"Uhhh Hello?" I said She took the pan off the stove and dumped the contents on a plate nearby. It looks like scrambled eggs with the bacon already made beforehand. She then grabs the plate and then proceeds to place it on the table diagonally from where Naser was. It looks like he chose something different from the looks of it, he had a gallon of milk and a box of Resses Puffs beside him. "Here it is!" "... Thanks?" I replied I sat down from where she placed the cooked-up dead chicken fetus and cured pig flesh, and yes I know it sounds way worse than it is. It's just bacon and eggs. But I'm wondering where the hell is Mom? Normally, she stays here until I and Naser head to school and either cleans up the house, does chores, or go to town to run some errands, and the weekends aren't any different either. My dad just pisses off to work since he works 6 days out of the week and 10 hours a day, so rarely do I see him off on a full weekend. When Sunday comes, it's usually the only day he has before repeating the cycle all over again. It's either bowling with Uncle Moe or going to the golf course with buddies from his work. Their mundane routines don't stray off that much. But now I don't know where mom is and this random stranger is cooking for us as if she knows us. I look at Naser to ask why is she here. Maybe it's one of Mom's friends who to came to visit? *pisk* I whispered to Naser "Who the hell is she? And where did Mom go?" Naser, crunching down on the brown and beige balls that were in his mouth, stopped the moment I told him where mom was. He swallowed the sugary mush before he spoke "What?" "Yeah. Like is this Mom's friend or something?" He paused before giving me a disgruntled look, it was like he was both confused and disappointed. "Fang first the weird questions you asked about "hue-mans" and this Anon guy and I get it. Maybe it's just a simple misunderstanding. But now you're acting as if you don't know who mom is. What's up with you today?" he said Mom? Did Naser just call her mom? What? "Huh? What the fuck do you mean?" *sigh* "Look... just whatever you're going through, you know you can talk to me right? But... don't do this to Mom." "What... Naser Wha- Just listen... That isn't Mom." "Fang... seriously, you worrying me..." First he doesn't who Anon or humans are and now he's saying that this total random woman in the kitchen is our mother. Did I wake up in the twilight zone? That isn't my mom. I know who my mom is. But yet the whole "cooking me breakfast" and calling me "honey"... But she isn't... Wha-... What's going on? My heart starts pumping harder as a rush of anxiety hits me. This MUST be a giant joke... Mom is probably somewhere shopping for groceries or buying decor for the house. Just anything that requires being outside the house. She must be... Right? "Naser... Please... just tell me this is just a joke o-okay?" "Fang, what joke?" "JUST TELL ME ITS FUCKING JOKE ALRIGHT?!!" I yelled to him while I slammed my hand on the table. "Fang! Now what did I tell you about causing a scene at the dinner table? You know that's not how you talk to your brother young lady." The woman said while placing her hands on her hips "W-what?" I said, my voice fluttering, trying to understand what is happening. "Now apologize to Naser for acting bash." "Just... Wha- Just who are you?" "Fang? Honey, it's me" "...Who?" "Your mother?" "..." "What's wrong Hon?" It felt like my world just shatter into a thousand pieces once I heard those words. This... just... can't be right? "No..." "Fang what's wrong? Listen it's me. It's mom" she said "No... You... You're not..." I stand up as I back away from the table. Naser got up to try to control the situation at hand. "Fang.. please.. you aren't acting like yourself..." Naser replied "Just... JUST GET AWAY FROM ME!" I bolted straight to the front door and opened it as fast as I could. "Fang!" "Fang! Fang wait!" Not bothering to even slam the door behind me. Both of them call for me as I ran away as fast as my legs could mustard. This isn't real. NONE of this felt real. What seemly look to be a normal day just got suplex completely out of the window. Naser calling her Mom? Calling to me as if I'm her daughter? Raptor Jesus Christ... This must be one giant fever dream, there's no logical explanation for any of this. My mind... I don't know what I was feeling. Confusion? Anger? Not that mattered that much at the moment as I sprinted for god knows what. It looks like I ran away a good block or two until my lungs felt like they burning and my legs turned to jelly. Couldn't have been more than a quarter of a mile away from my house. A look around, none of this looked like my neighborhood. This place felt... different. I live here for as long as I can remember, and I know what it should look like. But yet, everything felt completely foreign to me. For where there's were neighbors and houses we know, their homes altered on the new roads. This area