CHAPTER 3 – ACT 1
(Narrator)
It was a brand-new day. After school, Samuel stood at the crosswalk, and the girl happened to be waiting beside him. He was still far too foolish to understand anything yet. As they walked, they talked — a little more than yesterday, a little easier than before. They shared small dreams about where they wanted to go when they grew up. For a brief moment, both of them looked genuinely happy.
Samuel told one last joke before they split ways.
When he got home, he caught himself staring at a short video he had of her. He smiled without even realizing it. In his mind, this had to be love — the real thing. Maybe even a soulmate.
(Narrator)
But he was wrong. Painfully wrong.
The girl did not "mate" with his soul — rather, his soul would be crushed again and again because of her.
But that part of the tale is still far away, and it would be rude of me to spoil things now. Let's stay in the moment we're in, shall we?
The next day, Samuel was sitting in the auditorium with the others. When the girl passed by, she smiled and gave him a small wave. Samuel's heart nearly burst. Surely this meant something. Surely this was fate.
(Narrator)
It was fate that he met her.
Just… not the kind of fate he thought.
Around this time, Samuel had unknowingly divided his psyche into three personas — his way of quieting the noise inside his head. They were Solace, Vex, and Nova. He shifted between them almost naturally.
(Narrator)
Solace carried his logic and calm.
Vex held his anger, ego, instinct, and that little streak of chaos he never liked admitting.
Nova held his creativity and hope.
And what if there were a fourth persona?
…No, of course not. That would be absurd.
(What a shameless lie that was.)
Nova, being the dreamer, painted a perfect image of the girl — soft edges, idealized features, impossible expectations. Samuel didn't resist. He carried that idea with him like a precious gem.
The next day at lunch, Samuel and the girl ended up standing beside each other in the cafeteria line. She glanced at him and complimented his jacket. Samuel, stumbling over his words a bit, managed to compliment her hoodie in return. When he sat back down, she offered part of her food to a few people — including him.
Samuel mistook her kindness for something deeper, something romantic.
Soon after, the girl and her friends went upstairs to eat. That area was for members of a certain club. Samuel wasn't part of it, but he wished he was — not because he cared for the club, but because it meant being near her.
He envied everyone who stood close to her, whether boy or girl. He didn't want to share that closeness with anyone.
(Narrator)
What he felt began as harmless affection… but it would soon twist into something obsessive, something dark. This was Samuel's greatest mistake — one that would cost him more time than he ever expected.
END OF CHAPTER 3, ACT 1