in, but what he was reading made it sound like everything that had to do with sports was given more budget.

"Student graduation rate is estimated to be 93%... Hm. Above the state average of 7 percent. If this school is easy to graduate, I wouldn't have anything to worry about, unless they start squeezing a sports scholarship out of me. I wonder if I can take something... related to programming! Maybe for video games... Or there's English. But English is mandatory, so it would be pointless. Ermmm..." Mortimer finished reading the brochure. His new school colors were red and black. Those were straight up goth colors. His mascot was also Ronnie the Rattlesnake. A scalie mascot. Promising. His school was goth and scalie run.

Mortimer recalled when his middle school did have a mascot, but he was in that phase where he was uncomfortable around costumed people. Not like Halloween costumes, he was talking about mascots. Like Disneyland mascots. Though, whoever wore the furry costume back at his middle school before COVID was probably just a kid.

With orientation, came a school tour with some activities to lighten things up.

He was observing the other kids with him. These kids definitely seemed like locals. It was a melting pot of upper-middle class suburbia and wannabe delinquents. They looked like they didn't care for all of the touristy hotspots in Vegas and probably didn't go far out into the Strip and the Mojave often. Mortimer guessed that most of these kids, if not all of them were from Meadowbrook and Silver Springs. Most of them seemed more well-dressed than him. He saw some kids who looked like they were documenting things for the yearbook, though they were guessed with the theatre kids in telling freshmen the wonders of drama. Acting was not Mortimer's passion.

The tour went towards the baseball diamond, where some kids from the student councils were hyping up the sports teams to which the school's dance team came by to do a performance for the group that Mortimer was in. Mortimer did admit that the stadium was impressive. The football coach came to have a chat with the kids to explain the importance of a sports scholarship. From how it sounded, most of the jocks were into baseball and football, the latter being valued and celebrated with their home stadium.

While on the tour, Mortimer walked past a group of delinquents and video game geeks. Looked like two cliques trying (and failing) to blend in with one another. Honestly, high school shouldn't like Class of '09 (unless it was like that visual novel). Near the end of the tour, the guide had everyone see the nearby canyon views from the school. The desert on the horizon that many have claimed to hike at. Adventures for everyone to be involved with. Mortimer didn't care, until the tour was over.

---

Mortimer went to go get his school schedule and check out the clubs that were supposed to do sign-ups on the first month of school. For some reason, Mortimer saw a lot of girls with some boys going hectic on attending cheer squad. He wasn't just talking about a group of girls, but rather a whole bunch of kids. What did Mortimer's tour guide say about the cheer squad again? Damn, must have been popular or an one-way ticket for a scholarship.

Mortimer got his schedule, but he went over to the library to collect the books that he needed. Curious, he wanted to see his list first, before he showed his mother.

"...Ok, let's see... first period is Art. Great... I suck at that shit. What else? English, excellent. Surely, the literature wouldn't be boring. What else? Health and Geography... Very vanilla. Huh, for a second there, I thought I didn't get a PE class this year. Weightlifting? And what's this? Learning and Strategic Management by Mrs. Richmond. Damn, it looks like my mother pretty much arranged my schedule for me. But, at least, it doesn't sound all too bad..."

Mortimer got his books, though while he was planning on carrying them to the family car, he remembered about clubs. There was a notice on a nearby bulletin board that detailed a series of clubs planned for the class of '25. He went to the list to see what the options were. He was definitely going to be in the video game club, but another club struck out.

"Horror? Aw sweet! Surely, it wouldn't be like all of those orange slices and apple juice watered down clubs for babies. People need to hear what good shit I watch and play." A mischievous smile appeared on Mortimer's face.

---

Here's a funny thing. I doubt that many of the kids at my school were shooting for a sports scholarship. Yes, they advertised it all around campus like they are promoting Gatorade, but I think the places where I saw most of the students spend time at was at the classrooms and the library.

Now, my dear readers and TVTropes lurkers...

...This is where CHILLER would make himself known to these humans.

[Deblod100]

Chapter 9 - First Day of School and September - Old and New Fiends

In the midst of loud snoring, Mortimer was nearly off of the bed in the midst of his sleep, until his phone alarm clock rang.

6 AM in the morning. The Pro Skater theme was super loud, so that Mortimer can get out of bed. The moment he got organized, he nearly wanted to slam at his phone to shut off that song.

He sat up at his bed, trying to not slouch.

"Ughhh... first day of school."

Then, came the longest sigh from existence.

So, it begins.

