Watching her friends walk away with their parents, Cassie let out a sigh. Her father had failed to attend her rehearsal. Again. She wanted to understand, she really did. He was the Governor, and he was bound to have a lot of work however she was first and foremost his daughter. Whatever duty he had, his daughter had to come first.

Lately though, Cassie felt like she was being sidelined. The Sunday night dinners were slowly being erased from the family calendar, the morning walks in the park during the weekend were now being handled by her nanny. If anything, her nanny now knew more than her father and this made her feel very sad.

“Earth to Cassie! Are you going home yet?”

Looking up, she saw her friend and classmate, Marcus, run up to her. He was a scrawny little thing with a curly mat of rose gold hair, big brown eyes shielded by his round rimmed glasses and a freckled face. He gave her a toothy grin as he clutched his barely zipped up bag.

Cassie always joked about how he was always in too much of a hurry to properly tidy up but beneath his ragged appearance he had a heart of gold. All the other kids made fun of him and called him a nerd but Cassie treasured their friendship. She never gave ear to the jests the others threw at him - or her for that matter. He stood up for her when they bullied her and called her a stuck up goody two shoes and she stood up for him when they made fun of him. They were both outcasts and that made their friendship stronger.

“Hey Marcus, how was your math quiz?” She asked him with a bright smile as she helped him pick up the books that had slid from his bag.

“Oh you know, boring. Professor Hertz keeps making us do the easy ones because Frank and his team of dimwits keep scoring less than fifty percent. He says he wants everyone to get a decent grade for the mid term exams but come in. I've already learned the answers to all those problems. My brain’s getting bored.” Marcus whined, making Cassie giggle.

“Don't worry. Knowing Professor Hertz, the midterms are going to be killer.” She said, offering him an encouraging smile.

“You think so? Anyways, you still haven't answered my question.” he persisted, his brow raised as he stared curiously at her.

“Oh, right. Yeah, I'm heading home. Daddy didn't make it to my rehearsal again.” Cassie replied quietly, her smile momentarily disappearing and exposing the happy facade she had been putting up all afternoon.

“Yikes. What about your uncle? He always comes.” Marcus put a comforting hand on her shoulder as he offered her a kind smile to keep the sadness at bay.

“He was probably held up. But it's okay. I'm sure they'll make it next time.” She replied with a somewhat carefree shrug of her shoulders.

“Alright. That's cool anyways, we can head home together. You know, Express is a very cool method of transportation. Plus I can show you the new candy shop I told you about at the station. I'll even buy you that new sour patch candy you like so much. They have the premium stuff ”

“Alright! I'll hold you to it, Marcus.”

“Come on! We better hurry so we get plenty of time to hit the candy shop.”

The two raced through the busy town as they headed to the train station. It was busier than usual but luckily they managed to buy tickets on time. Just as he had promised, Marcus bought her some candy by the station.

They settled into a comfortable silence watching the random passenger interactions whilst sharing their candy.

“Hey, so…it's my birthday this Saturday. Mom said I could invite some friends for the party. Will you also come?” Marcus asked shyly.

“Of course. Do you even have to ask?” Cassie responded, her kind smile easing some of the tension on him.

“R-really? Your dad wouldn't mind?”

“Nope. He's been busy lately. As long as I come home on time he doesn't mind. He'll probably send the nanny with me so she can keep an eye on us though. But…. I know how we can ditch old nan-nan.” She replied with a mischievous grin.

“Cool! I was worried for a second you wouldn't come. Mom has this friend at work who has a kid our age. She's obnoxious. But mom and her buddy force us to play together. Honestly, I would sooner swallow a toad.”

“Marcus! Ew.” Cassie said, making a face at him causing him to burst into a fist of giggles.

“Exactly.” He said, wiping the happy tears that were randomly falling from his eyes from all the laughing. “Golly, you should see your face.”

With her ears red from embarrassment, she shoved a piece of candy into his mouth.

“Stop teasing me, idiot!” She said with a cute pout as she glared at him.

“Hey, come on! Are you mad because I said -”

He hadn't even finished what he was saying when suddenly everything around them exploded. One minute he was seated next to Cassie chatting animatedly at her and the next he was gone and a gaping hole was left behind where the seat had been and everything tilted inside down.

The train jerked, throwing everything to the side. Many people screamed around her but Cassie's mind remained frozen on the spot her friend had disappeared at and the horror of what was unfolding all around her began to slowly sink in.