was completely unrecognizable to me and I'm barely a block or two away from where I came from. I took a moment to catch my breath. With each gasp of oxygen, I felt my body resting from the quarter-mile sprint I just endured. I need to know just what the flying fuck is going on here. I need to find Anon. He has to be here somewhere, maybe his apartment? I try to remember the address as I catch my breath. I took my phone and open the 'Maps' app "237 South St. Hammond, Volcadera Bluffs" ... ... "No matching results found." No... How?... I know I typed the right address to Anon's apartment but no results? Immendenity I open my messaging app to contact Trish. She has to know something. "Trish. We need to meet. ASAP" Two minutes later a grey bubble appear and Trish replied "Okay sure, where?" "Meet me in front of the school K?" "Okay I'll be in half an hour" I started walking toward where the school. Or at least I tried. The moment I tried to leave the neighborhood, the more confusing and unfamiliar it came to me. As I said before, the blocks look as if they changed into something I couldn't navigate without some form of help. Luckily that's what technology was made for. I got out my phone again and typed 'Volcano High' into the Maps app and luckily the school wasn't far from where I was currently located. Just about 15 minutes away. I tapped the big green "go" button to navigate myself out of there. Out of curiosity, I zoomed out of the neighborhood to see the entire city was completely changed in terms of geography and size. It looks unfamiliar to me. Shops were out of their original locations, and entire landmarks changed. Areas like skin row were just wiped from the map. The school wasn't in the location from what I remembered. I felt like I was sent to an alternative reality where some things are familiar while being so alien and different After 10 minutes of walking, I began to see Volcano High, as I grew closer the campus grounds were similar to the school I remembered but instead of the high incline the school was on. It looks to be leveled like the rest of the street. As there is normally a mountain of stairs to reach the school's front doors. It looks like no more than just a small flight of stairs to climb. The architecture was mostly the same but the landscape wasn't. I reached the front of the school from where I saw down on the ledge of one of the raised brick gardens. It was only a matter of time before Trish arrived or... at least I think it's Trish. Another 10 minutes passed and I see someone walking from the corner to the right of me. The yellow and purple figure grew bigger as the gap between me and Trish shorten. It looked to be her. Within just another minute. Trish was no farther than just a few feet away from me. Everything about her seems to be normal. She wore her regular yellow hoodie with her "XO" mark, and her yoga pants and shoes looked no different from what I remember, besides the grey bag she had. Expect... her chest looked way flatter than it did. Trish was always self-conscious about her chest size since we first entered middle school and it pissed her off that guys would gawk at her for it. But she did have a large chest whether she liked it or not. But... her appearance around her torso was definitely less toned than the Trish she knew. Trish or whoever this was, must know what's going on. "Hey Fang, I got your message," Trish said "..." "Fang?" "..." I was afraid to speak. She sounded exactly like Trish. "Fang?!" "Y-yeah?" "Fang, what's wrong?" "... I don't know..." Trish was hit with confusion. it was super effective "What do you mean" "First my brother and you saying you don't know Anon... No one knows what are humans.... Then Naser called this random stranger... our mother... I don't know...." "Did your brother do something?" "Yes! I mean no! I mean... Maybe...? I don't know... what is going on?" Trish sat next to me "You think Naser is playing a big joke here?" "I thought at first... But he seems to be actually serious" "So what's wrong Fang?" "Trish do you know who Anon is" "Who?" "... Never mind..." "Wait I mean I think you mentioned him through text, who he is? "He's this guy, a skinn-... human who goes here. He was a transfer student that came at the beginning of the year. We first met when I was looking for you and Reed a few days after the school auditorium show failed badly. We had science and music together and over time we began to like each other... You met him and sort of... disliked him since the start. But he would hang with us almost every day. He even helped us find a vendor for an actual music show by convincing my uncle to play at his restaurant. I really like him... I did... But now.. his phone number and texts are gone. His address doesn't appear anywhere.. and now.. no one knows who or what he is..." "Wait I met him, we played at your uncle's restaurant? a Hue-man? Fang.. what is going on?" "..." A single tear rolled my cheek.