It started with the longest piss that Mortimer managed to pull off in his bathroom, before he went to make himself his breakfast. The same what would come and what he had before. Toast that were washed down with vitamins. Mortimer didn't get ready immediately, since he briefly watched some TV on what to expect for the day. Though, he rather watch Aqua Teen Hunger Force, then the reports of crazed lunatics drop-kicking cops at New York City and biker outlaws.

But, it wouldn't be long, until it clicked to him.

What should he wear to school on the first day?

"...Huh."

Mortimer hadn't learnt his lesson.

He went all in.

Black pants. His usual black shoes. His black sweatshirt. His black face mask.

And what about a t-shirt?

What would be a good t-shirt?

Mortimer dug around his drawers and found something that can make him stand out.

A bright red shirt that was like a mock Hawaiian shirt that showed pentagrams, instead of flowers.

The Antichrist was ready.

"School supplies. Books. Oh yes! I need my precious books!"

Mortimer doubted that his school would allow him to be on his Chromebook often, even though it would be good for taking down notes, but the teachers might not allow such technology.

He had his reading list ready for this Fall. Enough to rival those pathetic BookTok people.

- Fear Street's The Prom Queen. Used copy from a bookstore.
- Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. AHAHAHAHAHAH It sucks. The original book was better, but he's going to continue reading this sequel anyways...
- And for some flavor... THIS IS HOW YOU DIE. A wonderful sequel to an anthology. Oh, here's something important. You can read the first book. FOR FREE!!!

He was a rebel against SocietyTM now.

He got his backpack ready and went outside. It was getting clearer with sunlight, but it will become broad daylight in a few minutes. Mortimer went over to his bike to get it ready, but his mother stopped him quick.

"You know where Southwest Red Rock is, right Mortimer?" his mother asked him.

"Mom, come on. You showed me where it is. I have a whole hour to get there!" Mortimer mentioned.

"Remember to get a seat at the front, so you can pay attention to the teacher! And make sure to make some new friends. You're going to need it." his mother said to him.

"Of course... I'm sure this first day of school would be memorable." Mortimer said.

With a triumphal pedal, he began to make his way over to Southwest Red Rock.

---

Mortimer checked his watch to make sure that he can get to school fas-

Oh wait, it was 6:30. Wow, he got out of his apartment and ready quick.

He can take it nice and slow then.
202.2 CHILLER FM:
Last Living Souls - Gorillaz

Mortimer pedaled his way down the street. He ended up on the main road to school, nearly veering directly into some car that was at the lane next to him. "Asshole!" the driver of the car said, when they had to stop for Mortimer to make sure he didn't crash into them.

He pedaled by other apartments, going on the sidewalk while a man exited his place to go to work. A school bus from some other school district held up some morning traffic after it got a flat tire, so Mortimer went down some side streets, even going by some construction workers trying to patch up a pothole.

He saw the school in the distance.

This was it. This was going to be where he will be from 8 to 3. The teenage version of a 9 to 5.

Mortimer went by a group of 4 guys at the parking lot, chatting among one another, along with a girl sitting at the steps that led further into the school. He pulled into a bike rack that he wished had his name on it. Mortimer got his backpack with his belongings, where he hooked the bike lock onto the rack to keep his bike secure.

Now, to head to his locker.

Mortimer ended up in a light jog, heading past several students that were walking the other way, until he reached a set of lockers outside against the wall to which he nearly got barged into by some aggressive kid that also bumped into a girl. "Watch it, will you!?"

Damn, what an asshole.

Mortimer went to his locker, which happened to be near the library. He got everything ready, unlocking his locker, so that he can grab his belongings related to Art class and English. The scene was set up like a jump scare, but Mortimer had the locker door wide open, so that the moment he closed it, someone was going to appear in front of him.

Mortimer sensed the cliché a mile away.

[Cicada]

♫ ”Can you take us in, the part that comin' on, hmm hm hmm hmmmmm, hm hmm,” ♫

Raimundo— consent to use that name would never be given to anyone alive, including the family members who forced it on him regardless— hummed so quietly the sparse trees that dotted the Red Rock landscape breathed louder than he did. The crowds of kids, under and upperclassmen, were trickling in. He didn’t want to bother a soul as he made his own way through the maybe promising journey of high school.

Thus it was that his first eight to three in these sacred (sic) halls of education began.

[[Ray Janeczek. Memory start.]]

“Mortimer. Hey hey.” Soft volume, close but not too close. No jump scare, ample lead-in time for Ray to slowly seep into the edges of Morty's five senses as the distance closed between them molasses-like, slow pan over, that kinda thing. The bubbles of their respective personal spaces did not expand and overwrite one another. The universe did not collapse, the vacuum was not false. No boy stink— thanks, puberty, Ray had definitely needed that added to the ways he could offend another human being— shared between them.

