Chroxic

crpgzig
Prologue
9/14/13

J scar ruled Purloid with an iron fist, taking everything from everyone. Even his wife Chloe hated his guts and survived on cat food and milk. Oscar was an exceptionally strong Purloidian with powers from the royal bloodline. Nobody dared to oppose him.

The Purloidians were a race of feline humanoids with the power to enlarge during full moons like werewolves. However, the royal family could harness lunar energy much better than werewolves, and grew to be fifty feet tall. Their race was hated and feared for their extreme pride and savagery. Heirlikond being a planet of many moons, often fell victim to their rampages, but they became less of a problem once the Groluvontian regime took over and the Purloidians agreed to sign a peace treaty with its neighboring planets.

Emporkidr and Heirlikond had great respect for the Groluvontians, and adopted the Groluvontian language as the common language of the Chroxic solar system. But of course, Oscar wanted no part of their "idiotic language." He rejected all support to better his planet's economy. A treaty is all anyone could expect to get out of him. He believed it would not be long before the Groluvontians took action, so he began creating missiles.

It was one fateful day. Oscar was testing his missiles recklessly, accidentally blowing up an Emporkidrian spaceship.

The Invitation
10/2/19

J Jackson shot Mr. Rasmussen a disdainful glare as he began his recap of slope in Algebra II—for the third year in a row. This is so stupid; we do not need to learn this every year! he thought, before immediately zoning out.

Kimberly, however, scribbled notes furiously, as if it were something brand new. "I don't understand this, do you?" she whispered.

"I don't know," Jackson replied blandly.

"Did you even look at it?"

"No."

"Well, can you look at it?" Kimberly demanded impatiently.

"Look at what?" Jackson turned toward Kimberly, coming to attention.

"Oh my god," she said with an eye roll. "This!" Her words came out like a loud hiss.

"Oh, well yeah! Obviously I understand it. Jeez."

"You know, you really should pay attention more. I'm sure you could if you really tried."

Jackson sighed and zoned out again as Kimberly prattled on, "Math is so much easier for you than it is for me! How am I getting a better grade than you? It's just because you don't care."

"Yep."

For the remaining fifteen minutes of class, the students worked on their new assignment while Jackson took one look at it and proceeded to stare at the wall. By the time the bell rang, everyone got up and started putting away their things quickly.

"The bell doesn't dismiss you; I do," Mr. Rasmussen barked.

Each student looked at him with an arranged expression of contempt.

"Okay, you are dismissed."

Jackson was the first to bolt out the door, careening through the school halls. He hopped recklessly down the stairs of D House four steps at a time and practically sprinted up the stairs to E House three steps at a time. Jackson was always in a world of his own, too disconnected to notice how awkward he looked to everyone else. He happened to spot Nedra as he neared his next class.

"Sup."

"Oh, hey, Jackson, guess what?"

"What?"

"I got my destruction level to 93 and got the master-level spells."

"Yeah, except for the fact that you literally didn't," Jackson said matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I did," Nedra insisted.

"You know you can't do the destruction ritual until level 100, right?"

"Actually, Jackson, yeah, you can."

"No, you can't. It's conjuration that unlocks at 90, not destruction. Destruction is basically the only exception. I literally tried it before."

"Then you did it wrong."

"We gotta get to class, dude," said Jackson angrily. Of course, he’s never willing to admit when he’s wrong.

Jackson hated the subject of English, but every class was just as dreadful as the next, no matter how much he liked the subject. It was the teaching method that he could not stand.

To his delight, Jackson noticed Kimberly's seat was empty. Good, now she won't be nagging me. However, a mere two seconds before the bell rang, Kimberly dashed through the door and plopped into the seat beside him.

"What took you so long? Were you stalking Logan again?" Jackson teased to mask his irritation.

"What? No! I don't stalk him."

"Sure about that?"

"Very funny. I just got invited to a party!" she said excitedly.

"Whose party?" Jackson asked curiously.

"Elizabeth's eighteenth birthday. And it's gonna be huge. Guess who's going to be there?"

"Logan, obviously."

"Yep," Kimberly said brightly.

"Yeah, no dur," he said with a dull expression. "Wait, is Sherry gonna be there?" Jackson had suddenly changed his tune.

"Of course. Why wouldn't she?"

"I don't know. But like, when are we going, though?"

"We? Who says you were invited?"

"Well, I assumed I was."

"Elizabeth gave invitations to the people she was inviting."

It bothered Jackson for quite some time. For the remainder of the class, he just sat and stared blankly while his mind raced. Oh crap, was I just looking at the teacher’s chest? Jackson thought, hoping she wouldn’t notice, but Mrs. Hightower adjusted her blouse and gave a funny look. He hoped it was just a coincidence. Then the bell rang, saving him from that awkward moment. He once again dashed out the door, wanting to be the first to lunch.

Sitting at the table with Kimberly, Elizabeth, Sherry, Nedra, and David, Jackson felt very unwelcome. Anxiety built within him as he wondered why Elizabeth hadn't invited him, waiting to see if she had forgotten.

