Monday, October 7

This will be the weirdest journal entry I will ever make. So weird I don't know how or where to start. But it started with the most vivid dream of my life. I was lost in a storm by the lighthouse until I came to the edge of the cliff.

Then I saw a giant tornado headed for Arcadia Bay. It was so real that I could feel the rain stinging my face. And I was scared shitless. Then a boat hit the lighthouse and I swear I actually felt like I was going to die.

But I woke up in Mr. Jefferson's class and I wasn't even sleeping. I almost fell out of my chair. Jefferson called on me but I totally blew the answer. Of course Victoria pounced on me and made me look like a bigger idiot. She's so awful. Then I didn't have the guts to turn in a photo for the "Everyday Heroes" contest while Victoria did her usual suck-up to Jefferson. He's so cool and he clearly wants me to succeed.

I felt so shitty. I just wanted to get to the bathroom to be alone and wash my face after that nightmare. Or daymare. Once I got to the bathroom I saw this odd beautiful blue butterfly flutter in and right when I took a photo of it in the corner, Nathan Prescott came in freaking out, talking to himself. I hid in the corner and this punk girl came in and they started arguing about drugs and money. Then Nathan actually whipped out a gun and SHOT the girl.

This is where it gets strange.

When Nathan fired the gun I came around the corner and reached out for some dumb reason, as if I could stop the bullet. But suddenly I could feel the world twisting around me and this pressure in my head, everything seemed to rewind and I found myself right back in class at my desk!

I literally thought I had been dosed with some drug until I calmed myself down. I saw everything happen in class the way it did before. Major Groundhog Day-ja vue. Somehow I was able to actually rewind time.

I knew the only way to find out if I was having a breakdown was to go back to the bathroom and see if I could save that girl from Nathan this time. I had no idea how either. I just knew I couldn't live with myself if I let her die again. I escaped Jefferson this time by knowing exactly how to answer his questions and rushed to the bathroom.

I hid in the corner again and I couldn't believe it when Nathan showed up, freaking out all over again.

Then the girl came into the bathroom, and before Nathan could shoot her, I smashed open the ancient fire alarm and scared both of them away. Victory!

...Until I got grilled by the security chief,David Madsen , who thinks he's Chuck Norris: Blackwell Ranger. Nathan Prescott almost kills a girl in the bathroom but no, I'M THE PROBLEM. I was so glad when Principal Wells stepped in to shoo David away.

Then I made the possibly fatal decision to inform Principal Wells that I saw Nathan waving a gun in the bathroom. I didn't think I should mention the girl, or my new rewind abilities, for obvious reasons. He didn't want to believe me and almost made me feel like shit for telling him that Blackwell's most big fucking deal student would carry a firearm to class. I couldn't tell him that he actually killed a girl in a previous timeline...

Everything feels so surreal right now. I can't talk to anybody about this, well... The only person I could, I haven't seen in five years. I could confide in Warren, he's smart and knows science, so maybe he could even think of an explanation. Though I have no idea what that could be.

Until I can figure this out, I better stay on the down low with this stuff and focus on my classes. Warren sent me a text asking for his flash drive back, even though I haven't had chance to check out all the cool shows and films on there.

I watched a few episodes of Doctor Who? and X-files ; binged on Fullmetal Alchemist; then Hurry Pussycat! Kill! Kill  (all kinds of Amazon women black and white badassery);Tetsuo  (a total cyberpunk trip with amazing visuals); and Scott Pilgrim(for about the millionth time).

On a side note, I saw a "Missing Persons" poster on campus for "Rachel Amber" a pretty Blackwell student who vanished. It's so sad to see her smiling face and think about the awful things that could happen. If there was a way for me to rewind back six months, I totally would.

I had to go back to the dorm to get Warren's flash drive and yes, Victoria and her Vortex Vixens blocked me from getting in, and even took my picture... It was so "high school movie" I can't believe she did it.

She actually told me to "Go fuck your selfie" though, it was funny. I don't know why she has to act that way. She already has everything she wants, doesn't she? And she forced me to use my rewind until I finally came up with a way to get her out of my way. I don't want to use this power for trivial bullshit, especially if I have been given an actual "gift" from the universe, but it did give me a chance to test it out.

But I felt like shit seeing Victoria sitting there by herself on the steps covered in paint. She didn't look like the Queen Beeatch of Blackwell, just a lonely girl as confused as me. I knew I had to find out if she was okay. She was actually nice and apologized. She even deleted the picture she took of me off her phone. So maybe there's hope for the future.

More high school drama...Juliet  wouldn't let Dana out of her room because she thought Zachary was sexting Dana. So stupid. I was so tired from everything, and since Dana borrowed Warren's flash drive, I had to intervene.

Juliet told me that Victoria was the one who gave her the inside scoop on Zach and Dana, so I knew that Victoria was playing them all. I snuck into Victoria's room and onto her laptop and found out that she was indeed lying through her ass just to create drama. Of course, I felt like a weasel going through Victoria's room and laptop.

Once I gave Juliet the proof that Victoria was behind it all, I went to get Warren's flash drive from Dana. She was in a weird mood, so I had a look around to see if I could find out why. I found a home pregnancy test along with a note from Logan and a doctor's appointment. Dana admitted she was pregnant and I realized that all of my friends have troubles that are just as significant as mine. Sigh.