“Been a minute.” It hadn’t been that long, but, pandemic time. Even after in-person classes had begun again, squeezed into the last gasp of middle school they’d shared before graduating, it had been a fever dream running as hot as the COVID virus fighting their immune systems. Ray smiled his brightest, which hadn't been seen behind the mask. An unseen expression fit his aesthetic sensibilities just fine.

“Art for both of us, right? Hopefully Mister... Butler won't ask us to carry too much. Long walk from here to Art and Design.” Not that far, really, but Ray and PE were not on good terms.

Ray's phone, latest model Samsung Galaxy Z because that was how he rolled, vibrated in the depths of his way too deep pocket. Pocket perfect for hiding hands from the world. Ray checked. Notif from Discord— alerts on silent mode enabled because making sure he was aware of messages from friends was far more important than the peace of mind that came with plugging out of social media— and Ray clicked into the app. dasheth1. Mona. Good friend who’d joined their spritely crew in middle school. Relatable taste in deranged manga and anime they had been exposed to way too young. Probably low key too popular to be hanging out with them. Like. Insofar as the arbitrary value of popularity artificially shaped human relationships vis-à-vis indicators of value both genuinely valuable to take into account (social composure, confidence and stability, et cetera) and less so (material success, hypermasculine competition, et cetera).

“Mona just said she’s meeting with the theater crew already, and we probably won’t see her until lunch,” Ray breathed. Audible, didn’t carry beyond their carved out bit of space and time.

“Did you hear from the other guys? Wade? Louie?” Names of their edgy (so advertised) crew not mentioned were excluded for brevity, not favoritism. Only Ray knew that though, so if anyone else perceived malicious intent, so be it.

Well. Honestly, yeah. He did kind of like Louie and Wade a bit more than the others. That one was filed away, [CLASSIFIED] in pigmented red, for the subconscious guilt he’d forget the origin of weeks down the line.

[EllisWilson]

In this instance, the cliche rang true. There was, in fact, a guy behind the locker door when Mortimer closed it.

((Wade Colter — Memory Start))

Wade, at this point still a chubby, mohawked babyface, was not impressed with Red Rocks layout. It was basically luck that he was able to find his locker, and he was gonna have to fumble around looking for his classes? Who’s the stand up artist? Why did said stand up artist build a school without hallways? Where’s the logic? Where’re his friends? Oh, wait, they’re right beside him.

And they’re wondering about him, aw.

“I’m doing good.” He said, his voice muffled slightly by his facemask, once his view of them was unobstructed. Gave the two a little wave and everything. “Haven’t heard from the others yet.”

Wade didn’t mention the others by name because he honestly forgot them. He knew Mortimer and he knew Ray, and Louie since Ray had mentioned him already. He was new to the group, not quite edgy or a gamer yet. Fat chance he’d say it outright, though, that was lame.

“Uh, I got art too. Don’t really know where it is, though.” Wade said, making sure to look off into his surroundings for the appropriate length of time to confirm that, yes, he had no fucking clue where anything was.

[Deblod100]

Is that an angel that was nearby?

Oh yes...

YES...

His partner in-crime. IN THE FLESH!

It was Ray!

The gods with their keyboards might be listening to Florence + the Machine, but Mortimer's ears were being flooded by something else by Fueled by Ramen.
202.2 CHILLER FM:
New Perspective - Panic! At the Disco

"Ray! It's been a while!" Mortimer smiled through his face mask.

The vibe felt like a YA novel from 2009.

Ok, it wasn't like Ray got tossed off of an exploding yacht and was left adrift in the ocean for several years, but Mortimer hadn't got the complete chance to physically meet with Ray after COVID started. Where did Mortimer even begin with Ray? They were friends all the way back at elementary school! Ray was a kid who immigrated from Brazil and ended up in the same speech therapy programs as Mortimer. The two have been close, possibly due to how both Morty used to be at Meadowbrook before the divorce happened. The same suburban area was where Ray lived, so the two can be close contact physically with one another. Of course, they have been communicating nonsense online and on Discord.

Before the first day of school, Ray confirmed that he was going to be attending the same high school as Mortimer, which actually hyped and relieved the latter. All Mortimer valued was familiarity. He was tired of the drastic changes in his life. Drastic changes he didn't ask.

Mortimer wanted to hug Ray, but...

Unfortunately, it's freshmen year and you can't make people think you're gay when you're not.

...