"You know, Nedra, I can prove it next time you come to hang out at my house."

"Actually, Jackson, just drop it."

The silence was deafening.

After anxiously procrastinating for what felt like forever, Jackson finally said, "Elizabeth, how come you didn’t invite me to the party?"

"Oops, I guess I forgot," she replied sarcastically.

Elizabeth was a pretty blonde girl with braces and straight shoulder-length hair. Although most guys couldn’t shut up about her curves, Jackson was more drawn to slim figures.

"So, I can go?" he asked hesitantly, unsure how to take it.

"I guess," she sighed. "Just don't do anything embarrassing."

"Like, what do you mean by that?"

"Like, don't harass the girls there or something."

Jackson scowled at her. "Very funny."

Finally, he felt relieved and turned his gaze to Sherry's perfect figure—petite and athletic. She wore a red t-shirt with a caged front top—a lattice of black straps woven across her upper chest, revealing a modest amount of cleavage, which made Jackson's craving run so deep it almost made his body shake. He deluded his mind with perverted fantasies, almost convincing himself they could actually come true.

But everything changed when he got home and checked his phone. Sherry had posted a photo of Chuck to her story on Photospam. The caption: “11:11.” Jackson recognized the strange trend immediately and his heart sank. So they’re dating now? Jackson’s brain froze. Though the outcome was inevitable, he refused to believe it. Now he had no choice. Seeking condolence, he texted David, So are Sherry and Chuck dating now?

They’ve been together for a week, man.

Dang, that sucks, Jackson replied in an effort to sound casual.

She’s way out of your league.

Well, I know, but if you don’t feel like a girl is out of your league, that just means you shouldn’t be dating her because you must not really like her that much.

That’s fair. But you still need to stop being so obsessed with people.

Or maybe I can just be obsessed with everyone so that I won’t be too attached to one person. Jackson brightened up, feeling like he had some ridiculous epiphany.

What sense does that make? David thought. David was used to shrugging off Jackson’s off-the-wall ideas. You do you, man, he replied, not knowing what else to say. Although David gave little input, Jackson’s new idea gave him a sense of peace.

The Party
10/3/19

F inally, after waiting half the night full of anticipation, the time has arrived. Despite running on four hours of sleep and having a splitting headache, Jackson hastily rushed out of bed and gulped down three glasses of water with Naproxen. He needed to get rid of his headache quickly, but he resisted the urge to sit with his face in front of a heat vent and bolted up the stairs to a nice hot shower instead. After spraying on marshmallow perfume and rubbing cocoa butter lotion into his skin, he threw on his Gojira sweatshirt and headed downstairs.

Kimberly was still putting on makeup. Dang it I could’ve slept an extra thirty minutes. Jackson had nothing to do but stand around and wait for Elizabeth and Sherry to pick them up. “I thought you always bragged about not needing makeup?” Jackson pointed out.

Kimberly was a natural beauty with long red curls, spiraling denser as they go. Her face was lightly freckled and she had a slightly upturned nose. Her hair had brilliant pink highlights which glistened like laser beams.

“It’s different this time,” Kimberly replied anxiously while applying a dash of eyeliner.

“Why?” Jackson immediately caught himself, remembering how obsessed she was with Logan. “Oh wait nevermind I’m dumb.”

“Get out! I have to change,” Kimberly interrupted, slamming the door in his face. She emerged a moment later, with a spectacular red halter dress laced with pink roses.

“Nice. I guess overkill isn’t in your vocabulary either,” Jackson said with a grin.

“They’re here,” she said, ignoring his vague reference.

Jackson quickly slapped on his already-tied shoes and dashed out the door to find a callipygian white Honda Civic with red stripes.

“Where’s your sister?” Sherry said, rolling down the window of the back seat.

“She’s coming,” Jackson replied as he made his way to the door.

“Oh sorry, we don’t actually have enough room for you to ride with us.” said Elizabeth.

“What do you mean?” Jackson looked around the car, noticing Chuck in the back seat beside Sherry. Oh for pete’s sake, Chuck’s here.

“Well if Kimberly comes with us it will be four people already.”

“There are five seats!” Jackson exclaimed impatiently.

“Yeah well it’s just annoying, nobody wants to sit in the middle.”

“I can sit in the middle, who cares?”

“Well then everyone would have to get out and everything,” said Elizabeth as Kimberly came bursting out the door. “I mean we kind of didn’t think you were coming originally.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is, Chuck, can’t you just step out for a minute and let me in?”

“Sorry bud, the boss says no.”

Jackson stood there clenching his jaw. He wanted to punch him, but looked like he was gonna cry. As soon as Kimberly got in the car they drove away. Jackson stormed into the house to ask his father Jack for a ride, but discovered he was sleeping. This is ridiculous, am I seriously gonna have to walk? Yeah how about no.

“Hey Jack!” Jackson called out a few times.

“What the hell do you want?”

“Would you mind giving me a ride to Elizabeth’s party?”

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

“Alright forget I said anything.”

“Good.”

