Chapter 4

"We knew other kids from the party were coming to scare us. It's the obvious play, right? They'd show up, shout, scare us half to death, and then never let us forget how they 'totally got us' and we 'totally jumped.' Jen and I figured we'd turn the tables on them, we'd hide off to the side and then scare the kids who came to scare us. Foolproof, right?

"So lying off to the side was this door - a little weather-beaten, but a door. Like it came out of someone's house, although why someone would bring a door - complete with frame - all the way out into this forest I'll never know. The door was propped against the tree like this," Steve motioned with his hands, his left propping against his right at about an 60-degree angle, "so we went to hide under the door, thinking the thing to do would be to just crawl under it, right? No need to see if the door opens, right? Well, for whatever reason, Jen opens it. Just pulls it open."

Steve paused to collect his thoughts. Gar leaned forward, his shake forgotten.

"What happened, man?"

"It's tough to describe. You know, you open a door that's propped against a tree, you expect to see the tree behind it, right? Well, it wasn't. You need to understand that - we didn't see the tree behind it at all. Just..."

"Just what?"

"Hmmm..." Steve collected his thoughts, "you know how before comic movies, the Marvel logo is just a flash of images from the comics, and then the Marvel logo? This was like that, only obviously not comics. Just flashes of images, only a few of which I remember."

"What did you see?"

"I remember a man with a scar standing next to some kind of a glowing...circle...thing. A sphere. A glowing sphere. And I remember an old African guy and a huge lion out on the plains. And...I think I remember three more doors, like I could go Northeast, due North, or Northwest. Do you see what I mean?"

"Let's assume for a second that you did see these mysterious 'flashes.' How does that make Jen your destiny?"

Steve's voice dropped to a near-whisper. "I saw her, man. I saw Jen. She looked...radiant. That's the only word to describe it. Standing in a pool of crystal blue water, beauty and energy and...power. Just radiating from her like a beacon. I saw it for a second - just an INSTANT of time is all it took. And I knew, right then and there, that she was my destiny."

Gar raised an eyebrow. "Does SHE know she's your destiny?"

"Well, here's the thing. She slammed the door shut and she was shaking. Absolutely shaking. Quivering, in fact. I pulled her close and held her - what else could I do? - and whispered in her ear. I asked her what she saw. She didn't say anything, but drew in this great big breath like she was about to scream, and that's when Sam McNeil jumped out of the woods to scare us. Jen freaked out, screamed, burst into tears and just punched him. Dropped him like a chump."

"How did Sam take it?"

"When he woke up we told him he had tripped and hit his head on a rock. He wasn't going to admit being KO'ed by a girl, so he went with it. To my knowledge, he's never said a thing to anyone."

"And have you and Semmes...talked about this mystical vision?"

"No. I was worried about Sam at first, then we obviously couldn't talk about it at the party, especially since we were...asked to leave thanks to the Unicorn bit. Jen left for soccer camp two days later and we just never...I guess we both buried it in our subconsciouses. Is that right? Subconsciouses?"

"Beats me. Must have been late to English that day. But this door...did you ever go back? You know, check it out for more visions?"

"I did, about a week later. I was scared half to death all the way out there. Just dread of what I would find. But when I got there, the door was gone, just a tiny scorch mark where it had been leaning against the tree."

"Okay, okay. Assuming all this crazy talk is for real - and don't think for a second I am, let me ask you this - why did you think your Senior flippin' Prom was the key to your destiny?"

"It's all anyone has - aw, crap. It's Slapman."

Chuck Binole made his way over to their table. As he walked, the soles of his shoes flopped away from the rest, giving his walk a distinctive slap-slap sound. Acne and acne scars covered most of his face and his hair looked greasy enough to fry the burger that had obviously stained his T-shirt.

"Hey, it's the academic star! Can I get your autograph, star?"

"We were just leaving, Binole."

As Chuck retreated, cackling and slap-slap-slapping the entire way, Gar leaned over. "You should have given him the autograph. Right on the front page of the Local section where he could learn all about your achievements. Woo! National Merit! Academically Awesome!"

"Dude, Slapman wouldn't know awesome academics if they punched him in the crotch."

"Nice. Oh, and I still think you're lying about this door thing."

"You don't believe me? I'll prove it. Let's go."