"How has things been, man?" Mortimer could only say. Did Ray look more feminine, or was he gonna for a femboy route? Not that Mortimer would judge him on that. Guessing that now that everyone is allowed to be at school, Ray can enjoy going to concerts again. Mortimer didn't know what bands would be playing in Vegas of all places. The city was full of them, including at the seediest of bars that would obviously throw kids out for being underaged. There was also the many streams of video games to buy during the pandemic while holed up for the two of them. Though, Ray was a weeb unlike Mortimer.

"Yeah. Art class for first period. Probably was put down as a mandatory elective, but art isn't my specialty." Mortimer said, getting his books ready. Morty can tell that Ray's phone was buzzing. Did he need to get one of those phones that fold? Mortimer had a Samsung too, but all that he cared about was that his battery would last a week without charging. Then, Ray started mentioning some names.

Mortimer heard the names before, but only from Ray. They were supposed to be some middle-schoolers that Ray got acquainted with on his end during middle school Zoom sessions, but Mortimer wasn't lucky. Ray being a social butterfly online, while Morty was in the doomer mood.

"Nah, man. You mentioned Mona and Wade before, but who is this Louie guy?" Mortimer said, closing his locker door, only for Wade to appear behind it. The jumpscare didn't work. Mortimer seen too many horror films to know that it wouldn't work.

Morty had met Wade before.

...Kinda.

It was mostly on Discord and chats, but from what he knew of Wade, he had good taste in horror media. Hey, if Ray knew people by association, he was good for Morty's books.

"Guessing we are all going for some painting in the morning." Mortimer slipped the lock into his locker, before he started to have the two follow him. He did walk by the Art & Design building before during orientation, so he had a grip on his surroundings. Plus, they had enough time to get there. Teachers were also supposed to be lenient towards kids that got lost when looking for classes on the first day of school.

Mortimer wanted to start a conversation, since he was out of the loop on what Ray and Wade were up to.

"I know it's been like what... after summer, but how has things been on your ends? Also, who is this Louie fellow?" Mortimer wasn't aware of this little squad that Ray and Wade had became a part of, but it sounded like his friends found and settled into a group already.

Of course, our mysterious leader of this group is actually a Red Rock senior named Bill. Mortimer wouldn't know him, even with Bill's 1000+ hours on GTA Online, among other games.

[Cicada]

Ray was quietly disappointed that no hug was forthcoming. Body language kept Ray at a distance. Another way the pandemic had broken them all.

The two of them were in pretty similar places in puberty, so the visual height disparity was maintained. Forehead to chin, thereabouts. Ray liked hugging the few people he trusted to not make it prickly and uncomfortable. Or, more accurately, the few people who he trusted himself to not feel prickly and uncomfortable around. No need to blame others when it was his own skin that he needed to coat hanger off at the end of the day, sling over the gaming chair he’d unironically bought. Easier to be yourself online, all that. Ray online was a . And the custom emojis, of course, had to be in a dozen extra servers to have plenty of options.

IRL, more of a tiny smile look away move along sort.

“I’m glad to be back, I guess.” Ray had only gotten off the plane from Rio the weekend before orientation. “And I’ve been doing a lot of sketching recently. There’s like, a template you can follow. I’ll show you, art will be easy. Trust.” A breath through the fiber pores of his mask. Half stuck to his lips. Tropical hot and humid, memories of his littlest self walking among the Cariocas. Some things didn’t change, same streets and all. He’d just gotten bigger and fatter.

“Hey Wade.” Little wave. He’d met Wade during online classes. Poor Mortimer had met that James kid Ray hadn’t heard a single word about since, and Ray meanwhile had met a peak man. Classic social exchange: Ray introduced Wade to some classic horror flicks he’d been interested in, Ray had in turn gotten to feel a little more confident around someone who had actual, earned self-esteem. “I’m also trash at directions.” A theatrical flourish of a shrug. “We’ll get there.”

Mortimer with the save, at any rate. Ray fell into line as the trio started to walk. Trailing the pack slightly. Multiple reasons, both obvious and not. His joints already low key hated him today. Something of a damsel in distress vibe Ray liked to exude, minus the part where he wasn’t much to look at.

“Sorry.” Ray held up his hands, surrendering to who the hell even knew. His own conscience maybe. “Louie was doing testing for one of my crews mods.” ESO add on. Neither of them even liked the game. "We were chatting and it turns out we're going to the same high school, so." He swore he’d already introduced Louie to the boys. Was it the pandemic brain? A moment of humanity causing neurons to misfire? No excuses either way. Another breath, long form legalese, audibly labored. “You guys will like him, I think. He showed me a Dishonored speedrun he recorded, he’s kinda cracked.”