Jackson rolled his eyes as he walked out the door texting Elizabeth: Where’s the address? He continued walking while awaiting a response, but after several minutes of silence, paused. Oh I know, I’ll just text David instead. Luckily David replied much quicker. I suppose walking isn’t so bad, I’ll just be a bit late.

There was a slight chill in the air.

Falling leaves everywhere.

A town, quiet and plain.

Walking was quite mundane.

Interesting idea for a poem, Jackson thought. Don’t wanna bother thinking of the rest though.

The house was surely a sight to behold. A stone house with a round tower, giving off a castle-like vibe. There were neatly cut hedges and grass. Jackson knew he had seen this house before, it must have cost a fortune. Who knew Elizabeth was that rich. He knocked three times. No response. I guess I’ll just go in.

As he opened the door an iconic song was playing that he recognized immediately. All feelings of unwelcome washed away from him. The party was packed with people and a large disco ball loomed over them. Jackson never thought he would be so excited over a dance party, reminiscing over his previous experience with homecoming, but the music makes all the difference.

“Whose idea was it to play Poppy?” Jackson said to Elizabeth.

“Bonnie put it on.”

“Who is that?”

“She’s the one hosting the party.” Elizabeth gestured to a girl wearing a light sky blue lacey dress as she walked down the stairs, brushing her wavy blonde hair away from her glasses.

Jackson couldn’t think about anything but her for what felt like years. He suddenly fell into a daydream, thinking about sitting in a field of sunflowers, eating a meal of shrimp, oranges, and strawberries while making out with her. Her sweet smile was stronger than a siren’s allure, stripping away Jackson’s sense of nervousness. He felt a passion for this girl that he hadn’t felt for a long time. He couldn’t mess this up like all the other girls he was obsessed with in his life.

“Looks like someone has good taste in music,” he said smiling.

“But do you know who it is though?” Bonnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s Iconic, by Poppy,” Jackson laughed. “Do you need me to recite the rest of the album?”

“That’s okay, I already know it,” Bonnie replied smugly. Their eyes met, causing Jackson to quickly look away. He then realized that was lame, so he looked back while laughing awkwardly. After a few seconds Bonnie looked away with a disturbed look, and then walked away.

That was some bullshit. Maybe I should follow her. Actually that might be weird. Maybe I’ll get to see her later.

“Not impressed.” A kid was standing in front of Jackson, pushing down his sunglasses with his left hand, smirking. In his right hand, he held the Lego Millennium Falcon. He sounded like a wannabe surfer dude.

“Who are you?” Jackson asked.

“I do not reveal my identity to losers like-”

“His name is Luke. He’s Bonnie's little brother,” Elizabeth interrupted.

“Why did you tell him?!”

“Go to your room and play with Legos! There’s alcohol around.”

Luke flew his Lego ship up the stairs, while making engine noises. Jackson started noticing all of the Lego botanical decorations around the room. One stood out from the rest, probably due to a literal spotlight hanging from the ceiling. A small, pink bonsai tree made of Lego stood on a small glass table in the middle of the room.

Elizabeth wandered off into the crowd of annoying immature teenagers. Some were kissing, some were playing video games, and almost all were drinking. Elizabeth started talking to Chuck and David, who, unfortunately, were drinking the most. Nedra had reluctantly tried beer for the first time in his life, which caused him to get drunk after about three sips. Jackson spotted Kimberly, who seemed more anxious than if the SAT was tomorrow.

“Hey Kimberly!” Jackson weaved through the crowd, holding his breath so he wouldn’t want to throw up from the overwhelming smell of weed. “How are you?” He asked, not being able to think of anything else to say.

“Pretty good,” Kimberly mumbled, spamming buttons on her phone. Jackson peeked to see what she was doing. She moved backwards and tilted her phone slightly so he couldn’t see it.

“Whatcha doing?” Jackson asked. “You know, if you're just texting friends, that’s kind of lame. You can do that anywhere, you don’t have to be at a party. The whole point of a party is to talk to people in person.” Jackson felt as though he were talking to a brick wall.

“I’m gonna go find Logan,” Kimberly said after a few seconds.

“Oh, Logan, of course. I should have known.” Jackson went back to check on his other friends, which somehow seemed to be even more drunk now. The Grand doors that were inviting him to come in a few minutes ago, were now inviting him to go out. He stepped outside to the nice smell of fresh air.

“Oh, hey, bored already? I guess I'm not throwing much of a party then, am I?” Jackson’s whole being rose from exasperated all the way to a word that does not exist when he saw Bonnie sitting on a wooden lawnchair a few yards away.

“Bonnie! Hey! Why are you out here?” Jackson immediately cringed at his own words. “I mean, I'm just surprised you’d be out here.”

“Well, being the host of the party isn’t a lot of fun. People don’t like you very much when you're basically the only parent.”

“Makes sense,” Jackson said, trying to relate. “I’m also just not big into drinking, but Elizabeth is having a good time, and that’s what matters most, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“So that means you did a good job,” he said with a grin.

“Awesome,” she said with a smile, leaning back in her chair.