I'm starting to get the hang of this whole rewind thing. I don't want to waste this power, but there has to be a reason it was given to me, so I better learn how to use it right. I started by saving Alyssa from getting a football fueled headshot. I admit it felt amazing just to help Alyssa with something as simple as that.

I also saw David Madsen hassling Kate Marsh. I couldn't hear everything, but he was accusing her of something. All that guy can do is point fingers! I got so pissed I went over to stop him from being such a bully. He's a security guard, not a stormtrooper. He was an asshole (as usual) but I felt good about what I did and Kate seemed truly happy that somebody stood up for her. And I did that without using my rewind power.

This day keeps getting stranger. I don't even believe what I'm writing. And I can't even do a simple task like giving Warren back his flash drive without getting into a situation.

In this case though, it turned out half bad and half good, which I guess is the yin and yang of life. When I met with Warren in the lot and checked out his new retro-wheels, guess who showed up? Nathan Prescott, freaking out all over again. He got all up in my face to accuse me of bullshit.

Even though I was scared because I know what he did to that girl in the bathroom, I was more furious.

Then the "girl in the bathroom" pulled up in a truck. My former best friend, Chloe Price.

We both looked at each other like WTF? Next thing I knew, I was in her truck as Warren earned his man card and tried to get Nathan off my ass. I owe Warren big-time. Seeing Chloe for the first time in five years was such a shock I was almost paralyzed. Especially after realizing that Nathan had almost killed her right in front of me.

Now Chloe shows up out of the blue to save me.

Of all the bizarro and unexplainable shit happening today, sitting in Chloe's battered truck, listening to music and staring at her dashboard bobblehead might be at the top.

So I tried to process the fact that Chloe and I were two best friends who didn't know each other anymore. She had blue hair, piercings, and cool boots and I... I looked like a dork. I didn't know where to start and she wasn't exactly extending an olive branch.

So we sat like strangers. At least I had time to catch my breath and realize that in the parking lot melee with Nathan and Warren, my camera got busted up. I didn't care considering everything else going on. But it sucked on top of everything else going on.

Going back to Chloe's old house for the first time in five years was like the ultimate rewind. Some things were obviously different, but some things weren't. The house smelled exactly the same as it did when we were growing up.

Chloe's room was like an exploded version of her new adult self, cool and chaotic. I could tell she was pissed. She wanted to blaze up and chill, so I explored her room to play catch up on what she was into these days.

Then I found a photo of Chloe with Rachel Amber. Chloe freaked and laid into me for not calling her once. I deserved it. She had become best friends with Rachel and they were going to bail on Arcadia Bay and head out to Los Angeles for fame and fortune. I could tell how much Chloe cared about Rachel since she was the one putting up the posters.

I felt even shittier about leaving Chloe alone all those years when she most needed me. You suck, Max. But Chloe is obsessed with Rachel, the missing girl. She says Rachel vanished after meeting some amazing dude... probably some psycho online. Chloe wanted to smoke out and be alone so I went downstairs to find tools and fix my camera.

Snooping deeper, I hit the paranoia jackpot and found a whole mini-surveillance set-up of Chloe's house, with cameras in the halls and some rooms. Truly creepy shit. What kind of uber-paranoid puts cameras throughout his own home? Chloe's stepfather, I guess. I see why she's got serious attitude.

When I got back upstairs, I couldn't fix the stupid camera. But Chloe saw the butterfly photo and knew I was in the bathroom and set off the alarm. Her attitude totally changed and she realized that I had saved her life.

Even though it could have gone the other way... She was so happy like when we were kids and it was great to see her face light up. She even gave me her dad's awesome old instamatic as a symbol of our reunion. She cranked up the tunes and started dancing on her bed like a maniac. She even got me to shake my booty. Just a bit.

That's when Chloe's stepfather showed up. And it was David Madsen

I had to hide in the closet and then David came in, angry about the music. He was even scarier off campus because he didn't have the school around him. He accused Chloe of taking one of his guns.

Then shit got real. David found Chloe's joint and flipped out on her. I couldn't take it, considering she almost died that morning, and I stepped out and said it was my weed.

David tried to threaten me but Chloe was awesome and threatened him. He backed out of there quick. Chloe was so touched I took the blame.
Of course, she did steal one of David's guns and waved it around like an idiot. Too much firepower for this girl to encounter in one day. Or one life. Fortunately, Chloe and I decided to get out of there and catch up on our exploring... like best friends.

So Chloe and I ended up at the lighthouse, watching the sunset. Chloe was mellow and told me more about David and his uber-paranoia at school and home. It all made sense.

But I wanted to know why Chloe was in that bathroom with Nathan Prescott. She told me he deals drugs and she wanted to blackmail him to pay off some big loan. It's so strange where our lives have gone since the last time we hung out when we were thirteen.

Then I had another nightmare. Or duskmare. I was right back at the lighthouse in a storm, except this time I was following a ghostly deer until I got to the edge of the cliff. I could see the tornado destroying everything in its path, and again I could feel the cold sting of the rain. The lighthouse was crumbling and I felt so helpless watching the tornado move towards the town.

Then Chloe snapped me out of the dream and I told her what I saw. And as if to make the day end on another unusual note, snow started falling from the sky in the warm sunset. It felt so weird, ominous and beautiful all at once.

Especially standing there with my best friend. And on that positive thought, I have officially earned a great night's sleep.